[hade1223]

Hello Head-fi, I recently purchased a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm headphones and all I can say is that I am astonished with them. However, I am currently running them off of an Asus Xonar DG soundcard and I am nearly certain that I am not getting the full potential out of them, so I am looking for a amp + DAC combo to run them better.
I am not looking to use my headphones on the go, only at home. That means that I don't need the amplifier to be portable.
I don't really want to spend a ton of money (perhaps £70 would be the limit) and I don't really want a DIY type amplifier.
I have been looking into some of Fiio's amplifiers and I must say that the E10 seems to be exactly the sort of thing that I need, but I thought I would ask for some advice before purchasing anything.
Thank you very much in advance for your responses.

 

[WasabiWa83]

I'm using an e10 for my dt990s 250ohm and love it. I think it has enough power to push these things really well, thought I still use an extra cheap amp in my chain for a little more power. Not sure if it's placebo or what, but I do feel as though it makes the sound a little warmer and opens it up a bit. But for the price, I think the e10 is a great match for the dt990s. And if you love the sound out of the Xonar, you're going to cry when you hear it out of a great dac/amp like the e10 Best of luck.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

And if you love the sound out of an on-board sound card

 
The Xonar DG is not on-board.

 

[WasabiWa83]

Quote:

 
The Xonar DG is not on-board.

 
Thank you. Edited. Still stand by my statement, though, even if the Xonar is a rather large step up from on-board.

 

[stv014]

I do not know about the performance of the headphone amplifier on the Xonar DG, but the E10 is not necessarily a major improvement with the DT990-250.

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

I'm using an e10 for my dt990s 250ohm and love it. I think it has enough power to push these things really well, thought I still use an extra cheap amp in my chain for a little more power. Not sure if it's placebo or what, but I do feel as though it makes the sound a little warmer and opens it up a bit. But for the price, I think the e10 is a great match for the dt990s. And if you love the sound out of the Xonar, you're going to cry when you hear it out of a great dac/amp like the e10 Best of luck.

 
Thank you for the response, I think I will most likely go with the Fiio E10. What extra cheap amp in particular are you using, and is it necessary?

And one other thing, what kind of improvements did you notice going from on-board to a DAC+Amp combo? Apart from the ability to get them louder, did you notice much change in the audio?

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

I do not know about the performance of the headphone amplifier on the Xonar DG, but the E10 is not necessarily a major improvement with the DT990-250.

In that case, what amplifier would you recommend?

 

[WasabiWa83]

Quote:

Quote:
 
Thank you for the response, I think I will most likely go with the Fiio E10. What extra cheap amp in particular are you using, and is it necessary?

And one other thing, what kind of improvements did you notice going from on-board to a DAC+Amp combo? Apart from the ability to get them louder, did you notice much change in the audio?

 
I'm using a Behringer HA400 with my e10. I really don't think it's necessary at all. The only reason I even hooked it up was to have 4 headphone ports available for my other cans. From what I've read, though, the e10 will be an improvement over the built-in amp you'll find in the Xonar DG. I do think it's worth it, especially for the price of the e10. If nothing else, you could get it from Amazon or something with a good return policy and just return it after a bit if you don't see enough improvement.
 
For me, though, going from the soundcard on my HP to the e10 was a huge improvement. The biggest improvement was of course in volume, but I did hear a much fuller sound overall.

 

[nakaroxx]

dt990pro sounds much better on schiit asgard+dac than on my asus xonar essence stx, i would order schiit asgard for dt990pro
 

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

dt990pro sounds much better on schiit asgard+dac than on my asus xonar essence stx, i would order schiit asgard for dt990pro
 

 


I wish I could justify something of that price but I literally don't have that sort of money to spend right now.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Fiio E11
The reviews I have seen seem to like the amp on the E11 over the E10.
You can just plug the E11 into the Xonar DG, I've done it.

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

Fiio E11
The reviews I have seen seem to like the amp on the E11 over the E10.
You can just plug the E11 into the Xonar DG, I've done it.

From what I see it is also cheaper too. Would I notice much of a difference with the E11?

 

[mikeaj]

From what I see it is also cheaper too. Would I notice much of a difference with the E11?

Yeah, you'll notice that it runs off of the battery and can't be used while charging.

As for sound quality, it's harder to say, but I'd guess "no".

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

Yeah, you'll notice that it runs off of the battery and can't be used while charging.
As for sound quality, it's harder to say, but I'd guess "no".

So because I am not looking for portability at all, there is little point in getting these?
I just want to know of a product that would have a reasonable step up from my Xonar DG without costing a fortune.

 

[mikeaj]

You can still use an E11 as a desktop amp, as long as you're okay with unplugging/plugging it every day.  It might be the best thing available at that price, regardless of portability.
 
What are your expectations?  Depending on those, a "reasonable step up" may be impossible no matter the price.  If you want a higher volume, then sure.  Otherwise, I'd hesitate to give a recommendation beyond "maybe" for anything.