IMO even with some of the entry level amps I would still think itâs a slight upgrade over the 250 ohm, but once you move to something like asgard 3 or lake people g103s territory it really takes off. Itâs something you can grow with, that keeps getting better as you go on with source gear, if you donât plan to grow or upgrade in the future, then the 250 could be more reasonable, same thing if you really have a limited budget, but imo I would still say itâs worth considering the 600 ohm given you have the budget for some of the 100 buck amps
Generally I wouldnât really consider the idea of only buying if you can drive to best capability, because thatâs really really way up there, you can be spending well into the 5k range and still get rewarded by the 880 600. Of course there is a limit to how reasonable something is, but I really wouldnât put off buying something because you wouldnât be getting everything out of it, but I would put off buying a headphone if you have a setup that wouldnât drive them well at all
From the very brief time I had tried a beyer on the s-amp, personally I donât think I would agree with that
I think the s-amp is giving a quite well controlled sound with the dt880, but then thatâs the only good thing about it. Iâve heard some sloppy sound from the cheaper amps, and for the price of the s-amp, itâs a pretty good start. I have to agree however that the s-amp is not a great sounding amp. Itâs pretty flat and lifeless.
I can see that, itâs better than some of the offbrand specials but itâs not quite at that 100 buck sweet spot where you have stuff like the atom/magnis/spark/archel
By the way, have you tried the dt 880 with tube amps? Do you have any recommendation for a great sounding pair? I havenât really tried the dt 880 with tubes.
So I think the bottlehead crack + speedball is a pretty excellent choice for the money if you are looking for something a bit more fun that doesnât sacrifice too much technicalities. For something more warmer relaxed and spacious without sacrificing technicalities a feliks echo is solid, for something more neutral clean but organic a hagerman tuba or sw51 are really good picks. Although 2 of those are pretty much only viable in the us, a good equivalent to bottlehead crack + speedball outside the us is the eufonika h7. I canât think of a hagerman equivalent outside the us for a similar price though (although Iâm sure I could think of one with some time). The cayin ha-1a mk2 is also a solid sub1k choice for something warmer neutral but pretty controlled, as is the line magnetic lm-mini-84IA (and some of the mapletree audio stuff like the ear+ hd II or the octal duos if you can buy from canada). And for something super wet and rich sounding the woo wa6 2nd gen is also nice. Other options I would mention push past that 1k mark so I wonât mention them for now
The Atom, Liquid Spark, Magni amps all power the 600 ohm variant just fine at $99-109. IMO the Atom and Magni Heresy arenât great sonic matches. The Magni 3+ and Liquid Spark are warmer amps that match the 880 better, but all of these have plenty of power for 880-600. Even the new Geshelli Archel 2 GMR ($149) powers the 880-600 quite well and itâs not particularly powerful. At $199 the Schiit Asgard 3 makes DT880 sing beautifully. So there are plenty of low-cost amps that can drive the 600 ohm version just fine.
I recently picked up a used DT880 / 600ohm with the intention of doing a balance mod, and after taking them apart for cleaning and inspection I found opposing zener diodes wired in parallel with each driver. Theyâre the older style drivers without the little PCB. Iâll put up some pictures in a bit. Iâd only be powering them with an SP200 so Iâm on the fence about modding them anyway - but any pros or cons for taking the things out?
Signed up just to say I think this is 100% wrong. I am running straight from mobo (HEDT x399) no DAC and I cannot hear any hissing until I turn it up to a volume with no sound that if I listened to something I would damage my hearing. With my Sundaraâs I cannot turn it high enough to even get there considering it maxes volume at about 20%.
All this is with Jumpers, I think you need to redo your jumpers or send your AMP back to Emotiva for a replacement because that is not the average Bas X A-100 experience from users.
I certainly donât think these need a speaker amp to power them. I really like them with Vio V220 amp, at +6Dbâs.
However, I think I enjoy them more in a new set-up: DAP (Sony ZX300) into DAC (SMSL SU-8) to Schiit Loki (see pic) into Liquid Platinum (see pic).
And then out via SE cable.
Playing music randomly and it sounds great!
Just ordered the DT880 600 Ohm on Friday and should be gettig them in a few days.
I previously sold my DT1990s because of the comfort and the fact that I wanted to upgrade to an HD800. But I keep on missing the 1990 sound signature. I figured the 880s are close enough at a fraction of the price.
Planning on driving them off my ifi micro idsd black label and Trends Audio PA10 tube hybrid. Currently also looking at options to import a Bottlehead crack, which should also pair very nicely with my HD600 and HD800.
Does anyone have any experience with the 880 on the ifi micro idsd bl? According to the specs it pushes out 166mw into 600 ohms, which according to my understanding should be ideal.
The only power specs I can find on the trends PA10 is 3w into 33 ohm. So not sure how much power it pushes into 600 ohms but the 100k ohms input impedence should play nicely with the 880.
I am currently using just that combo (ifi & 880). It has enough power, the one time I used it with the power set to max the battery ran down due to me forgetting I had left it there. That said, I donât usually have it on that setting (turbo). I do need to turn the volume higher than on other cans. And in comparison to the 1990, youâll be missing a bit of the clarity those have, but otherwise the 880 is honestly pretty close to the 1990 to my ears. I have both. I do find the 880 slightly more comfortable to wear long term.
Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully getting the 880 delivered today. The ifi will have to tide me over until my crack kit gets delivered in a few weeks.
Iâm currently using a BC1.2 compliant powered USB hub with my iDSD and it seems to heavily reduce battery power draw in turbo mode. I think it also completely eliminates battery draw when not in use, preventing the issue of the battery dying when leaving it on.
Balance Modded. On an SP200 itâs hard for me to tell a significant advantage - however Iâm considering moving to a Magnius or Lake People G103 midyear - both ~500mW vs SP200 220mW. The BasX is unfortunately quite a bit more expensive in my region
I put some details on my mod method in Kamigoroshiâs DT880 balance mod thread for those interested.
Bought dt 880 660 ohm 4 months ago and now that I have the money, what is the best otl amp for them under 300 euros? I heard about DV 336, LD mk3 etc. etc. maybe one of these? I just want an amp that can squeeze every bit of perfomance out of the beyer
