MKSOUND_HT Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 Hey All, I recently scored a set of Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250ohm Headphones and I must admit I bought them because I liked the look of them haha, but I heard good things about them. Could I ask from personal experience how to get the most out of them (such as music that will really shine on these). I'm hoping to explore music genres that I haven't otherwise heard. I do love Classical music and was hoping to encapsulate myself. The headphone setup will be my only main music setup (my speakers are mainly set for home theater applications). I'm also likely to use them for Home Theater applications as well, especially for late night films. I have a TX-SR577 onkyo 7.1 a/v receiver that I have all my inputs going into. I am not sure the best way to connect up a Headphone Amp, I don't think the amp has preouts (so I could only use HDMI out, or a/v out using rcas). I'm also wondering what sort of Headphone Amps I should have a look at for around $100-$150 second hand? Would love something that was close to the proportions of a bluray player so it will sit nicely on the rack. It appears though that the circuitry is usually quite small for headphone amps unless it uses tube amps. The world is my oyster and headphone listening is now my pearl hahaha Thanks in advance,
Gruffnutz Posted June 18, 2014 Posted June 18, 2014 Congratulations, they're great cans. They will sound good with any music you throw at them and will give you a good reproduction of classical if that's where you're going. I'd reccomend spending a little more than you've budgeted and getting a good amp / DAC combo such as the Audio GD NFB-15/32 or Asus Xonar. That said, the 990s will happily run from cheaper amps, but you'll be able to upgrade the amp later and get more out of them. I've enjoyed mine with both the FiiO E10 and E7 portable amp / DACs as well. 1
MKSOUND_HT Posted June 18, 2014 Author Posted June 18, 2014 Congratulations, they're great cans. They will sound good with any music you throw at them and will give you a good reproduction of classical if that's where you're going. I'd reccomend spending a little more than you've budgeted and getting a good amp / DAC combo such as the Audio GD NFB-15/32 or Asus Xonar. That said, the 990s will happily run from cheaper amps, but you'll be able to upgrade the amp later and get more out of them. I've enjoyed mine with both the FiiO E10 and E7 portable amp / DACs as well. Thanks for the information I had a set of DTX800 (still got em but needs a new cord) for the last 14 years and they have been fantastic. Just thought I would go for something that had a more solid feel (the DTX800 felt a bit plasticy). That sounds like a great suggestion re extending the budget, I do currently have an Asus Xonar DG sound card but i've never tried it with any headphones (it was only $32 new). I have read that the sound card has a built in amp which is supposably quite popular for headphone users. Would the DT990 be an improvement from my old DTX800? I've never run the DTX800 off an amplifier.
MKSOUND_HT Posted June 19, 2014 Author Posted June 19, 2014 I also think the biggest thing at the moment is the anticipation to how they are going to sound, especially on a headphone amp. I've never heard a really good headphone setup before. So anxious lol
Gruffnutz Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 Unfortunately; the Xonar DG isn't up to much as a headphone amp. The Xonar ST / STX are in another league and the external Xonars are better again. Good soundcard, just not a great amp section. Try a FiiO E10 or E7 if money is tight. They're both very competent.
xzobinx Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 my suggestion is just plug it to your onkyo headphone out and see how it goes. Cheap headphone amps offer little to none benefits compare to good receiver. 1
Gruffnutz Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 my suggestion is just plug it to your onkyo headphone out and see how it goes. Cheap headphone amps offer little to none benefits compare to good receiver. This is good advice. I hadn't really considered the quality of your receiver and was being a bit of a HT snob... The Onkyo is pretty good quality and should be able to drive DT990s adequately. For use with your computer; is it plugged into the receiver or stand-alone? If the PC is running through the HT system I'd just connect it via SPDIF and enjoy. If it's stand-alone the current sound card won't be great with the 990s.
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