[JudoJeff]

Hi everyone, I've been a lurker for a while and have enjoyed the information here. I bought my first pair of full size headphones a while ago (M50's) but I am looking to step up my game and get a pair of open back cans. I have been shopping around for a while and keep coming back to the Beyerdynamic dt990 600ohm. That leaves me with finding an amp to pair it up with. I primarily listen to metal (black, death, doom) and some indie rock (hey rosetta!, lone wolf). From browsing the forums I have picked up that most people recommend a tube amp for the beyers. I will be doing all my listening from my computer, will I need a DAC as well? What are some good pairings for the genre and my price range of <$300? Thanks for your suggestions.
 
p.s I know Grados are better for metal but my friend has a pair of 225's so I am looking to get something different.

 

[Misterrogers]

Hey JudoJeff,
 
I ordered a Schiit Lyr that I'll take delivery of today - specifically for my DT990/600's. On paper it's extremely well suited for these cans. I practice, the amp's designer used these cans to 'tune' the amp. I would think that'll give it awesome synergy. I'll post back some impressions after I've had a chance to listen.
 
Mike

 

[JudoJeff]

I was just looking at the Valhalla after reading a review on them by Skylab. I really like the design and the company's sense of humor. I am interested in hearing about the Lyr, but if I would have to buy a DAC as well it might be out of my price range. I am new to amps so I'm not quite sure how this works yet.

 

[Misterrogers]

I'm a big believer is 'source first'. A good amp or good cans are noticable, but pushing down to the source has yielded the biggest gains. You'll want a good dac, and you'll want to pay attention to your player. I play from OS X and there's a bunch of good players out there that'll do a great job of streaming your source out to the dac. Then, look for High Res. copies of your music. I'm a big fan of 24/96 vinyl rips done right. use flac or some other lossless format.
 
High Res music -> audiophile player -> good DAC (24/96) -> well matched amp -> good cans == nice. Just my take.

 

[Misterrogers]

Been listening to my DT990/600's driven by the Lyr, fed via an MSII+ playing SACD and 24/96 flacs. Wow. Dynamic, powerful, smooth, fast, fun and spacious. And that's before either amp or headphones are broken in. I like.

 

[JudoJeff]

Thanks for the tip. I listen to the majority of my music in lossless. I am a little scared of the Lyr, since this is my first amp I dont know if I should be messing with that kind of power. Right now I am looking at the Little Dot MKIII or the Schiit Valhalla for amps, and the maverick d1 or the music streamer II like mistertogers mentioned. Any other suggested pairings? 

 

[Misterrogers]

Ha! Well, you may decide that another amp is a better fit for you - but I wouldn't be scared of the Lyr. It's power on demand if needed by your cans and the music. What's compelling to me, is the possibility of a single amp providing good to great performance with cans across the spectrum. To me, that alone made the Lyr worth investigating.

 

[JudoJeff]

still the Lyr is out of my price range especially since I will need to buy a DAC as well. So I have pretty much settled on the DT990 600, Schiit Valhalla and MSII DAC. Should be a pretty good rig, now I just need $750. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Misterrogers]

No worries. I think you'll be quite happy with that rig.