[Canadian411]

Hi everyone,
 
I am a fresh of the boat in this Audio galaxy, thought I could use some of your expertise finding a portable amp.
 
I currently own Beyerdynamic DT990 600 ohm Premium and few other cans. (Sennheiser HD650, PXC450 and AKG K 702)
 
I was initially looking at Emmeline SR-71B but it's hard to find any specification on Ray's website.
 
Can someone shed some light on this ? any portable amp can drive 600ohm and 300ohm Sennheiser cans ?
 
Thanks in advance.
Derek.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

The iBasso PB2 is the best option. Remember though portable amps aren't recommended for such power hungry phones and you will hear noticeable improvements with a good home amp (especially tube).
 
I owned a Beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm, and only had a portable amp to run it from, i ended up selling the DT990 as I wasn't happy with the way it sounded out of the portable amp, it definitely needed more juice to sound its best.
 
Do you actually have a home amp right now? because you say you own the DT990, HD650 and K702, all which are very power hungry, and if you don't have a home amp yet that would be ridiculous!

 

[Canadian411]

Thanks TRANCE for a quick helpful advice.
 
You are about to laugh if I say I don't have single dedicated home amp yet, haha, I know I know...., I just bought all these headphones few days ago.  Basically I ordered here and there and wanted to keep the one I like. 
 
Little story of mine, I've got hooked into headphones back in last summer when one of my friend bought Monster Dr. Dre Studio headphone and thought it was an amazing product, then I did little research and ended up buying my VERY first headphone, Sennheiser PXC450 instead of Boss Quiet Comfort 3 or 15 series. [ I travel quiet often ]
 
I will check out iBasso PB2, looks like same spec as SR-71B, both balanced for high impedance cans.
 
Anyways,,, I am planning to buy tube amp for home use, heard Woo 3 Amps are good or Burson ? any suggestion, need your expertise again
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Well you seem to be on the right track which is good I would go the ibasso PB2 over the sr-71b as it is half the price while providing more voltage and current while keeping all the features of the sr-71b.
 
I recommend you get your home amp before your portable, as it will be hard to decide which of the phones you have you like through a portable. Both the woo and burson are very good, just a matter of preference (tube vs SS). I think for your very first amp you should go with a SS instead of tube, as SS are usually more neutral and can synergize well with a wider variety of phones. So I would go with the burson ha160 in general. However with the phones you have chosen both the HD650 and DT990 tend to sound better from a tube amp like the woo 3, while the K702 sounds better from a SS like the burson, so its a tough choice to make. Both the woo3 and burson ha160 will be able to drive all these cans well, its just the matter of the different sounds of tube vs SS. The main thing is, either one you choose will sound good and you will be happy with it.
 
You say you travel often, I have found IEM's to be a great replacement to closed phones, plus they usually isolate sound very well. In general IEM's can outdo closed phones at a cheaper price.

 

[saggett]

 
Quote:

I have found IEM's to be a great replacement to closed phones, plus they usually isolate sound very well. In general IEM's can outdo closed phones at a cheaper price.

 

I'm curious, which do you prefer out of your UE SuperFi 5 Pro and the Beyer DT 990 600 ohm? I've previously owned the UE Superfi 5 Pro and I'm ordering a pair of Beyer DT770 600 ohm phones.
 
For the record, I'm going with the PB1 (using the balanced out) for my new Beyers over the PB2. I'm jumping the gun a bit as far as impressions of the new model go but there's plenty of people on the PB1 thread saying that the PB1 provides ample power to 600ohm Beyers when used with the balanced output.

 

[Canadian411]

 
Quote:

I'm curious, which do you prefer out of your UE SuperFi 5 Pro and the Beyer DT 990 600 ohm? I've previously owned the UE Superfi 5 Pro and I'm ordering a pair of Beyer DT770 600 ohm phones.

 
Are you ordering Beyerdynamic DT990 or DT770 ? I have DT990 600 ohm but read on other sites that people have DT990 and DT880.
 
Is it worth to have that many headphones ?

 

[Canadian411]

I looked at iBasso PB2, what is the output ohm ? I am not really familiar with all these voltage, ohm, etc.
Is it required to have at least 24v to drive 600 ohm cans ?
 
Just puzzled..

 

[saggett]

Quote:

 
Quote:

I'm curious, which do you prefer out of your UE SuperFi 5 Pro and the Beyer DT 990 600 ohm? I've previously owned the UE Superfi 5 Pro and I'm ordering a pair of Beyer DT770 600 ohm phones.

 
Are you ordering Beyerdynamic DT990 or DT770 ? I have DT990 600 ohm but read on other sites that people have DT990 and DT880.
 
Is it worth to have that many headphones ?

