[zychan1]

Hi guys,

I've just bought a pair of Moon Audio Blue Dragon Recabled balanced DT880/600 ohms on the FS forums. As I don't have a balanced amp, I was hoping that those of you with experience with balanced DT880s might be able to suggest a set which synergises well with this can.

Thanks in advance!

 

[apatN]

Do know that balanced amps are quite expensive... They sure sound wonderful though balanced.

 

[zychan1]

Would you be able to elaborate on the differences between stock and balanced apatN?
 
Quote:

Do know that balanced amps are quite expensive... They sure sound wonderful though balanced.

 

 

[apatN]

I rather not, sorry. Let me explain.
 
The only time I heard the DT880s balanced was, though it was with my own set, through the balanced outs of my Buffalo DAC. So really, no amp was involved when I tried it. It did sound very good though and the Buffalo had no trouble powering the hungry 600 ohm drivers. 

 

[zychan1]

Would you say that it'd sound better than an unbalanced DT880 coming out from an amp? A bold statement around these parts I'm sure 

 
Quote:

I rather not, sorry. Let me explain.
 
The only time I heard the DT880s balanced was, though it was with my own set, through the balanced outs of my Buffalo DAC. So really, no amp was involved when I tried it. It did sound very good though and the Buffalo had no trouble powering the hungry 600 ohm drivers. 

 

 

[apatN]

In my case I heard more potential through the balanced outputs of my DAC than through my trusty amp.

 

[zychan1]

Interesting... On another note I'm also considering selling my entire setup to fund a Lavry DA10 and run the DT880 straight from there while saving up for a balanced amp later. Anybody have any experience with this DA10 --> DT880 setup? I wonder if the Lavry will be able to power the DT880 sufficiently (while not to its max potential) to outperform an unbalanced setup? 
 
OR should I keep my current DAC (which has balanced outs, though not sure if it's a fully balanced DAC) and go for a balanced amp now and then upgrade my DAC later?
 
OR go for the Audio GD NFB-10WM which is a balanced DAC/Amp combo?
 
Quote:

In my case I heard more potential through the balanced outputs of my DAC than through my trusty amp.

 

 

[apatN]

I too have been looking at a balanced amp, but I found them to be very expensive. The only inexpensive balanced amp seems to the offering from Little Dot.
 
That Audio-GD with a Sabre DAC looks very promising!

 

[evanft]

I bought an amp a few weeks back, the Aphex Headpod 454. It cost me $199 from Sweetwater. I got it because I wanted an amp that didn't color the sound, so I wanted a piece of semi-pro gear with good specs and measurements rather than some esoteric tube amp. It has the power vs. impedance graph printed on the back. It apparently can push something like 152 mW into 600 ohm.
 
After listening to it for a few weeks, I've come to a clear conclusion as to why tube amps get recommended so much for the DT880s: rolled off treble. Without EQ, the DT880s can be somewhat bright and lacking in bass. A tube amp can often fix these problems, but a solid state amp with flat frequency response won't. To me, it doesn't make any damn sense to buy an amplifier that is deficient. It makes much more sense to buy an amp that's essentially transparent and then use EQ to fix the sound any way you want. I can tell you right now that after applying an EQ setting that a fellow forum member created for the DT880, my headphones have never sounded better. Bass is clearer and deeper than it ever was with my Darkvoice and everything sounded "cleaner".
 
So yeah, I fully recommend the Headpod 454 as an amplifier for the DT880s, or any other headphone. I honestly don't think I'm ever going to buy anything else. I'm done. Yes, if I buy a pair of $1,000 headphones, I will indeed use this amp. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and then I will laugh at the rage induced by them.
 
For those interested, here's the Foobar EQ I'm using:
 
0 
-1 
-1 
-2 
-3
-3 
-3 
-3 
-3 
-4 
-3 
-4 
-4 
-3 
-5 
-6 
-1
-3
 
Just copy and paste that into a txt file, rename it *something*.feq, and load the preset in Foobar's equalizer.

