Beyerdynamic Amiron Home (the new T90)
Apr 13, 2017 at 3:38 PM Post #721 of 2,659
  I understand these will sound different compared to everything I have an I'm really excited about it.  I'm hoping the details and sound stage will help me hear positional queue (foot steps, reloading, etc.) of other players.  I have an iphone 7 plus, but have looked into getting a Fiio e18 or sound blaster e5.  I'm really leaning towards the e5 because of bluetooth since I hate wires. Any suggestions on some other portable amps that would do well with the DT 1990?

Yeah, that's what will be nice, honestly the midrange and treble is awesome on them as is the bass. You can swap the pads to the analytical pads when you game, will make the soundstage a bit bigger for gaming, it's good either way but more intimate on the balanced pads. Honestly of the two, I would get the FiiO, I don't think the E5 sounds all that good. I'm not the best with portable amps/dacs as I don't use portable gear much and I think the iPhone 7 sounds surprising good for me. 
 
Apr 13, 2017 at 3:39 PM Post #722 of 2,659
  No problem. I really like the Amiron for those genres, the imaging will be a nice step up too. It's always nice to have different sounds on hand. It's why I kept both the DT 1990 and Amiron as they actually sound surprisingly different. The DT 1990 is more of a HD 600 upgrade with a more robust and aggressive sound and is a jack of all trades. The Amiron seems to take some elements from the HD 650 and tesla Beyers and mix it together. The treble energy of the Tesla's may take some getting used to coming from an HD 650, they have this more tactile dynamic and vivid texture to their treble but wouldn't call it fatiguing.

Yes, I'm sure they will be different, but that's OK... I had some Beyers some years ago (now departed !) and recall their general house sound...but these sound like they've been slightly tuned differently. With the LYR I have the benefit of using warmer tubes if I feel I need to 'tame' the treble. All sounds positive. Thank-you.
 
Apr 13, 2017 at 4:01 PM Post #723 of 2,659
  Yes, I'm sure they will be different, but that's OK... I had some Beyers some years ago (now departed !) and recall their general house sound...but these sound like they've been slightly tuned differently. With the LYR I have the benefit of using warmer tubes if I feel I need to 'tame' the treble. All sounds positive. Thank-you.

Yeah, different is sometimes good. What did you have? The Teslas sound a bit different as well if you haven't heard one. The midrange is darker and not as dry sounding as many Beyers on the Amiron, it does have a fair amount of treble energy though. No problem. I did own the Lyr 2 in the past but that was well over a year ago but never tried it on the Amiron, DT 1990, DT 1770, or T1.2.
 
Apr 13, 2017 at 4:08 PM Post #724 of 2,659
  Yeah, different is sometimes good. What did you have? The Teslas sound a bit different as well if you haven't heard one. The midrange is darker and not as dry sounding as many Beyers on the Amiron, it does have a fair amount of treble energy though. No problem. I did own the Lyr 2 in the past but that was well over a year ago but never tried it on the Amiron, DT 1990, DT 1770, or T1.2.

I think they were 990's...but it was some time ago...before my current serious 'addiction' ! I've not heard the latest Tesla range. Thanks for your time...appreciated.
 
Apr 13, 2017 at 4:17 PM Post #725 of 2,659
  I think they were 990's...but it was some time ago...before my current serious 'addiction' ! I've not heard the latest Tesla range. Thanks for your time...appreciated.

Ah makes sense.  the Amiron is probably the most different, it's the softest sounding of the Tesla's, but not the least trebly of the Tesla's, the DT 1770 and DT 1990 have the darkest treble of the Tesla's but their mids are brighter than the Amirons due to more upper midrange presence. No problem, hope you enjoy them.
 
Apr 14, 2017 at 3:24 AM Post #726 of 2,659
  I have an iphone 7 plus, but have looked into getting a Fiio e18 or sound blaster e5.  I'm really leaning towards the e5 because of bluetooth since I hate wires. Any suggestions on some other portable amps that would do well with the DT 1990?

The E5 suffers of poor sound quality, although I don't know how it relates to other portable amps. I can't point to any specific detail that makes the sound 'ugly', but something hurts my ears all the time when using it. This is through USB as I haven't tried any other input. But I did like the little bit of bass boost it produced into the sound vs. my desktop solid state amps. Also, the volume knob on it is digital i.e. it simply sends a signal to the transmitter (computer, phone) and tells it to change volume. Personally I feel that you're going to waste your headphones if you opt for compressed Bluetooth transmission.
 
Every proper solid state amp sounds the same, I wouldn't waste time searching for a 'matching' amp for the cans, because everything will be a match.
 
Apr 14, 2017 at 3:50 AM Post #727 of 2,659
  The E5 suffers of poor sound quality, although I don't know how it relates to other portable amps. I can't point to any specific detail that makes the sound 'ugly', but something hurts my ears all the time when using it. This is through USB as I haven't tried any other input. But I did like the little bit of bass boost it produced into the sound vs. my desktop solid state amps. Also, the volume knob on it is digital i.e. it simply sends a signal to the transmitter (computer, phone) and tells it to change volume. Personally I feel that you're going to waste your headphones if you opt for compressed Bluetooth transmission.
 
