[Velsu]

Heya,
 
Currently im using this setup:
 
Soundblaster Titanium HD
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 250 ohm
 
DT 990 are connected straight to the Titanium HD. Im listening to FLAC files with foobar and WASAPI.
 
The sound quality is great and im enjoying it but i was wondering if there is any possible upgrade that will increase quality of music?
 
I jumped from some mediocre sound card and Razer gaming headphones into DT 990 and TItanium HD and it blew me aways. Im wondering if i can repeat this same feeling by upgrading current setup somehow.
 
I would like to remain with Titanium HD as i like to game from time to time. DT 990 were purchased with music and games in mind. Now im leaning towards 90% music and 10% games. So music quality is top priority.
 
Thank You in advance for any feedback.

 

[sinnottj]

Heya,

Currently im using this setup:

Soundblaster Titanium HD
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 250 ohm

DT 990 are connected straight to the Titanium HD. Im listening to FLAC files with foobar and WASAPI.

The sound quality is great and im enjoying it but i was wondering if there is any possible upgrade that will increase quality of music?

I jumped from some mediocre sound card and Razer gaming headphones into DT 990 and TItanium HD and it blew me aways. Im wondering if i can repeat this same feeling by upgrading current setup somehow.

I would like to remain with Titanium HD as i like to game from time to time. DT 990 were purchased with music and games in mind. Now im leaning towards 90% music and 10% games. So music quality is top priority.

Thank You in advance for any feedback.

Is there anything specific about the DT990 you want to improve?

 

[Rhamnetin]

The DT 990 Pro 250 ohm can use an amplifier, since the Titanium HD doesn't have one. 

 

[Darkseth]

  The DT 990 Pro 250 ohm can use an amplifier, since the Titanium HD doesn't have one. 

i'm pretty sure, that this will change nothing. As long the Soundcard has enough power to drive, an emplifier will do nothing.
 
Tested with DT 880 600 Ohm, and Xonar DX (has no amp) and Yulong u100 (3x the price, Extremely strong amp), i almost heared zero difference.
 
A good upgrade would be the T90. It sounds more "grown up", with a higher quality in every aspect.
And as its much easier to drive thanks to the Tesla drivers, it doesnt need an Amplifier at all.

 

[Me x3]

Is there anything specific about the DT990 you want to improve?

+1

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Currently I'm using this setup:
Sound Blaster Titanium HD
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 250 ohm
DT 990 are connected straight to the Titanium HD. I'm listening to FLAC files with foobar and WASAPI.
The sound quality is great and I'm enjoying it but i was wondering if there is any possible upgrade that will increase quality of music?
I jumped from some mediocre sound card and Razer gaming headphones into DT 990 and TItanium-HD and it blew me aways. I'm wondering if i can repeat this same feeling by upgrading current setup somehow.
I would like to remain with Titanium HD as I like to game from time to time. DT 990 were purchased with music and games in mind. Now I'm leaning towards 90% music and 10% games. So music quality is top priority.
Thank You in advance for any feedback.

 
Hopefully you disabled the motherboard's on-board audio? in the BIOS, when you installed the Ti-HD (Titanium-HD).
 
The Ti-HD offers as good sound quality as any current $200 sound card, so no need to replace it.
It's fairly decent at driving driving headphones, but getting an external headphone amplifier and hooking it to the line-output (RCAs) will help bring out the best sound quality possible.
 
I would say a FiiO E11K headphone amplifier ($60) and some Audio Technica ATH-AD900X open headphones ($170-$190) would be the least amount to spend for an upgrade.
Would need an RCA (red/white) to 3.5mm stereo jack cable to connect the E11K to the Ti-HD.
The AD900X should offer a more balanced audio (better vocals), over the DT990's strong bass/treble.

 

[Head Injury]

I would say a FiiO E11K headphone amplifier ($60) and some Audio Technica ATH-AD900X open headphones ($170-$190) would be the least amount to spend for an upgrade. Would need an RCA (red/white) to 3.5mm stereo jack cable to connect the E11K to the Ti-HD.
The AD900X should offer a more balanced audio (better vocals), over the DT990's strong bass/treble.

No need to get an external amp if he's getting the volume he needs now. The FiiO stuff won't really have better specs.
 
I wouldn't call the AD900X an upgrade, exactly. It's a completely different sound, whether it's an upgrade or not depends on personal taste. The AD900 (pre-X) is a very mid-centric phone, whereas the DT990 is notorious for its bass and treble. =2141&graphID[]=3051&scale=30]Here's a comparison. I assume the AD900X shares the same genes, but if you've got measurements for comparison I'd love to see them!

