[DayofCalm]

I've been looking closely at buying a beyerdynamic dt990 or 880 for quite some time now. Since I haven't owned open phones before, I've settled on the 990. I've made the decision that every head-fier inevitably makes: time to pull the trigger and splurge.

Only problem is, the 600 ohm is understandably pretty hard to drive well from what I hear. I imagine my clip+ or my onboard soundcard wouldn't like to try, and my fiio e7 probably wouldn't perform so well either.

So my question is as to whether or not the e7+e9 combo would be capable of driving the 600 ohm dt990 as its supposed to be driven. Would I be better off waiting for the fiio e15 from what you all have heard? Or should I just scrap solid state entirely and go straight for tube? If that's the case, I'd be in the market for a tube amp under 300 usd that would do well for the 990.

Let me know what you guys think! Thanks.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I am awaiting my 600ohm DT880s to pair with my Schiit Valhalla. This amp is well respected and according to many members here, and one of the co-founders of Schiit Jason, is very well suited to drive the 600ohm cans. I have been using my Valhalla to drive my Grado HF2s which are low impedence, but still sound very, very nice with the Valhalla. I just couldn't resist hearing a high impedence set.
 
I'm sure there are other great amps, but the Valhalla seems to pack a great deal of value and quality performance for $349. Hope you find the right match for you. As a side note, I have spent over 30 years listening to solid state and I own a really nice integrated with a kickass headphone section. Despite this I love the Valhalla, and surprisingly, so did my brother who is very much into audio and tends to think I buy things with little real benefit compared to previous stuff. He really liked the Valhalla so that is some feedback from a solid state user. Cheers.

 

[alv4426]

Little Dot mkiii, I have it paired with my DT880 600ohm. I have decided that these are all the cans I need and wont be upgrading for a long while. Although pro900 seem to be FoTM and are tempting... damn this site.

 

[wberghofer]

 
Quote:

Let me know what you guys think!

 
Here’s a second vote for the Schiit Valhalla. I use it to drive my pair of DT 990/600 Ω, and I’m very happy with the sound. I’m sure you will love this combination too.
 
Werner.

 

[Ultrainferno]

I would forget about the Fiio line and go for a Schiit or Darkvoice 336 or MP301 Mk 2

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I power my DT990's on my Little Dot MK3. Fantastic. And looks sweet.
 
Very best,

 

[DayofCalm]

Awesome guys, thanks for the feedback. Depending on how the finances go in the near future (going to wait to get either amp 'til after I have the headphones in hand), I'll probably either get the LD MK3 or the Schiit Valhalla. I'm still a little curious about how the Fiio combo would perform with the 990, although I realize the above choices would probably be superior. Thanks again

 

[alv4426]

the fiio should be able to power them but come on man you know you want need the evil glowing contraptions that are tubes in your life.
Quote:

Awesome guys, thanks for the feedback. Depending on how the finances go in the near future (going to wait to get either amp 'til after I have the headphones in hand), I'll probably either get the LD MK3 or the Schiit Valhalla. I'm still a little curious about how the Fiio combo would perform with the 990, although I realize the above choices would probably be superior. Thanks again

 

 

[DayofCalm]

I soooo dooooo

Stop being the evil voice on one of my shoulders! I could drop an extra 350 on a valhalla, or I could just be happy with the ss fiio setup I already haveee
Quote:

the fiio should be able to power them but come on man you know you want need the evil glowing contraptions that are tubes in your life.


 

 

 

[wwmhf]

DT 990/600 ohm works better with OTL type tube amps.

 

[ookiedukes]

The Woo WA3 OTL drives my 300 ohm Sennheisers with ease. I hear its great with the DT 880/990's. 600 ohm as well.