[juman231]

I guess my next question to both of you guys would be, do you guys also have sennheiser hd600? It would be great if someone can tell me how they differ... Also, if I am going to buy a headphone with high ohm, which amp do you guys suggest? 

 

[Riku540]

I can't comment on the HD600. All I can say is the DT 990 will deliver the bass you love on the M50 (better than, actually) and will be a drastic improvement overall.
 
Not to mention, they're technically the same price/performance range but for some reason the HD600/650's never seem to go on sale (that I know of) while Beyers do all the time. You'd spend almost twice as much for a smilier headphone and from what I've read; less bass than the DT 990.
 
Again, the FiiO E7/E9 can be had for $200 and outperforms amps in the $400~$600 range (It can handle 600 ohm headphones with ease). You can't get better for less.

 

[juman231]

I'm reading reviews, and people are saying dt 770 has recessed mids. Is this the case with 990?

 

[Riku540]

I've heard just about every headphone called having recessed mids on Head-Fi. The DT 990 is basically a brighter and boomier DT 880 which is a great neutral can. The enhanced treble and bass can cause one to perceive the mids as being recessed; I disagree.

 

[tjohnusa]

I have a set of the pros and listen with a little dot 1 tube amp. the amp will not get to concert listening levels but the sound is warm and detailed....the bass is not overwhelming but there with the detail I want...just my 2 cents

 

[tjohnusa]

I have a set of the 990 pros and coupled witha little dot 2 amp....they sound very warm with a great sounstage....not earth shaking bass but very detailed...drums come through with great detail...that's what I wanted....my 2 cents.

 

[tjohnusa]

double post....

 

[Elanzer]

There isn't really a headphone that has everything. If it has boomy bass, it's going to give up something elsewhere. The DT990 excels at soundstage, bass, and treble, but the mids are where it takes a hit. Even when you're looking at the higher end $1000+ cans like the T1, they still don't have everything - my T1 has less bass than my DT990 in exchange for bringing those recessed mids forward, the DT990 are more fun to listen to for bass heavy music.
 
As for what amp, the best choice for now and for future for the price is the Audio-gd NFB-12, it's a DAC/Amp combo unit that can power 600-Ohm cans fine, it's $200 before shipping right now on a promo price, after that promo is over I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being closer to the $300 mark, since it's a much better unit than anything else you can get for $~200 right now.
 
Spec-wise it surpasses the E7/E9 combo (double the amp power output of the E9, dual WM8741 DA chips instead of a single WM8740 in the E7), and it has much more functionality for future upgradeability if you desire since it's a solid stand-alone DAC. Basically it covers all grounds and you shouldn't feel the need to upgrade from it, unless you want to dabble with a tube amplifier in future.

 

[juman231]

[size=medium]One dumb question. Do the range of the bass come with the impact/boomy-ness of the bass or can they come separately? Sorry I didn't do my research before asking the question. I didn't know any other way of describing what i was looking for except by using "rumbling." What I meant by saying I wanted rumbling bass, was that I was looking for a headphone that can produce lower range of bass, instead of a one that has strong bass-heavy headphones. [/size]

 

[Armaegis]

The "rumble" for me is typically the low end resonance I feel from closed cans, but other people might feel rumble differently.
 
The E7/E9 combo has the advantage that you can take the E7 separately as a portable dac/amp.
 
Quote:

/img/forum/go_quote.gif

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Beyerdynamic DT990 yet? The 250 ohm is $179 on Amazon and probably has the best sub $300 open headphone bass.

 
Because I don't like Beyers

That's a really good price for the 990 though.
 

 

[juman231]

I think that's what I meant when I said I wanted a rumble. Is this possible with open headphones?
Quote:

The "rumble" for me is typically the low end resonance I feel from closed cans, but other people might feel rumble differently.
 
The E7/E9 combo has the advantage that you can take the E7 separately as a portable dac/amp.
 
 

 

[Riku540]

Just get the DT 990 and be happy lol.

 

[Armaegis]

You know, just go with the dt990. It has good bass w/decent rumble, and the sound is somewhat similar to the M50. Just slap a good amp on the end and you're good to go.

 

[juman231]

 
Ok, I think I'm set on dt990 premium.(sorry for the hesitance -_-) I  think I get more with dt990, and from hearing you guys, the sound quality is superb as well. If I have a good amp that can drive both 600 and 250 ohm ones, would it have difference in sound quality? I'm guessing the 32 ohm version doesn't require an amp, but also think headphones will sound better with an amp anyway, so I'll purchase one coupled with either 600 or 250 ohm. 
 
I guess the next step is looking for the amps, probably with upgradability, like the Audio-gd NFB-12 Elanzer mentioned. My setup will be simple, from cowon j3, the amp, and the headphone.
 
Quote:
 

 
As for what amp, the best choice for now and for future for the price is the Audio-gd NFB-12, it's a DAC/Amp combo unit that can power 600-Ohm cans fine, it's $200 before shipping right now on a promo price, after that promo is over I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being closer to the $300 mark, since it's a much better unit than anything else you can get for $~200 right now.

 
Elanzer, would the audio-gd nfb-12 work with this setup? I think I see some amps that only works with desktop. 

 

[Elanzer]

Quote:

 
Ok, I think I'm set on dt990 premium.(sorry for the hesitance -_-) I  think I get more with dt990, and from hearing you guys, the sound quality is superb as well. If I have a good amp that can drive both 600 and 250 ohm ones, would it have difference in sound quality? I'm guessing the 32 ohm version doesn't require an amp, but also think headphones will sound better with an amp anyway, so I'll purchase one coupled with either 600 or 250 ohm. 
 
I guess the next step is looking for the amps, probably with upgradability, like the Audio-gd NFB-12 Elanzer mentioned. My setup will be simple, from cowon j3, the amp, and the headphone.
 
Quote:
 

 
As for what amp, the best choice for now and for future for the price is the Audio-gd NFB-12, it's a DAC/Amp combo unit that can power 600-Ohm cans fine, it's $200 before shipping right now on a promo price, after that promo is over I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being closer to the $300 mark, since it's a much better unit than anything else you can get for $~200 right now.

 
Elanzer, would the audio-gd nfb-12 work with this setup? I think I see some amps that only works with desktop. 

Yeah, the NFB-12 is more for a desktop setup. It's inputs are all digital so it's not going to work directly with your Cowon J3's analog headphone output.
 
Do you intend to use the Cowon J3 at a desk, or are you actually looking for a portable amp? The E9 has an analog line-in and if you only intend on using this with a Cowon J3, you would not need the E7 at all for desktop use.
 
But if you're looking for a portable amp you can put in your pocket, you should probably just get the 32-Ohm version and skip the amp entirely, since the J3's power output is above average it should be plenty. Then again this opens a whole other can of worms - do you really want to use open headphones in public? You'll leak sound everywhere you go, have to turn up volume louder (bad for your ears) to drown out everything around you because you'll let all that sound in. If this is what you want, I'd strongly recommend against the DT990, it's better to get a closed pair like the DT770 for outside use.
 
As for the choice of DT990, Beyer themselves say the 600-Ohm versions are their best units, and people here tend to agree.