[my.self]

so ive decided that i wanted to "side-grade" and try different sound signatures and such.

ive narrowed it down to between the dt880 and dt990 both 250ohm versions by the way.

i will be using them for...music/games

i listen to rock/punk rock/acoustic/rap/hip hop and i will be using them for fps gaming too!

ive read that the dt990 has tons of bass, even too much for some people but then the dt880's are neutral sounding.

to understand how much bass i like, lets say theres a scale from 1-10. 1 being dont like bass very much or bass light and 5 being average and 10 being mega basshead. i would say im generally around a 7, maybe 7.5.

also, which amp should i get to run them? i thought about either the hifiman ef2 or LDMK2. can anyone list the pros/cons for each of them? im also open to more suggestions but the prices of both of them are prolly the most ill be able to go. thanks!

 

[melomaniac]

if you look around here a bit, you'll see people preferring tubes with DT880 and DT990, and you'll see people stating, as you did, that the 990 has phat bass while the DT880 certainly doesn't lack lower freq but won't emphasize them as much. cannot see you needing this for gaming, where you want good staging and directionality, but for musical taste your own judgement alone can help you decide. fwiw I have tried 770s, 990s, but settled for two pairs of the 880 (one recabled 250 ohm, one stock cabled 600 ohm). both work fine for gaming, and both are fabulous for music. but this is my opinion and I don't have the same taste in music as you do, so use the head-fi search and you'll find a lot of other opinions...

 

[David.M]

get dt990 600 ohm. you'll thank yourself in the long run. I have heard the 250 ohm of the dt990 are not that spectacular, but the 600 ohm will fix everything and you may not even want another headphone.

I myself will be picking up the dt990/600 soon because while the dt880's are terrific headphones, the bass emphasis is not quite there is some of the tracks i listen to.

tube amp like Little Dot MKIII and up should have no problem running these.

edit: forgot to mention that the dt990 excel with rock--just as much as the grado's do

 

[my.self]

hey guys, thanks for ur replies.

i checked some prices for the dt990 600ohm version and the prices are about $320 and the LDMKIII would put me well over 200 dollars after shipping. i dont have that much money to spend at the moment, but i appreciate the adavice. and about the amps, i hear the ef2 is both a dac AND an amp? while the mk2 is just an amp. both are tube amps tho, no?

 

[my.self]

bump for more responses

 

[my.self]

anyone? come on, i know theres more dt880/dt990 owners out there

 

[David.M]

since you're on a fixed budget. I would just recommend you get yourself a dt880 (250 ohm) although, the 600 ohm are only $50 bucks more, I have heard good things about how they fix the recessed mids, anemic bass, and a couple other things. The 250 ohm is the one i have and i love them to death with my LD MKIII, but i sure do wish on some songs, the bass had better presentation ! dunno if the 600 ohm will fix that problem or give more bass, feel fry to try it out yourself .

If you don't even have a dac as of right now, consider getting the ZERO DAC/AMP ZERO (Tianyun) 24/192 DAC + Headphone Amp (OPA2604) - eBay (item 350226990067 end time Feb-10-10 17:54:09 PST) It will satisfy you for the time being read my thread http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/goi...-600-a-466858/ i made a few days ago. It'll give you a better idea on what to expect when you get the DT880's.

REMEMBER: you have 30 days to return the cans on either moon-audio or amazon for your full refund. So I'd considering buy the amp/dac first , then purchase the cans a bit later to ensure both will be delivered to you at the same time.

DT880(250 ohm) sweet for movies/games, can be a tad bit analytical and too straight forward, but excellent texture, clarity and superb cans to relax with. I haven't tried the 600 ohm version of the DT880's, but boy i sure wish i would have gotten these over the 250 ohm version, It's just that amazon had them for $255 about 2 months back and i couldn't resist

DT900(600 ohm) seems like the one more preferably to your category. So far the information i gathered on these cans are that they are

-fun
-bassy (but not over-done)
- excellent for rock/metal
-also do great for movies/games just like the dt880 do
-excellent all rounder.

the dt880 might give you the better balance, clarity & detail than the dt990 , but they can get a bit dull if that's not what you're looking for.

edit: i noticed your potm icon. any chance you play wc3/dota? xD

 

[my.self]

david.M, thanks for ur response. i actually found a good deal on the dt990/600 so i think i will go for those.

based on my tastes and preferences and what u have described, i think the dt990 would be better for me.

as for the amp/dac. whats the importance of having both an amp and dac rather than just one or the other? im not too good with amps/dac stuff, never really owned one except for my fiio e5.

so between the zero dac and the hifiman ef2, zero dac would be better? as of now, i would be leaning towards the zero dac cuz its about $145 w/ free shipping while the ef2 is 170 plus 20 dollar shipping making it almost 200.

and yea i used to play dota a while back but then i moved onto league of legends. ive also tried out hon but i like league of legends better

thanks! more ppl can reply too!

edit: ive been reading that the dt880/dt990 both do very well with tube amps and i just found out that the zero dac is just a dac. should i go for tubes or no?

