[kingcrimson69]

Hey there!
 
I bought the DT 880 Pros some time ago, and I'm more than happy with them. So far I've been driving them with a NIKKO vintage receiver, but the problem is that I have no direct amplification for my PC, where all my music is stored (I bought the NIKKO for its phono preamp, to listen to some vinyl records I had at home). Apart from this, my PC's motherboard has a very crappy integrated sound card, so I wanted a desktop DAC/Amp with a USB connection to get some clean and clear sound out of the Beyers.
 
It could be a solid state or a tube amp, I don't mind. Regarding price, I don't know what my budget should be in order to find a nice combo for $300 headphones like the Beyers. It would be nice to see some analogue RCA outputs to connect it to the NIKKO, if I wanted to use my speakers, as well as dual headphone outputs if possible.
 
Also, I should note that I like neutral sound; the DT 880 Pros are kind of bright sounding, so I wouldn't want a bright sounding amp to pair them with.
 
Thanks for the help!
 
PD: would Maverick Audio be a good option?

 

[wyddh]

many uses very high end equips to drive former flagships like the hd600, k701 and those stuffs.
and now they uses these quipmemts to drive t1 or hd800. its all about you budget. you could well afford wa5 plus weiss dac2 if you would like to, and  they will let your dt880s sound awsome.
 
if you are looking for something a bit more budget friendly, go for the da11 if your mother board supports coax or toslink. HA2 if you are more interested in using usb. more budget freindly choices would be the centrance dacmini. anything lower than that probably wont drive the dt880s up to its full potential
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Apart from this, my PC's motherboard has a very crappy integrated sound card, so I wanted a desktop DAC/Amp with a USB connection to get some clean and clear sound out of the Beyers.
It could be a solid state or a tube amp, I don't mind.

The Schiit Modi USB DAC is $99.
Is this setup just for music audio?

 

[kingcrimson69]

Yes, it would mainly be for music listening. I was hoping to buy something a little more expensive than the 200$ Modi/Magni combo.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yes, it would mainly be for music listening. I was hoping to buy something a little more expensive than the 200$ Modi/Magni combo.

Try the Modi DAC on it's own, hooked up between the computer and the Nikko, keep using the Nikko to drive the DT880s.

 

[kingcrimson69]

It wouldn't be such a bad idea, but there are two reasons why I wouldn't do that. First the NIKKO is getting old (created in 1972) and the capacitors output a lot of background noise that cannot be fixed (only by replacing the capacitors themselves, but I don't wanna waste time on that), and, also, the NIKKO is setup on a glass table where I have my turntable (JVC QL-A5), the amp itself, a Blu-Ray player to reproduce CDs, the Beyer's travelling case, and it functions also as my night table, and my PC is pretty far away from the setup. So I just want a DAC/Amp combo or a single device that serves both purposes, like something by Maverick Audio, that can be right next to my PC.

 

[MalVeauX]

  Hey there!
 
I bought the DT 880 Pros some time ago, and I'm more than happy with them. So far I've been driving them with a NIKKO vintage receiver, but the problem is that I have no direct amplification for my PC, where all my music is stored (I bought the NIKKO for its phono preamp, to listen to some vinyl records I had at home). Apart from this, my PC's motherboard has a very crappy integrated sound card, so I wanted a desktop DAC/Amp with a USB connection to get some clean and clear sound out of the Beyers.
 
It could be a solid state or a tube amp, I don't mind. Regarding price, I don't know what my budget should be in order to find a nice combo for $300 headphones like the Beyers. It would be nice to see some analogue RCA outputs to connect it to the NIKKO, if I wanted to use my speakers, as well as dual headphone outputs if possible.
 
Also, I should note that I like neutral sound; the DT 880 Pros are kind of bright sounding, so I wouldn't want a bright sounding amp to pair them with.
 
Thanks for the help!
 
PD: would Maverick Audio be a good option?

 
Heya,
 
Look into the Matrix M-Stage with USB DAC option. Fits all your requirements pretty much.
 
Otherwise, all you need is a DAC if you want to continue using your Nikko. I would look into a Maverick TubeMagic D2. It has tons of digital inputs, and two outputs (one tube, one solid state). You could then setup it outputting to several devices, not just your Nikko, should you want a desktop amplifier just for the headphone in the future. Introduces warm tube sound to your setup too.
 
Very best,

 

[partysnatcher]

Nice thread. I would like more info on the Matrix M-Stage with USB - what level of performance are we talking about here?
 
I have an old M-Audio 2496 card in my desktop computer, but I can't bring that on vacation I really love this card, it makes neutral sound very good. And by that I mean you switch it on, and you don't think about the DAC at all, yet the sound is always amazing for a broad array of music.
 
The chinese DACs I've tried so far have been pretty sharp in signature (for my taste), so I'm really getting curious here.

 

[kingcrimson69]

   
Heya,
 
Look into the Matrix M-Stage with USB DAC option. Fits all your requirements pretty much.
 
Otherwise, all you need is a DAC if you want to continue using your Nikko. I would look into a Maverick TubeMagic D2. It has tons of digital inputs, and two outputs (one tube, one solid state). You could then setup it outputting to several devices, not just your Nikko, should you want a desktop amplifier just for the headphone in the future. Introduces warm tube sound to your setup too.
 
Very best,

 
Yeah, the Matrix is a nice option. I wouldn't want to use the NIKKO with any DAC, therefore, so far I have two options: The Matrix and a DAC/Amp from Maverick Audio like the TubeMagic D1 Plus.
 
Thanks for the help MalVeauX!!!

 

[kingcrimson69]

Any additional suggestions will be more than welcome.