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Question about DT880 and Fiio E7 + E9 pairing

post #1 of 9
7/8/12 at 9:57am
Thread Starter 

Hey guys,

 

I'm looking to get a setup going for home.
I've looked around and I'm planning on buying a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohms.

I mainly play my music off my Laptop, but the DAC isnt particularly good either.

Now I already have a Fiio E7 at home but I know the new headphones will be pretty hard to drive.

 

So I was wondering what route should I go with?

I could A) get the Fiio E9 and use it together with my E7 - which I'm wondering how well it will sound with the 880's

 

or i've heard that tube amps really compliment the 880s so B) My uncle has a tube amp that I might be able to grab and then get an L7 Cable and a 3.5mm to RCA cable so that I could use both my E7s DAC and the tube amp together

 

Let me know what you guys would do or if there is faults with my ideas.

Suggestions please !

 

Thanks

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post #2 of 9
7/8/12 at 10:06am

What tube amp?
 

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post #3 of 9
7/8/12 at 12:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripod8 View Post

Hey guys,

 

I'm looking to get a setup going for home.
I've looked around and I'm planning on buying a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohms.

I mainly play my music off my Laptop, but the DAC isnt particularly good either.

Now I already have a Fiio E7 at home but I know the new headphones will be pretty hard to drive.

So I was wondering what route should I go with?

I could A) get the Fiio E9 and use it together with my E7 - which I'm wondering how well it will sound with the 880's

or I've heard that tube amps really compliment the 880s so B) My uncle has a tube amp that I might be able to grab and then get an L7 Cable and a 3.5mm to RCA cable so that I could use both my E7s DAC and the tube amp together

Let me know what you guys would do or if there is faults with my ideas.

Suggestions please !

Instead of the DT880 Premium 600-Ohm headphones, how about the AKG K550 (32-Ohm) or Audio Technica ATH-A900X (42-Ohm), they can both work fine with the Fiio E7.

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post #4 of 9
7/8/12 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

Instead of the DT880 Premium 600-Ohm headphones, how about the AKG K550 (32-Ohm) or Audio Technica ATH-A900X (42-Ohm), they can both work fine with the Fiio E7.

 

While those are both good sounding headphones, I think the DT880s are the next step up in sound, hence why I wanted to get a good setup around them.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SONIC BOOM View Post

What tube amp?
 


 Not Sure, It may or may not have a headphone output - If it doesn't do you have a model you could recommend?

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post #5 of 9
7/8/12 at 5:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripod8 View Post

 

While those are both good sounding headphones, I think the DT880s are the next step up in sound, hence why I wanted to get a good setup around them.

 


 Not Sure, It may or may not have a headphone output - If it doesn't do you have a model you could recommend?

Would you have a budget for the tube amplifier?

Prices start at $75 for a simple single tube made in China.

Little Dot MKIII sells for around $230

 

For around $65 (SMSL SD793) to $100 (SMSL SD1955), you can get a DAC with the PCM1973 or SD1955 DAC chip.

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post #6 of 9
7/8/12 at 6:06pm

Just 2c from a previous owner of proposed combo .......

 

I had the E7/E9 combo with DT880 (admittedly 250 ohm) - and to be honest, I found the sound (particularly the mid-range) a little dry and thin.  With my Porta-Tube on the other hand, they sounded wonderful.

 

Fast forward to current day - I've gone from DT880 250 ohm to DT880 600 ohm, and I use them either with an Audio-gd NFB-12 (SS with good body and warmth - esp mid-range) or NFB-12 as DAC and LD MKIV as amp.  One thing I can say is that with the right tubes (to give the DT800 a little euphonic boost in the mid-range). they really do become a lovely combo.  The DT880 (IMO) loves tubes.

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post #7 of 9
7/10/12 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 

I ordered my DT880/600 !

 

But with that being said my setup is not ready.

I only have my Fiio E7 right now. I borrowed my uncles tube amp which is an "Audio Space AS2.8i" - but I will probably not buy it off him cause its way to expensive haha.

 

However I think I'll use it for now,

 

But for long term when I do need to buy an amp... what are some suggestions?

Where can I get these chinese single tube amps?

and how important is a DAC for this Mid'ish-Fi in terms of SQ? I have a Asus UL30VT laptop as my main source and im just wondering are DACs that important ?

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post #8 of 9
7/10/12 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripod8 View Post

I ordered my DT880/600 !

 

But with that being said my setup is not ready.

I only have my Fiio E7 right now. I borrowed my uncles tube amp which is an "Audio Space AS2.8i" - but I will probably not buy it off him cause its way to expensive haha.

 

However I think I'll use it for now,

 

But for long term when I do need to buy an amp... what are some suggestions?

Where can I get these chinese single tube amps?

and how important is a DAC for this Mid'ish-Fi in terms of SQ? I have a Asus UL30VT laptop as my main source and im just wondering are DACs that important ?

The "made in China" low cost single tubes are sold on eBay, just search for "tube headphone amplifier".

I think the Indeed 6922 is a good design myself.

I think Bravo tubes amps have a dedicated thread on head-Fi.

On the website Rockgrotto in the forum subsection "Headphone amplifier", they have several threads on these types of headphone tube amplifiers.

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post #9 of 9
7/10/12 at 3:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripod8 View Post

I ordered my DT880/600 !

 

But with that being said my setup is not ready.

I only have my Fiio E7 right now. I borrowed my uncles tube amp which is an "Audio Space AS2.8i" - but I will probably not buy it off him cause its way to expensive haha.

 

However I think I'll use it for now,

 

But for long term when I do need to buy an amp... what are some suggestions?

Where can I get these chinese single tube amps?

and how important is a DAC for this Mid'ish-Fi in terms of SQ? I have a Asus UL30VT laptop as my main source and im just wondering are DACs that important ?

 

What's your budget for source / amp?

 

Do you get any 'noise'/interference from your lap-top.  That will determine need  for a separate DAC.

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