[coaxial]

Hey guys. Just picked up a Sound Blaster ZxR. Looking at replacing my current headphones. After some research on the forums I have narrowed my selection down to the DT 990's. Now I have seen some conversation go back and forth between getting the 250 vs the 600ohm. I am leaning towards the 600ohm since the ZxR has a 600 ohm headphone amp. What do you all think? Will the ZxR struggle with the 600ohm? These will mainly be attached to the ZxR and my tube amp. Which I will be upgrading to a Decware SE34I.3 In the near future.
 
Thanks for your advice.
 
-Chris

 

[DWolff]

Also interested in an answer to this if anyone has experience running 600-Ohm cans from the ZxR

 

[Byrnie]

I would stick with the 250ohm version if you plan to run these through the ZxR but that's just me playing it safe.

 

[Haverholm]

Zombie-thread... I know. But I'm going through the same dilemma with the ZxR, but with the DT770s. Can the ZxR drive the 600 ohms or should I buy the 250 ohms instead?
 
Thank you very much.

 

[appsmarsterx]

just stick with the 250ohm versions. instead of buying 600ohm version, I d save that money and get a Fidelio X1 any day over DT990 600ohm.  the main difference in DT990 650ohm version is, it doesn't have higher clamping force like 250ohm version.
and ZXR is perfectly capable of driving DT770/990 250ohm versions

 

[Haverholm]

Thanks for the advice. Won't the ZxR be able to drive the DT770/990 600 ohms properly?

 

[stv014]

According to these measurements, the ZxR is capable of 50 mW output into 600 Ω, and 100 mW into 250 Ω. That is a difference of 3 dB, roughly 110 vs. 113 dB peak SPL. The card has an output impedance of 40 Ω, which will have a minor (barely noticeable) effect on the bass response of the 250 Ω version. I would personally not worry too much with either, but if you like to listen loud to high dynamic range material (like classical music), and/or want to have more headroom left on the volume control, then 250 Ω is "safer", not to mention more usable with your other, less powerful devices. But chances are you would not be disappointed with the 600 Ω model (isn't that discontinued in the case of the DT770 anyway ?) either. However, note also that it does not sound much different from the 250 Ω drivers.
 
By the way, the driver impedance has nothing to do with the clamping force. It is the "pro" version (the one with the black ear cups) that clamps more than the - now discontinued - fancier looking "premium" one.

 

[appsmarsterx]

sorry. I wanted to mention that pro (250ohm) version has higher clamping force than other versions..  btw I wasn't aware of the discontinuation. still all the versions are available on Amazon ..  may be that could be the reason the prices went down ..

 

[stv014]

  btw I wasn't aware of the discontinuation. still all the versions are available on Amazon ..

 
I meant the DT770, which is what Haverholm asked about. Of course, the DT990 "edition" versions are not discontinued.

 

[Haverholm]

isn't that discontinued in the case of the DT770 anyway?

My dealer seems to be able to get it, but he might not get them directly from Beyer.

Thank you very much for your answer. Sometimes, for a novice like me, reading specs for headphones and/or amps can be a bit like reading cyrillic letters, but in the case of your post, you actually translated cyrillic for me. It is very much appreciated.