[Bucko]

Hi, thought I would finally join on here after a long time lurker.
 
I've been researching much over the past few months, as I'm after some new headphones for gaming and listening to music. I have some HD555's at the moment and after much reading I want to go for the DT 880.
 
Now I know theres loads of talks about STX powering 600 ohm, and some are saying its to cheap to do so correctly and recommend a £500 amp and others say it powers them absolutly fine. I really don't know what to do. I don't want to buy a soundcard for £150 and headphones for £200+ to find they are not being powered properly.
 
Or do I buy a cheaper soundcard and say the NJC Monitor II?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Also about buying the 600 version, is this website ok to do so as they are the cheapest I can find and they said they would get some in stock in the next few weeks
 
http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/beyerdynamic-dt880-600.html
 
 

 

[BotByte]

Isn't there a 200 ohm version, there's not much difference between the three versions. Only buy a higher version if you already have the amp, not buy a amp to have a higher version.

 

[Bucko]

There is a 250 version yes, but apparently the 600 is alot less harsh on the highs and has a tighter bass response, which is why i'm looking at the 600's.

 

[skozsert]

I would read through this thread. The differences between the 250 and 600 ohm versions appear to be small to nonexistent.

 

[Bojamijams]

The STX can power the 600ohm fine, even on medium gain and there's an option for high gain if you want it REALLY loud.
 
Now it is being powered by an IC opamp so its not as good as a £500 amp but its free and a lot more convenient.  And when I mean free, I mean you're getting a great DAC that you can later use to feed an amp if you really want one.  If you do though, I'd recommend a tube amp like the Bottlehead Crack which is a DIY kit you can get for $219 USD and build it yourself.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
The STX will power the 600ohm just fine. You're covered. Get the DT880 600ohm.
 
Since you want to use it for gaming, your only option is the sound card's headphone jack. The moment you switch to something like SPDIFF, etc, you're not going to benefit the STX's ability to produce surround sound for headphones specifically. So again, you're fine, the STX is good enough for this and the DT880 600ohm will be great on it. My Auzentech Forte powers my DT990 600ohms just fine to give you a comparative example.
 
No worries.
 
Go for it.
 
Very best,

 

[Bucko]

Thank you for the replys. I've had a read through that thread skozsert, thank you for posting that. It does seem it comes down to personal preference, some prefer the 250 and visa versa, but I think I'll be going for the 600 as it seems I should have no trouble powering them with the STX.
 
Thanks again.
 
I will more than likely invest in a nice tube or ss amp down the line, when doing so which connection would I put it in, as surely it would cause interference putting it through the STX amp?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Thank you for the replys. I've had a read through that thread skozsert, thank you for posting that. It does seem it comes down to personal preference, some prefer the 250 and visa versa, but I think I'll be going for the 600 as it seems I should have no trouble powering them with the STX.
 
Thanks again.
 
I will more than likely invest in a nice tube or ss amp down the line, when doing so which connection would I put it in, as surely it would cause interference putting it through the STX amp?

Heya,
 
For gaming, you'll need to plug directly into the STX. If you get a dedicated amp, you'll likely want to start using different outputs because using the amped headphone jack to another amplifier can result in some messy results on sound. You'll want to start bypassing at that point, and get an external DAC/AMP so that you can output via USB/SPDIFF/Optical to the discreet DAC/AMP. I wouldn't bother upgrading from your STX until long after you've put some long hours into your headphones and see if you feel like they're great, and if you feel like you need even more, then consider getting more source gaer. And even then, I would save up to get a good DAC & AMP at the same time. Again, for gaming though, you'll need to stay on the soundcard. For music and stuff, moving off the soundcard will be better in the long run, but for games, if you aren't using the headphone jack, it won't properly do surround effects while using the headphone (like dolby headphone, etc).
 
Very best,
 

 

[Bucko]

Thank for very much for that info! As i'm going to be buying this setup for majority of gaming then I'd like all the goodies the STX has.

 

[Graphicism]

I disagree with a lot of what was said in this thread. 600 Ohm headphones are not meant for sound cards, I wouldn't even contemplate the 250 Ohm version but go straight for the 32 Ohm. The majority of solid states I've heard can't power them, even tube amps like the LD III and Woo Audio 6 can't do them justice.
 
The problem, and I sound like a broken record, is that people recommend them as 'easy to drive' simply because there is little to no difference between their underpowered amp and underpowered soundcard.

 

[joelpearce]

I'm kind of with Graphicism here.  My DT990/600 can't be driven well by either one of my home theatre receivers, or any of my smaller amps.  My big SS amp that can feed 2W per channel can just handle them, though they are a bit bright, but they don't start sounding really good until I plug them into my tube amp.  My 250ohm DT880 fared quite a bit better, but still struggled with most of my amps.  I just have a hard time seeing a sound card feeding from a PSU delivering enough current to really do the 600ohm ones justice.
 
But I haven't tried the card, so maybe I shouldn't press submit.
 
Ah, what the heck.

 

[redbird]

Hey guys, I am about to purchase the Bey DT880/250 ohms, but I noticed some listings state "PRO" in the title and others don't, is there a difference?
 
Thanks,

 

[joelpearce]

Quote:

Hey guys, I am about to purchase the Bey DT880/250 ohms, but I noticed some listings state "PRO" in the title and others don't, is there a difference?
 
Thanks,

Yup. The Pro ones are the older versions--similar drivers, but a different structure at the back and higher clamping force.  Generally, the non-pro version is preferred.

 

[Bucko]

Quote:

I disagree with a lot of what was said in this thread. 600 Ohm headphones are not meant for sound cards, I wouldn't even contemplate the 250 Ohm version but go straight for the 32 Ohm. The majority of solid states I've heard can't power them, even tube amps like the LD III and Woo Audio 6 can't do them justice.
 
The problem, and I sound like a broken record, is that people recommend them as 'easy to drive' simply because there is little to no difference between their underpowered amp and underpowered soundcard.

Out of intrest when you say, can't power them, how do you know this? What does it sound like?

 

[Chris_Himself]

If you get the STX, be sure to do the LM4562 upgrade!
 
The STX's use socketed opamps that are replaceable with a flathead screwdriver to pop the old one out and the new one just snaps in.
 
The SNR is greatly improved and your tone is much cleaner than the stock one. They offer it as a "upgrade module", but you can get buy one of these things for like spare change. I feel with the opamp upgrade, you can stand a chance versus some of the higher end stuff out there.