[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi, I am about to get my first cans.
Beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm. (will be using them for movies too)
But I need a amp and dac for it. Have a budget at about 500$ish i think. Allthough I am thinking of getting the http://www.headphone.com/packages/headroom-micro-amp--micro-dac-package.php,
The headphones will be used to watch movies, play games and listening to music in one room (does not need to be portable).
I need your help, should i go for these or do you know of a better match ?

Those offer zero surround sound for movies and gaming.
Assuming your using a windows PC? how about getting a Creative Titanium HD sound card ($118)  and something like a Little Dot MK III tube headphone amplifier ($255).

 

[Kasterolle]

I am not sure about the dt990 vs dt880 situation.
 
I do like to hear the bass in a song, and thinking I will be using the headphones to watch movies (and games) the bass and soundstage is werry important.
 
I listen to mostly electronica, or Ratatat would be the aim. But like I said, soundstage for movies is as important as the bass is for me.
 
Thank you, i think i will go for the hifiman then .
 
Quote:

 
What sound signature do you prefer?  The DT 880 was formerly the Beyer flagship, so it immediately comes to mind in your situation.
 
You can get a good little desktop amp/dac like the HiFiMan EF2A for about $170 shipped.

 

[Kasterolle]

I am using a laptop. zero? I thought the dt880 was one of the best for gaming and / or movies?
 
Edit: Sorry, did you mean the amp / dac?
 
Quote:

Those offer zero surround sound for movies and gaming.
Assuming your using a windows PC? how about getting a Creative Titanium HD sound card ($118)  and something like a Little Dot MK III tube headphone amplifier ($255).

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Hi all,
 
I am looking for a heaphone, amp combination to listen to a fairly wide variety of music. Budget ~ 250 $. I am *reasonably* settled on the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm, with perhaps a fiio e11 amp. Ideally I would like to be able to listen from both my PC (Acer 7741, boring intel sound card) and my ipod (160Gb Classic, latest gen) but I will always have my ipod if I have my computer, whereas the reverse is not true - would prefer a better amp for ipod than a worse one for both.
 
Concerning the headphones, sound isolation is very important - much of my listening will be done in libraries or while travelling (hence amp for ipod not laptop).
 
If there are any other combinations that fulfill these requirements I would be very interested. Particularly, I considered:
e7 amp - but seems to be a bad amp and a bad dac. Prefer a good amp with no dac for now - maybe get the e10 later if I want PC connectivity
250 ohm version - still not set on this. Seem to be many conflicting reviews. Sounds like it would be better properly amped, but not sure if a e11 would be enough (think it should be) and it also would make listening unamped (from PC) impossible.
 
A bit about me; 
These will be my first closed circumaural headphones. Currently have klipsch s4.
 
Any responses will be greatly appreciated.

 
My first cans were the DT770 Pro 250 ohm. I used them straight from my laptop for awhile and then got the FiiO e7 a couple months later. Both had enough power to power the 770s, though I usually had the volume up to about 2/3 to have a nice volume and I don't listen to my music too terribly loud. I really enjoyed the sound and though they are considered very bass heavy, I really enjoyed the sound and thought that they worked well for a lot of genres, so I think you will really like them whether you get the 80 or 250 ohm. 
 
I recommend that you get whichever you can find for cheaper and spend the extra to get the better amp.

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

I am not sure about the dt990 vs dt880 situation.
 
I do like to hear the bass in a song, and thinking I will be using the headphones to watch movies (and games) the bass and soundstage is werry important.
 
I listen to mostly electronica, or Ratatat would be the aim. But like I said, soundstage for movies is as important as the bass is for me.
 
Thank you, i think i will go for the hifiman then . Though I have read that the beyer do like tubes, and also that the headroom adds to the soundstage part?
 

 
Haven't heard the DT990, but I had the 770 and 880. I think that the 990 will suit your tastes a bit more than the 880. Both will have great soundstage, maybe a slight edge to the 990 as it is fully open. The 990 will have a more fun sound, but I really enjoyed the 880 when I had them. I don't know about the lack of surround sound comment from above, but assume that both either have/don't have that issue, either choice will be good, but I think the 990 has a slight edge based upon your preferences.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

 
Haven't heard the DT990, but I had the 770 and 880. I think that the 990 will suit your tastes a bit more than the 880. Both will have great soundstage, maybe a slight edge to the 990 as it is fully open. The 990 will have a more fun sound, but I really enjoyed the 880 when I had them. I don't know about the lack of surround sound comment from above, but assume that both either have/don't have that issue, either choice will be good, but I think the 990 has a slight edge based upon your preferences.

 
The 990 has the "V" shaped EQ.  If that's what you want--and the emphasized bass well beyond neutral--that's fine. 
 
The DT 880 is much more accurate at reproducing what was put down in the the recording.  It can be harsh on badly recorded tracks, but I can live with and even appreciate that.

 

[Kasterolle]

Quote:

 
The 990 has the "V" shaped EQ.  If that's what you want--and the emphasized bass well beyond neutral--that's fine. 
 
The DT 880 is much more accurate at reproducing what was put down in the the recording.  It can be harsh on badly recorded tracks, but I can live with and even appreciate that.

A natural sound is inportant too. Man this is so difficult!
 
