DT990 premium + Fiio E9

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enimaz 

Good morning,

 

Do i need a good soundcard to make use of these? I was thinking about also getting the Asus Essence ST. it has a "built in amp" If i'm buying a seperate amp should i get a card without an amp? I'm completely lost here.

The built-in amplifier of the Essence ST is more or less the same as the E9, and it makes the latter redundant. If you only have motherboard integrated audio, then buying a sound card or external DAC is recommended for better quality. If you already have/ordered the E9 and intend to use it, then you may also consider the Xonar D2/D2X (cheaper, no built-in amplifier, but good line outs), or the FiiO E17 as an external DAC that can also be used as a portable amplifier. The DAC on the Essence ST is quite good, however, and it is still not a bad choice for the price, and you can use it without the E9.

I posted many times regarding 600ohm Beyerdynamic headphones.

In short, do not get 600ohm cans if you are planning to use the stock cables.

I have RSA SR-71b single ended with DT990 600ohm and it's not enough to drive this can in single ended input.  You have to go balanced in order to get full 4 channels to get some bass boost working.

If you really love DT990, get the 250ohm or lower ones, no portable headphone amps can drive 600ohm one in single ended.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enimaz 

the Xonar ST is about 180-200ish. Would i be better off getting an amp in that price range and running from the onboard, the fiios E9 + Asus DX/DX2, or sticking with just the Xonar ST?

I am not sure about the onboard audio, it may be anything from decent to mediocre/bad, it can only be known for sure by actually testing it. The Xonar ST is overall slightly better than the combination of D1/DX/D2/D2X and E9, if you do not need the E9 as a stand-alone amplifier, or the 7.1 multichannel outputs of the cheaper Xonar cards. For a desktop amplifier, the E9 is good value. Another relatively cheap (~$150) amplifier is the O2, it is better than the E9, but it may not be as easy to get (it is a DIY amplifier that can be bought pre-built from JDS Labs and some others).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian411 

If you really love DT990, get the 250ohm or lower ones, no portable headphone amps can drive 600ohm one in single ended.

I think the OP is not looking for a portable amplifier. The E9/ST/STX can output 80 mW to 600 Ohm (the DT770/880/990 can handle up to 100 mW, but tend to distort the bass before reaching that), that is generally enough without equalization - the DT990 already has emphasized bass, so it may not need further boosting. The O2 is slightly more powerful with 88 mW, but this is a minor difference.