 

[zychan1]

Apparently the Audio-GD NFB-10ES (the one with the Sabre chip) is too bright for DT880s, so on the other thread they've recommended the ones with the Wolfson Chips instead (Audio-GD NFB10WM).
 
I was looking to save up for the Audio-gd Phoenix as well, which is their top of the line balanced amp.
 
Quote:

I too have been looking at a balanced amp, but I found them to be very expensive. The only inexpensive balanced amp seems to the offering from Little Dot.
 
That Audio-GD with a Sabre DAC looks very promising!

 

 

[roadcykler]

I'd like to try that out but is that starting from the bass end or treble end?
Quote:

 
 
For those interested, here's the Foobar EQ I'm using:
 
0 
-1 
-1 
-2 
-3
-3 
-3 
-3 
-3 
-4 
-3 
-4 
-4 
-3 
-5 
-6 
-1
-3
 
Just copy and paste that into a txt file, rename it *something*.feq, and load the preset in Foobar's equalizer.

 

 

[evanft]

Quote:

I'd like to try that out but is that starting from the bass end or treble end?


 

Bass end. If you save it as a .feq file it'll load right up in Foobar.
 

 

[Graphicism]

I tried your EQ settings evanft and found the sound to be muffled and uninvolved. I find the bass of the DT880s perfect with my current tube configuration Darkvoice (with no EQ), extremely textured and musical with a good uncolored analogue source. This coming from Ultrasone HFI-780 among other bass-forward cans I don't miss the low end emphases one bit. You mention solid state giving you a clearer signal, however this could be along the lines of mono being easier to hear than stereo. Sound quality aside I find the biggest difference in moving from solid state to tube was the width of the sound stage.

 

[dukja]

Phoenix + Ref1/7 will amaze you about how DT880/600 can do.   I have spent many hours to compare (not quick A/B test but long session comparison) T1 and DT880/600. While T1 is excellent in more accurate imaging and deeper stage, DT880/600 with Phoenix & Ref-7 can really fools me and not missing too much T1 with my other system. 
 
Quick A/B comparison, it is easy to tell T1 and DT880 apart and many may make quick judgment that T1 is better.  However, long-session comparison, just like those LCD2 owners take longer time to "sink into" the sound

, I found DT880 was just amazing in this combo.  It just sounds so natural and I totally forgot about listening with a phone but just like sit in the front of the performance stage ( Carmen and L' Arlesienne Suites, Bernstein).
 
Quote:

Apparently the Audio-GD NFB-10ES (the one with the Sabre chip) is too bright for DT880s, so on the other thread they've recommended the ones with the Wolfson Chips instead (Audio-GD NFB10WM).
 
I was looking to save up for the Audio-gd Phoenix as well, which is their top of the line balanced amp.

 

 

[zychan1]

Sounds great dukja! Really looking forward to my balanced DT880 which is due to arrive any day now. Unfortunately the emphasis is on saving up as I'm a student (and soon to be graduate) so funds are tight. There's no way I'll be rocking a Ref7/Phoenix combo any time soon unless somebody cares to help out 

 In the mean time I'll live with what I have and what I can afford 

Quote:

Phoenix + Ref1/7 will amaze you about how DT880/600 can do.   I have spent many hours to compare (not quick A/B test but long session comparison) T1 and DT880/600. While T1 is excellent in more accurate imaging and deeper stage, DT880/600 with Phoenix & Ref-7 can really fools me and not missing too much T1 with my other system. 
 
Quick A/B comparison, it is easy to tell T1 and DT880 apart and many may make quick judgment that T1 is better.  However, long-session comparison, just like those LCD2 owners take longer time to "sink into" the sound

, I found DT880 was just amazing in this combo.  It just sounds so natural and I totally forgot about listening with a phone but just like sit in the front of the performance stage ( Carmen and L' Arlesienne Suites, Bernstein).