Has anyone tried this combination? I don't know if it would be a good match or not. I did read here that the Asgard did not seem to drive the T1 well, but I've read that the DT-880 600 ohm version is just as easy to drive as the 250 ohm version.
 
Of course I know that a tube amp would be best, but I don't want to buy a new amp since I just bought the asgard to get me by. The Asgard seems to pair up very well with my HD-600, but the 600 ohm DT-880 should be more difficult to drive. Maybe not.
 
 
 

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Originally Posted by tdockweiler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Of course I know that a tube amp would be best
 
 
 

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First, forget this.
 
The schiiit should be sufficient though from what I've read.

Skylab said in his review of that unit not to long ago that the T1 and it got along great, so drive for the similar 600ohm DT990s should be no problem whatsoever.

I did NOT feel that the Asgard and the Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm were a good match.
There was sufficient volume, but the sound was somewhat flat, lifeless, and lacked dynamics.
Headfi member Frank I will tell you the same thing.
Just my 2 cents.

I find that my Asgard does reasonably well with my DT880/600, and it did OK with the T1 while I had it.
 
Like daltonlanny said, the DT880/600 does seem to be a bit lacking in dynamics on the Asgard, resulting in something of a more laid-back presentation.  Some people might like this, others may not -- it's all a matter of preference.  I personally like the combo.
 
However, I wasn't thrilled with the T1 on the Asgard.  Some of the T1's defining characteristics are that it is very fast, punchy, and musical.  The slightly laid-back presentation of the T1 on the Asgard tended to de-emphasize these characteristics, which kind of defeats the purpose of spending $1300 on this pair of headphones.
 
In terms of power output, the Asgard is more than capable of driving the 600-ohm Beyers to earsplitting levels.
 
I think that you'd probably be just fine getting the DT880/600 and driving it with your Asgard.  While the Asgard isn't the last word in amplification for the DT880/600, it certainly isn't a bad combo, either.  The only headphones I've tried that I wouldn't recommend with the Asgard are the K701 -- definitely not a good combo...

I bet the OTL Schiit Valhalla is a much better match for the 600 ohm Beyer's than that Asgard. I found, in my short time with both the DT990 600's and the Asgard, that something was lacking in the Beyer's. Yes, one can crank them to eardrum shattering levels, but something is still missing from the sound profile, and not just the mid's (which tend to be downplayed in this Beyer version) either. (The same problems I am now facing with the DT990's driven using a GLite + DPS. Time to get a Meier Concerto, me thinks!)

Thanks for all the replies.
I was worried for a bit that the DT-880 600 wouldn't work with the Asgard. I took a bit of a risk and figured I'd send the headphones back if it didn't work out.
I've heard though that the 600 ohm DT-880 is actually just as easy to drive as the 250 ohm version.
 
I'm waiting around for my DT-880 600 to arrive today. Fedex arrived with my k601 at 10am, but UPS is making me wait until 5pm for next day delivery
It's my day off and I didn't feel like sitting around all day! I couldn't even bribe UPS to leave packages.
 
I'm glad someone mentioned the k701 being not that good for the Asgard. It doesn't surprise me one bit and that's one reason I skipped out on trying the k701 again.
 
I did buy that k601 and unfortunately I heard it's even harder to drive then the k701! I'll see how it goes.
 
I think it's possible that the Beyer DT-880 sound isn't for me, but I hope i'm wrong!

Any luck Tdock? How do you like it so far?

 
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tdockweiler said:

 
I'm glad someone mentioned the k701 being not that good for the Asgard. It doesn't surprise me one bit and that's one reason I skipped out on trying the k701 again.
 
I did buy that k601 and unfortunately I heard it's even harder to drive then the k701! I'll see how it goes.

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I didn't mean to imply that the Asgard couldn't sufficiently power the K701 -- quite the contrary, in fact.  I think the Asgard probably has plenty of power for just about any pair of dynamic / orthodynamic headphones short of maybe the HE-6 or the K1000.  The reason I didn't like the K701 with the Asgard was a lack of synergy -- the K701 on the Asgard just has an odd tonality, cold and awkward, with a lot of glare in the upper midrange.  I actually just ordered myself a Valhalla to use with my K701 instead of the Asgard.  I get the impression that the K701 needs an amp with a higher output impedance to really shine (which is counterintuitive, given the relatively low impedance of the K701).
 
But that's the K701...hopefully the K601 works out well for you with the Asgard!

I should know more on Wednesday. My amp and DAC/source is in my basement office and I decided to watch basketball upstairs on my night off instead.
Just for my own stupid amusement (and to get a good laugh) during half time I hooked up the DT-880 600 ohm to my Ipod Touch (no amp!). I would never ever use this combination!
 