Every proper solid state amp sounds the same, I wouldn't waste time searching for a 'matching' amp for the cans, because everything will be a match.

1.  What is a "proper" SS amp?
2.  How did you test that they all sound the same?
 
Apr 14, 2017 at 4:07 AM Post #728 of 2,659
  1.  What is a "proper" SS amp?
2.  How did you test that they all sound the same?


Anything that doesn't have a physical defect built into it similar to picking up mobile phone interference, poor electric isolation or even the lack of async USB on the DAC's side. Then there are also cases where it amp is designed to change the sound in a specific way, e.g. the Beyerdynamic A 20 (and A 2 with a switch) that has output impedance of 100 ohms whereas the recommendation for most cases would be close to zero. In my opinion it's waste of money to buy an amp for the 100-ohm output (etc.) when you could probably achieve the same effect with a free software EQ, or even get a hardware EQ to play with and use with every amp on the planet.
 
And of course, feel free to get pedantic about the hypothetical possibility of there being a diminishing difference with one or two songs with peculiar characteristics, but after all I was talking to a guy who wanted to pair his cans with a Bluetooth amp... (Not mocking anyone, just pointing out that the last 0.01 % maybe won't matter this time.)
 
Apr 14, 2017 at 1:05 PM Post #729 of 2,659
 
Anything that doesn't have a physical defect built into it similar to picking up mobile phone interference, poor electric isolation or even the lack of async USB on the DAC's side. Then there are also cases where it amp is designed to change the sound in a specific way, e.g. the Beyerdynamic A 20 (and A 2 with a switch) that has output impedance of 100 ohms whereas the recommendation for most cases would be close to zero. In my opinion it's waste of money to buy an amp for the 100-ohm output (etc.) when you could probably achieve the same effect with a free software EQ, or even get a hardware EQ to play with and use with every amp on the planet.
 
And of course, feel free to get pedantic about the hypothetical possibility of there being a diminishing difference with one or two songs with peculiar characteristics, but after all I was talking to a guy who wanted to pair his cans with a Bluetooth amp... (Not mocking anyone, just pointing out that the last 0.01 % maybe won't matter this time.)

My concern was your sweeping statement which could give some the wrong impression that all SS amps sound the same.  I've heard many SS amps with various headphones and they don't always sound the same.  While I haven't tried the Amiron yet a T1 does not sound the same on a O2 compared to a V200 which I think most will consider "proper" SS amps.  Also, changing the output impedance of an amp does not have the same effect as EQ.
 
Apr 16, 2017 at 5:43 AM Post #730 of 2,659
I'm testing my Amiron Home with the DT1990 Analytical pads, they are deeper and more comfortable for me. The sound becomes a little thinner, but I will post back after more listening.
 
Apr 23, 2017 at 4:16 PM Post #732 of 2,659
Thank you for the feedback Stenog. Could you share some more impressions, i'm searching for a dap for my Amirons as i think my Exynos Note 4 doesn't provide enough juice. How does dx200 compares to x5iii? Thanks in advance.
 
Apr 23, 2017 at 8:32 PM Post #733 of 2,659
  My concern was your sweeping statement which could give some the wrong impression that all SS amps sound the same.  I've heard many SS amps with various headphones and they don't always sound the same.  While I haven't tried the Amiron yet a T1 does not sound the same on a O2 compared to a V200 which I think most will consider "proper" SS amps.  Also, changing the output impedance of an amp does not have the same effect as EQ.

The Amiron does not sound the same on all SS amps.  It is incredibly revealing of gear.  Not just amps but DACs as well.  I have an Audeze Deckard and used it as my daily amp and dac.  I then got a Musette and just use the Deckard's amp.  Sound improved exponentially.  Now my Wells Audio Milo and Musette are powering The Amirons to even greater heights.  The Amirons extract detail at a level commensurate to the components you are using.
 
Apr 23, 2017 at 9:04 PM Post #734 of 2,659
I can say after a couple weeks of using the pair, the Pono player in balanced mode does a great job with Amiron. Also sounds mighty good single ended with my Sony PHA-1A. Will have to give a try with the Schiit Stack soon, just haven't wanted to unplug my GS2000e from there.
 
Apr 24, 2017 at 12:22 AM Post #735 of 2,659
Thank you for the feedback Stenog. Could you share some more impressions, i'm searching for a dap for my Amirons as i think my Exynos Note 4 doesn't provide enough juice. How does dx200 compares to x5iii? Thanks in advance.


Both the Ibasso and the Fiio are very good daps with more than enough power to drive the Amiron in my opinion. If you take price into consideration the FiiO is probably the best buy. That said with the Amiron I prefer the DX200. Soundstage, separation and details are very good, it just sound more spacious with the DX200. And surprisingly good amount of quality bass, I rarely have a moment where i miss bass. Note this is not night and day differences, the FiiO is no slough either.

One slightly negative thing with the Amiron, it's not the best headphone with fast paced music. For this kind of music I prefer the DT1990 or other headphones.
 

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