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Sago
3
Mar 24, 2016
@ArthurM Is this drop a fresh order or are we getting leftovers from a previous drop where the vendor claimed to have made a mistake in labelling the cans and their boxes?
Arimanaguchi
1
Mar 24, 2016
SagoId like to know as well.
KTMD
195
Mar 24, 2016
SagoLooks like you guys went through the comments and saw what happened.
In short, the box I received shows 600 ohms checkmarked and highlighted in faint yellow highlighter on the top. So easy to miss. On the bottom, there is a printing that says 250 ohms. So I feel like they reused the box. No big deal.
However, there is no way to tell if it is 600 ohms or 250. Usually Beyer stamps the end of the plug. If it was 600 it would say 600. If it were 250, it would be blank. Ours were blank when the drop we entered was for the 600.
So as of now, there's no way to tell. Just trust. If you look at the different Beyers on Massdrop. The stock ones have the ratings printed on them. I haven't seen any custom ones with the rating though.
Arthur did clarify what happened, but if it was true that there were drops for 32, 250 and 600 you guys can see where the doubt comes from. It really is all trust and good faith. I believe these are 600, just recycled box and marking the top to differentiate versions.
I enjoy them, they're great cans and look much better in person. Yeah, I do have my doubts sometimes, but I'm happy with their quality and sound. Although, it was handled poorly reusing the box and not stamping them. Again, Arthur explains this perfectly a few pages back. (If you guys are lazy, it's there)
LINK: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/beyerdynamic-dt880-990-600-ohm-all-black-everything/talk/340530
PER ARTHUR: "Apologies everyone for the confusion. We just spoke with the vendor, and they confirmed for us that the units they shipped out are indeed the 600 Ohm versions. Below is their response: "The ohm they mark on the top of the box is the actual ohm. All of Beyers boxes have that same UPC on the bottom like that usually and they put over a printed sticker depending which ohm it is. I am assuming since these are custom they just did not do it since there is not a registered UPC for this product since it is custom. Same thing with the cable that usually shows the ohm since the custom models they can make in any ohm they do not put the ohm on the cable so they don’t have to keep all three cables in stock since the hardware is identical for the cable. The only thing different are the drivers in the headphones.""
These aren't hard to drive, but at the same time, you might have some issues. My first 600 ohm cans and I can advise that unless you have a dedicated amp, you'll have problems with fidelity, impact and volume. Running them from a Schiit Modi+Magni 2 Uber stack.
The only con, which is just me, the cans are lint magnets. Like the coating and velours just attract dust and dirt, but nothing you can't wipe down and be careful with. So worth the purchase. Easily one of my favorites in the mid-fi purgatory I'm stuck in. If you try making these on Beyer's site, you'll easily spend over $400 USD for all the individual pieces and colors.
There are also differences between Premium, and Pros. Don't jump the gun and say Amazon has these for less. These are the cheapest you can get them Premium 880s @ 600 ohms with custom colors.
The Pros are cheaper because it's a different type of materials and clamping force. Same drivers, but the Pros have a coiled/heavier cable + tighter clamping force, adjusting their sound due to fit. Premiums have a straight cable, more comfort, less clamping force.
For those that want to see what we're talking about: (Taken with an iPhone 6S+, excuse the poor quality)
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MetaII
12
Mar 26, 2016
KTMDThere is a very easy way to check how many ohm's it is, just use a multi-voltmeter and measure between negative ( - ) and positive ( + ) of the jack, topmost and bottom contacts ;) my ATH M50's measure 37,5 ohm. Hope this helps :P
Baddog
28
Mar 28, 2016
KTMDI am currently have a Grace Designs M9XX and am on the drop for a Gustard H10 for different room setup, both of those should drive a 600 ohms speaker without problem, correct?
KTMD
195
Mar 28, 2016
BaddogEasily. I know the m9xx should sound superb. I've been fighting to find an amp dac upgrade from that. From all the research I've done, upgrades are going to cost double to triple the price because of diminishing returns. It's such a good value and quality for its price. How come you went for a Gustard instead of another m9xx? Just curious
Baddog
28
Mar 28, 2016
KTMDUsing the M9XX in my guitar room and got the Gustard in a music room that I already have a bunch of high end tube based HiFi gear, but did not have a headphone amp. Since I had a DAC in that room already and read many glowing reviews about the Gustard, thought I would try it for that setup. Unless the Gustard knocks me off my feet, and especially now that I have just gotten the M9XX and had a chance, limited yes, to experience it, I will probably get another M9XX for my wife's setup when it drops again.
Jaggi
737
Mar 28, 2016
KTMDOn the issue of boxes being 'reused', I think this is just a misunderstanding. There is only one box which is used for all DT-880 Premium/Edition headphones, and only one box for all DT-990 Premium/Edition headphones. Both boxes have a check-box section on the top where the headphone impedance can be manually marked, and both boxes have the product info for a regular 250 Ohm version printed on the bottom of the box.
When the box contains a regular 32 or 600 Ohm version of the headphone, a sticker containing the appropriate product info and bar code is placed over the top of the printed 250 Ohm product info.
For Manufaktur versions they use the same box, but these customized headphones don't have standard product numbers or bar codes, and they just don't bother to cover up the regular 250 Ohm version info printed on the bottom of the box.
