After reading a lot of the posts I would like to try out the DT 1990 Pro’s… But I’m not going to buy these first… Because they are not the cheapest and I’m afraid I won’t like how they sound after a lot of warnings!
Because of that I’m thinking of starting with the DT 880 (open for 250 or 600)(like suggested on this forum) or Tygr 300R.
But I have some trouble finding some good priced AMP+DAC in Europe. I see a lot of recommendations for Shiit, JDS Atom etc. But these are impossible to find in Europe.
My first question is: is a liquid spark 290 euro for both units a safer bet than a Kiio K5 Pro (175 Euro) or Topping E30/L30 (300 euro) or IFI Zen DAC+CAN or some other combination
Side note: I really love how the JDS EL AMP II+ look, I would easily pay 100 euro extra just for those looks
Budget for AMP+ DAC + headphones is 500 euros (Flexible).
I don’t mind owning multiple headphones for music vs gaming. But I would prefer to only have 1 DAC / AMP setup. I mainly listen to Rock/Rap but this is only 40% of the music I listen too, I listen to a wide variety.
The competitive games I play are CS:GO and Valorant both on a high level, competitive is important, I know it wont make a huge difference, but I played with some weird headphones before that gave me a disadvantage… In other words I’m not looking for something that will give me the advantage, just prevent the opposite :).
All the help is appreciated, mainly AMP/DAC recommendations for the European market since most comparisons are for the US market. I’m also not dead set on the headphones, so some recommendations here are also welcome!
Edit: Maybe also not entirely irrelevant: I own the Sennheiser Game One and love the comfort. I tried the Audio Technica’s AD-1000x and hated that comfort. Couldn’t wear them for longer than 15 minutes. Comfort is almost as important as the audio quality for me.
I can’t update my original post, but I’m going to combine an Audio Interface with an AMP (probably JDS Atom - found it in europe!).
Combine this with the DT 880 and eventually upgrade it to the 1990’s if I don’t mind the trebble.
Is it best to buy an audio interface with RCA ports, or is there no issues in using a balanced out to RCA in on the amp by only using the + channels?
The audio interface has a line output of +16 dBu which equates to 4.88 VRMS. On the website of jds Atom it states “Atom Amp’s gain stage accepts up to 2.1VRMS input at high gain of 4.5x, or you may listen at unity gain (1.0x) with sensitive headphones.”
Will this give issues? or will it just ignore the higher gain input?
id recommend the 880 if your planning to step up to the 1990 later on down the road… mainly just for if your unsure about the potential brightness is all… otherwise tygr all the way as it performs better in fps naturally… the 880 just has a lot better sound qualities primarily in its 600 ohm variation.
Schiit, JDS, Topping, Aune, IFI, some cases of XDUOO, Monoprice, Lake People. Entry levels usually start with just schiit jds and monoprice though with the magni, atom, and liquid spark respectively… otherwise in some cases people find the topping to be of better pricing as they are more available outside of the US… I believe aune and lake people are the same way on this… Lake people has amps that are a solid alternative to schiit including its asgard.
the k5 pro is a combo unit… meaning both amp and dac. This means youd still want a dac to go alongside that liquid spark… in this regard more than likely no not for that price whatsoever. Topping over there would be the best bang for the buck listed I am just not the biggest fan of the L30 honestly, pretty sure there are a few guys who know more into EU available units floating around here that may be able to steer you in the right direction on that. The thing about k5 is while yea its cheaper and a combo unit… combo units dont have as much driving power behind them and many cases they will cut many corners… The k5 pro is better in sound qualities than say the Soundblaster G6 but in terms of power they are relatively similar… in that they can drive upwards to around 600 ohms depending on watts per channel, however this is roughly the max they can push… if you take a look at L30 and spark among the other more dedicated units they can push 600 ohm beyers and then some with a lot of extra head room to spare.
nah, depends on what your looking for. Id say honestly the 880 fits into a great many areas but isnt very good for those who are intolerant to higher treble… tygr is a warmer slightly V shaped signature so it fits well into many genres as well. Do keep in mind Tygr over there is only 32 ohms… its very possible to just run that one ampless and not have to worry about your amp and dac… the tygr doesnt respond that highly to amps and dacs to begin with and isn’t particularly a requirement as long as you have a motherboard capable of driving it. Infact others have reported even cheapo like apple dongle dacs and the like were capable of driving the tygrs.
It would mainly be with the 880 and 1990 that youd want that amp… especially if 600 ohm 880 is considered.
I assure you, 100% you will not have issues with placements with beyers headphones. The imaging on their headphones practically their entire lineup is superb as is the levels of soundstage you get from their headphones are on point. CS go and Valorant arent the best sound engines for sure but in just the 880s case… you shouldnt have any issues. The only potential issue is the fact its a semi open back so open backs like tygr will help have a more 360 degree field of sound around the head which to some people is a perk
Check out the brands I listed above, all else fails create a thread specifically in the amps section that your looking for help with finding an amp… you may find more feedback from others in the audiophile area and get some constructive input.