The volume is extremely low of course, but it wasn't actually as bad as I was expecting. Never would I suggest this combination and I know it's not like there would be NO sound at all!
What made me laugh is that despite the volume being so extremely low it didn't sound half bad At one point I said to myself...wow, I think I heard some bass! Usually severely underpowered headphones seem to have a lack of bass in my experience. Despite being underpowered so far the mids seemed good and not recessed. I was a bit worried about that.
 
If it sounded "OK' without an amp, I can't wait to hook it up to my Asgard. I didn't want to do it tonight because I'm half asleep.
 
Didn't like the DT-770 32 ohm or DT-880 32 ohm, but strangely I had the DT-990 32 ohm for 2 years. This was back when I didn't know as much about sound quality. I think that was the first headphone I ever had that was over $250. I actually never had a clue it was considered the bass heavy Beyer model or that people considered it treble heavy! Sadly I only went by amazon and website reviews back then (not this forum, which I never heard of back then).
 
I'm afraid i'll like the k601 and DT-880 600 ohm so much that i'll keep both. I was planning on shipping back the loser!
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spitfire91104 said:

Any luck Tdock? How do you like it so far?

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Got a chance to try the DT-880 600 ohm with the Schiit Asgard today.
It seems to do well with them. It's not a perfect match though and I probably wouldn't suggest it to someone was actually wanting to get a cheap amp specifically for the DT-880 600 ohm. It will do the job though and quite well.
 
On some music, you max out the volume and it gets to just under ear splitting volume levels (yeah, I know volume doesn't mean anything really).
With most music I max out the volume. On some classical the volume is a bit lower then i'd like. What's strange is that when I skip tracks and it goes to some pop music the volume has to be turned down. I guess this is just how they are mastered.
 
On the HD-600 I only put the volume at around the 1 o' clock. Maxing it is around 5:30 on my asgard.
 
These headphones sound a lot better and different then I expected. So far mine seem fairly neutral. Nothing is jumping out and annoying me. There seems to be a bit more bass then I was expecting, which is a huge bonus.
 
The treble on some Beyer headphones can annoy me, but so far it's not bad at all.
 
Vocals are good so far, this is the area where i'm really picky. These seem to be VERY revealing of any vocal sibilance in my music. It doesn't add it since it's already in there. It's a lot less noticable on other headphones, like my HD-600, but it's still there.
 
Luckily no recessed mids from what I can tell so far.
 
Don't know if i'll keep them yet, but probably. Really it's just amazing how many recordings have so much sibilance in them. I keep hearing sssshhhh and ssssss a lot. I verified it before in other headphones and it definitely is there on each headphone, but the most annoying on the DT-880 600ohm.
 
BTW I haven't burned these in yet and this is all just a few quick comments on how well the Asgard drives these.
 
UPDATE:
Strangely the Asgard actually drives the k601 better then the DT-880 600. Someone told me yesterday that the k601 is actually harder to drive then the k701! With the k601 the volume stays at about the 2 O' clock position.
 
I'm liking the k601 a bit more, but I need to compare them more side by side. The k601 clearly has better vocals, but does lack in bass a bit. It's not too bad though.

Glad to hear that the Asgard is working out OK for you with those headphones!
 
I was wondering, what is your source?  Maybe your source has a pretty low-level output if you need to turn the Asgard all the way up with the DT880/600.  I have a Bel Canto DAC3 as my source, and I usually set its volume control 10 dB below its maximum setting.  With this source, I only have to turn up the Asgard to the 12 - 1 o'clock position to get pretty high volumes with the DT880/600.

 
Quote:

kboe said:

Skylab said in his review of that unit not to long ago that the T1 and it got along great, so drive for the similar 600ohm DT990s should be no problem whatsoever.

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Skylab's review was for the Valhalla, not the Asgard. 
 

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sophonax said:

Glad to hear that the Asgard is working out OK for you with those headphones!
 
I was wondering, what is your source?  Maybe your source has a pretty low-level output if you need to turn the Asgard all the way up with the DT880/600.  I have a Bel Canto DAC3 as my source, and I usually set its volume control 10 dB below its maximum setting.  With this source, I only have to turn up the Asgard to the 12 - 1 o'clock position to get pretty high volumes with the DT880/600.

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Yeah I'm just using a cheap DAC and lossless files from my PC. I think my DAC is the weakest link and i'll probably upgrade that soon.
When I first got the Asgard I connected my Ipod Touch to it using a dock and the volume was much, much lower. I disliked that enough to stop using my Ipod Touch as a source.
 
I have one of those "audiophile" versions of the first Playstations and an Oppo DVD player, so those may be worth trying out to.