[BokononVolta]

I have the DT990 and have run it with the Schiit Asgard and the Valhalla (tube amp). The tube was a tiny bit better, but not really worth the upgrade IMO. The Asgard sounded really good and by far the better bang for buck. This was the Asgard 1 too, now that they have the 2, its a no-brainer. Pair it with a nice DAC (maybe their $99 one to start with), and you have yourself a nice system. I don't think these 990s are good enough to really experience a much better sound with the Valhalla tube amp. Not to say the Valhalla is bad, its just not a big difference back-for-buck wise. YMMV.

 

[Kodhifi]

Quote:

 
 
Heya,
 
The sound signature is the same.
 
The sonic difference is from the way an amplifier behaves with a load of 250ohms and 600ohms, so one getting less voltage and more current, and one getting more voltage and less current. Unfortunately it's over-stated the differences of the DT lines of the Beyers and it seems to get completely blown over the fact that the amplifiers even if the same one is used, behaves differently based on work load presented. The impedance is at the voice coil, the drivers are the same. Literally the only real difference is the work load and how the amplifier behaves with it. And because of that, the difference will be different from amp to amp.
 
Very best,

 
 
It's not just the amplifier though. The impedance of a voice coil is determined by DC resistance and AC inductive resistance. The DC resistance might mostly be the same or static, but the AC inductive resistance changes both as a function of the frequency, and the load. Because of that close dance between the two, it can effect the sound characteristics of a driver.
 
Differences in voice coil construction may effect more than just the impedance as well since different resistance, and hence impedances, are arrived at by varying the material (aluminum, copper) the gauge (thickness), and length of the voicecoil. These factors also affect the mass of the voice coil which can also change how quickly it can respond to transients.
 
There is no one golden rule for the sound you will get with a given amp, a given driver, at a given impedance. There are many factors and some of them do actually effect the way a driver will sound.
 
Which means we agree in some respects.

 

[NotAnAngel]

If your budget allows, try Asgard 2; you might find it sounding extremely well. I have both and can easily say that A2 makes Dt990/600 sound the best I have ever heard them.

Also, there is another thread called something like "NEW Asgard 2..."; you will find there quite a few impressions on A2 with DT990

 

[mediumraresteak]

Quote:

If your budget allows, try Asgard 2; you might find it sounding extremely well. I have both and can easily say that A2 makes Dt990/600 sound the best I have ever heard them.

Also, there is another thread called something like "NEW Asgard 2..."; you will find there quite a few impressions on A2 with DT990

What's your comparison table for the Asgard 2?  Cause I was thinking of going for a tube amp soon.
 
Thanks.

 

[NotAnAngel]

Quote:

What's your comparison table for the Asgard 2?  Cause I was thinking of going for a tube amp soon.
 
Thanks.

Sound wise, A2 has great lows (tight, controlled bass), good and clean high end, but sometimes can sound somewhat harsh in mid area (which, I imagine, would be a difference from a tube amp). 
 
If you intend to go tubes and do it pretty soon though, then I would just skip A2 for now. It is backordered at this time, and you might want to wait until transformer hum issue is resolved anyway.

 

[MenacingTuba]

Sorry to thread res, just wondering if my Denon 1713 receiver is powerful enough to drive the dt 990 600 ohm
 

 

[mediumraresteak]

Well, it's been almost a month and I've increased my budget to ~$400.  Wondering if the ALO Pan Am is worth the extra $200 w/ passport.  Maybe I'll settle for a WA3+ or Schiit Lyr.

 

[Chuck Canada]

I just got my E09K today and I have been just running my DT 990 600ohm Premium cans off of my Xonar DG for the past week. ''I ordered the cans and amp the same day but since I'm in Canada it took a week longer to get the amp shipped up from CA''
 
Now that I have the amp, I am messing around with my soundcard and the gain setting on the amp to find out how I personally prefer it to be set up.
 
So far it is a whole world of improvement compared to not having the E09K, the 150ohm amp on my sound card just wasn't enough power the cans but it worked in a pinch and at the very least let me burn the cans in a little. I have to say the E09K can really push these cans and has power to spare. With my sound card on full volume I can not go up past a third volume on the E09k before it hurts my ears ''that is with the gain switch in the back turned on''.
 
I feel like it did improve the sound quite a bit. The mid bass seems to have been brought more forward and the sub bass pushed back a little ''but still very present'' the mids are roughly the same maybe a little more full sounding. The highs are definitely much nicer, to me it sounds like they are a bit more mellowed out and less bright sounding, much easier on the ears for sure. 
 
