Impressions: Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads for DT880 (600 ohm)
Background: I built a Bottlehead Crack and bought a set of DT880s to explore the potential of the OTL amp architecture (see post above). As advertised, the DT880 600 ohm edition on the Crack produces a smooth and refined midrange. For that narrow consideration it surpasses the Focal Clear (non-Crack amp) and is equal or better than the Sennheiser HD600 and HD800S. However, the DT880 indeed has a nasty treble spike that demands either a rolled-off amp or EQ for comfortable use.
Dekoni offered Elite Sheepskin pads for the Beyer family at half off on Black Friday 2021, so I grabbed a set. These are about twice as thick as the factory pads, are made of leather rather than fuzzy fabric, and have a secondary mesh filter across the center opening. As such, they boost the bass plus severely cut mid and high range frequencies.
The nasty 9k peak (per the DT1990 graph) is indeed tamed, but unfortunately they transform the DT880 into being thick and extremely veiled. To come anywhere near neutral one must boost the upper mid range. I’m turning up knob #3 on my Loki, whereas I previously used knob #4 to cut the treble spike.
There seems to be no magic bullet to cure the DT880’s treble issue. On the positive side these Dekoni pads allow use with brighter amps and cause me no fatigue by default. Over time the foam may flatten and the tone may brighten. One might also try removing the secondary mesh filters to reach the middle ground, but that seems to be a permanent process.
Recommendation: Flip a coin. Pick your poison. These are well made pads and could be a good place to start for modifications.