I'm ordering the DT770/600 and have no plans to get the DT990/600 because it is the same as the DT770 except with an open back instead of a closed back. Personally I don't see the point in having more than two headphones in regular use, one for home and one for work. 

 

 

[saggett]

Quote:

I looked at iBasso PB2, what is the output ohm ? I am not really familiar with all these voltage, ohm, etc.
Is it required to have at least 24v to drive 600 ohm cans ?
 
Just puzzled..

From my extensive headfi reading the only firm conclusion I've come to is that the only final word on whether amp x can adequately drive phones y is by reading people's experiences of using the combination. That said there is often suggested headphone impedances given in the amp specs which can at least rule out certain phones (if it says max 300ohm, then it may or may not adequately drive 250ohm but certainly not 600ohm).

 

[Canadian411]

Ya, I might keep 3 to 4 cans at most.
 
At work and when I travel I use Sennheiser PXC450, it sounds much better than any noise canceling headphones.
For home use, I am planning to buy Burson or Woo 3 amp as TRANCE suggested and many others.
 
I'll keep DT990 600 ohm and Sennheiser HD650.  I really don't see point of having 2 similar headphones,
 
Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Quote:

 
Quote:

I have found IEM's to be a great replacement to closed phones, plus they usually isolate sound very well. In general IEM's can outdo closed phones at a cheaper price.

 

I'm curious, which do you prefer out of your UE SuperFi 5 Pro and the Beyer DT 990 600 ohm? I've previously owned the UE Superfi 5 Pro and I'm ordering a pair of Beyer DT770 600 ohm phones.
 
For the record, I'm going with the PB1 (using the balanced out) for my new Beyers over the PB2. I'm jumping the gun a bit as far as impressions of the new model go but there's plenty of people on the PB1 thread saying that the PB1 provides ample power to 600ohm Beyers when used with the balanced output.

 
In terms of pure sound, I prefer the SuperFi 5 Pro to the DT990. The DT990 has several big flaws in its sound, the first being severely recessed vocals, the second being recessed midrange and the last being unnatural and sometimes sibilant treble. The 5 Pro is however balanced and has no major flaws, making it a great listen. The 5 Pro is however kinda uncomfortable and I don't like the design much.
 
If I was in your shoes, I would rather be buying IEM's instead of the DT770, as from my experiance, IEM's can easily out perform closed cans and are also easy to drive without an amp, they are much better value for money. Right now Its my opinion that the only full size phones worth buying are open in design. IMO one only needs two phones. For home use, one open design phone of high caliber and for everywhere else some good IEM's.
 
As far as the amps go, some people can be mislead on what it means to "drive a phone adequately". Many people think its about volume, they hook there portable amp up to their phones, and say hey it can go plenty loud it must be being driven properly! This is not the case. Phones with high impedance need voltage swing to sound their best.  So while the PB1 will sound fine from the DT990, the PB2 will sound better as it has more voltage swing.

 

[Canadian411]

 
Quote:

So while the PB1 will sound fine from the DT990, the PB2 will sound better as it has more voltage swing.

 
Hi TRANCE,
 
I am still puzzled, so more voltage is better for DT990 600ohm ?
 
I read in other discussion that,
 
- iBasso PB2 is 12.6V LiPolymer Battery Pack, or 16V External Power Supply
- Emmeline SR71-B is 12-14 volts or 26V in balanced mode
 
So technically plug your portable amp into the wall produces better sound than running on battery ?
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[matchuk28]

hey trance how does your ad900 do compared to your dt990, im guessing you listen to trance too, im just curious because i was listening my friends dt990 yesterday

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

 
For a high impedance phone possibly yes, but you get cleaner power from batteries. I wouldn't be seen running ANY high impedance phones from a portable anyway as I have already said.

 
Quote:

 
Quote:

So while the PB1 will sound fine from the DT990, the PB2 will sound better as it has more voltage swing.

 
Hi TRANCE,
 
I am still puzzled, so more voltage is better for DT990 600ohm ?
 
I read in other discussion that,
 
- iBasso PB2 is 12.6V LiPolymer Battery Pack, or 16V External Power Supply
- Emmeline SR71-B is 12-14 volts or 26V in balanced mode
 
So technically plug your portable amp into the wall produces better sound than running on battery ?
 
Thanks in advance.

     The ad900 and dt990 are very different sounding.
     The DT990 is really bass heavy, has slightly recessed midrange and has peaky treble, average soundstage and seperation.
     The AD900 is very balanced with bass mids and treble all being in line and has a great soundstage. The bass is not heavy if you like bass that BOOM's then look elsewhere. Detail portrayal is about the same on both, but is easier to hear with the clear sounding ad900.
 
Quote:

hey trance how does your ad900 do compared to your dt990, im guessing you listen to trance too, im just curious because i was listening my friends dt990 yesterday

 

 

[Canadian411]

thanks !