[Gizelli]

I recently bought a pair of DT1990s as my DT990s broke and loved the sound they produced so stuck with Beyer (no, the highs didn't put me off), but thought I'd invest a bit further and buy a decent DAC/Amp to drive them. I was previously using an old Sound Blaster Audigy 5 Rx soundcard, which supposedly could power headphones up to 600ohms and got my 1990s to a decent volume level but the quality wasn't great - I didn't expect them to be enough, this is just for context.

I bought an ifi Zen DAC v2 (DAC/Amp) which I'd heard amazing things about from many different reviews but read a couple of reddit posts that said they're not quite powerful enough for the DT1990s. Since I could get them on Amazon with next day delivery I thought I'd try them and see for myself. (Un)surprisingly they didn't impress me as I had to turn the volume dial to 3 o'clock to get them loud enough for what I wanted. The bass, even with the bass boost, also didn't hit quite as hard as I thought but with some EQ I managed to mostly resolve that. Annoyingly though, when the bass gets to a certain level, it sounds distorted and ruins the clarity of the sound. Another big issue when using this Zen DAC is that there is a random popping/cracking noise when there are sudden sounds. Not so much with music when there's a constant stream of sound, but when talking on Discord for example, often when it's silent and someone suddenly talks, it'll pop/crack which is incredibly off-putting.

Is this popping/cracking issue characteristic of a dodgy amp? Could this be a problem with the headphones or cable?

Is the bass distortion caused by the amp not being powerful enough to drive the 1990s at certain volumes?


Another query I have is that I have the opportunity to buy a Schiit Asgard 1 and Bifrost 1 for £200 together. I'm aware that these are a bit dated but would the sound quality still hold up compared to more modern DACs/Amps? If so, would these be a good match for my 1990s? (See end of post for my sound preferences)

I've also found a used Magni 2 for £60 and used Magni 3 for £90 if they'd work well with a good DAC.

Alternatively, I've been looking at other options in the price range of £150-250 such as the Topping DX3 Pro+ - would anyone recommend these for 1990s?

Other suggestions are appreciated but please keep them in the price range (I'm in the UK so bare that in mind - an Atom stack would cost too much with the shipping and VAT included and brand new Schiit DAC/Amps would also be too much from the UK store)

For additional context - I listen to a large variety of genres but the main ones are EDM, rock and hip hop, in that order. I like punchy, thumpy bass but I don't like it to muddy the sound and remove clarity from the mids and highs.

 

[WorksUnit]

Long term Zendac2 owner.
It isn't something personally I'd pair with higher impedance headphones like yours..
As for the crackling, have you tried a different cable/ usb port or a contact cleaner like Deoxit?

 

[Gizelli]

Long term Zendac2 owner.
It isn't something personally I'd pair with higher impedance headphones like yours..
As for the crackling, have you tried a different cable/ usb port or a contact cleaner like Deoxit?

I guess I should've trusted the fellas on reddit Regardless of it being broken or not I should probably return it and try something more powerful that can truly drive the DT1990s. The Topping DX3 Pro+ is what I'm leaning towards, as previously mentioned, but I'm open for more suggestions.

I've tried a different port, but don't have any contact cleaner or another cable to try. I'm visiting my friend this Saturday who has a nice hifi setup so I'm gonna bring my headphones and zen dac to troubleshoot and hopefully deduce where the issue is.

Appreciate the response

 

[BS5711]

My guess is the popping type noise would be related to the source and DAC communication. Some iFi products do that at the start of songs when streaming MQA files from Tidal, like there is a momentary interruption without a music stream then the DAC figures out what is going on and locks on with the pop resulting. Might be something like that, the DAC thinks the data has stopped and started again and it gets itself in a bind ??

I have the DT1770 Pro 250 ohm and they are not that hard to drive being relatively sensitive, the high impedance doesn't make them hard to drive, if fact the opposite is often true, the high impedance requires higher voltage rather than current that low impedance needs and high voltage is often easier to achieve.

The Zen Dac just isn't particularly powerful so having it would to 3 o'clock is not surprising, I had one some time ago and didn't like it much.

I have driven my DT1770 Pro off several versions of the Magni and can confirm that the Magni does well with them, I would certainly get a later version as they are generally more powerful.

Have you tried other pads ? Leather of fake leather ones will increase the bass. With my DT1770 I used Dekoni leather pads that work well generally but boost the bass to much. To counter that I have partly covered the bass port at the back of each cup, you can tune the bass by covering more or less of the port, less port opening equals less bass.

 

[megabigeye]

I recently bought a pair of DT1990s as my DT990s broke and loved the sound they produced so stuck with Beyer (no, the highs didn't put me off), but thought I'd invest a bit further and buy a decent DAC/Amp to drive them. I was previously using an old Sound Blaster Audigy 5 Rx soundcard, which supposedly could power headphones up to 600ohms and got my 1990s to a decent volume level but the quality wasn't great - I didn't expect them to be enough, this is just for context.

