Portable amp recommendation for use with Beyer DT880's
Sep 10, 2019 at 11:20 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8

appar111

Headphoneus Supremus
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Hey guys! Looking to get back into headphones and amps after about 10 years off-- planning on picking up some Beyerdynamic DT880's (250 ohm) and needed recommendations for a decent portable amp to power them.

Doesn't need to be super tiny, this would just be for moving from living room to bedroom. Source would be a portable cd player (yep, still got one of those).

So what's a decent choice for under $400?

thanks!,
J.
 
Sep 23, 2019 at 2:31 PM Post #3 of 8
Hey guys! Looking to get back into headphones and amps after about 10 years off-- planning on picking up some Beyerdynamic DT880's (250 ohm) and needed recommendations for a decent portable amp to power them.
Doesn't need to be super tiny, this would just be for moving from living room to bedroom. Source would be a portable cd player (yep, still got one of those).
So what's a decent choice for under $400? thanks!, J.
While the 250-Ohm DT880 is fairly easy to drive, for 250-ohm.
I would try and talk you into getting a low Ohm headphones, as your looking for headphones to work off a portable source.
 
Sep 23, 2019 at 2:38 PM Post #4 of 8
While the 250-Ohm DT880 is fairly easy to drive, for 250-ohm.
I would try and talk you into getting a low Ohm headphones, as your looking for headphones to work off a portable source.

Lower ohm versions of higher end headphones never work well from my experience. I had the lower ohm versions of the DT770 a few years back that still sounded grossly underpowered despite being the low ohm versions.
 
Sep 23, 2019 at 2:59 PM Post #5 of 8
Lower ohm versions of higher end headphones never work well from my experience. I had the lower ohm versions of the DT770 a few years back that still sounded grossly underpowered despite being the low ohm versions.
All versions of the DT770 sound best when hooked to a powerful headphone amplifier.
I'm also guessing the 32-Ohm version of the DT770 might require more current, but less voltage then the 250-Ohm and 600-Ohm versions.
Anyway, I really like my 150-Ohm Massdrop/Sennheiser HD58X headphones.
(have not used my DT770s in years)
The HD58X can work decently off my smartphone (HTC 10).
 
Sep 23, 2019 at 4:32 PM Post #6 of 8
All versions of the DT770 sound best when hooked to a powerful headphone amplifier.
I'm also guessing the 32-Ohm version of the DT770 might require more current, but less voltage then the 250-Ohm and 600-Ohm versions.
Anyway, I really like my 150-Ohm Massdrop/Sennheiser HD58X headphones.
(have not used my DT770s in years)
The HD58X can work decently off my smartphone (HTC 10).

Then how would low ohm DT880’s sound any better than low ohm DT770’s? Unless you’re saying I should just look at different headphones entirely (which is the exact thing I’m not trying to do).

I am trying to find an amp that can properly amplify these particular headphones, rather than finding a pair of headphones that is low ohm to accommodate a portable device. The goal being a pair of headphones that will scale well later if I upgrade my source component.
 
Sep 23, 2019 at 5:25 PM Post #7 of 8
Then how would low ohm DT880’s sound any better than low ohm DT770’s? Unless you’re saying I should just look at different headphones entirely (which is the exact thing I’m not trying to do).

I am trying to find an amp that can properly amplify these particular headphones, rather than finding a pair of headphones that is low ohm to accommodate a portable device. The goal being a pair of headphones that will scale well later if I upgrade my source component.
So maybe the FiiO A5 portable headphone amplifier, that could be daisy chained off the CD player?
 
Oct 19, 2019 at 5:11 AM Post #8 of 8
I don't think you need to cash out 400$ far a DAC/AMP to power DT880. Topping NX4DSD is a very capable DAC/AMP for 160$.
But if you insist on paying more iFi xDSD and Fiio Q5s are great options with bluetooth and Chord Mojo needs no introduction.
 

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