Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro & MSI B450 Pro Carbon Gaming AC mobo - How do I know if I need a DAC/AMP?

[sbarr0]

Hello,

As the title suggests, my PC has the above motherboard and I recently purchased the DT1990 Pro. How do I determine whether I will need an AMP or DAC? While I will use the headphones for gaming, I purchased them to get the most out of higher quality music.

If I need to provide more information, please let me know!

Thank you

 

[twsecrest]

I think I would get the Topping DX3 Pro or Topping EX5 DAC/amp.
Because the DT1990 are worth it

 

[staticV3]

As the title suggests, my PC has the above motherboard and I recently purchased the DT1990 Pro. How do I determine whether I will need an AMP or DAC?

1. Plug the headphone into the motherboard
2. Start playing a game / watching YouTube / listening to Spotify / whatever
3. Increase the volume until it's loud enough for you

If the volume is less than 100, meaning that you could still turn it up some if you wanted to, but it's fine where you have it, congratulations! You do not need an external headphone Amp.

If however the volume is all the way up at 100 and it's still not loud enough for you, then you may want to purchase an external headphone Amp.

That's literally all there is to it. Don't overthink it

 

[Dunring]

I second the Topping DX3Pro+, we have one with the HD6xx and in low gain it's plenty of power and sounds flawless. They're compact and don't get hot, can't go wrong. The DT1990 are fun headphones, would easily use one for a daily driver since they're versatile.

 

[staticV3]

I second the Topping DX3Pro+

The DT 1990 Pro is a very sensitive headphone at 108dB/Vrms.

Needless to say, the DX3Pro+ would be complete and utter overkill for it, as it could theoretically drive the DT 1990 Pro to almost 130dB SPL.

Should OP really lack volume out of the motherboard alone, then something like a Jcally JM20 or MBQuart MB21P would more than suffice, at a fraction of the cost of the DX3Pro+.

 

[sbarr0]

Okay, what about a DAC? Is that necessary to get the most out of my headphones with my current motherboard?

 

[DVDdoug]

Okay, what about a DAC? Is that necessary to get the most out of my headphones with my current motherboard?

Your motherboard has a DAC. That's how you get analog.

But there is one more consideration. The analog output from your motherboard/soundchip may be noisy (hiss or whine in the background) and an analog amplifier will amplify that. A separate DAC will usually be better (although noise can still get-in from the USB power, assuming the DAC is USB powered).

 

[staticV3]

Okay, what about a DAC? Is that necessary to get the most out of my headphones with my current motherboard?

It is not.
While the DAC that's built into your motherboard may not offer state-of-the-art performance, it will almost certainly be audibly transparent, meaning as good or better than what human ears can perceive.

If you want to get the most out of your DT 1990 Pro, make sure you Equalize it using Equalizer APO or similar.
Ironically, for this purpose it is actually beneficial to have an external USB DAC+Amp, as the software (as brilliant as it is) doesn't always play nicely with onboard audio.

So yeah, all in all I would recommend you buy a JCally JM20 dongle DAC. It has very low distortion and noise, more than enough power for ear-shattering volume with the DT 1990 Pro, and it'll make using EQApo very easy.

 

[twsecrest]

Okay, what about a DAC? Is that necessary to get the most out of my headphones with my current motherboard?

Your motherboard uses the on-board Realtek ALC 1220 DSP chip for both the sound card and DAC functions.
Higher end motherboards ($$) that use the ALC1220 chip, will also add a dedicated DAC chip.
Sometimes an on-board (built in) sound card can pick up electrical noise, that's inside the computer case.
So using an external add-on DAC, keeps the DAC function from picking up that noise (if there is any).
Also an external DAC/headphone amplifier gives you a volume control right at your finger tips.

 

[sbarr0]

Awesome! This has all been very helpful. Thank you all for your replies!