E11 sufficient enough to power DT 990 Pro 250ohm headphones?

Nov 4, 2013 at 4:55 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 2

alterndog

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I'm looking at possibly getting the DT 990 Pro 250, but only have a Fiio E11 headphone amp to power it. I know the 250ohm is pretty high and was wondering if the E11 would be efficient enough to power the HPs. I had done some searching and never found a definitive answer on this question. I don't have any extra money to upgrade my amp, so I'm stuck with the E11 (which I actually like fine). Thanks in advance for the responses. 
 
Nov 5, 2013 at 12:57 PM Post #2 of 2
The E11 will do fine.  It is often more about the sensitivity of the headphone than the impedance.  The DT990 has a 96dB sensitivity making it not ideal for portable devices, but with the E11 amp there should be no issues with getting them loud enough.
 
You can learn more here:
 
http://www.apexhifi.com/specs.html
 
Here are the worst case numbers for the 250 Ohm DT990
 
Headphone sensitivity (dBSPL @ 1 volt RMS)96
Headphone impedance (ohms)250
  
Desired loudness (dBSPL)110
  
Required power (milliwatts)100
Required voltage (volts RMS)5.01
Required current (millamps RMS)20.0
 
  
The FiiO Specs can be found here:
 
http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000038781911
 
  
The E11 is not the ideal amp for the 250 Ohm DT990, but it should work.  I would recommend something with a little more power for best performance.
 
Be sure to check out the $200 and under amp shootout here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/620775/the-sub-200-portable-amps-shootout-13-11-amps-compared/15
 
  
  
  
 

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