[tehsprayer]

The magni and modi are much better looking and are cheaper and the 1/4" input is nice.
The o2 and odac are don't look very good but are they better? (Approximately $20 more b/c of cheaper shipping and no RCA cables needed)
 
The magni and modi have a fixed gain and I have heard they are worse? But are they really? 
 
I am looking to upgrade from my Fiio E10, it is pretty decent but I am looking for more. Maybe get the O2 or Magni and use e10's dac? idk.
 
 
Any help appreciated!

 

[seag33k]

I'd be curious to comments on this as well.  Looking to upgrade my E17 after the holidays!

 

[TMRaven]

No they're not worse.  I probably wouldn't get either of those two combos for the DT990 though.  The DT990 is very bright in the treble and both of those amp/dac combos can be bright in the treble as well.

 

[tehsprayer]

Also for the future, I'm looking at getting the HE-400 or the HD 650 in a while. Maybe even LCD-2

 

[TMRaven]

The HE-400 and LCD2 will be happy with the overhead provided by the Magni over the O2-- in case you wanted to EQ or anything.

 

[tehsprayer]

  The HE-400 and LCD2 will be happy with the overhead provided by the Magni over the O2-- in case you wanted to EQ or anything.

I heard the magni was a lot worse, "basically a cmoy stuffed in" or "$50 chassis and a $10 amp" is this true? I heard the O2/ODAC is better but if they are the same and the schiit looks a lot better. They Magni also has a fixed gain so low impedance will suffer.
 
EDIT: One more thing, if I get the magni will the Fiio e10 be a good dac with it or will it make a difference getting the Modi.

 

[TMRaven]

I dunno who you heard that from but they're full of ****.
 
I can't comment on modi vs e10.

 

[seag33k]

So it doesn't sound like either would be recommended for the DT990 pros.  Any other recommendations up to $500 for an AMP/DAC combo?
 
Thanks!

 

[GearMe]

  So it doesn't sound like either would be recommended for the DT990 pros.  Any other recommendations up to $500 for an AMP/DAC combo?
 
Thanks!

Not sure if you've already pulled the trigger on your amp but I was in a similar situation and decided to get a couple of amps; the Magni for the majority of my headphones and the Bravo Ocean for headphones that have bright/edgy treble (Beyer 990s, Superlux HD681s, etc.).  The Ocean takes the edge off those cans and I honestly feel the midrange improves as well.  
 
Had the Vali been available at the time, I'm not sure whether I'd have gone with it or the Ocean...would've liked to have had that problem! Anyway, now that I know I like tube amps with headphones, I'll probably upgrade both amps after I move into the high-end headphones.  But for now, the listening experience is pretty solid for mid-tier equipment.
 
FWIW, I'm still running them out of the E10's DAC and am currently trying to choose between the Modi and the ODAC for my desktop DAC. I think I'm leaning toward getting the Modi and then also buying a HiFimeDIY Sabre DAC for 'on the go' with my laptop.

 

[tehsprayer]

  Not sure if you've already pulled the trigger on your amp but I was in a similar situation and decided to get a couple of amps; the Magni for the majority of my headphones and the Bravo Ocean for headphones that have bright/edgy treble (Beyer 990s, Superlux HD681s, etc.).  The Ocean takes the edge off those cans and I honestly feel the midrange improves as well.  
 
Had the Vali been available at the time, I'm not sure whether I'd have gone with it or the Ocean...would've liked to have had that problem! Anyway, now that I know I like tube amps with headphones, I'll probably upgrade both amps after I move into the high-end headphones.  But for now, the listening experience is pretty solid for mid-tier equipment.
 
FWIW, I'm still running them out of the E10's DAC and am currently trying to choose between the Modi and the ODAC for my desktop DAC. I think I'm leaning toward getting the Modi and then also buying a HiFimeDIY Sabre DAC for 'on the go' with my laptop.

I purchased the vali and modi.