[mango salsa]

Are there any good portable amps out there that'll help bring the DT770 pro 80's to life when using an ipod or portable cd player? Is the Fiio E5 worth the money or would I be wasting money by buying one of those? Are there any other worthwhile portable amps out there I should look into or are portable amps just a waste with these headphones? Thanks in advance.

 

[deviationer]

the PA2V2 works great with the DT770's. Although I guess it's considered a warm amp so it not the "best" combo with the DT770's. I have also tried my Fiio E1 and it works great too.

I don't know about the better $150-400 amps out there so maybe some others can comment about say RSA amps for the DT770's or something.

 

[TheRookie52]

anyone want to way in?

 

[luckybaer]

Not sure about the newer RSA gear, but the DT770/80 with a Hornet was the only way I could listen to the DT770/80 for any period of time once I started using a DT880 or a K601.

After using more "revealing" phones, I had a hard time dealing with the DT770's sound signature, but the Hornet did a pretty good job as cleaning things up. I still don't like using the DT770's for anything but gaming, but every now and then I would hook them up to the Hornet and listen to some dance-type music for fun.

I think it would be nice to try the DT770's with an amp that is "bass-light."

 

[TekeRugburn]

hopefully we can get some more input.... considering a d10 and thinking it'd be good to drive them

 

[TheRookie52]

yea i agree im thinking about getting a pa2v2 but I have no idea about their synergy together.

 

[eucariote]

I found that the DT770-80 really loves a tube amp, and that my portable amplifiers sounded noticeably worse

Those included the D10 and the uDac, tho the latter doesn't have batteries so is not truly portable despite its small size. I tested them with a D10 with a Topkit TLS2142 opamp. But I suspect that a AD8656 could sound better as it puts out more juice.

I did those tests in a recent roundup of closed headphones.

 

[coriolis]

Any idea how the Headsix would sound with it?

 

[GreatDane]

I wouldn't recommend a PA2v2 for DT-770. As mentioned, it is a "warm" amp from what I remember. I had a PA2v2 and DT-770(Darth Beyer) a few years ago and the amp wouldn't drive them adequately with bass heavy music at "rock out" volumes...it "clipped".

I love my RS SR-71A because it has plenty of power. This is 18 volts of battery compared to 3 volts...also more than 5 times the cost too.

 

[TheRookie52]

well what amp would you suggest for under $100?

 

[eucariote]

The ibasso D4 runs off a 9v battery. It does cost more than 100$ - and I haven't heard it so I don't know for sure- but I imagine that it would do a better job at driving the DT770 (the more juice the better I say) and its opaps can be changed so you can tune the sound to tame the highs. And people rave about its dac, which improves sq considerably if you ever want to run music off your computer. You might get a good price for a used one.

 

[3602]

Seeing the OP has stated no budget as of 8:43 PM ET (s/he might change that later), I'd say a HeadRoom Portable Micro. You can use it as a home amp, too. I use it with my DT880-32 and I don't see the need to upgrade.

 

[chewy45]

I use an ALO Rx MK II with the DT770/80 Pro's with phenomenal results, but I bought that amp for $275 USD off the for sale forums.  This is by far the best buy I've made on Head-fi, and the only portable amp I've tried that can successfully drive a full sized headphone.  For my home amp I use the Fiio E9/E7 combo and that also pairs extremely well as well.  I hope this helps.  It seems that those phones respond better to "proper" amplification.  Just my opinion.