[audio technica]

Okay, so I've been looking for some new headphones for a while now, and instead of waiting another 10 weeks and blowing ALL my money on the LCD-2 I think I'm going for the DT990-600 ohms, since they have (or from what I've heard) great bass and treble.  Any comments, warnings or suggestions?  This is basically going to be my first real upgrade from mediocre headphones so I'm sort of excited.  
 
Also, will the FiiO E5 be good enough to drive them?  I'm going to be using it mostly at home but I don't want a massive amp on my desk (and the fact I can't afford a $96 FiiO E9).
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[mosshorn]

I personally love them. Although if you don't have a decent amp to power them, I would probably say go for the 250ohm version. Not too much difference, and a LOT easier to drive to their potential.

 

[NinjaSquirt]

If you get the 250 Ohm Edition, E5 should do. A big selling point of the LCD-2 is the mids, with the DT990, you'll definitely miss that.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Okay, so I've been looking for some new headphones for a while now, and instead of waiting another 10 weeks and blowing ALL my money on the LCD-2 I think I'm going for the DT990-600 ohms, since they have (or from what I've heard) great bass and treble.  Any comments, warnings or suggestions?  This is basically going to be my first real upgrade from mediocre headphones so I'm sort of excited.  
Also, will the FiiO E5 be good enough to drive them?  I'm going to be using it mostly at home but I don't want a massive amp on my desk (and the fact I can't afford a $96 FiiO E9).

I've never use the Fiio E5 or 600-Ohm headphones.
The E5 will not power 600-Ohm headphones.
 
I personally would not buy a 600-Ohm headphone unless I had spent at least $200 on a (tube) headphone amplifier.
 
 
 

 

[Rawrbington]

Quote:

I've never use the Fiio E5 or 600-Ohm headphones.
The E5 will not power 600-Ohm headphones.
 
I personally would not buy a 600-Ohm headphone unless I had spent at least $200 on a (tube) headphone amplifier.
 
 
 

im with purpleAngel.
 
not that some SS amps wouldn't do, but the E5 isn't gonna be a good match for the 990/600.  your gonna really be selling the beyers short.
 
i don't think i'd even run the 32 ohm beyers off the E5.
beyers like power.
 
 

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

I agree on avoiding the 600 ohm variant. It requires significantly more juice than the E5. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The E5 is a very weak amp. I laugh when people wanna jump right into 600ohm headphones with a $20 mini amp.

I love the E9, and I still feel the 600ohm needs a bit more power than the E9 provides. They sound good off the E9, don't get me wrong, but I think the starting point should be something like the M Stage.

I myself am probably jumping to the Audio GD C-2.2 for the 600ohm Beyers.

 

[audio technica]

Ok, so is there a low-cost amp that I could use with the 600 ohms?  I'm actually planning on getting more high impedance cans later on so it might be a good investment to consider (if it's as essential as you say).
 
What about building my own tube amp?  There's a great electronics warehouse nearby and I can get tons of vacuum tubes cheap so that is always an option.

 

[Rawrbington]

how cheap?
 
im thinking a little dot mk II or mk III
or a schiit valhala.
 
i always recommend the woo wa3 with the 990 600.  this is an incredible combo, not sure if the 990s could sound much better.
but its not "cheap"
but can be found used if your patient in the 325ish range.
 
but don't count on the tubes being cheap.
 
if the amp uses certain tubes they won't be cheap, however you will usually have a variety to choose from(except the valhala? maybe?).
and the expensive tubes will sound great and the cheap tubes will probably sound noticeably worse.
but its not absolute.
and some great highly sought after tubes can be found cheap if you get lucky.
i scored a matched pair of Tung Sol 5998s for 52$ shipped.
so it can happen, although i kinda felt like i won the lottery on that deal.

 

[mosshorn]

If you're in the ~$200 market for an amp that also sounds excellent with them, I would recommend the Bottlehead Crack. It sounds amazing

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 
 Yes you may wish to reconsider the 600ohm version of the DT990.
 
 My Violectric V200 is pushed out to 2 o clock on the volume dial with those (zero gain set)
 
 They need the switches set to +6dB and even then 12 o clock on the dial does not have
 them blaring.
 
 Easily the most difficult to drive headphone ever to enter my house.

 

[audio technica]

I can literally get a ton of tubes (good ones by the looks of it) for $5 each.  So, DIY amps are definitely a legitimate option here.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Audio Technica.
You can get a low cost single tube headphone amplifier that will drive 600-Ohm headphones.
They sell them of eBay, ship from China, takes 10 days.
Prices start off at $45, better ones start at $75, even better $120.
The Indeed G3 is a good one ($120).
These are not worth shipping back to China for warranty work (shipping charges and 25 day turn around time)
 
 
You would also need to get a digital multi-meter (DT830) for around $7.
You need to do fine adjustments/balance on the voltage for best sound.
 
The forum on the Rockgrotto website has some threads on these tube amps.

 

[audio technica]

I'm leaning more towards building my own amp....  I've definitely got the skills and materials required (as long as that place still has some good tubes cheap).  If I get anywhere with it I'll post something in the DIY section.
 
Thanks for the tips and the warnings -- I had no idea that 600 ohms was that difficult to drive...
Speaking of which, how would it sound if I just plugged it into the stereo jack on something like a netbook?  Would there be any risk to the computer?

 

[Rawrbington]

build a bottlehead crack.