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Desktop headphone setup advice

post #1 of 5
11/15/11 at 11:37am
Thread Starter 
I received a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250ohm a few days ago and I'm in need of some help with the rest of my audio setup.
Quote:
Headphone Specs
Transducertype - Dynamic
Operating principle - Closed
Nominal frequency response - 5-35,000Hz
Nominal impedance - 250Ω
NominalSPL - 96dBSPL
Nominal T.H.D. - <0.2%
Power handling capacity - 100mW
Sound coupling to ear - Circumaural
Ambient noise isolation - approx. 18dB(A)
Nominal headband pressure approx. 3.5 N

Headphone Math
Power from SPL: Antilog((110-96)/10) = 25mW for DT770 to hit 110dBSPL peak
Voltage from SPL: Antilog((110-96)/20) = 5.0Vrms for DT770 to hit 110dBSPL peak
Using the Power from SPL to calculate the voltage required: V = (PR)^(1/2) = (0.025W x 250ohms)^(1/2) = 2.5V

FiiO E11
According to the FiiO website this amp puts out 300mW at 16ohms. Using these numbers I calculated the voltage to be at 2.2V. And by using this voltage and the headphone resistance I calculated the power with the DT770 to be 19mW.

According to the above numbers the DT770 250ohm needs 25mW and 2.5V in order to hit the chosen 110dBSPL peak. However, from what I've been reading people have been saying that the E11 drivers their DT770 600ohm just fine. Did I do something wrong with my math?

DAC
I will only be using the DT770's with my computer. How good is the DAC on the on board sound card compared to other sound cards?

Other Questions
If you have an external amp and an external amplifier then does the sound card even matter?
Is it a better idea to get an external DAC or a better sound card?

Shopping List (suggestions would be greatly appreciated)
Amp
FiiO E11 - Depending on what advice I get here I may not go with this amp. If it turns out that it can power the DT770's with no problem then it'll be hard to beat for the price. For $65 it comes with an extra battery and an external charger.

DAC
I'm not too sure what DAC to go with (if any).

Sound Card
I'm not too sure what sound card to go with (if any).

DIY
My soldering skills are pretty much nonexistent so I don't want to tackle any DIY project yet because it may take me awhile. After I practice soldering for the next month or so I plan on building the O2 amp.

*Update:* I just listened to the headphones for the first time and they get plenty loud enough without an external amp. Does this mean that purchasing an amp would be pointless?
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post #2 of 5
11/15/11 at 12:49pm

Heya,

 

The numbers don't correlate precisely with what you'll hear because the 250ohm rating is more of an average anyways, and it's not that you won't "hear" it, but rather you won't hear it as much or at lower perceived volumes. There may be some frequencies out of the average that you're not hearing hardly at all too due to under amplification. Since you're using onboard sound of a computer, by all means, yes, get something else. A decent soundcard or external DAC/AMP combo would be excellent for you to get you off that potentially noisy and potentially underpowered onboard sound solution. A Xonar STX comes to mind, or Titanium HD. Otherwise, I would put you on something like the FiiO E7 with FiiO E9 combination. Alternatively, simply get a Xonar DG soundcard and output to a Fiio E9 amplifier as a means to also retain dolby headphone effects so that you can then use them to game as well (I assume this simply due to you referring to using the computer, this may be non-applicable if you don't bother with games).

 

Very best,

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post #3 of 5
11/15/11 at 4:03pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply MalVeauX.

I actually had a Xonar DG laying around that I just installed ~20min ago (bought it for $5 AR about a month back). Do you consider the E9 to be a better buy than the E11?

I game ~65% of the time and listen to music and watch movies the other 35%.
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post #4 of 5
11/15/11 at 6:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by drunkenpoet View Post

Thanks for the reply MalVeauX.
I actually had a Xonar DG laying around that I just installed ~20min ago (bought it for $5 AR about a month back). Do you consider the E9 to be a better buy than the E11?
I game ~65% of the time and listen to music and watch movies the other 35%.


Heya,

 

The E9 is more powerful, and is a desktop unit. The E11 is a portable unit, less powerful, but portable. Both will drive a 250ohm headphone without breaking a sweat. Just depends how much overhead and potential future headphone upgrades you might do. If you're only using it at home, I would get the E9 hands down since it will power more headphones in the future. If you absolutely need portability, get the E11.

 

Very best,

 

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post #5 of 5
11/15/11 at 11:03pm

I found it is just easier to use a sound card with a good headphone amplifier.

 

The Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium HD is great for gaming.

And is rated to use headphones up to 330-Ohms.

(but I think that is only the back panel headphone jack?).

Sometimes it goes on sale with a mail in rebate.

 

The Asus Xonar Essence STX is a fairly good gaming card.

Built in headphone amplifier rated up to 600-Ohms.

(both front and back headphone jacks).

I updated the 3 op-amps (Operational Amplifier) for $15

 

With cards like these, no need for an external headphone amplifier.

 

With the Asus Xonar DG

Built in headphone amp rated to 150-Ohms?

On eBay, you can get a single tube headphone amplifier starting at $55, ships from China.

Will work fine with the Xonar DG

Which will very easily power 250-Ohm headphones.

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