 

[David.M]

Both the hifiman ef2 and the Zero DAC are known reputably for their budget quality- level sound.

you can also opt to go for the Musiland Monitor 02 US

MUSILAND Monitor 02 US USB sound card amplifier SKU88 - eBay (item 330356775328 end time Jan-28-10 22:56:24 PST)

that will prolly last you forever and you wouldn't even have to upgrade anytime soon.

It's an excellent excellent dac and has a powerful built in amp . I have the Monitor 01 US version because i was on sale for $60. The 01 version is a very decent dac, but can't really drive high impedance(250/600 ohm) beyers too well(well... it can, but no their potential

) , so i had to opt for a LD MKIII as my primary tube amp + tube amps are amazing with the beyers+ tube rolling is fun

any 3 options you choose will be money well spent. You can't really go wrong on any one. The Zero with burn in becomes amazing and brings out that tube-like signature, the hifiman is so solid, you can prolly drop it 30 times and it'll still be durable, the Musiland Monitor combines excellence in DAC's that coast thrice the price + a semi- dedicated amp + a dedicated power supply to support any ohm impedance cans.

you just can't have high quality headphones without a decent dac/amp. You'll hear squat and there's no point in buying $300 headphones when you're not getting your money's worth by not sufficiently driving them.

remember: garbage in = garbage out. both the amp and dac are crucial and the more you spend, the more the performance/SQ you will get.

good luck in whatever choice you make and please post impressions because i am gonna be buying these cans soon

edit: yeah, i use to play HoN and Leauge of Legends, they were fun for a month or so, but i had to return back to my dota roots cause it's so much simpler and i rather have gameplay>graphics

 

[my.self]

oh hmm...ive heard of that musiland 02 thing before. interesting, the zero dac and musiland 02 are both around the same price. ill look into them both and do some more research regarding which amp/dac to get. and im glad to hear that i wont go wrong with whichever one i get, thats definitely a good thing considering this will be my first real amp/dac.

and i personally like to play league of legends because its a bit different than dota. different skills, heros, items and such. i like the user interface better too. HON to me is just purely re-skinned dota. same heroes, same skills, same items and everything. but, i do think that HON has some very cool animations and effects. very nice imo.

 

[Headdie]

Shortly,

I would buy DT880/250 and DT990/250 with no amp instead ! You can get the combo at 400$ if you're ready to shop a little.

I have both DT990/250 and DT990/600 and spend more time with the 250. You can amp them with anything. I even use a small HotAudio Thunderbolt II (which I like very much by the way).

The DT990/600 needs more power. I use them with my NAD receiver and the sound is excellent, but I can't better than the 600 I have.

I've had two Musiland LILO III Deluxe and they both died within a year. That being said, they sound great. The head amp is on the warm side, at least with my D2000.

My only advice : Keep most of your money for headphones and don't fall into audiophile traps. Have fun !

 

[my.self]

ive heard some really good things about the dt990/600 and surprisingly, i found a really good deal on them too. its actually cheaper than the 250 ohm version so thats why im probably going with the dt990/600.

does anyone know which one would be better? zero dac or the musiland 02 monitor? will either one be powerful enough to power the dt990/600?

 

[David.M]

Quote:

Originally Posted by my.self /img/forum/go_quote.gif ive heard some really good things about the dt990/600 and surprisingly, i found a really good deal on them too. its actually cheaper than the 250 ohm version so thats why im probably going with the dt990/600. does anyone know which one would be better? zero dac or the musiland 02 monitor? will either one be powerful enough to power the dt990/600?

hey, is that cable that you have for sale still available?

I remember my friend needing something similar to that when i had a conversation with him a week ago. I'll ask him if he still need it or not

and Wut the hell, how can the dt990/600 ohm be less than $280? On amazon, Moon-Audio and any reputable online store has them fixed at $320.

mind telling me that website? Cause If the price is really low, I want to jump on the dt900/600 a.s.a.p. I do hope you can still do refunds after 30 days if for some reason i didn't like them

 

[my.self]

david.m, YGPM also, are u able to answer the question regarding the amps in my post, #12? thanks!

 

[David.M]

i was about to post here, but i replied to that pm. so grab a beer and better start reading !