But, I will go for the HiFiMan EF-2A (i think)
 
and, the info says "Output Impedance: 32-300 Ohm", should'nt I get a dac+amp that is 600ohm to fully use the headphones?
Also want to get another set of phones sometime later, so would be great to not have to change the dac + amp too.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am using a laptop. zero? I thought the dt880 was one of the best for gaming and / or movies?
 
Edit: Sorry, did you mean the amp / dac?
 

Beyer DT880 does have a good rep for gaming.
But you have to have something that takes a game or movie's 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound signal and process it into 2-channel headphone (virtual) surround sound, and a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) does not do that.
With an external DAC and headphone amplifier and DT880, you will have great stereo (2-channel) audio for movies and gaming.

 

[Kasterolle]

OK then i will go for the dt880....
 
Quote:

Beyer DT880 does have a good rep for gaming.
But you have to have something that takes a game or movie's 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound signal and process it into 2-channel headphone (virtual) surround sound, and a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) does not do that.
With an external DAC and headphone amplifier and DT880, you will have great stereo (2-channel) audio for movies and gaming.

It says that my Acer Aspire 7730G does have s/pdif output, on the sound panel, also as info on the pc. But I have read some people saying this is not true :S . I cannot find the output on the laptop.
I have heard that the audio jack can be analog and digital at the same time, but not sure if this is true or if my acer have that.
 
I do have the analog and digital 3.5mm jack, so what do I need then? I know i need a konverter from the 3.5mm jack, But do i need to find a amp that supports S/PDIF or can i split the spif up to a L / R input? Do anyone know? also, what amp should i go for then? the Little Dot?
 
On another note: this is amazing, thank you all for your time and help!

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

OK then i will go for the dt880....
 
On another note: this is amazing, thank you all for your time and help!

 
Enjoy the 880s. They are wonderful and I only sold mine because I needed some money.
 
Also, welcome to Head-Fi, hopefully the 880s will satisfy you otherwise you will be longing to hear what a slightly better headphone/dac/amp will make your music and movies sound like  

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

A natural sound is inportant too. Man this is so difficult!
 
But, I will go for the HiFiMan EF-2A (i think)
 
and, the info says "Output Impedance: 32-300 Ohm", should'nt I get a dac+amp that is 600ohm to fully use the headphones?
Also want to get another set of phones sometime later, so would be great to not have to change the dac + amp too.

 
The EF2A works fine with the DT 880  (250 Ohm), and the Senn HD 600.  It won't push something like the planar HE-500.
 
There is not a great deal of difference in sound quality between the 250 & 600 Ohm versions.  Below that--yes.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

OK then i will go for the dt880....
 
It says that my Acer Aspire 7730G does have s/pdif output, on the sound panel, also as info on the pc. But I have read some people saying this is not true :S . I cannot find the output on the laptop.
I have heard that the audio jack can be analog and digital at the same time, but not sure if this is true or if my acer have that.
 
I do have the analog and digital 3.5mm jack, so what do I need then? I know I need a converter from the 3.5mm jack, But do i need to find a amp that supports S/PDIF or can i split the S/PDIF up to a L / R input? Do anyone know? also, what amp should i go for then? the Little Dot?
 
On another note: this is amazing, thank you all for your time and help!

You need to get an external DAC with a S/PDIF Toslink digital input.
and a single Toslink optical cable to connect your laptop to the external DAC.
Little Dot MK III are going for $255 (shipped) on eBay.
 
There is a low cost DAC on eBay, the SMSL SD-1955, $105

 

[Slivortal]

So, I've almost finished my search for a new pair of headphones. It's come down to

Koss Pro DJ100 vs Superlux HD661

Both can be found for $50 on Amazon, both are closed (and don't leak sound), and both are relatively flat (not overly bass-heavy).

Which one's the better phone? For the record, neither of these will be used with an amp, and either of them will be used mainly with a MacBook Pro.

EDIT: 668B's are also an option, but I think they'd leak too much sound (semi-open)?

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

So, I've almost finished my search for a new pair of headphones. It's come down to
Koss Pro DJ100 vs Superlux HD661
Both can be found for $50 on Amazon, both are closed (and don't leak sound), and both are relatively flat (not overly bass-heavy).
Which one's the better phone? For the record, neither of these will be used with an amp, and either of them will be used mainly with a MacBook Pro.
EDIT: 668B's are also an option, but I think they'd leak too much sound (semi-open)?

My understanding is that the DJ100Pro really shine with an amp, so if you aren't using one, then the 661 might be the better option.
 
Also, I had the Samson SR850 which is the same as the Superlux 668 and it does leak sound, though a bit less than I had expected from a semi-open.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

So, I've almost finished my search for a new pair of headphones. It's come down to
Koss Pro DJ100 vs Superlux HD661
Both can be found for $50 on Amazon, both are closed (and don't leak sound), and both are relatively flat (not overly bass-heavy).
Which one's the better phone? For the record, neither of these will be used with an amp, and either of them will be used mainly with a MacBook Pro.
EDIT: 668B's are also an option, but I think they'd leak too much sound (semi-open)?

 
Aren't the 661's 150 Ohms?  Will they work unamped with your computer?
 
I know that the the Koss is borderline with many portable unamped devices--don't know about yours though.