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Help regarding Audio Interface/DAC/AMP for Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (80 ohm)

Rapid

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Hello everyone,

I am looking towards buying the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (80 ohm) and was wondering what should I get, audio interface, dac and amp? (or dac and amp combo)

I would just plug them straight into the audio jack for my mother board, although the problem with that is, my pc is to far away from my desk.
I have been looking over things such as the:
- Focusrite SCARLETT-SOLO-
- Focusrite SCARLETT-2I2-3RD-GEN 2x2 USB 2.0 Audio
- Behringer UMC22 2x2 USB Audio Interface

Apologies if I said anything wrong, I am a newbie!

My budget is anything less than $200! (The cheaper the better, if it does not make that much of a difference for an 80 ohm headphones)

Please let me know what you guys think, help would be very much appreciated.
 

Thalis

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Hi and welcome to ASR. Is there any specific reason an audio interface is your first choice?
 
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Rapid

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Hi and welcome to ASR. Is there any specific reason an audio interface is your first choice?
Thank you for your response. Not really, I could honestly go with anything, but the idea of being able to plug my mic in it to it would be nice. Although it does not matter much, as my microphone has a extended cable and can reach my pc.
 

Thalis

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Thank you for your response. Not really, I could honestly go with anything, but the idea of being able to plug my mic in it to it would be nice. Although it does not matter much, as my microphone has a extended cable and can reach my pc.

If you are happy with the current setup's performance, I would suggest an extension cable for your headphones and save lots of moolah :)

But any of the 3 examples you listed would do fine. I have a very cheap Behringer Xenyx 302USB for years now and I am very happy with it though it can only go up to 16/48 max... but that's ok :p
 
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Rapid

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If you are happy with the current setup's performance, I would suggest an extension cable for your headphones and save lots of moolah :)

But any of the 3 examples you listed would do fine. I have a very cheap Behringer Xenyx 302USB for years now and I am very happy with it though it can only go up to 16/48 max... but that's ok :p

Hahaha, I've been so overwhelmed with this new info, I did not even think of just getting a cable extender. Do you think the
Behringer UMC22 2x2 USB Audio Interface would do the job? Would you say there is a big difference between those 3. I want to go with the Behringer although when looking at the price its only $72 CAD for me while the other options are $205+. Making me wonder if there is a major quality difference. But then again, would that difference even matter for an 80 ohm headset?
 

Thalis

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Hahaha, I've been so overwhelmed with this new info, I did not even think of just getting a cable extender. Do you think the
Behringer UMC22 2x2 USB Audio Interface would do the job? Would you say there is a big difference between those 3. I want to go with the Behringer although when looking at the price its only $72 CAD for me while the other options are $205+. Making me wonder if there is a major quality difference. But then again, would that difference even matter for an 80 ohm headset?


The UMC22 has a Midas preamp which is supposedly better than the Xenyx's for the mic input. The UMC22 also has a proper 48V phantom power output if you want to try condensor mics and its also a great tool for recording instruments. If i am not mistaken its max resolution is also 48kHz.

As for the headphones out, I am not sure but I am sure it should handle your Beyers just fine. But do try EQing for best results eg Equalizer APO with Peace. I EQ my cheap Koss KPH30i via the Xenyx and it sounds really good.

Perhaps someone else can chime in with experience on the Focusrite.

Just curious... you did not state what you use the headphones for... if its mainly for music would HiRez playback be important to you?
 
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Rapid

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The UMC22 has a Midas preamp which is supposedly better than the Xenyx's for the mic input. The UMC22 also has a proper 48V phantom power output if you want to try condensor mics and its also a great tool for recording instruments. If i am not mistaken its max resolution is also 48kHz.

As for the headphones out, I am not sure but I am sure it should handle your Beyers just fine. But do try EQing for best results eg Equalizer APO with Peace. I EQ my cheap Koss KPH30i via the Xenyx and it sounds really good.

Perhaps someone else can chime in with experience on the Focusrite.

Just curious... you did not state what you use the headphones for... if its mainly for music would HiRez playback be important to you?

First of all, thank you so much for your detailed information and help!

I mainly want them for gaming, music and just a comfy headphone I can wear all day. while working and studying.

I am currently using Equalizer Apo with peace for my microphone :) and it works great!

I also did some more research and found alot of users are happy with the FiiO K5 Pro. Although most of them own the 250 ohm verisons, Would you say, if im going to get an amp/audio interface, should I just go with the Dt990 pro 250 ohm version.

I did not think there would even be this many options, audio world seems to be bigger than I thought :p
 

Thalis

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First of all, thank you so much for your detailed information and help!

I mainly want them for gaming, music and just a comfy headphone I can wear all day. while working and studying.

I am currently using Equalizer Apo with peace for my microphone :) and it works great!

I also did some more research and found alot of users are happy with the FiiO K5 Pro. Although most of them own the 250 ohm verisons, Would you say, if im going to get an amp/audio interface, should I just go with the Dt990 pro 250 ohm version.

I did not think there would even be this many options, audio world seems to be bigger than I thought :p


Well I think the UMC22 would just work out fine for gaming. I am absolutely happy watching movies with the Koss/Xenyx and also for music. The Koss is an on ear design and very airy so no sweaty ears :)

If you do have a need to go beyond 16/44.1 than perhaps the Fiio is better suited. Personally I have the older Fiio E10k and Fiio K1 but now I use the Topping E30/L30 combo for serious music listening with AKG K240 MkII cans and no EQ.

I see no reason to get the 250ohm version but it shouldn't matter. Whichever suits your budget and your ears. Yeah once down the rabbit hole you can't tell when you will hit bottom :p.
 
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Rapid

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Well I think the UMC22 would just work out fine for gaming. I am absolutely happy watching movies with the Koss/Xenyx and also for music. The Koss is an on ear design and very airy so no sweaty ears :)

If you do have a need to go beyond 16/44.1 than perhaps the Fiio is better suited. Personally I have the older Fiio E10k and Fiio K1 but now I use the Topping E30/L30 combo for serious music listening with AKG K240 MkII cans and no EQ.

I see no reason to get the 250ohm version but it shouldn't matter. Whichever suits your budget and your ears. Yeah once down the rabbit hole you can't tell when you will hit bottom :p.

I did not think, I would face such hard decisions, :D. But if I had to choose between the Focusrite and Fiio, I think I would go with the Fiio as it is a multi purposed interface, rather than the SCARLETT, which was purposely designed for guitar. But yeah I think I would go with the k5 as in the future, If I fall deeper in this audio world and decide to upgrade down the line, I think this would still be compatible for me!

Edit: I also found the Schiit Hel, to be an option, what are your opinions on it?
 
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Rapid

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Well I think the UMC22 would just work out fine for gaming. I am absolutely happy watching movies with the Koss/Xenyx and also for music. The Koss is an on ear design and very airy so no sweaty ears :)

If you do have a need to go beyond 16/44.1 than perhaps the Fiio is better suited. Personally I have the older Fiio E10k and Fiio K1 but now I use the Topping E30/L30 combo for serious music listening with AKG K240 MkII cans and no EQ.

I see no reason to get the 250ohm version but it shouldn't matter. Whichever suits your budget and your ears. Yeah once down the rabbit hole you can't tell when you will hit bottom :p.

Hey, I got a cable extender for my hyperx cloud 2, (even though it already had a pretty long enough usb connector). Once I connected to my motherboard output jack, this application popped up. It was pretty accurate, the hyper x are 40 ohms, maybe the cable extender made the difference but, would you even think I would still require an amp/audio interface, knowing the capability of my mother boards audio application and drivers?

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