Time For Better Audio !

Dicehunter

Resident Newb
Hi peeps.

So at the moment I have a pair of Beyerdynamic 990 Pro's the 250 Ohm version, They make love to my ears everyday.

Now, They are powered by the Asus Xonar Phoebus which is a good soundcard that can apparently power cans up to 600 Ohm but I have a feeling these cans have more left to give in the quality department.

So my question, What shall I get ? An AMP/DAC combo, Just an AMP ?

My budget is in the realm of £200.

Any info is appreciated as I'm at a loss...less, Bad audio joke XD... when it comes to audio hardware.
 
An odd comment but an Essence STX does not feel like quite enough either. I'll be watching this thread with interest as I plan to ditch my STX in favour of something external at some point.

JR
 
An odd comment but an Essence STX does not feel like quite enough either. I'll be watching this thread with interest as I plan to ditch my STX in favour of something external at some point.

JR

A soundcard will never be as good as an external AMP/DAC, Still good though.

I've heard the AMP/DAC from Epiphany is meant to be quite good, Comes in at £180 from OCUK but need more feedback first :)

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-000-EA&groupid=701&catid=1925
 
I'm no audio meister but..

Get a separate AMP and DAC. The combined ones can get interference. I personally run a Silverstone SST-EB01S DAC and a SST-EB03S Amplifier. Its very chunky but the sound is superb. They were very expensive though. Drivers aren't fantastic either but I think that is down to the user in this case.

Many people on here also rate Schiit. A Magni and a Modi from them is very popular combo it seems.
 
I'm no audio meister but..

Get a separate AMP and DAC. The combined ones can get interference. I personally run a Silverstone SST-EB01S DAC and a SST-EB03S Amplifier. Its very chunky but the sound is superb. They were very expensive though. Drivers aren't fantastic either but I think that is down to the user in this case.

Many people on here also rate Schiit. A Magni and a Modi from them is very popular combo it seems.

Thanks for the ...input... Sorry did it again XD

There's so many to choose from, Time for some research.
 
Well you can't go wrong with an O2 AMP&DAC combo as many audiophiles have named it the "holy grail" of mid to high end amp/dac combos. However I have done a lot of research work before buying my pair of DT990 250Ohm and apart from a very small number of people, everyone was suggesting my current AMP/DAC the E10k or other combo units of the same price and performance range. That small number of people however went beyond the "normal" crowd and instead of recommending good internal soundcards like the STX or the creative counterpart went ahead recommending Tube amps, expensive tube amps. To me however an expensive tube amp would make sense if only you have or planning to buy a more "premium" pair of cans like the HD 650-HD800 or the Tesla lineup from BeyerDynamic and so many more from other companies.
Going from the Phoebus in your system (a card designed for gaming) to something "AudioPhile" grade means that you should expect a totally flat sound...
Also sidenote dont' trust that "can power 600Ohm thing) My fiio e10k supports up to 150Ohms on the specs list but it can make my ears bleed beyond 3/8 on the potentiometer with the DT990.
All in all I don't think you'll hear a great difference between your current sound card and the O2 unit with those cans.
 
My 250Ohm 770 pros are fine on an essence stx :) just make sure the gain/ Ohm output is setup correctly and they kick ass.
 
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