Alex Audio Awards 2018: Best Old Headphone
The best old headphone I used in 2018 was the Beyerdyanmic DT880 Pro.
There’s a reason this thing retains its pricing year after year, while the DT770 and the DT990 get constant discounts. It’s got a neutral tuning and comfort that give some of the very best headphones a run for their money…as long as you don’t mind using an open-back design.
I had very little experience with this model until finally owning one this year. My personal tastes tend to skew more towards the 770, with the 990 being a favorite choice for a “fun” sound. But the 880 is clearly the “Best” sounding of the lineup by all of the popular metrics. And it’s a signature, tuning, and build that Beyerdynamic has struggled to match following the 880’s release.
If you’re looking for a really well-tuned pair of professional headphones, and the plasticky frame of the Sennheiser HD 600 series doesn’t do it for you…the DT880 should be the first one on your list. The only real fault I could throw at it is that its cable isn’t removable, without modding. Aside from that, Beyerdynamic got everything right about this headphone years and years ago, and I hope they never get rid of it.
