Amp for DT880's - Page 2

Yes the G3 has slightly rolled highs and will make the bright sounding DT990 smoother like the DT880.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiger 

Would you also recommend the PHENIX G3 for a pair of DT990/600Ohm?

No the DT990 and DT880 have different drivers. Have you ever seen the drivers? They look very similar, but the DT990's are constructed different. The DT990 is missing the mesh over the magnet and it does not have the felt pad in the front of the driver like the DT880 has.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlaloum 

The DT880 and DT990 600 ohm headphones share the same drivers - only the earpiece and the associated damping are different

 

Exactly - so they are the same drivers (diaphragm and magnet) - tuned by the addition of felt damping, mesh covers etc... all of which are attached to the driver at the factory to adjust it.

In purely electrical terms they are the same driver, and will respond to amplification identically.

You can buy drivers from focal or JBL and put them in all sorts of different housings - with different damping inside the speaker housing and your end result will sound quite different - but the drivers themselves - the speakers - would be identical - and the driving requirements would also be identical (well within limits - different box designs and damping may affect the overall efficiency so an inefficient design would require a bit more power to drive...)

Hope my analogy is making sense....

But the point is - an amp that drives DT990's well will drive DT880's well - whether the sonic signature of the amp matches well with each of the headphones is a completely different question.... objective vs subjective

I have been trying 4 different amplification options with my Revox/Beyers all of which are driving them well

There is no lack of volume / detail - but noticeable difference in soundstage, air.

The most surprising one is the adapter connected to my receivers speaker outs..... cheap and very very effective - but I never liked the signature of my receivers power amps - which is why I run my speakers through a seperate power amp. (I have yet to test the power amp through the HP's)

The 4 options I have are (in current preference order):

Matrix M-Stage

Firestone Cute Curve with Creek OBH2 PSU

Onkyo TX-SR876 HP Jack (onboard amp)

Onkyo TX-SR876 with ART Headtap adapter (via speaker outs)

The Onkyo - either through the HP Jack or via the Headtap adapter is on a par with the Cute Curve.... the M-Stage is better - but the difference is not enormous

I have owned the DT 880 cans for years and have had excellent results with the Indeed Hi-Fi G2 Class A tube amp (around $60 via Ebay) and the little Banzai Morph solid state amp (also found on Ebay for around $50).

The Indeed and Bravo amps will get them loud enough, but they are not getting enough voltage. I know that people will say they drive them fine but in reality they do not. A PHENIX G3, which is about $160 shipped, will drive them far better than the Indeed and Bravo amps. The Indeed/Bravo amps are a hybrid design and as such specialize at delivering current rather than voltage, which all high impedance headphones need.

I know I already said that but I wanted to stress is because it's true.

I have removed the felt on my DT880 before and it seemed to make them brighter, but bass did not get bumped up. The damping in the driver enclosures is the same between both models.

Just thought I would jump in. I am using an MP-301 headphone  amp with sennheiser HD-570 cans. I have never owned Hi End phones but I would think this amp would have the power, or voltage you are talking about.I just know that for a desk top or bedside headphone amp this seems to fit the bill.

I forgot to mention that I have two Indeed headphone amps that I use alot in my workroom. But for sound I do prefer the MP-301

I have used the DT 880s with the Indeed tube G2 amp for many hours and the Indeed amp has more than enough voltage/current capacity to drive the DT 880s to loud levels (with no audible clipping, etc.).  The little Indeed amp is not perfect - but the DT 880/Indeed combo offers a sweet, musically satisfying experience. 

The Banzai is a CMoy type amp and as such it better at delivering voltage. It would be a great starter amp!