Which of that two would pair better with my Geshelli Labs Enog 2 Pro DAC? I have Beyerdynamic DT990 600 Ohm but might and rather will buy more headphones in future. I need an ultimate quality of sound AMP for both music and gaming (movies as well).
Zeos speaks well about both of those AMPs.
With the headphones you have, I would be more inclined to recommend the 2.5 pro over the the 789, and in general imo the archel 2.5 pro tends to be my preference over the thx amps. What headphones are you looking at in the future?
Only the open back and “breathing” headphones. Might choose something from HiFiMan or another Beyerdynamic but not sure at the moment.
Might sound strange but feeling bad in close back headphones, “deaf to surroundings” effect feels claustrophobic and probably just not for me.
Hmmmm. So I think with a hifiman (and honestly the headphones you have now), you might want to consider something like an asgard 3 imo, I think it pairs better with the beyers (more power and headroom, helps quell the beyer treble a tad, and also gives it a bit more body), and might be what I would choose here if you don’t mind spending the 200 for it
2 Likes
are there more expensive AMPs (like for 300$) that pair well with my current headphones and DAC and potentially offer a better overall quality of sound? I used to have Liquid Spark AMP but it died after 3 months of use…causing electric short cirquit when plugging the power cable in and I am not buying Liquid Spark again. It tamed the treble and did it pretty funking well but honestly in the price of power came a little drop in quality and clearness of sound or maybe my Liquid Spark was faulty from the beginning.
I am gaming a lot and listening to music of all sorts. In terms of gaming louder = more atmospheric. Can’t make too loud with a sharp treble. I might spend up to 400$ for a good AMP just to get the best sounding AMP for the price.
Also can’t understand why people on forums have a different opinion on THX AAA 789. After watching many Zeos videos with this AMP I was under impression and already held my hand on a vallet.
And what about Geshelli Labs Archel 2.5 Pro? It seems to have been created to be paired with Enog 2 Pro.
I am not suggesting anything, just trying to understand things better, as I am quite new in all this audio equipment.
What about the new Schiit magnius ?
Speaking from experience, pairing this headphone to a THX amp in this case the 789 is a bad idea. The amp in particular makes headphones sound brighter / anemic. Considering dt 990 is extremely bright and sharp this is just a bad pairing in general. I would say the archel between those two.
Than yeah, my opinion is just skip the thx amps… they just don’t pair very well with brighter headphones.
+1
The only one that comes to mind off the top of my head is probably Lake People G103 or Ifi Zen Can(new product) though I would still recommend the asgard in this case when it comes to beyer otherwise ifi zen I thnk would be better as it rolls off the treble peaks from my experience.
That’s very unfortunate. The spark is a fantastic amp for bright headphones and sounds great for $100 I would have reached out for warranty / repair before getting rid of it or anything.
In the case of the spark it definitely doesn’t lack power… it can drive 600 ohm dt 880 / 990 / T1 with power to spare by a good margin granted you have to make sure high gain is on. It could be a little clearer but between power and quality at $100 it’s quite something special imo.
Would recommend against doing this usually especially if it’s just the DT 990s. Asgard, IFI Zen Can, Maybe the Topping L30(it’s brand new I would ask M0N on this one), or Archel will work just fine in this particular case. I would only recommend a higher tier upgrade of amp and dac if you had a higher tier headphone like T1 Generation 2 as it has a lot more room to change in sound quality with a higher tier setup and is 600 ohms. Though the amps mentioned can work just fine with a higher tier headphone. Step ups depending on ohm would be something like RNHP(bad for 600 ohm headphones), gilmore lite mk2(great for planars), Liquid platinum(great for balanced and is a hybrid tube amp), among a few others. Once you get past the $200 - $300 mark it starts becoming more specific to sound signatures / particular headphones and can become quite costly. I would recommend one of the amps listed above as they are better for a well rounded amount of headphones with plenty of power to drive your gear.