I bought an ifi Zen DAC v2 (DAC/Amp) which I'd heard amazing things about from many different reviews but read a couple of reddit posts that said they're not quite powerful enough for the DT1990s. Since I could get them on Amazon with next day delivery I thought I'd try them and see for myself. (Un)surprisingly they didn't impress me as I had to turn the volume dial to 3 o'clock to get them loud enough for what I wanted. The bass, even with the bass boost, also didn't hit quite as hard as I thought but with some EQ I managed to mostly resolve that. Annoyingly though, when the bass gets to a certain level, it sounds distorted and ruins the clarity of the sound. Another big issue when using this Zen DAC is that there is a random popping/cracking noise when there are sudden sounds. Not so much with music when there's a constant stream of sound, but when talking on Discord for example, often when it's silent and someone suddenly talks, it'll pop/crack which is incredibly off-putting.

Is this popping/cracking issue characteristic of a dodgy amp? Could this be a problem with the headphones or cable?

Is the bass distortion caused by the amp not being powerful enough to drive the 1990s at certain volumes?


Another query I have is that I have the opportunity to buy a Schiit Asgard 1 and Bifrost 1 for £200 together. I'm aware that these are a bit dated but would the sound quality still hold up compared to more modern DACs/Amps? If so, would these be a good match for my 1990s? (See end of post for my sound preferences)

I've also found a used Magni 2 for £60 and used Magni 3 for £90 if they'd work well with a good DAC.

Alternatively, I've been looking at other options in the price range of £150-250 such as the Topping DX3 Pro+ - would anyone recommend these for 1990s?

Other suggestions are appreciated but please keep them in the price range (I'm in the UK so bare that in mind - an Atom stack would cost too much with the shipping and VAT included and brand new Schiit DAC/Amps would also be too much from the UK store)

For additional context - I listen to a large variety of genres but the main ones are EDM, rock and hip hop, in that order. I like punchy, thumpy bass but I don't like it to muddy the sound and remove clarity from the mids and highs.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble.

My guess about the distorting bass is that the amp is clipping.

Like @BS5711 said, the DT 1990 are pretty easy to drive for the most part. I frequently use mine with my iPhone and Apple dongle (US version) without any complaints. Granted, I don't listen very loud and I don't use EQ.
That said, the Zen DAC looks like it's got a (surprisingly) weak headphone amp, and EQ will make the headphones significantly harder to drive. Each +3dB requires twice as much power, and every +10dB requires 10x as much power. From what I can find, it looks like the Zen DAC's "TrueBass" boosts the bass by more than 10dB. If, for example, you're also applying a 3dB boost, then the amp has to produce 20x more power to reach those levels. Chances are the amp just doesn't have enough power and so it goes into clipping.

Also, keep in mind that the DT 1990's drivers might not be capable of the amount of bass you're asking them to make and may themselves be distorting.

My guess about the "pop/crack" during voice calls is the same as BS5711's: that the DAC is losing and regaining the signal and that it makes a noise each time that happens. Sounds aggravating!

Sorry, I don't have any recommendations for other DACs or Amps. Aside from my Apple dongle, I also use my MacBook Pro, a JDS Atom+, and a Peachtree nova65SE. All of them work perfectly for my needs. I would imagine that either of the Schiit Magni amps would be sufficient power-wise, as should be the DX3 Pro+. If it were my money, I'd probably get the Topping (I prefer an all-in-one DAC and amp).

 

[BS5711]

Deleted

 

[Gizelli]

My guess is the popping type noise would be related to the source and DAC communication. Some iFi products do that at the start of songs when streaming MQA files from Tidal, like there is a momentary interruption without a music stream then the DAC figures out what is going on and locks on with the pop resulting. Might be something like that, the DAC thinks the data has stopped and started again and it gets itself in a bind ??

I have the DT1770 Pro 250 ohm and they are not that hard to drive being relatively sensitive, the high impedance doesn't make them hard to drive, if fact the opposite is often true, the high impedance requires higher voltage rather than current that low impedance needs and high voltage is often easier to achieve.

The Zen Dac just isn't particularly powerful so having it would to 3 o'clock is not surprising, I had one some time ago and didn't like it much.

I have driven my DT1770 Pro off several versions of the Magni and can confirm that the Magni does well with them, I would certainly get a later version as they are generally more powerful.

Have you tried other pads ? Leather of fake leather ones will increase the bass. With my DT1770 I used Dekoni leather pads that work well generally but boost the bass to much. To counter that I have partly covered the bass port at the back of each cup, you can tune the bass by covering more or less of the port, less port opening equals less bass.

Is there any way to get around this popping if it's being caused by the DAC like that?

Also I was using the analytical pads (thinking that they were the balanced one, oops) but my Dekoni Elite Velours have just arrived so I'll be using them from now on.

I like to listen to music quite loud so I'm pretty certain I'm gonna return the Zen DAC. I'm sure it works great for lower impedance headphones but, as stated by many people here, it was never quite going to be enough. If that fixes the crackle too then I've killed 2 birds with 1 stone

 

[Gizelli]

Sorry to hear you're having trouble.

My guess about the distorting bass is that the amp is clipping.

