Help: Budget DAC/AMP for Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro

[sanketthor]

Hi Everyone,

I have ordered my Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 ohm) and I had almost made my mind to purchase ifi Audio Zen DAC V2 to drive the headphones.
But, a seller said that ifi Zen DAC V2 wont deliver sufficient power to drive my DT990's. Rather, they suggested me to go for Aune Audio X1s Pro.
I request the forum members to suggest me a DAC AMP combo for DT990's.
I am little hesitant to buy X1s pro due to budget constraints.

 

[sanakimpro]

Parking here. I have HD 600, DT 990 pro 600 ohm and Beyer T1 600 ohm (1st gen) so interested to follow. Current hypothesis is Topping A30 Pro or Schiit Magni 3+. Ifi zen CAN+DAC combo is another possibility.

 

[staticV3]

The DT990 Pro 250Ω being purely voltage-driven makes it pretty easy to find a suitable DAC/Amp.
Amir measured 97dB/Vrms sensitivity, on ReferenceAudioAnalyzer it was measured with 99dB/Vrms.
That results in the following voltage requirements:



The Aune X1s Pro's only helpful specification is [email protected]Ω@60dB [email protected] input (=4.2Vrms).
If it can do higher voltages with high impedance headphones I don't know.

 

[staticV3]

After some light research I'd point you towards a Temptec Sonata HD Pro + ifi Zen can, but there may be better options out there.
That combo would result in close to 8Vrms and I recommend you use the Zen can's RCA inputs instead of the 3.5mm input since the latter clips at 1.9Vrms.

 

[sanketthor]

I did some browsing on this topic. I came to a conclusion that I would go ahead with ifi Zen Dac V2 and start using it for my DT990 pro. When I get additional budget in a couple or two, I would add xDuoo MT602. Although I would prefer using Liquid Spark but it i not available in India. Let me know what you guys think about this. Thanks

 

[staticV3]

The Zen can will be about 70% louder than the Zen DAC V2