[gregzDk]

Hi everyone
 
I am looking for an amp for my Beyerdynamic T90's. I've done extensive research and know quite well what it pairs well with. Though I would like to discuss it here to be sure, and maybe some new ideas will appear. I would also like to know what you guys think about the DAC and AMP in NAD D1050. I guess it is not my system's bottleneck in terms of DAC, but I assume that the AMP part of it is not superb, and I can improve the system a lot with a good amp.
 
Anyways, right now my setup is:
 
Foobar2000->NAD D1050 (DAC/AMP) -> T90
 
I can keep NAD D1050 just as a DAC for now, and if in the future I will want to change it for something better, I can use it for my TV setup.
 
For now I consider:
 
- Bottlehead Crack + speedball (new kit as I would like to assemble it myself). A little problem (except of waiting time) is that I live in Europe and ordering a crack right now with weak euro + paying extra in customs is a little bit disadvantageous
- Violectric v200 or V281 (probably used because of the price)
- Schiit Lyr2 or Valhalla 2 (probably used) 
- LaFigaro 339
- any of garage1217 kits? I don't know too much about them
- anything recommended by you in this thread
 
I would also like to find out how much improvement I can obtain with those amps over the amp in D1050. From what I read in reviews it seems like the amp is not just a small addition to DAC in this model, but performs quite well. But if anyone has experience with it, correct me if I am wrong.
 
Music all-round, from classical through rock and blues to gothic/symphonic metal but also downtempo and acoustic. I like vocals and reasonable amount of bass, do not need perfectly neutral sound, but details and wide soundstage are nice

 

[PurpleAngel]

Audio-GD NFB-15, external DAC/amp, $270 + shipping ($45).
Dual WM8741 DAC chips
USB/optical/coaxial inputs
Headphone amplifier with plenty of power
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm

 

[JoeDoe]

for the T90, I liked it best with tube amps. The Valhalla, LaFigaro, or a Little Dot MK III would be excellent performers. Not to mention you can taylor the sound even more by tube rolling.

 

[gregzDk]

I often hear about Crack as a best pairing, but Valhalla, LaFigaro and Woo Wa7 come up often as well. What about some "warm" solid state amps? Preferably something what in the future will be able to handle Audeze LCD-2/3 well (probable upgrade in couple of years).
 
Is it at a reasonable upgrade from my NAD D1050? How much better are those amps over built-in amp in NAD ?
 
What about the DAC, can it stay or it is best to change to something else ?

 

[gregzDk]

Bought the Darkvoice 336

 

[Darkseth]

I can assure you, the T90 is SO easy to drive, The pretty much only thing an Amp will do for you is: Louder. Really, don't know a headphone thats easier to drive at that pricepoint.
So: If its loud enough, you probably won't notice more than a few % difference in soundquality.
 
For me, i am using my Asus Phoebus for it, and i honestly doubt that i will hear ANY difference to a 500€ amp.
 
Take the 120€ Shiit Vali (tube amp will be a nice combination to the T90) and you ar eperfectly fine (also with a viable DAC of course)
 
The Audio GD NFB 15 would be the absolute HIGHEST i would get for the T90, and that ONLY if i had stereo speakers + the desire to switch between them with a button.
If not, odac + o2 is more than enough to get 100% out of the T90.
 
I would even think, a 80€ Fiio E10k would be just fine to get >96% of the T90's soundquality out, because it's just THAT efficient.
 
Edit: Wanna say some words to that amp when you tested it? ^^

 

[gregzDk]

I can hear big difference between headphone output of NAD D1050 and the Darkvoice 336i. The sound is fuller and warmer. Lots of power available but loudness was OK on NAD and I do not listen loud.Usually around 10 o'clock. Now considering which tubes I should try.
I like vocals (mainly female), generally slow paced acoustic or symphonic music, sound of cello and guitar
T90 is much less bright with the Darkvoice. The bass could be more meaty, but sibilance is gone. I will try other tubes for stronger bass. Any suggestions? I have caps ready for Fitz mod (got them from Oskari, thanks) but want to try other tubes first to see if there will be any hum.The Fitz mod should not have any other effect than hum removal if I understand correctly.
I also have a cheap interconnect (Profigold - worth less than 20 USD). If I change to for instance Van den hul d102 III hybrid, will I notice any difference?