I mean, you could always go to the pc38x if you rather stay with a gaming headset… its practically the game one on steroids… Game one is the headset that then became the pc37x from drop which was the upgrade game one… and now we have 38x which is the upgraded variation to the 37x… Its not the best for music by a longshot… id easily take the tygrs over them… but it is an option. It is what I would consider essentially one of the best gaming -headsets- on the market right now
not a bad idea but I am curious as to why you would want to do this… I assume you plan to get a dynamic microphone then for your setup? You can use audio interfaces in the place of your dac so this will work fine
something I should really note here, the 1990 isnt particularly a straight upgrade to the dt 880… the T1 2nd generation is more on that path and is also 600 ohm… which is the headphone I use exclusively for my fps gaming. The 1990 is much more neutral and peaked but at the same time extremely versatile in changing its sound signature and built extremely sturdy. Nonetheless if you search around both T1 2nd gen and 1990 are usually the same price… its just 2nd gen T1 was discontinued due to the 3rd gen T1 which is a bass cannon for some reason
I dont believe there is any issues with this particular connection but I would seek out someone much more knowledgeable on interfaces than me… hopefully someone else will chime in otherwise I absolutely encourage a separate thread… audio interfaces tend to vary pretty drastically from my experience with them
Check out the brands I listed above, all else fails create a thread specifically in the amps section that your looking for help with finding an amp… you may find more feedback from others in the audiophile area and get some constructive input.
I will check out the brands listed above! and take a look in the Amps section.
I mean, you could always go to the pc38x if you rather stay with a gaming headset… its practically the game one on steroids… Game one is the headset that then became the pc37x from drop which was the upgrade game one… and now we have 38x which is the upgraded variation to the 37x… Its not the best for music by a longshot… id easily take the tygrs over them… but it is an option. It is what I would consider essentially one of the best gaming -headsets- on the market right now
I don’t really want to stay with a gaming headset, I’m thinking of using a dynamic microphone.
not a bad idea but I am curious as to why you would want to do this… I assume you plan to get a dynamic microphone then for your setup? You can use audio interfaces in the place of your dac so this will work fine
Yes, I would use a dynamic Mic with the setup. I really like the sound of the Rode Procaster. I don’t have twitch or YouTube aspirations, so I still have to decide if I want to spend almost 350 euro in total for my Mic setup so other people on discord can enjoy it
I dont believe there is any issues with this particular connection but I would seek out someone much more knowledgeable on interfaces than me… hopefully someone else will chime in otherwise I absolutely encourage a separate thread… audio interfaces tend to vary pretty drastically from my experience with them
Ok will do!
the T1 2nd generation is more on that path and is also 600 ohm… which is the headphone I use exclusively for my fps gaming. The 1990 is much more neutral and peaked but at the same time extremely versatile in changing its sound signature and built extremely sturdy. Nonetheless if you search around both T1 2nd gen and 1990 are usually the same price… its just 2nd gen T1 was discontinued due to the 3rd gen T1 which is a bass cannon for some reason
I can’t really find the T1 2nd gen in Europe after a google search. They are on Amazon.com but it would cost a lot to get it through customs. I also don’t want to go look in the used market for headphones… Maybe you can clean them up really good and change the pads + headband? I’ve seen that the beyerdynamics are really easy to take apart.
for just discord use non musical or streaming? quite a bit on the overkill side… if you just need some dynamic mic cause of a loud environment than something simple such as Samson q2u would work fine and you don’t need an interface for that onel. Others that are condensor based like the yeti, quadcast, etc may be a bit more sensitive but still come through plenty clear to make use of them.
T1 2nd gen is discontinued as such won’t be able to be found that easily… it will have to be either through 3rd party new like ebay or something, otherwise it will need to be bought used. Try Hifishark as it can scour the area your in for multiple websites containing the headphone, can also be used for amps, interfaces, dacs, etc and you can find some interesting deals using that.
for the most part if someone is selling a higher grade headphone they typically take good care of it… you do get the occasional person who just didn’t care for cleaning up his headphone or taking good care of it… of which feel free to avoid that hassle. While yes it is easy to clean up a beyerdynamic headphone, in the T1’s case it is not… as the components are not only expensive but hard to take apart. The 1990 is easier to do maintenance on in comparison. To give an example, it costed me around $130 to replace my 1990s driver as it went bad on the right side thats with driver matching… it would have costed $189 to replace both sides if I wanted it new and matched. However, if I wanted to just replace a T1’s headband that would cost from $200-$389 just for the headband.
