It seems like an odd choice unless itās a brute force attempt to limit current in the case of an accidental short.
Sorta kinda, yes.
The big solder pads on either end to the resistors shows they expect those to get warm
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Thatās really good to know. I was hoping to have a dual headphone setup in my living room (and this amp would look amazing on my coffee table. 
Yeah, that would have been nice. Maybe thatās why they put the 0 - 100 ā¦ output impedance switch on the bottom of the A2 amp?
@MazeFrame
Can you think of any potential downsides for me to bypass the two resistors with a solid wire?
(Other than the two reasons listed by Beyerdynamics.)
The transistors responsible to the amplification may overheat when used with low resistance headphones (low meaning below 100 Ohm). And you void the warranty.
The A2 is a completly different layout. Nearly everything through hole components (instead of surface mount in the A20). Different PSU layout, different everything.
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Sorry for bringing this off topic. I just wanted to suggest another option that I had ordered (but hadnāt listened to yet.)
Like Antpage2, Iām also hoping to find the ābestā amp for these headphones but Iāve done the balanced mod on mine so the THX789 looks tempting!
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Meh, I want a powerful amp. something that can drive power hungry headphones. i have a few. and i love that its single ended. I dont have to buy expensive balanced cables or mods. The lake people G111 amp i heard is on par with the RNHP, which unfortunately is not that powerful. never saw a single ended amp that puts out that much power into 600ohm
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Soooo, just buy an asgard 3? lol
Thatās going to get expensive pretty damn for a fantastic balanced ampā¦ Though there really is no ābestā just different
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Just to be clear, this is your top recommendation for a single ended amp (with this headphone.)
Is that correct?
oh definitely not. Just a fantastic amp that makes the headphone sound good. The better amps would probably be something along the lines of Topping A90, liquid platinum, bottlehead crack+speedball or hagarman tuba, schiit jot, among a few others though these are all very expensive
forgot the Cayin iHA-6 that one too! I would say rebel amp but I have heard a few saying it just doesnāt pair very good with beyers. I say asgard 3 as not everyone has like $600+ to toss down the drain on an amp ya know? Asgard 3 powers it plenty and sounds great without needing the whole balanced run of it. I would ask @M0N though for the much higher ends or some great alternative amps for balanced setups the guys got a gigantic amount of experience. If he ever gets a free moment I would go pick his brain honestly. He is the one who picked out my current setup and he was spot on accurate with the recommendation that I was needing.
If you ask my opinion though, if your going to go spend $300+ on an amp I would first say look into buying more higher tier headphonesā¦ Then worry about the much higher grade amp and dac otherwise your good with the $300 and below amps and dacs for the dt 880 600 ohm. just my opinion
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Asgard is 300mW into 600ohm. Lake People G111 is 600 Mw into 600ohm. It must be fairy new. i havent been able to find any reviews on it
hmm, looks like a year old or so? Not quite sure but heard good things about the brand. Donāt really plan on buying it. This whole talk of people need a power plant to back this headphone honestly sounds ludicrous to me but to each his own hope it works out for you if you grab it.
Well Zoes has often said that this and other headphones require a lot of power to be at their best. hes using a speaker amp for these lol
I think itās just geared more toward studio use, so it doesnāt get much consumer press
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Yeah Lake People is the professional brand while Violectric is the audiophile brand (theyāre the same company).
Itās really not about the raw power specs. Iām sure if you measured the power going into an 880 it would be around 100 mW. Itās just that amps with extra power headroom tend to sound better on certain headphones like the 880. Iām sure there are examples of high power amplifiers where the 880 sounds like crap and vice versa
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Well if you really plan to use the A20 with 2 persons listening, not only the impedance but also the sensitivity of the two headphones should match. The T1 and the DT880/600 have both around 600 Ohm impedance but the T1 is 3-4 dB more sensitive. Thus everything will be a tad louder on the T1. The two are quite power demanding and probably not the best choice for a dual headphone setup.
And yes, I actually like the design of the A20ā¦ unfortunately it is more or less hidden underneath my desk now.
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FYI BasX is now back in stock on emotivas website. $229
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Just got the DarkVoice amp and listening to the DT 880 on them now. Sounds really good. My first tube amp too lolā¦ so I needs more time with them. Plus I need to let them warm up a bit more from what I understand. But so far, I like what I am hearing 
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So question to anyone else that owns a DarkVoice and listening to their DT 880, where about do you have the volume set? Currently mine is at 8 or 9 oāclock (depending on the song) and going past that would be a tad to much. And they sound really full body to me, meaning not thin sounding as some have mentioned with other amps. Just looking to compare notes.
(Also did Zeos mentioned using this amp with these headphones? If he didnāt, not sure why it wasnāt mentioned. I know he owns one.)
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I donāt think Zeos mentioned the DV, which was one of my frustrations with his review. To my ears the 880 sounds very full and smooth on the DV, where it tends to be more sharp and bass-lite on other amps. Really a great pairing for vocals and acoustic music, and not bad all around. I tend to push the volume a little higher, as high as 12 oāclock depending on the track.
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That sounds about right to me. Iāve backed off my dac volume (if you can, not all dacs have level controls) to give a bit more range on the DVās pot. But yeah, the DV has plenty of power and is a great pairing.
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