[boirefish]

After looking around for days, checking out all of the reviews of amps, dac's and amp/dac combos, I have to say I'm completely confused. I have a pair of unmodified dt880 600ohm's.
 
Amidst all of this confusion, I decided to just shoot and buy a matrix mini i used from the FS, and understand that alone, it will not suffice in powering my headphones. It has an inbuilt pre-amp and dac, if I am correct. So, could I use the system for both (as a pre-amp and DAC) feeding into a proper amp and then my dt880's, or is the system forced to switch between utilising the just the DAC when I add another amp into the system?
 
Background:
 
I know that these headphones work well with tube amplifiers for synergy. I also know that the matrix m-stage is a very formidable amp, but isn't tube. Why I bought the matrix mini instead of say, the matrix cube or another equivalent DAC is primarily due to impatience (there was a seller around when I was looking).
 
So, now my questions are:
 
1. What amp should I get with my dt880's for it to be sufficiently driven (if I should get an amp).
2. Should I sell my dt880's and use the matrix mini with another headphone that does not have such a high impedance, and if so, what does the matrix mini go well with?? (I'm a fan of high impedance headphones/tube amplifiers, and am ultimately aiming for the hd800 which sound beautiful)
3. To be honest, after all this looking, I'm really confused about what amp/dac combos (audioGD fun, maverick D1, matrix mini etc) are for, if most people commenting on them have them linked to another amplifier because "mainly using its DAC because their inbuilt amplifier will not handle the headphones too well". Why have them then, instead of a stand-alone dac?? Is this related to their pre-amp feature?
 
And lastly,
 
Some tube headphone amplifiers I have been looking into and what people have said about them:
 
WA3, WA6 (excellent build quality, quite expensive, but apparently much better than schiit?)
Schiit valhalla, Lyr (less expensive, but apparently just as good as WA??)
Little dot MKIII or higher (very good for its price and nearly got one for 70 bucks on these forums, very popular, apparently not enough to drive my dt880's - would the preamp feature of the matrix mini change this?, tube changes are an option)
Darkvoice (mixed reviews on these. I didn't really focus on them because apparently there's better things out there now?)
 
 
I've been looking around on these forums, I have, but maybe I just haven't been looking in the right places? Whatever the reason, a lot of threads seem very inconclusive. Do we have an amp popularity check thread like the DAC popularity check thread?


Edit** I noticed my post sounds very impatient and accusational, and I will re-word asap! (on my mobile atm) only realised after reading again. Guess I was just really aggravated and was subconsciously venting...

 

[boirefish]

Bump

 

[Uncle Erik]

Why don't you skip all the low end/portable stuff and pick up a Bottlehead Crack? $200, tubed, and should pair nicely with your headphones.

Yes, there is some assembly required. However, it is an easy build, extensively documented, only requires a few inexpensive tools, comes as a kit, and Bottlehead has a forum with members who will help you through a build. The DIY Forum here will help you, too.

Give it some thought. You can skip right to a real tube amp, save money and not have to worry about the questionable reliability of some cheapies.

Also, you're likely to learn enough to build more complex tube amps. When you get a HD-800, you'll be able to build something suitable.

 

[boirefish]

I've definitely considered the bottlehead crack. It was the first amp I intended on getting, but then I added up the numbers for adding a transformer for australian voltages ($25), and 65 dollars for postage to here, and realised the cost was the same as buying a used valhalla, and that's not including the cost of speedball, which, apparently is required to really allow the bottlehead to perform.

What would you say? Should I get the bottlehead regardless? I'd love to buy one on the forums but rarely anyone sells them, especially not in australia. If the difference between the valhalla and bottlehead isn't massive, I may as well go for the schiit for its aesthetics, which is also something I value greatly.

Thank you very much for your input!'ve definitely considered the bottlehead crack. It was the first amp I intended on getting, but then I added up the numbers for adding a transformer for australian voltages ($25), and 65 dollars for postage to here, and realised the cost was the same as buying a used valhalla, and that's not including the cost of speedball, which, apparently is required to really allow the bottlehead to perform.

What would you say? Should I get the bottlehead regardless? I'd love to buy one on the forums but rarely anyone sells them, especially not in australia. If the difference between the valhalla and bottlehead isn't massive, I may as well go for the schiit for its aesthetics, which is also something I value greatly.

Thank you very much for your input!