I mean you can actually, dt 990 and it’s alternatives respond well to equalization. If your on pc the program peace apo can dial in the sharpness. You can also go contact solderdude at DIYheaven for a cable filter which will remove that treble peak. Pairing it to a warmer amp with a treble roll off i.e. spark, ifi zen, asgard, etc will allow you to listen without as much issues. Lastly, you can modify the beyers by removing the pad, removing the foam covering the driver and taking a cloth or 4-ply toilet paper seperating it and cutting it to the same size as the foam, placing the toilet paper / cloth on the driver, followed by the foam, followed by replacing the pad on the headphone, this method will reduce treble as well as bass.
He gushes hard about that amp. Keep in mind this is the same guy recommending a power plant modded amp to power a dt 880 600 ohm despite it being powered just fine by a $100 liquid spark. Take his view points as extremely subjective and not always accurate as you should with anyones point of view in this hobby. Taking zeos at his word can get you burned fast. It’s good to have reviewers for advice especially if they have the same sound tastes as you as you can get a better viewpoint on what gear you should go for. In this case? Speaking as someone who has tried practically the entire beyer lineup and tried with that 789? skip that one it makes the brighter beyers close to unbearable unless, like me, you have practically no reaction to sibilance and even than it’s bothersome and annoying because it becomes extremely fatiguing so not good for longer play sessions.
Well, yeah. The term stack comes into play here. A lot of companies develop an amp and dac that go with each other. For example asgard 3 has the Modius now. Ifi Zen Can has it’s pairing dac, liquid spark now has a liquid spark dac coming out. So on and so forthe. Doesn’t mean you have to use the stack just that you can and, least in my opinion, generally aesthetically it looks better lol. I think the archel and enog are a good setup clean and what not they aren’t the best for brighter headphones but they aren’t awful either and are somewhere in line with a Topping setup so good and well rounded least in my opinion. If anything I would call archel + enog a very clear, crisp, and neutral sounding setup. Asgards are better for color, slightly warmer, treble roll off, and better spatial recreation. Ifi zen over there is good for warmer tones and treble roll off not so great for the mids in my opinion and the spark is in the same boat here with ifi zen.
I would definitely recommend taking your time here, try to soak up as much knowledge as possible. As someone who is also pretty new himself. Jumping head first without a lot of knowledge can lead to bad results… There is a ton ot figure out here if you start getting into this hobby. Also, Welcome to Hifiguides.
I think this one is far too new to really warrant a recommendation right now lol. It’s also a balanced amp which Kasenumi does not have a balanced headphone in house at this current point in time. It would be worth a look into provided he modded his beyers to be balanced but at this point? I would just recommend a single ended in this case Asgard as they are the same price and company.
Yes but I think you might be spending more here, something like an rnhp (for very organic sounding) or a lake people g111 (more studio neutral clean) would be my higher end pick for the Beyer’s. But personally I do think the Asgard 3 here makes a ton of sense price and performance wise
I mean imo generally they are pretty lackluster amps imo, and something I would recommend like a JDS atom or topping L30 if you wanted something superior in sound to a thx amp imo. The forum has some very different viewpoints than z lol
Yes, and it’s a pretty great amp imo, also something that is sonically superior to thx in my mind. That being said, it’s a neutral and clean amp, and if you are worried about treble, if you have something badly recorded, the 2.5 pro isn’t going to smooth over anything for you imo
My perspective on these two amps is that prior to their existence, and maybe the objective 2 for its time, is that competing amplifiers cost significantly waaaay more money,
like in the $1000+ range, and otherwise actually measured far worse than what these two amplifiers can output.
Notably the 789 amplifier has brought in a steady stream of reaallly high quality amplifiers.
examples include the JDS Labs Atom, The Geshelli Archel 2 / Erish, Topping L30, Topping A90, other THX AAA amps etc.
It has really stepped up everyone else’s game. If you own any of the above you will get really accurate audio output, you should be very happy with any of these.
Which one you select simply defaults to your budget, and requirements e.g. balanced vs single ended, Power requirements etc.
1 Like