[frisiviti]

My DT990 (250ohms) has seen little use for the one year that I've had it so far. The only opportunity I get to use it is with a JVC receiver/stereo amp in my house, but getting access to it is difficult since everyone watches TV. So, I am in the market for a decent amp since Christmas and my birthday are both coming up

Now, I have no idea what a dedicated headphone amp sounds like, but I am hoping to at least buy something that sounds better than what our JVC receiver puts out (which isn't an expensive unit, but sounds good to my ears).

I have read reviews of many different amps, but cannot decide on which to get. Some have suggested buying a more decent amp up front to avoid trading it in and spending more money down the road, which I somewhat agree with, so let's just say I don't have a firm price point right now.

On my own I have narrowed it down to a Darkvoice 336se, Corda Arietta, or Gilmore Lite. Anyway, I am a completely new to this so feel free to recommend a desktop amp (tube or otherwise) for my DT990s!

 

[milkweg]

I've just been on the same quest for DT990pro and my final choice is the Woo3 @$470.00 USD. I almost went for Gilmore Lite too and almost did buy an Arietta from a guy in the FS forum but people here set me straight and said DT990 are best with tube amps. I considered LD MKIV, DV 336E and Woo3 for tube amps. With Woo3 I can order online from their website and use Visa instead of PayPal and if there is ever a problem I can ship it to them in the US and not China. I read that Woo has top notch customer support too.

Now I just need to purchase one but because I am in Canada I don't like to buy from the U.S. due to the poor exchange rate right now, otherwise; one would be on it's way already.

Woo Audio 3 High End Headphone / Pre Amplifier

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

I would consider the Little Dot MkIII or MkIV, it's very good value and is quite popular here on head-fi.

 

[milkweg]

Seem my poll on MKIV vs Woo3. MKIV lost.

 

[Townyj]

I recommend a SS amp

My MKV works wonders with my DT990 05's... Maybe a Novo, Caliente or Gilmore Lite would work quite good to.

Many people say the DT880 shines with tubes and the 990 shines with Solid State amps

 

[Skylab]

Well, I for one prefer the 990 with tubes BIG TIME. And in the $500 and under, the Woo3 is a great suggestion. I love my 990's (whoch are '05, but 600 ohm) with the SinglePower Extreme, but I'm guessing that is out of your price range. They also sound excellent with the Darkvoice 336se you mentioned.

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Townyj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Many people say the DT880 shines with tubes and the 990 shines with Solid State amps

Oh, boy. Now In am back to square one. Can anyone else confirm this?

Just did a search and this guy doesn't like either DT880 or DT990 but he says they both sound similar so am taking what you say with a grain of salt. Besides, I've also read that most audiophiles prefer the sound of tubes with any headphones.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/bey...w-pics-234214/

"they use similar sounding drivers"

Just found this in the same thread too. You, Sir, are dismissed.

"Thanks for the review. It actually puts into words what I, for the most part, think of the DT990 and DT880. I would urge you to try both out with tube amps, they seem to do better on those than most SS amps I've tried."

 

[frisiviti]

With the 250 ohm DT990 that I have, should I be getting the Woo 3 or Woo 3+?

From their website it seems as though the 3+ sounds slightly better? Can anyone confirm this, and is the choke filter on 3+ going to make the sound quality superior to the 3 with my DT990?

 

[Skylab]

3+ is pure headphone amp, the 3 has pre-amp outs. The 3+ does have some upgrades over the 3, so if you want it just for a headphone amp, the 3+ is the way to go.

 

[Townyj]

I have yet to try my phones with a tube amp

However i do hear that the 600ohm 990's sound a tad different to the others. Since i have a SS amp and they do shine with it, i can only recommend an SS amp.

Mmmm id love to get my hands on a Woo Audio amp sometime in the future and see what all the fuss is about with tubes lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I for one prefer the 990 with tubes BIG TIME. And in the $500 and under, the Woo3 is a great suggestion. I love my 990's (whoch are '05, but 600 ohm) with the SinglePower Extreme, but I'm guessing that is out of your price range. They also sound excellent with the Darkvoice 336se you mentioned.

 

[tk3]

Whatever happened to the Meier / Beyer synergy that people were talking about a while back?

 

[Skylab]

Oh, it still exists for sure. The Beyer DT990/250 and the Meier Cantate are a very good combination. The Cantate's slightly warm sonics mate well with the 990.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, it still exists for sure. The Beyer DT990/250 and the Meier Cantate are a very good combination. The Cantate's slightly warm sonics mate well with the 990.

Does that apply to the 770 and 880 as well? How is the DAC that is built in to the unit? I have the LD I+ and was planning to grab up a Keces 151 for DAC duties but if the Cantate mates better with the Beyers then I might sell the LD and get the Cantate since it will be close to the same price as the LD and the Keces together.

 

[Skylab]

There is no DAC built into the Caliente. Just an amp. And yes, sounded very good with my 770/600's. VERY good. I no longer have 880's though.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Is the Caliente different from the Cantate or are we actually talking about the same amp? I did not see a Caliente on the Meier site.

This is cut and pasted from the Meier site:

The balanced ground concept gives the CANTATE.2 an astonishing impact and a clarity that is exemplary for this price range.
In addition to the analog inputs and the crossfeed filter this amp also has a built-in DAC and can be directly connected to an USB-port of your computer. The sound quality of this DAC clearly surpasses that of a standard quality soundcard.