Help with powering Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 ohm

[Shark00n]

Hi!

I got a new pair of headphones and my laptop is slightly struggling driving them.
I'd like to get a new AMP or a DAC for them, an all-in-one solution would be ideal. It has to be USB, size doesn't matter, the main use will be Gaming and music (psy-trance mainly).

I only need one output for a jack or mini jack, a simple unit with a volume knob and without many status LEDs is what I'm looking for.

I'm not sure where to begin, I would probably be enjoy a DAC more because of the added sound quality but can I get a good one for about 100 usd?

At the moment my list is:
Asus Xonar U5
Creative Sound Blaster E3
Fiio E10K

Thanks!

[COLOR=FF00AA][COLOR=FF00AA]*EDIT - Check POST #6 for more detailed info! [/COLOR][/COLOR]

 

[PurpleAngel]

Two items on your list are USB sound cards, that come with some form of headphone surround sound, where as the E10K offers zero headphone surround sound support.
Unless you really into FPS gaming, surround sound is not a big deal,
even then, some prefer FPS gaming with plain stereo audio.
I'm not into FPS gaming myself (per games like C&C)
I would assume the E10K offers the best audio quality out of the three you have listed, so I would say to get the E10K.

 

[Shark00n]

Two items on your list are USB sound cards, that come with some form of headphone surround sound, where as the E10K offers zero headphone surround sound support.
Unless you really into FPS gaming, surround sound is not a big deal,
even then, some prefer FPS gaming with plain stereo audio.
I'm not into FPS gaming myself (per games like C&C)
I would assume the E10K offers the best audio quality out of the three you have listed, so I would say to get the E10K.

Thanks!
I mainly do FPS gaming so sound virtualisation is in my mind, specially to take advantage of the great sound stage of the DT 990s.
The Fiio looks like a solid option and I can always do the sound virtualisation thru software right? Or would it interfere with the Fiio software? (My laptop has Creative's X-FI software installed)

On another note, both the Fiio and the Xonar U5 are rated for 150ohm headphones, while the Creative E3 is for up to 600 ohm headphones.
Will the Fiio and U5 have issues driving my headphones?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks!
I mainly do FPS gaming so sound visualization is in my mind, specially to take advantage of the great sound stage of the DT 990s.
The Fiio looks like a solid option and I can always do the sound visualization thru software right? Or would it interfere with the FiiO software? (My laptop has Creative's X-FI software installed)

On another note, both the FiiO and the Xonar U5 are rated for 150ohm headphones, while the Creative E3 is for up to 600 ohm headphones.
Will the FiiO and U5 have issues driving my headphones?

 
For 250-Ohm headphones, would think you would want to use amplifiers more powerful then the ones built into the U5.
 
Not sure the laptop's X-Fi software would work thru a USB connection, you might try contacting Creative directly about that or asking on this forum.
http://forums.creative.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6
 
The Creative Lab's E5 is USB, so it's designed to work with the external unit, thru USB

 

[Shark00n]

The Creative E5 is way over my budget. The E3 too. The E1 looks so tiny, I'd like something that stays put over my desk.
 
The Creative software should work over USB, I'm still confirming that though, so I'm leaning towards the Fiio E10K but the fact it might not be able to properly driver 250ohm headphones worries me.
 
For roughly the same price I can also get the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/Sound-Blaster-X-Fi-HD.aspx
Which also looks rather nice, is rated for headphones up to 330ohms, and has gotten fairly good reviews, although they say it's mainly gaming oriented and needs a lot of software.

 

[Shark00n]

Okay I need to reformulate my needs slightly, and also make them simpler.
 
What I'm trying to power:
-Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 Ohm Headphones
-Microlab B77 Speakers (2.0 system, 48W RMS, specs here)
 
My system:
-Clevo P771DM-G notebook
 
My needs:
-Noticeable increase in sound quality
-Amp, DAC or soundcard to adequately power the Beyers
-Ability to switch outputs with the flick of a switch (or by software) from the headphones to the speakers
-Audio from notebook thru USB connection (audio ports are terribly placed on the notebook so I don't want to use them at all)
 
Budget and features:
-Build quality is important. I'd like it to be small but not too smal, should stay put on a table.
-Audio input and output in the rear, headphone output ideally in the front panel.
-Volume adjustment fob
-Total budget around 150€ (~170$)
 
 
I'd really like to get the Schiit stack but in europe they retail for about 260€ (~300$) which is outside my price range.
The Fiio E10K looks like the best deal. But rated at 150ohm I'de like to get the most out of my headphones. It's my #2 choice right now.
 
So I'm about to pull the trigger on a Creative E5, but I'm not sure it can switch outputs which would be a really nice plus for me.
 
Is there a better choice?
 
Thanks!

 

[Shark00n]

Ended up going with the E5

 

[Benn Beckman]

Ended up going with the E5

is e5 can ge the maximum potential of this headphone?
i want this headphone, but i heard is hard to drive. someone told me that e5 still no enogh to get dt990 maximum potential. is any other portable amp that can get this maximum potential?