Recommendng a New Amp For A New Guy?

[Solid Snake]

Hey all,

I am about to buy one of the Beyerdynamic headphones, and before I do I was wondering if anyone could recommend me a decent amp. My budget is $150 but I may stretch that to $200 if there are much better ones out there. I am mostly playing games on the computer and music too.

The headphones I am getting are possibly one of these:

DT 440 Edition 2007
DT 660 Edition 2007
DT 860 Edition 2007

Thanks for reading my topic!

 

[holland]

First you should decide if you are going for tubes or solid state. In other words, what kind of sound do you like?

 

[Solid Snake]

I found these so far:

Behringer AMP800 4-Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHAMP800

SuperMacro IV Headphone Amp

http://www.bestintheland.com/superma...phone-amp.html

ATP System Xenos 3HA

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/headp...1_2751crx.aspx

 

[luckybaer]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=216903

 

[holland]

keep in mind, that link is one man's opinion which may or may not be applicable to someone else.

What kind of sound do you like? Warm (tube-ish) or not?

 

[Solid Snake]

Ah hey Holland, sorry I didnt reply to your message earlier, I was so focused in researching my next headphone.

To answer your question, honestly, I play usually games on the computer so it would be pretty noisy with lots of bass. The music I lesten too are mostly dance music and trance.

Sorry I couldn't be more descriptive, you guys know so much about this headphone business...it almost sounds like you all talk in a totally different language.

 

[fl00r]

Since you use your headphones primarily with a PC you might look for an amp/DAC combo like the ibasso D1 or Corda Move

 

[kpeezy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl00r /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since you use your headphones primarily with a PC you might look for a amp/DAC combo like the ibasso D1 or Corda Move

x2 Definitely do that if you're using onboard audio or something along those lines.

 

[holland]

While a combo is forum popular, I wouldn't in this case, except for the D1. Solid Snake games. I would get an external DAC with an SPDIF input, but later, not now unless you get the D1. You would still want EAX for games, which a USB sound card (or USB DAC) would not.

Problems with the amps Solid Snake listed. ACT is defunct. Xin takes forever and I don't know anything about Behringer.

My personal choice for portables would be a Mini3, which is just an amp. For your choice of headphones, though, I would consider tubes. The DT660 is bright, though I do like it. I think a warm amp would balance it out.

 

[Solid Snake]

The sound card I am running is a Creative X-FI Fitality Sound Card. I would imagine this sound card would provide enough power for an amp...I am not sure...

 

[holland]

It'll be fine.

 

[Solid Snake]

Hmm, now I am confused. I just got an email from someone that my sound card will probably not give it enough impedence for the Beyerdynamic headphone to drive. I am looking for how much output my sound card can do.

 

[holland]

You route the sound card to the amp.

So, in answer to your earlier question, which I presume is what you meant. Yes, you can route the X-Fi into a headphone amp.

 

[Solid Snake]

So, I am wondering...

Would it be worth in getting a portable amp with the headphones...even if it is only for the use on the computer? I am not sure if a portable amp can handle the demand for my sound card...or if the sound card is not powerfull enough for the amp.

When I purchase an amp and headphone, is there a specific detail I should be looking for so that both can work properly to their full performance or is it pretty much all work headphones work well with all amps? (desktop or portable)

 

[Solid Snake]

After all day in researching again, I think I had finally found what I am looking for. (thanks to you guys)

I am really liking what iBasso D1 has to offer. It has optical input which is perfect for me since my computer provides that output and it also has the DAC feature which would be good for my sound card.

It looks like this will be my #1 choice but I might do a little more research. Feel free in giving me any suggestions. Thanks!