Cheap, light amp for dt880 600omh, suggestions. - Page 2

At this price range you will not reach the maximum potential of the DT880 but you can still make it sound excellent. I have a cheap amp in the PPAv2 that made the DT880 sound very good but not quite as good as my Violectric V200. However I did buy the amp used and it was a DIY amp so the value in DIY is usually higher than the parts when compared to an amp you can buy in a store or online.

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Originally Posted by Graphicism 

The response below is the reason I asked, thinking volume is power is a common misconception.

Like most headphones synergy is key; linking the right headphone with the right amp. For instance there is a big difference between say an LDIII and the DV336 I have now, the LDIII is completely underpowered in comparison... I couldn't imagine a Bravo amp or Fiio E9 for that matter.

The other common misconception is buying gear based on specs, it's pure marketing.

It's about (1) having enough power and then (2) sounding good at that power level.  Often advertised specs aren't legitimate, but if they are...seems rather backwards to ignore them if you're interested in determining (1).

Most any dual-battery CMoy design may not perform the best, but given a correct gain with the source, it will be loud enough unless you want to listen really loud, like above 112 dB SPL (1).  There are alternatives.  (2) is still open for interpretation.

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Originally Posted by mikeaj 

It's about (1) having enough power and then (2) sounding good at that power level.  Often advertised specs aren't legitimate, but if they are...seems rather backwards to ignore them if you're interested in determining (1).

 

Most any dual-battery CMoy design may not perform the best, but given a correct gain with the source, it will be loud enough unless you want to listen really loud, like above 112 dB SPL (1).  There are alternatives.  (2) is still open for interpretation.

You're saying often specs aren't legitimate but when they are don't ignore them... how do you know, or more to the point, how would you know? A few years back with the introduction of Fiio products; replacing $500 amps with $50 ones, the owners were saying they have perfect specs, power everything perfectly well and all other amps are colored in comparison. Today, some years later, those same people are now telling people to avoid said cheap amps and invest a little more...

Sometimes the FiiO specs are not accurate, same for many other products.  I think for some of the brands with trusted expertise in engineering and not spouting BS, that actually publish more full specs (e.g. distortion levels into different loads at different levels), it is reasonable to trust those.  For pro audio gear, most of the specs should be accurate.

It's better to see if some 3rd party has really put it to the test with an Audio Precision analyzer or similar, or at least RMAA plus at least a multimeter to check levels and while loaded properly (note that almost everybody publishing RMAA results does not include some very relevant information or does not use it correctly, not to mention that RMAA cannot measure several important aspects).  Then you can see what's real and what's not.

So I'm saying that real world performance is what's important.  This may or may not be described well by published specs, for a number of reasons--some are being dishonest, others are being incompetent or lazy, and yet others don't have the means to determine the specs.  With various tests, somebody with the right gear and skills could quantify the real world performance, and this will tell you if there is enough power (1), in addition to some other things.  This may or may not tell you if it sounds good to you at that power level (2), if you prefer a sound that is more colored in certain ways.

I think the M-stage is fully capable of handling the 880/600. I didn't mention it because it was too expensive and doesn't have the benefit of a dac - though for a bit more now, there is a basic USB dac version.

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Originally Posted by andychen 

Thanks for all the suggestions. So is it true that at this price range, tube amps are definitely better than SS amps? I see a used M-stage can be had at $200 range, and that cannot bring the full potential of DT880/600ohm? If so  can any one suggest any hybrid amps or tube amps that have tubes enclosed in a case? That should serve my friend well. Thanks.

Darkvoice 337 has caged tubes if it's a matter of keeping them safe.

The M-stage like all other similar op-amp built solid-state amps will sound roughly the same, even stepping up to a much larger transformer won't match that of a good tube amp.