Hey!
I’m lookin for a headphone and a dac/amp combo. My budget is under 300€.
I would also use it for gaming, but I would use it more to listen to music.
I play games like r6, cs, valorant, and the music genre’s I listen to are rock, metal, rap and a little pop.
After the reviews and videos I chose the beyerdynamics but i can’t decide which one should be.
I chose the dt880 but i found out it didn’t have much bass in it.
I read that the heights of the dt770 and 990 are disturbing.
I also read that the best is the 600 ohm version of each.
For tha dac/ amp I chose the ifi zen dac but I don’t know if it could drive the 600ohm versions.
Can the ifi zen dac bass boost improve the 880’s lack of bass?
Can you help me with this?
You chose a particularly hard-to-drive headphone there and are definitely not giving it much power. It will make sound. As hard as you’re going to be driving the amp though, also adding bass boost on top of it is not a good recipe.
Decide which one of these devices you want to keep and then modify the other, or take a week on forum learning and re-do.
Well, I wouldn’t recommend the zen dac, it would probably be too weak to properly push a 600ohm headphone. Now buying the zen can and zen dac, sounds like a better idea. For bass boosting I would look into using an equalizer rather than the built in function for more control.
What do you think @lrjshabaz It would still be in his price range if he went with both instead of just the dac, the dac maxes out a 330mW at 32ohms balanced, where as the can will max out at 385mW balanced but that’s at 600ohms.
I’m not real sure about high impedance headphone power requirements since everything I run is 32ohms or lower. However, what I do know is just the zen dac won’t be enough. It’s good for lower impedances, and is marketed as a pre-amp more than a amp/dac solution.
The trick to buying a balanced-dependent amplifier and DT880’s is that you need a serious mod to run them balanced.
Is the 600 ohm version better than the 250? Because if not then I go with the 250. The ifi zen dac would be enough for the 250ohm version? I have nothing yet and I have 300€ for the whole thing.
I’d say give us a budget and any geographic restrictions, let us know what is important about sound in your experience beyond the genres and usage you’ve mentioned and let’s brainstorm some ideas about where to really start.
You’ll generally find a belief that the 600Ω DT880 (and DT990) are the best version of them, but SOMEWHAT demanding on amp (there’s many $100 amps that can run them fine). I ran mine on a Magni 3, and since upgraded to an Asgard 3. You need decently robust single-ended performance if you’re set on the DT880 600ohm.
A Monoprice Liquid Spark stack seems widely available, check on that.
I would not even try to run the 250 ohm from the Zen Dac, to be honest.
250ohm and relatively low-sensitivity is not an easy-to-drive item.
OH… I see. Yeah the zen dac wouldn’t be the way to go at all then. Given you budget maybe the FiiO K5 Pro?
It’s more expensive than the liquid spark, but it seems like you want some type of dac so since the K5 Pro is a dac and amp for $150 usd. It seems pretty widely available as well.
Fiio doesn’t even recommend the K5 Pro beyond 300Ω.
Re-reading OP, it seems bass is important. I’m not sure if a modestly powered DT880 600Ω is the best can choice.
Can we settle on open-back vs. closed-back, is sound isolation important in the environment you’ll be using them in?
Will you want to use your headphones in any portable setting, or are these fixed at a desk?
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My budget is 300€ and I live in Hungary. I don’t really know what’s important to me in music. I have a hyperx cloud alpha for two years now. It wasn’t bad for gaming but for listening to music it is kinda boring. I would like more bass and cleaner sound, a bigger soundstage. The sound isolation is not important for me, so maybe i would like to try an open-back.I would only use it on my desk. I read that the fiio e10k or the smsl m3 should be ok for the 250ohm beyerdynamics but then this is not true.
It is not important to be 600ohm. I just heard they sound very good. I don’t know how big is the difference between this and the 250ohm version.
Yes, if you seek a big soundstage, stay open-back.
Is Beyerdynamic Tygr available to you there?
This offers a warmer, safer take on the Beyer house sound in a lower-resistance, easier-to-drive package, pre-approved for gaming.
Available but at a higher price. I would use it for music rather than gaming. Maybe 80% music 20% gaming.
Good at both, check into them.
I checked but unfortunately they only sell it in bundle and it’s over my budget.
If the fiio k5 pro can properly run a 250ohm headphone (Is it the “best” for this price?)than the only question is the headphone.
nope
yep
choice is fine, just need a better amp choice. Try one of the entry level stacks such as atom stack, liquid spark stac, or magni/modi stack. PEACE APO a free EQ on the pc can help dial up the bass just fine…
Thanks!
The choice you mean the dt880 600 ohm? For the dac/amp. Unfortunately these stacks aren’t available in my country. What about the k5 pro?
The k5 can power the 600 ohms it just wont provide the best sound quality compared to other units. Your country seems it may limit you quite a bit though on options for amps and dacs
I can go with the 250ohm version too. Yeah. My country is very limited and the taxes are high too.
I don’t know which version sounds the best of the dt880 and the dt990. Would you prefer the dt880 or the 990? And which ohm version.