As to the marking of impedance on the headphone plug, frankly the only reliable way to determine the impedance of a Manufaktur version is to measure it yourself with a multimeter. Even if the plug is stamped I wouldn't necessarily trust it to be correct without testing it. Multimeters are readily available for around $10-15 if you don't have access to one, and it only takes a few seconds to check.
And of course the plug marking won't be of any use to anyone that ends up cable modding their headphones.
For those concerned about getting 'old stock' of 32 or 250 Ohm versions from previous drops, I wouldn't worry too much. All Black DT-880s other than 600 Ohm were only offered in the very first Manufaktur drop well over a year ago now, and the problem there was that Beyerdynamic couldn't supply them in a timely manner, rather than having an over supply of unsold stock. (All-Black DT-990s drops have only ever been available in 600 Ohm as far as I'm aware.)
I've purchased the 600 Ohm All Black Manufaktur version of both headphones here on massdrop, and neither of them were stamped on the plug, but both tested correctly (between 555 and 580 Ohms resistance across 6 different ear cups.)
LxJLthr
451
Mar 29, 2016
JaggiSo this goes back to a question I raised from the very beginning...so the only way to tell which version is which (32, 250 or 600Ohm) is to always keep the headphone in the box? Or test them with a multi-meter every time?
Better yet, what if a person wants to resell them? How legitimate will this story sound to a potential buyer?
KTMD
195
Mar 29, 2016
LxJLthrVery true.
Jaggi
737
Mar 30, 2016
LxJLthrIf you buy a regular version, you can tell the impedance from the plug.
If you buy a customised Manufaktur version, it's easy to tell it apart from your other phones unless you happen to have purchased two Manufaktur versions with identical appearance but different impedance (why would you do that?) Even in that case it would be easy to mark the phones yourself in some way (either permanently or with an easily removable tag.)
I mean really, do you have to keep looking at the plug every day to remind yourself that your All Black DT-880s are 600 Ohms?
If you're selling, and you tell prospective buyers that they're 600 Ohm and have been tested with a multimeter to confirm I don't see a problem, especially as the buyer can easily test this themselves upon receipt of the headphones.
Anyone buying second hand Manufaktur headphones is not likely to be completely clueless about this sort of thing and there's plenty of evidence in threads like this to confirm that it's common for Manufaktur plugs to be unmarked :)
Sago
3
Mar 30, 2016
LxJLthrI've posted the question to @ArthurM about the cans in this drop (if they are leftovers from the drop with the mix-up) I hope he can post a reply before this drop ends.
LxJLthr
451
Mar 31, 2016
JaggiI see. So can you please remind me again why I should have *lower* standards/expectations for *high-er end* product from a reputable German manufacturer? Especially since plethora of comments have been regarding the apparent misrepresentation and fraudulent nature of 'All Black Everything' title (heaven forbid there ANY leeway for marketing/advertising semantics).
To throw more fuel into the fire, here are some of the Head-Fi FS links for other 600Ohm Manufaktur headphones, which clearly show the hot stamp.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/785637/beyerdynamic-dt-880-edition-manufaktur-600-ohm http://www.head-fi.org/t/501389/fs-beyerdynamic-dt-880-600-manufaktur
So it seems the conclusion has to be that either...(1) Beyer has poor production standards and QA on a (former) flagship product with packaging and finishing varying from batch to batch (for something typically costing $400-600)...(2) Vendor in question conducts business in less than stellar matter (negligently or accidentally).
Guess which one I am going with? Especially after talking with someone from Beyer North America?
Jaggi
737
Mar 31, 2016
LxJLthrLxJLthr, your standards & expectations are your own concern. I was simply explaining why I regard the lack of impedance stamping on the plug of Manufaktur headphones to be a bit of a non-issue. I'm baffled by your reference to the 'plethora of comments' regarding the misrepresentation of the 'All Black Everything' title used for this drop, how is that relevant?
Yes I've seen the head-fi threads showing Manufaktur headphones with marked plugs. Either: a) Beyerdynamic will sometimes use marked plugs when assembling Manufaktur headphones, or b) Beyerdynamic at one time used marked plugs when assembling Manufaktur headphones, but currently does not
The fact that 250 Ohms is designated simply by an unmarked plug rather than an explicit stamp is perhaps an indication of the significance of this marking; that it's primarily a cheap and easy way for Beyerdynamic to determine which of three otherwise identical appearing products they are dealing with, rather than a feature intended for the benefit of the end-user.
I do think that Beyerdynamic should update their FAQ to clarify that custom built Manufaktur phones may not have the impedance marked on the plug.
Based on my own experience and that of other users who have reported problems here in the past, I'd say that Beyerdynamic does (or at least did) have somewhat poor production standards and QA. I suspect that this is particularly true of Manufaktur headphones that aren't assembled as part of a standard production line process.
(My opinion of Beyerdynamic Manufaktur quality control contributes to why I don't really care about having a stamped plug, I wouldn't trust it anyway unless I've tested it myself.)
In fairness, I should mention that my recently acquired All Black Manufaktur DT990s were very nicely put together, and some of the custom components seem to be better quality compared to my somewhat older All Black DT880. This is one of the reasons I'm temped to buy another All Black DT880, in the hope it would have the same improved components and build quality as the DT990.
Packaging doesn't vary from batch to batch, this is explained in recent posts here.
For Manufaktur drops, I would have thought it unlikely that the 'vendor' would be anyone other than Beyerdynamic, or perhaps a division or representative thereof.
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