[Zoomer13]

Wondering what amps you would all suggest that would drive my DT990/600s to their full potential, that would also
work with some hifiman or Audeze cans later down the road. If getting one with a built in DAC, or even a seperate
external DAC would help over my TiHD, let me know. I'd probably run optical from the card out though, as I'd still 
want my gaming effects (the PC is used for both, though more for music...whenever I'm home I'm running FLAC through
foobar ^^).
 
 
This is purely hypothetical, but the more cost effective the better! Just want to see what folks have to say :3
 
EDIT: I also want to mention that despite previous comments, I no longer have issues with the 990s.

 

[fabio-fi]

The amp that comes to mind is the Soloist. I have been upgrading from dynamic headphones to orthos lately (check my sig) and this amp never ran out of gas. The three gain positions are ideal for any kind of headphones. 

 

[Zoomer13]

Quote:

The amp that comes to mind is the Soloist. I have been upgrading from dynamic headphones to orthos lately (check my sig) and this amp never ran out of gas. The three gain positions are ideal for any kind of headphones. 

 
So it runs well with everything you've got? $1,000 seems just a touch steep, but hey, I did say hypothetical. Could very well manage that as my next audio purchase in a few months or so. I'll check some review and such in a bit, obviously, but if it's actually worth the cost, then it would have me set for a long time (unless I decided to try tubes down the road with certain cans....heh).
 
Any other opinions? I know Schiit gets a good following around here. Or should I be poking around for a 990 thread to be more specific?

 

[Averruncus]

How about the Asus Xonar Essence One? It's a DAC/AMP combo that drives my HE-500 fantastically but still can be used with my dynamic FA-003. I've tried it with the DT880/600 too and it drove that really well. Also, the op-amps are easily rollable, making it possible to experiment with different op-amps to find a sound-signature that you like (it gets kind of expensive though... but it does improve the sound noticeably). Has speaker outputs too and can be used as a standalone DAC if you have a better amp.

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

 
So it runs well with everything you've got? $1,000 seems just a touch steep, but hey, I did say hypothetical. Could very well manage that as my next audio purchase in a few months or so. I'll check some review and such in a bit, obviously, but if it's actually worth the cost, then it would have me set for a long time (unless I decided to try tubes down the road with certain cans....heh).
 
Any other opinions? I know Schiit gets a good following around here. Or should I be poking around for a 990 thread to be more specific?

 
Sorry i didn't ask for a budget 

im not a tubes guy though. 
 
Regarding to the essence one, it may be good for dynamic headphones. I didn't like his presentation with the Audez'e LCD-2..bass was not controlled and kind of boomy. 

 

[Zoomer13]

Might go with a hifiman amp, as i was looking at the he-400 or 500, not sure if the audeze cans would be worth the premium over them to Me at least at the moment. But we'll see when I get closer to pulling the trigger ^^

 

[hodgjy]

I love how the Asgard drives my DT990s.

 

[Averruncus]

Quote:

 
Regarding to the essence one, it may be good for dynamic headphones. I didn't like his presentation with the Audez'e LCD-2..bass was not controlled and kind of boomy. 

 
I agree that it is slightly bass heavy, but that's where the beauty of the rollable op-amps come in. Switching out the buffer stage amps with OPA2134PAs and I/V with LME49720NAs made the E1 sound much brighter with better controlled bass (too bright unfortunately for my HE500). With a bit of experimentation, it can sound well ahead of it's price point.