[maxxfell]

I'm thinking that my Beyers deserve better than the OBH-11 I've been feeding them with. Thinking I might budget up to about $400 for improvement and I have the idea that the Gilmore Lite and SR-71 are good possibilities. But I also think that tubes might be good with the DT-880's. Perhaps the Ear+ or...or something else. What do you think?

To give you an idea of my priorities: I also use and like Ety ER4S's and I far and away preferred the DT-880's to the Senn 600's (haven't compared with the 650's though).

Cheers,
Matthew

 

[Kirosia]

I personally preferred tubes (or tube-ish sound) with the dt880. The phone always came off as dry and bright to me, and the warmness of tubes made it a different beast. I used a low-end tube amp (mg-head), so I have no idea how the big boys sound. The combo isn't good for rock though, but nice for vocals.

 

[tkam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia I personally preferred tubes (or tube-ish sound) with the dt880. The phone always came off as dry and bright to me, and the warmness of tubes made it a different beast.

I agree, I always felt the 880s were kinda boring and way too bright. I think tube amps are definetly the way to go with the 880s. The Ear+ or something like the Woo Audio 1 or Singlepower PPX3 would be nice choices for the 880s.

 

[maxxfell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkam I agree, I always felt the 880s were kinda boring and way too bright.

But guys, I LIKE the 880s.

Seriously, though, you tend to confirm what I suspected. But I'm not in a position to compare the amps you've listed (MG Head, Ear+, Woo Audio, PPX-3). A warm, liquid midrange is good, but losing bass and pace would not be.

 

[ivandal]

Yeah I'm a whore for the dt880s (see sig) and although I like there sound with my ppa and sr-71, I REALLY like there sound with the woo1 I have on loan (and we'll see how I like them w/ the millet when it arrives).

 

[tkam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxfell But guys, I LIKE the 880s. Seriously, though, you tend to confirm what I suspected. But I'm not in a position to compare the amps you've listed (MG Head, Ear+, Woo Audio, PPX-3). A warm, liquid midrange is good, but losing bass and pace would not be.

You definetly won't lose any bass those tube amps are very good in the bass department. You shouldn't lose any pace or speed either, just a little bit of roll off up top.

 

[JaZZ]

The Corda HA-2 was an extremely good match with the DT 880, better than the (tubed) EMP. I remember that there were several people who agreed about the ideal synergy between DT 880 and Corda/Prehead.

 

[NeilPeart]

My favorite 2 amps with the DT880 are the Earmax Pro and Corda HA-2. The DT880 has an exciting treble energy but is restrained by its dry midrange. The Corda HA-2 demonstrated great slam and synergy with the DT880 but it never relieved the dryness in the midrange (though it was the best solid-state amp for the DT880, IMO); the Earmax Pro truly felt at home with the DT880 - it was this configuration that prompted me to sell my HD600/Cardas (though I came back to the Sennheiser camp with the HD650/Zu Mobius). If one is a fan of the DT880, one owes it to oneself to give the EMP a shot.

 

[Bill Ward]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxxfell But guys, I LIKE the 880s.

I like the DT880s too; I just like them better with my HD300 tube amp than I do with my PPA.

Something really nice happens to the 880s when matched to tubes. And they certainly don't lose any bass with this amp.

Do you have a budget figure for a new amp?

BW

 

[maxxfell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Ward Do you have a budget figure for a new amp? BW

I'm thinking of $400 land, which I guess puts me roughly in Ear+, MG Head, PPX3 territory for tube amps. I don't know about the HD300 - only just started thinking about tubed headphone amplification, really.

 

[Bill Ward]

Here's a link to the Eddie Current Web site. The HD300 is my first tube amp, and I bought it after doing a lot of research on Head-Fi. The only thing to remember is that it was designed for high impedence phones. It doesn't do Grados, although the HD25 does. Craig (the builder) was great to deal with, and the tubes are readily available for rolling.

If you search, you will find a lot of posted information on all of the amps you list, as well as a lot of conflicting opinions. I'd suggest you pay special attention to tube recommendations. If you're like me, you'll end up experimenting with different tubes. It's an interesting way to tune the amp sound.

Good luck and have fun.

BW

 

[JensL]

I am also a firm believer that the DT880 likes tubes.

Unfortunately, I haven't much experience with different amps.
The ones I have used with the DT880 are these:
- Rega Ear
- Corda HA-2 MkII
- MAD Ear++

Currently, I own the Ear++, and I like it a lot.
When directly compared to the Rega Ear, the DT880 sounded much better with the MAD.
Not only the bass is great with the MAD, but the midrange seems to be warmer, smoother and more in focus. The highs are also great. Just smooth enough and never harsh.

I also used to own the Creek OBH-11, but sold it before I got the DT880.
However, the Creek wasn't very good with the phones I had at the time. The upgrade to the Ear++ was huge.

The MAD is my first tube amp, but not the last...

 

[Mikey01]

Tube away. The DT 880's definetly loves tubes.

 

[maxxfell]

Now how to sort through the tubed possibilities...hmm, may be it'd be fun to build a kit: Ear+, Bottlehead, ...?

But also reading through info on tubed amps, I'm realizing that my nodding acquaintance with the terminology just ain't good enough. Can somebody point me to a source (on line or, gasp!, in print) which would help a non-technical person understand stuff like class A (kinda understand that one), SET (only halfway understand that one), bias (getting foggy), cathode follower (now I'm lost)?

 

[maxxfell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JensL Currently, I own the Ear++, and I like it a lot.

Hi Jens: I saw a picture of your Ear++ on the Mapletree site. Very cool, I must say.

Cheers,
Matthew