To each their own. I’m curious, which tube amp did you use with DT880? I agree amp pairing with 880 is tricky, but to my ears it has sounded better of my tube and tube hybrids than most pure solid state amps. Although it sounds pretty darn good from Schiit Asgard 3 too.
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As I said in my first post, it is a WA-6SE
Woops. Misread that lol. Apologies.
The report has been to use the DT880 600 Ohm an OTL amp specifically. the WA-6SE may not be the greatest pairing there.
With the headphones you have a good option is an hybrid amp or a not otl tube amp with a low output impedance (that actually are not really common) about the sound with the tubes amps the sound signature depends mostly by the tubes it may change drastically and is not always warm. This possibility to tune the sound with different tubes based on your headphones and preferences is one of the main advantages of tube amps.
Thanks for the quick reply. What do you mean by “wetter and thicker amp” and a “dry” amp. By dry and analytical are you meaning neutral?
Hmmm, interesting thought. I considered a hybrid amp but was not sure if there was much difference from a solid state. I guess I just considered a tube amp would sound more of a different sound than a hybrid.
Does a Class A make that much of a difference compared to a linear amp like the THX AAA 789? I guess I have not heard a Class A so I can not really judge.
Oh jeez, I was hoping you wouldn’t ask 
Defining audio terms is…not easy.
“Warm” is a description of sound signature that typically happens with a slightly elevated or emphasized presence in the upper bass and lower mids. THE Senn HD650 is often described as warm. Tubes are often thought of as being similar, but they actually are not always.
The “dry” and “wet” terms exist on a spectrum. They refer to the…and forgive me because this is not easy to describe, and you’ll likely get several other answers from others on this forum and elsewhere…texture of the overall presentation. A dry sound gives each instrument and voice its own well-defined “pocket” in which it’s produced. A wet sound is more blended together. In the extremes dry sounds chalky and wet sounds syrupy.
Thick refers to the sound having body, not necessarily added bass or warmth, but just more fullness and weight.
Analytical often refers to being bright (treble forward) and detail-forward.
My response was an attempt to move you and other readers away from thinking of “that tube sound” with tube amps. Tube amps are as varied in their sounds as solid state amps. But, they have a reputation for being warmer and thicker than neutral. That’s in large part because most of the super budget tube amps are warm thick, and wet to the point of sounding sloppy. Because they’re cheap, they’re accessible, and thus represent the sound. Which is a shame, because there are a lot of different sounding tube amps out there who some don’t appreciate because they don’t sound stereotypically “tubey”.
Clear as mud? 
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The THX is not linear in my experience of owning one.
Thanks, that makes sense.
Ah, sorry if I am not correctly stating things. I have heard it referred to as that. Thus, I thought that was the standard definition. How would you refer to the THX AAA 789?
Garbage. It’s cold, grainy, veiled, and bright. As someone who purchased an 887, I’m not too happy with it overall and moved on since then and felt like the THX amps didn’t come near the hype. If you want an amp that sounds like the THX hype for power and sound that delivers, the Headamp GS-X Mini. Even then many discover they want a touch of warmth.
Also careful… Class A for solid state can mean either highly resolving and a bit bright or a bit warm. Really class A is playing a single transistor. The transistor type, manufacturer, biasing, supply voltage, input coupling, and output stage coupling factors into the sound of class A amps. There is no universal rule for what class A should sound like.
Honestly I’d consider an Asgard 3. For a tube hybrid, I’ve been REALLY impressed with the Vali 2+. Little bit of tube rolling and you can get nearly any sound you want. It’s the only $150 amp that I grab for first and stick a $3k DAC and a $3k set of headphones one and don’t regret the amp.
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Of course a full tube amp tends to characterise more the sound, but sometimes I’m using an otl tube amp as preamp for a solid state and the difference is substantial.
don’t worry he will get it in time, as he tries more things. For the moment, I think a $500 RebelAmp or Flux FA-10 are better suited for him. If he later decides he want to go further in that side of things he can always get a tube amp and start playing with tubes.
Hmmm, interesting. I have considered one of those in the past but I have a balanced set up. What are your thoughts about the Singxer SA-1. It appears to have balance inputs/outputs and would allow me to connect it into my setup and use my One Litter Bear switch. It costs more but may be a reasonable solution to experience this different sound of a different class of amplifier.
I am not familiar with the brand, but if it is a balanced RebelAmp as Zeos said, then go for it. For the moment I have all the setup single ended, so I have no interest in balanced gear. The reason why I avoided is because many times people will develop a balanced gear and then put single ended as an extra and is not the same quality. 789 is a good example for that. Also Chord is a good example that you don’t need balanced to have good sound.
From what I’m reading and what you’re describing… I would recommend an Asgard 3. Cheap, powerful, and outperforms much of the gear you keep highlighting.
As far as the comment about the single ended vs. balanced there is a reason why I keep the Vali 2+ around. Single ended just gets that amp or the RNHP and I’m QUITE happy. I don’t see a need for balanced on gear unless you need to get maximum power to the headphones (as mentioned, single ended tends to perform worse when added as an after thought generally speaking).
Tonality for the money, you can’t beat the Vali 2+.
Balance set up is currently allows me to also switch between my headphone amp and my speakers. Therefore it makes more sense. I can switch between speakers or headphones by turning a dial. It is a convenient thing.