He is exaggerating A LOT. I used to run my DT 880 600 ohm off of my JDS Labs Atom with the volume knob at 3 Oâclockish max.
I wouldnât say this is the case since he doesnât state that it cannot be ran off a lower end amp. Just that it sounds itâs best and should be considered to be ran off high end setups. You can run it off the spark or atom sure but it definitely sounds nowhere near as good.
I am not exaggerating the difference between the amps. The Atom can make these headphones produce a loud sound, but itâs not a partially good sound. There is a difference between just making a pair of headphones loud and driving them properly. Both my Atom and SP200 are hooked up to the same DAC (SU-8) so I can actually A/B test between them.
You are right, but Z talking about putting these on speaker amp taps is absolutley an exaggeration. But whatever works for him I guess. I preferred my DT880 600 ohm on my Darkvoice 336se.
EDIT: just to clarify, I wasnt recommending the Atom for the DT880. I was just using it as an example of what could minimally drive it. Many people own or used to own an atom, so it is a good reference point.
Maybe you arenât a patron of Z, but Z actually recommends the SP200 in a later video for these headphones. Itâs why I even bought them actually.
Iâm not a patron, just a fan of the forum. For solid state amps, I actually think my buddyâs Questyle CMA600I made the 880s sing. Im not a huge fan of THX, but the SP200 has boku power, so that makes sense to me.
Worth try out a power calculator?..
dt 880 doesnât seem to be even on that list lol
Just fill in the HP sensitivity, Impedance and DB required, obviously itâs a guide only 
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I donât think that calculator is very useful. It lists so few Amps. I do like the idea of it and I could imagine a better version of it would be amazing.
Totally reminded me of:
And that goes for this hobby really. Yes, measurements can and do help our understanding of things that will sound good and work well together. But it comes down to your ears. Do you like the sound of a low-impedance planar through an OTL tube amp? Great, enjoy it. Do you like the super clean sound of THX? Great. Enjoy it. Is Spotifyâs quality good enough for you? Great. Enjoy it. Etc.
Agree I did start a thread about what people would personally rec as good pairingsâŠmight be good to add to that as thereâs no thread that actually covers that?..
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Has anyone tried these with the schiit asgard 3? It is 300mW @600 Ohm which is a bit more than the SP200 (220mW). I should be getting one this week, as well as a set of dt880s. Will make an adapter for my speaker amp (100Wpc @ 8 Ohm) and compare to the asgard when I have had a solid listen. Hopefully it will sound good out of the asgard as well, concidering it is almost 3x the power of the 789 singel ended.
I saw Zeos running them on the sp200 no problem⊠I have the A3 and know it has a shitton of power so should run them easy
I have. They complement each other very well. For both, their real strength is in their spatial presentation, being class leading in their price ranges, IMO. That really comes out when you run them together. The sound is wide and the imaging is really well done. The A3 has all the power needed. The resolution, dynamics, and punch are all there. I think the Darkvoice with Sylvania tubes just edges out the A3 when driving the 880 in terms of Soundstage width and bass extension and impact. But, by the time you get a DV at Dropâs typical $200 offering and add those tubes, it becomes more like a $300 amp, and the A3 is only $200.
You can. Which amp? Unless youâre dropping serious cash I doubt this will sound any better than the A3. Speakers are usually (not always) more forgiving of amp noise than headphones.
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Yup⊠plenty of power and actually a really nice pairing imo⊠if you scroll up a bit I left some impressions
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Thanks for the answer! Nice to hear that it will work well. The speaker amplifier is a class D amp that I built rather cheap so it is probably nowhere near the quality of the asgard, just thought it would be interesting to see how the extra power affects it.
How do these compare to the k712 on the darkvoice?
Youâre welcome. The 880 has a specified sensitivity of 96dB/mW. Thatâs not great sensitivity, it also isnât terrible. But, it also means that 220+mW gives plenty of headroom.
Thanks a lot for all the really interesting advice, all thoroughly useful. Sorry I couldnât respond earlier. I wasnât allowed to post anymore as Iâm new.
I think Iâll save up for the Darkvoice or something similar but in the meantime Iâll return my 250ohms to amazon and exchange it for the 600 and see how it goes from there.
btw, does the DarkVoice really heat up so much to become dangerous or pose a fire threat? I find it hard to believe it would be allowed on the market. Maybe its just an exaggeration. Anyone with experience with it might want to chime in?
Does anyone think itâs worth staying with the 250 ohms version?
The Asgaard 3 is too hard to get a hold of here. The asgaard 2 is available second hand at around 180 euros I think, roughly $200. I donât know if the two versions are comparable or if the 3 is a huge upgrade.
Perhaps someone knows something about amps available in Europe that are just as good quality and cheap as the asgaard 3.