[feisar]

Hi everyone,

I've been checking this forum out for awhile, as I've been in the market for a nice pair of headphones. My first pair of "nice headphones" were a set of Denons purchased about 8 years ago - I wish I remembered what model they were, but there was something about them being "made for digital." They sounded great, but were eventually destroyed once I decided to do the DJ thing and took them out on gigs night after night.

After reading several posts, I decided to purchase the Beyerdynamic DT 770's. Right now, my sources for driving them are my Powerbook G4, ipod mini, and my Kenwood VR6050 receiver - in otherwords, no "high end" amplification. Would I notice a difference in the performance of these with a dedicated headphone amp? Ideally, I'd like to spend around $150-200 on headphone amplification, but would be willing to spend up to $300 if the additional expense would yield significant sonic improvement. What amplifier(s) do you all recommend for this set of cans within my price range?

 

[badmonkey]

Probably not worth it, the whole point of the 770/80s is to avoid the requirement for an amp. If you intended to drive the phones with an amp, you should have gotten the 770/250s.

Mansizetissue is someone with the same phones and an amp who can comment. Apart from making them go louder, IIRC he doesn't think the amp makes any difference out of a Creative X-Fi. Go send him a PM and point him to this thread.

 

[Jigglybootch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by badmonkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you intended to drive the phones with an amp, you should have gotten the 770/250s.

No! The 250 ohm version sounds worse than the 80 ohm, headphone amp or not. As far as the 80 ohm version is concerned, to get the most out of them, you need an amp anyway. My recommendation is the Gilmore Lite. Granted, it's $300, but it's very versatile and very worth it in the long run. But the key here is whether or not you'd really notice much difference. I'm not sure how good the headphone output on your receiver is, but if it's a good quality, you might not need a headphone amp.

 

[feisar]

Hey, thanks very much. The headphone output doesn't have many problems driving them to the required loudness level, but I do notice issues with distortion on very loud passages, and some muddiness. Of course, it could be the source material, but I'm wondering if a dedicated amp might help clean things up. There's a local hifi shop where I might try some external amps out to see if it makes any noticeable difference. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by badmonkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Probably not worth it, the whole point of the 770/80s is to avoid the requirement for an amp. If you intended to drive the phones with an amp, you should have gotten the 770/250s.

Sorry, this is not true.

While the DT770/80 can be used and sound alright out without an amp, they definitely sound better through an amp. Your minimum requirement should be decent voltage output, so aim for a 9V amp with rail-to-rail opamps. I use a Mini^3 with LMH6642 (search for details on this amp). You could have MisterX or Thrice build you one for $125 and it rivals many more expensives amps. If you want something pretty, you could look for a used Hornet. If you are on a budget, you could get a used GoVibe (but be aware there are many variants). Also keep an eye out for used XP amps - great punchy little amps.

George

 

[Chopha]

If you feel that Go-Vibe is something for you, be sure to order it with AD8620/8610 op-amps. These op-amps sound better with the DT-770 than the standard one. A good choice for budget amp...

/Chopha

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chopha /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you feel that Go-Vibe is something for you, be sure to order it with AD8620/8610 op-amps. These op-amps sound better with the DT-770 than the standard one. A good choice for budget amp... /Chopha

Guess everybody has their preference, personally I liked the AD8397 and AD8066 more with my DT770Pro/80 over AD8620.

I do agree with the GoVibe (if on a tight budget) and definitely consider the Mini^3 if you can afford it, it should be VERY good.

 

[Tantra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feisar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would I notice a difference in the performance of these with a dedicated headphone amp?

Yes, you probably would. Look for an amplifier with great control in the lower frequencies, as the DT 770 80Ω has a rather demanding construction talking bass. I have great success with the Corda Move.

 

[feisar]

Haha, man, so many options! Maybe I'll wait for the next head-fi convention and show up at that to try some of this stuff out in person before I make a decision!

Seriously, thank you all for your help, I'm really glad I found this forum!

Side note: I've had the beyers on almost non stop since I took them out of the box yesterday. I now live in a tiny apartment where I can't crank my stereo anymore (which, although not super high end, is a fairly respectable denon/polk system), and the street noise is terrible, so I've been without a quality listening experience for a long time. So, this is basically aurual heaven for me!

My first reaction, honestly, was that the bass was almost too much, although curiously it's very musical and I can hear notes very clearly. (So it's loud, but not boomy - I'm used to those going hand-in-hand!) The more I listen to them, the more I'm getting used to them and starting to like the increased bass presence - I started with gently rolling off the bass beginning around 100hz, but I'm slowly bringing things back up. It also depends on the source material - some of my older records sound great, but newer pop rock material is almost too intense at times! I've got a few more days left to decide if I want to keep them, but I am having a great time!

 

[Jigglybootch]

I recommend you keep them. They have a lot of modding potential...

 

[a1rocketpilot]

I would highly recommend any of the Meier amps with it. For some reason, the German amps sound great with German headphones. I have an HA-2 MKII SE, and it is one of the best amps I've heard with it. You should see if you can get your hands on a HeadFive or an Arietta or something, for the synergy is great.

Aditya

 

[Negatron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feisar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haha, man, so many options! Maybe I'll wait for the next head-fi convention and show up at that to try some of this stuff out in person before I make a decision! Seriously, thank you all for your help, I'm really glad I found this forum! Side note: I've had the beyers on almost non stop since I took them out of the box yesterday. I now live in a tiny apartment where I can't crank my stereo anymore (which, although not super high end, is a fairly respectable denon/polk system), and the street noise is terrible, so I've been without a quality listening experience for a long time. So, this is basically aurual heaven for me! My first reaction, honestly, was that the bass was almost too much, although curiously it's very musical and I can hear notes very clearly. (So it's loud, but not boomy - I'm used to those going hand-in-hand!) The more I listen to them, the more I'm getting used to them and starting to like the increased bass presence - I started with gently rolling off the bass beginning around 100hz, but I'm slowly bringing things back up. It also depends on the source material - some of my older records sound great, but newer pop rock material is almost too intense at times! I've got a few more days left to decide if I want to keep them, but I am having a great time!

The 770's like most headphones will benefit from break-in and will smooth out more over time. Just a suggestion but when you are gone, leave the 'phones plugged in and a CD or whatever on repeat (forget that if you use vinyl

)

And Jigglybootch has a great point, The DT-770's have great modding potential. Good cable and Blue Tac damping do wonders.

 

[uraflit]

they sure rock for bass! i got myself an emu 0404 usb and it works great! only $165 too! i dunno if it works for macs tho. amping it does make a difference, but not as big a difference as say apple ibuds -> dt770pro... just get a nice budget amp/dac like the corda move and you should be in (audio) heaven! + the MOVE can be used for other headphones, ipod, etc.

 

[Wilashort]

Yeah, i had a vista to the Corda move to my setup (view signature) because the PA2V2 is not enough for my headphones and source (view treat here).