 

[fabio-fi]

I would consider the Hifiman HE400. They are great for a variety of genres, and i know that guys into PC gaming enjoy them. 
 
The Titanium has a decent headphone out, but if you feel the need you can buy an amp later. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

  No need to get an external amp if he's getting the volume he needs now. The FiiO stuff won't really have better specs.
 
I wouldn't call the AD900X an upgrade, exactly. It's a completely different sound, whether it's an upgrade or not depends on personal taste. The AD900 (pre-X) is a very mid-centric phone, whereas the DT990 is notorious for its bass and treble. Here's a comparison. I assume the AD900X shares the same genes, but if you've got measurements for comparison I'd love to see them!

 
The Ti-HD's headphone output has an impedance of 35.2-Ohms
Where as the E11K has an output impedance of less then 1-Ohm
The Ti-HD runs it's line-output thru it's third op-amp, which is split between two 49710 single channel op-amps, should provide a cleaner analog audio signal.
So using the RCA line-output, combined with an external headphone amplifier (E11K) should bring out the best in the AD900X, over plugging headphones directly into the Ti-HD headphone jack.
 
The ATH-AD900X is the cheapest option I can think of (recommend), personally I would hope he would spend extra for the ATH-W1000X.

 

[Head Injury]

   
The Ti-HD's headphone output has an impedance of 35.2-Ohms
Where as the E11K has an output impedance of less then 1-Ohm
The Ti-HD runs it's line-output thru it's third op-amp, which is split between two 49710 single channel op-amps, should provide a cleaner analog audio signal.
So using the RCA line-output, combined with an external headphone amplifier (E11K) should bring out the best in the AD900X, over plugging headphones directly into the Ti-HD headphone jack.
 
The ATH-AD900X is the cheapest option I can think of (recommend), personally I would hope he would spend extra for the ATH-W1000X.

The output impedance sucks, but it's really a non-issue with the DT990-250. Damping factor is still a decent 7, and the volume boost is only 0.35 dB at its peak. I would recommend the FiiO with lower impedances, but at this point there's no need to spend the extra money.
 
Usually a sound card's line out is cleaner than its amp so no surprises there, but that doesn't mean a thing if the amp you're feeding is as noisy as the card's amp. It probably won't matter in any case, because both will be audibly transparent. So again really no point buying the FiiO right now.
 
Let's wait for him to pick a headphone that needs a different amp first

 

[Velsu]

Sorry for late reply but somehow the alert system did not inform me about so many new posts.
 
I like current sound but i was wondering if there is big quality gap between lets say DT 990 and T90 or ATH-W1000X that Purple Angel suggested. I was just wondering if i can make another leap in quality similar to no name Headphones --> DT 990. The difference blew my mind away when i upgraded. I want to know if i can get this feeling again by spending more money.
 
Also sometimes im wondering if i should have changed my DT 990 for something less bassy...when i listen to Trance its great, but during Rock/Metal music sometimes it's just too hard. Lately im also more into classic and orchestra music.
 
How are T90 or ATH-W1000X compared to DT 990 bass/treble wise? Are they as hard or more medium centered?
 
Im just wondering why people throw thousands of dollars onto headphones and amps...is there clear sound improvement the more You spend or there are dimishing returns somewhere along the way?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Sorry for late reply but somehow the alert system did not inform me about so many new posts.
I like current sound but i was wondering if there is big quality gap between lets say DT 990 and T90 or ATH-W1000X that Purple Angel suggested. I was just wondering if i can make another leap in quality similar to no name Headphones --> DT 990. The difference blew my mind away when i upgraded. I want to know if i can get this feeling again by spending more money.
Also sometimes I'm wondering if i should have changed my DT 990 for something less bassy...when i listen to Trance its great, but during Rock/Metal music sometimes it's just too hard. Lately I'm also more into classic and orchestra music.
How are T90 or ATH-W1000X compared to DT 990 bass/treble wise? Are they as hard or more medium centered?
I'm just wondering why people throw thousands of dollars onto headphones and amps...is there clear sound improvement the more You spend or there are diminishing returns somewhere along the way?

 
The DT990 would have a louder duller bass, in comparison to the sharper bass of the W-1000Xs (and I'm assuming the T90s also).
Clarity should be the most noticeable improvement, with the T90 & W1000X, over the DT990s.
Just listened to 1812 Overture with the W1000s, sounds nice.
I own the T70s, so I can only guess about the T90s.
Here is the best price I can find on the T90.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301342346458?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
With the ATH-W1000X, there are no used ones for sale at the moment, best the check eBay every day.