 
Lastley thanks to all of you guys in this forum for the help I have been given, all my research primarily came from this site and I probably would have wound up with crappy pair of cans and amp if it wasn't for all the reviews for me to read here. 

 

[NotAnAngel]

Quote:

Well, it's been almost a month and I've increased my budget to ~$400.  Wondering if the ALO Pan Am is worth the extra $200 w/ passport.  Maybe I'll settle for a WA3+ or Schiit Lyr.

Another option for you, and update on my previous experience with Asgard 2.
 
I ended up returning my A2 (first revision) due to harsh sounding mids, transformer hum, and high noise with low impedance headphones (I think all of these issues seemed to be resolved in the latest, second revision of A2 - only I I decided not to wait for it back then).
 
I replaced A2 with Graham Slee Novo (that's, of course, at a different price level). Novo was quite an improvement - very transparent at mids/highs, and no harshness of any kind (after thorough burn-in for a few weeks).
 
As a matter of fact, Novo seemed to be even more transparent than my other Musical Fidelity M1HPA and even Beyerdynamic A1, although I did not buy it to try to compete with these amps. As DT990 has good bass, Novo has very good synergy with it as by itself it provides less bass than M1HPA or Beyerdynamic A1 (and I personally don't like DT990 with either of them due to this fact).
 
I use Graham Slee Novo in a simple, portable (as in "with a laptop") system with new Meridian Explorer (line out only), Wireworld Starlight 7 USB cable, and Cardas iLink mini to RCA interconnect. 
 
The sound this "portable" system provides with DT990/600 is truly amazing, and it is not very far from my main system costing way, way more - although nothing really crazy, of course (Wireworld Starlight 7 USB/Musical Fidelity V-LINK192/Kimber Kable AGDL silver digital/Arcam rDAC (coax)/Cardas Quadlink 5-C/Beyerdynamic A1/Beyerdynamic T90).
 
I used to have trouble listening to DT990 after I bought T90, but not anymore - I really like DT990 sound with the above system and can easily switch from the main one to the "portable" one (and do this often) with no loss in music enjoyment.
 
So if your budget allows for it, I would highly recommend trying Graham Slee Novo with Kimber Kable (at least Timbre or Hero) or mid-level Cardas interconnects. 

 

[mediumraresteak]

Quote:

Another option for you, and update on my previous experience with Asgard 2.
 
I ended up returning my A2 (first revision) due to harsh sounding mids, transformer hum, and high noise with low impedance headphones (I think all of these issues seemed to be resolved in the latest, second revision of A2 - only I I decided not to wait for it back then).
 
I replaced A2 with Graham Slee Novo (that's, of course, at a different price level). Novo was quite an improvement - very transparent at mids/highs, and no harshness of any kind (after thorough burn-in for a few weeks).
 
As a matter of fact, Novo seemed to be even more transparent than my other Musical Fidelity M1HPA and even Beyerdynamic A1, although I did not buy it to try to compete with these amps. As DT990 has good bass, Novo has very good synergy with it as by itself it provides less bass than M1HPA or Beyerdynamic A1 (and I personally don't like DT990 with either of them due to this fact).
 
I use Graham Slee Novo in a simple, portable (as in "with a laptop") system with new Meridian Explorer (line out only), Wireworld Starlight 7 USB cable, and Cardas iLink mini to RCA interconnect. 
 
The sound this "portable" system provides with DT990/600 is truly amazing, and it is not very far from my main system costing way, way more - although nothing really crazy, of course (Wireworld Starlight 7 USB/Musical Fidelity V-LINK192/Kimber Kable AGDL silver digital/Arcam rDAC (coax)/Cardas Quadlink 5-C/Beyerdynamic A1/Beyerdynamic T90).
 
I used to have trouble listening to DT990 after I bought T90, but not anymore - I really like DT990 sound with the above system and can easily switch from the main one to the "portable" one (and do this often) with no loss in music enjoyment.
 
So if your budget allows for it, I would highly recommend trying Graham Slee Novo with Kimber Kable (at least Timbre or Hero) or mid-level Cardas interconnects. 

Mmmm looks like a really sweet set up but I think it's over my budget based on the prices I found, $500 for amp/$300 for dac.  Looks like I'm settling for the Pan Am with passport or gateway.  
 
Thanks for everyone's input though!

 

[mediumraresteak]

So after waiting for a good deal on a used amp here at head-fi, I've ended up saving money in the meantime to increase my budget to $1000 and will just buy a new unit.  I was thinking of the WA7 or ALO Pan Am but I'm fairly new to this price range.  Any input would be appreciated.