Like @BS5711 said, the DT 1990 are pretty easy to drive for the most part. I frequently use mine with my iPhone and Apple dongle (US version) without any complaints. Granted, I don't listen very loud and I don't use EQ.
That said, the Zen DAC looks like it's got a (surprisingly) weak headphone amp, and EQ will make the headphones significantly harder to drive. Each +3dB requires twice as much power, and every +10dB requires 10x as much power. From what I can find, it looks like the Zen DAC's "TrueBass" boosts the bass by more than 10dB. If, for example, you're also applying a 3dB boost, then the amp has to produce 20x more power to reach those levels. Chances are the amp just doesn't have enough power and so it goes into clipping.

Also, keep in mind that the DT 1990's driver's might not be capable of the amount of bass you're asking them to make and may themselves be distorting.

My guess about the "pop/crack" during voice calls is the same as BS5711's: that the DAC is losing and regaining the signal and that it makes a noise each time that happens. Sounds aggravating!

Sorry, I don't have any recommendations for other DACs or Amps. Aside from my Apple dongle, I also use my MacBook Pro, a JDS Atom+, and a Peachtree nova65SE. All of them work perfectly for my needs. I would imagine that either of the Schiit Magni amps would be sufficient power-wise, as should be the DX3 Pro+. If it were my money, I'd probably get the Topping (I prefer an all-in-one DAC and amp)

Yeah I was thinking the same when it comes to the distortion. I'm hoping when I try the Topping DX3 Pro+ it will be powerful enough to resolve that issue (assuming that's what it is).

I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be the headphones themselves as, with my 990s, I could boost the bass to pretty insane levels before it became distorted and fuzzy - considering the 1990s have better drivers they should be able to at least replicate this and should outperform the 990s. That is, of course assuming that my 1990s aren't faulty.

 

[BS5711]

Is there any way to get around this popping if it's being caused by the DAC like that?

Also I was using the analytical pads (thinking that they were the balanced one, oops) but my Dekoni Elite Velours have just arrived so I'll be using them from now on.

I like to listen to music quite loud so I'm pretty certain I'm gonna return the Zen DAC. I'm sure it works great for lower impedance headphones but, as stated by many people here, it was never quite going to be enough. If that fixes the crackle too then I've killed 2 birds with 1 stone

I would suggest trying a different source device, something else might interact with the DAC differently.

Any velour or fabric pads will reduce the bass because they don’t seal as well, you might want to try leather ones if the velour doesn’t work for you. The pads make a huge difference.

I terms of amplification. I just messed around with my DT1770 off a Magni + and while it will drive them very loud it was possible to max it out in high gain and listen for a few moments. Also there was very audible distortion above about 3 o’clock on the pot.

I then tried them on my iFi Diablo and while the distortion happened at higher volume it was still there. Off the Diablo my 300 ohm HD600 will not distort at all so I don’t think it is the amplification.

I have not used the DT1770 in some time but this recent test reminded me that they always seemed to distort at high volumes off any amplifier but at volumes that were impractically loud for actual listening. It might be that the DT1990 will always show some distortion at crazy high volume. It might be something that you can’t change regardless of the amplifier. That can be confusing because of course an amplifier that doesn’t drive them well will distort earlier making it hard to know if the amplifier or the headphones is causing the distortion.

Good luck.

 

[Gizelli]

I would suggest trying a different source device, something else might interact with the DAC differently.

Any velour or fabric pads will reduce the bass because they don’t seal as well, you might want to try leather ones if the velour doesn’t work for you. The pads make a huge difference.

I terms of amplification. I just messed around with my DT1770 off a Magni + and while it will drive them very loud it was possible to max it out in high gain and listen for a few moments. Also there was very audible distortion above about 3 o’clock on the pot.

I then tried them on my iFi Diablo and while the distortion happened at higher volume it was still there. Off the Diablo my 300 ohm HD600 will not distort at all so I don’t think it is the amplification.

I have not used the DT1770 in some time but this recent test reminded me that they always seemed to distort at high volumes off any amplifier but at volumes that were impractically loud for actual listening. It might be that the DT1990 will always show some distortion at crazy high volume. It might be something that you can’t change regardless of the amplifier. That can be confusing because of course an amplifier that doesn’t drive them well will distort earlier making it hard to know if the amplifier or the headphones is causing the distortion.

Good luck.

Just tried out the Topping DX3 Pro+ as it arrived today. It's honestly blown me away, everything about this thing is significantly better (for my DT1990s anyway). Much, much louder, more clarity in almost every range, fantastic bass response even without a bass boost button or EQ, lovely build quality (the zen also had great built quality tbf), a remote and a display, and no crackling!! Genuinely couldn't be happier with this thing, I more than recommend this DAC/amp for anyone looking to spend less than a mini fortune on one, particularly for the DT1990s. I got it for £200 on Amazon just for reference.

Also I tried the Zen DAC with my friend's LCD Xs and they did drive them amazingly, I guess since they're very low impedance, but still had the crackling. Definitely not a good choice for the DT1990s as I've discovered - especially with that crackling defect.

Appreciate all the responses from everyone regardless. I'm really happy everything finally worked out without (too much) hassle