[thekyle]

First off, I'm incredibly new to amps. It's almost overwhelming trying to digest everything, so try to take it easy on me.
 
Anyway, I was originally going to grab an Asus Xonar STX to power my Beyerdynamic DT880 - 600 ohm headphones and Swan M200MkIII speakers. The speakers are probably a non-issue with whatever I choose as they have their own built in amping, but I'm hearing that the built in amp on the Xonar STX, while decent enough, will not power my headphones to their full potential, and that bothers me.
 
Now, I will only be using this setup for music as I have a 7.1 gaming headset, so that is not a factor. I simply want the best quality for music. Money IS an issue, so I really don't think I can jump into the realm of tube amps. The E7/E9 combo seemed like the best alternative with superior amping, but I'm speculating here as I can't seem to find any comparison reviews or even posts for that matter. I hear the E9 can really benefit from a better dac, so would the Xonar STX/E9 combo be better than the E7/E9 combo?
 
Tube amps seem to offer superior sound quality, but again, I really don't think they are in my price range. They also don't seem to be very plug and play friendly with some even DIY only. From what I understand, you can't just to connect them to your system with the default tubes and expect to hear angels singing. I imagine much patience and willingness to learn is required along with a fat enough wallet for experimenting with tubes. I confess that I really just want it to work.
 
I'm getting the feeling that I may have been much happier living in blissful ignorance...or at least slightly less poor if I never opened this pandora's box.
 
What do you think? What would be the best solution? Xonar STX alone, Xonar STX/E9, E7/E9, or a different alternative that I may be missing? Xonar STX/E9 would be about $330.00 and I can't really spend much more than that. I know a lot of you purists like to entice others to spend 2-3x their budget, but that just can't happen here, so try to be reasonable please .

 

[TMRaven]

How about little dot mkii plus hrt music streamer ii.  Tube amps don't technically offer superior quality, but it takes less of a tube amp to power a 600ohm headphone than a solid state amp.  They're also a bit warmer in sound signature, which is why they're usually recommended for headphones with strong treble like the beyers.
 
E7 and E9 would most likely have better synergy than stx+e9, not to mention you can get that package for only 200usd.

 

[thekyle]

Wow, thank you for the legitimate reply in plain english.
 
The music streamer looks pretty good for the price. However, I know there can be loss in sound quality going back and forth between digital and analog multiple times, but what about going from analog (music streamer--> MKII) to analog again (MKII--> speakers/headphones)? I'm guessing quality cables are probably needed to keep that from happening?
 
How are the default tubes on the MKII? Aside from being warmer, do you think they will sound better out of the box than the E7/E9?
 
Also, where do you guys get a hold of these non-massively distributed amps like the MKII? I can only seem to find them for sale on shady looking websites, mostly out of china. I imagine eBay may be hit or miss as well.

 

[TMRaven]

I am not quite sure what you mean by going back and forth between digital to analogue multiple times.  What exactly are you using to play the music files?  If you're using just a regular pc with digital music library, then you're going digital from pc to music streamer, the music streamer converts digital to analogue, then you from streamer to amp in analogue.
 
The default tubes of the MKII are very solid, but of course there's better options.  I personally can't comment on an entry level tube amp sounding better than e7/e9 for 600Ω headphones, as I only have the E7.  One thing's for sure though, you will get more power out of the tube amp.
 
Davidzhezhe represents little dot on ebay, and the service is really good.  Nothing shady about it.
 
http://myworld.ebay.com/davidzhezhe/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
 
 

 

[thekyle]

Thank you so much. It seems like all the professional amping solutions are underground and secretive. You really need to know where to look and who to trust.
 
Sorry for the confusion though, I meant that I'm aware that going back and forth between digital and analog multiple times can cause degradation in sound quality. That is obviously not the case here. I was just curious if there was a downside of going from digital to analog (music streamer --> MKII) and then analog to analog (MKII to speakers/headphones), but I'm starting to realize it was a stupid question worded in an overcomplicated fashion.

 

[TMRaven]

Nope, just one simple conversion and then amping!  Anyways it's an option to consider, and the way I'm going with my DT990 600Ω.  It will run around 300-350 depending on shipping. 
 
I've seen of a couple people who have beyer 'phones with E7/E9.  Maybe they can come in here and share their experience.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

If you're gonna have a good soundcard like the STX, I'm pretty sure it will be on par if not better than the E7, so then you'd only need to feed the STX signal to the E9 for better amping. I don't know of the STX's sound signature, but as mentioned before the Beyers benefit from added warmth, which the E7 has. In any case, tube amps have more in warmth than the E9, so if you do find the Beyers too bright, the E9 isn't gonna calm that down.

 

[Keeper40]

I run this setup and I love it =)