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Those that went from Xonar Essence to a Tube Amp - advice :)

post #1 of 2
7/31/10 at 2:16am
Thread Starter 

Those of you guys that did this what kind of difference was there?  Significant?  Worth while?

 

I've got the xonar on extra high gain setting pushing a pair of DT990 pro's 250 ohm.  The sound is pretty good, but I feel it could use a bit more zest.  a bit more shizazz if you know what I mean.

 

What do you guys think?!\

 

I'm looking at the little dot mkIII and also the HIFIDIY.  Thoughts please!!

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface 124 dB SNR /...
Beyerdynamic DT990 Premium 250 Ohm
post #2 of 2
8/2/10 at 4:12pm

Night and day difference :)

 

In my office setup a while back I started with just an Essence feeding HD650s. Competent sound, but as you say, something was missing. After burning myself and making a mess I finally finished building a tube amp based on the Van Waarde OTL design, and the results were excellent.

 

Tube sound has a very different character, caused by different harmonics which add a distinct flavour. I'm sure no matter which tube amp you go with you'll be happy with it. If I were you I'd wait for the Schiit Valhalla which will no doubt be great value for money.

 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface 124 dB SNR /...
Beyerdynamic DT990 Premium 250 Ohm
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