[Elanzer]

There's 2 real ways you can go with this, and it depends if you want to go tubes or solid state.
 
A DAC/Amp all in one unit like the Audinst HUD-MX1 will power the 250-Ohm Beyers fine, and maybe even the 600-Ohmers. I'm not too sure what the HUD-MX1's power output is like, but I have a similar priced unit: the Audio-gd Sparrow, and my DT990 250-Ohm work beautifully on the it. My Beyer T1 (600-Ohm) also drive just fine from the Sparrow, although these are more efficient than the 600-Ohm DT770/880/990.
 
I also have a LD MKIII, it's more suited for higher impedance headphones like my DT990 and T1, it provides a more powerful power output than the Sparrow so that will work as well. I haven't really bothered to try the 250-Ohm DT990 with it, but the T1 are preferable on the MKIII. Alot of people on here have said that the MKIII with 600-Ohm beyers is a good pairing, and I agree with this on my T1, it really helps smooth over the treble spike characteristic that the beyers have while still maintaining the fun, energetic sound that these cans are known for.
 
So, if you buy a solidstate DAC/Amp unit like the Audinst one, it acts much like an external soundcard so you don't need to buy a soundcard at all, it will also be equal to or more powerful to the STX's power output. The fact that it's an external unit is much nicer since you can use it with laptops and other computers down the road much easier, no drivers needed for USB audio etc.
 
If you decide to go with a tube amp like the MKIII, check out the Xonar DG - it's only about $30 from ncix or bestdirect and will be a big improvement over your onboard, and use the line-out from that to connect to the MKIII. It's a waste of money to buy the Xonar STX if you don't hook your headphones directly up to it and utilize the headphone amp section, and the headphone amp section really isn't that powerful to begin with (audio-gd sparrow is ~$200 and has double the amping power of the STX, for example). There's just so many nicer units you can buy for the $200 the STX costs.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Quote:

If you are 99% sure then you have a 1% chance of being wrong. Unfortunately in this case you are WRONG. 
CMSS-3D works perfectly going into my external DAC. I have been gaming with the X-Fi card and headphones for years. Then added an external DAC and amp and it sounded even better. 

Switch to audio creation mode and test out the positional audio again.  You'll notice how horrible CMSS-3d sounds and how much better the soundstage gets when you get the undisturbed signal.  

 

[BLKMeSa]

Thanks very much for all the replies everyone, the info is very helpful.  Really appreciated!
 
Looks like the best bet would be to go with an external AMP/DAC combo, or go separate AMP/DAC, although the separate solution for the AMP/DAC would clutter up my desk quite a bit.  I do like that these external amps generally are more powerful than the STX, so I'm going to lean that way for sure now.  If I go higher OHMage with the 880s, I certainly want them to sound crisp and clear, so I don't mind spending some extra for an external AMP/DAC. 
 
My 880s are going to stay at home, and are mainly for CSS and then some music/movies, so the AMP/DAC can stay on my desk.
 
So let's say I go with something like the Audinst HUD MX-1, what ohm would be best?  Is there really any difference between the 32 and 250 in terms of sound quality? (these are the 2 I've narrowed it down to now).  Are there advantages from the 250 over the 32?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[156219]

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[BLKMeSa]

Maltar7, thanks for that info!  I've heard awesome things about the AD700 as well...especially how good they are for gaming.
 
I think I might pick up both the AD700 and the DT880s so I can compare (jeez...this site already has me purchasing more than one set!).  LOL, I can't believe the amount of information out there on headphones and amps/dacs.  I'm in the IT field, so I know all about details, but this is a completely new world for me. 

 
I guess for the DT880s, I'll pick up the 250 Ohm version since it is sort of the "standard" version.  I also read the massive thread (the one with the graphs) on how the 250 doesn't sound significantly different than the 600 (and even the 32), but of course, everyone has their own opinion on this.
 
I'll still have to research amps/dac for the 880s, but ones that seem to be popular around these parts are Little Dots, Audinst combos, Woo, and Headroom combos.
 
Cheers!
 
 
 

 

[dub Beatz]

Good call OP. According to the king of gaming cans himself, the DT880 2005 edition 250ohms are hands down the best gaming cans you can get. That's Kool Bubba Ice's opinion, and generally he's regarded as the guru of gaming.

 

[mcnoiserdc]

I am glad you read the Thread you opened, and learnt a lot about audio for gaming, please get the hd595, dt880 to compare to your ad700.
Quote:

 

 

[BLKMeSa]

This site is excellent.  Down the road, I'm probably going to have a nice collection that looks like this:
 
higher end Senn (6xx)
my dt880s
ath-ad700
some others, maybe AKGs?
 
Now on to researching amp/dac combos!

 

[yossi126]

AD700 is not nearly on the same level as the DT880. The AD900 would be a better comparison but still I think the DT880 will suit you more because it's cheaper. I once heard briefly the AD900 and preferred the DT880.
For me it's the best mid-end cans including hd6xx and k701 but that's my opinion.

 

[BLKMeSa]

Thanks Yossi,
 
Hopefully when I'm in the states, I can find somewhere to try all these out.  Here in Vancouver, shops only sell certain models of grados and senns (one shop however, was getting the new 518/558/598 senns).
 
Think I'm going to take the plunge today and grab those headphones off of Amazon.
 
Cheers!

 

[izaku]

dt880-250 is on sale on amazon now.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Friday-After-Thanksgiving-Sale/b/ref=sv_gb_0?ie=UTF8&node=384082011

 

[156219]

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[BLKMeSa]

UPDATE:  Took the plunge and there's no turning back.  Picked up the 880s in 250 ohm version on Amazon.  Should be delivered in about 4 business days.  Hope I made the right choice.
 
Now I've got to keep on researching amps/dacs.
 
I have already seen numerous recommendations to use tube amps with the Beyers as they add some warmth and calms down the highs.
 
I would like a SS amp/dac combo to keep my desk a bit cleaner, but it's not a huge deal to me if I have to go tubes plus separate dac.  I would also like the product I choose to be plenty powerful enough to drive other HPs like HD650s, AKG 701/702, AD900/A900, etc. in case I pick those up in the future.
 
Some amps I've seen good reviews on:
 

1. Little Dot mk3
2. Nuforce Icon HDP
3. Fiio e9/e7 combo
4. Headroom Desktop/Ultra Amp
5. Audinst HUD-MX1
6. Audio-gd Sparrow/Fun/others?
7. Matrix Cube

 
Can anyone chime in on the items listed above (your experience/other recommendations)?  There is an insane amount of choices and info out there, but it's been a fun ride thus far.  Let's assume $500 or less for a AMP/DAC combo (either all-in-one, or separate units).
 
Thanks.

 

[IJetPhone]

Also if you are interested of 5.1, this is a nice system which has very good integrated DAC/AMP
 
http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/hah/headphones-and-headsets/at-home/headphones-amps/headzone-consumer-basisstation.html

 

[Elanzer]

Quote:

UPDATE:  Took the plunge and there's no turning back.  Picked up the 880s in 250 ohm version on Amazon.  Should be delivered in about 4 business days.  Hope I made the right choice.
 
Now I've got to keep on researching amps/dacs.
 
I have already seen numerous recommendations to use tube amps with the Beyers as they add some warmth and calms down the highs.
 
I would like a SS amp/dac combo to keep my desk a bit cleaner, but it's not a huge deal to me if I have to go tubes plus separate dac.  I would also like the product I choose to be plenty powerful enough to drive other HPs like HD650s, AKG 701/702, AD900/A900, etc. in case I pick those up in the future.
 
Some amps I've seen good reviews on:
 

1. Little Dot mk3
2. Nuforce Icon HDP
3. Fiio e9/e7 combo
4. Headroom Desktop/Ultra Amp
5. Audinst HUD-MX1
6. Audio-gd Sparrow/Fun/others?
7. Matrix Cube

 
Can anyone chime in on the items listed above (your experience/other recommendations)?  There is an insane amount of choices and info out there, but it's been a fun ride thus far.  Let's assume $500 or less for a AMP/DAC combo (either all-in-one, or separate units).
 
Thanks.

The audio-gd budget oriented offerings are ridiculously good for their price. The Sparrow in particular can even handle 600 ohm beyers, the amping section is more powerful than nearly everything else in the same range such as the audinst hud-mx1, and with the WM8741 DAC module it's a very good quality DAC. The sparrow is limited on it's connectors though and isn't a great stand alone dac if you want to get a tube amp later.
 
They're having a promo price on one of their newer units, look into the NFB-12. For the specs, nothing else in this pricerange competes. Great dac/amp combo unit that would make a great stand alone dac if upgradeitis strikes, but I can warn you that it may be too good - upgrading from it might be disappointingly small in improvement.
 
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB12/NFB12EN.htm