Newbie Doubt - USB DAC + DT990Pro + PC

[rjtognetta]

Hello guys, i'm completely new in this audio world.

I've just bought a pair of DT990 PRO 250ohm to use with my gaming pc. The idea is to use the headphones for multiple things like, music, movies, gaming, podcast, etc ...

So a friend of mine told me to buy a USB DAC to plug into the computer to have a more "elevated" audio experience and here is where you guys come.

I need to find a DAC that is going to suite this headphones i have and my usage. I'm reading a lot and i'm already getting confused with amount of options.

The idea here is to not spend to much money (around $140,00) on a DAC, "i'm not audiophile" and i saw that people talk a lot about JDS ATOM, FiiO K3, SML, and others.

With your experience, which DAC should a put here to fit my needs ?

Thank you so much in advance,
Sincerely,
Rodrigo.

 

[Count Arthur]

If you can stretch the budget just a little bit: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...of-topping-dx3pro-dac-and-headphone-amp.4967/

This has the benefit that you can add powered/active speakers, or a power amp and speakers later if you wish. I very much doubt that there are any PC motherboards that will outperform it for audio.

 

[Fluffy]

More important than the DAC, is the amplifier. 250 ohm headphones need a lot of voltage to sound loud. An all-in-one solution that plug with a USB like the DX3 pro suggested above could work, and I think there are cheaper options as well. The power/voltage output would be the most important spec here.

 

[twsecrest]

Schiit Fulla 3.

 

[ProP]

Hello guys, i'm completely new in this audio world.

I've just bought a pair of DT990 PRO 250ohm to use with my gaming pc. The idea is to use the headphones for multiple things like, music, movies, gaming, podcast, etc ...

So a friend of mine told me to buy a USB DAC to plug into the computer to have a more "elevated" audio experience and here is where you guys come.

I need to find a DAC that is going to suite this headphones i have and my usage. I'm reading a lot and i'm already getting confused with amount of options.

The idea here is to not spend to much money (around $140,00) on a DAC, "i'm not audiophile" and i saw that people talk a lot about JDS ATOM, FiiO K3, SML, and others.

With your experience, which DAC should a put here to fit my needs ?

Thank you so much in advance,
Sincerely,
Rodrigo.

So glad I found your post. I am a audio noob as well and have the exact same predicament as you. I have the DT990 250ohms too and looking for DAC/AMP combo to help with my games.

Have a look at this website http://www.digizoid.com/power.php
Use it to calculate the power required for it's relative loudness. BTW the specs you enter at the start is: 250 for impedance and 93.4 dB SPL/mW
This is the results

You will see that to have it "Very Loud" then you need ~144mW max. Use this as a reference to make sure you have enough headroom when choosing an AMP.

The results are as follow:

Listening     Loudness     Voltage Needed   Current Needed   Power Needed
Safe          85 dB SPL    0.19 Vrms        0.76 mA          0.14 mW
Moderate      100 dB SPL   1.07 Vrms        4.28 mA          4.58 mW
Fairly Loud   110 dB SPL   3.38 Vrms        13.52 mA         45.7 mW
Very Loud     115 dB SPL   6.01 Vrms        24.04 mA         144.48 mW
Painful       120 dB SPL   10.69 Vrms       42.76 mA         457.1 mW

This is where I am going to plot down my research and ask the audiophiles on here to help me if I am wrong.

Using this info if you look at Schitt Fulla with max output for 250ohms @ ~72mW, you will find that it can drive them "Fairly Loud". In my case I think some sound sources are too soft, like when I play Tarkov. So I would like to be able to provide more than that.
If you up your budget to $189 then the Schitt HEL can give about ~290mW (Guessing this value based on 300ohms @ 200mW) which is MORE THAN PLENTY.

The Topping DX3Pro DAC outputs ~232mW @ 250ohm. This is superb and gives you plenty headroom.

Then some extras I was viewing and calculated for 250ohm making a wild assumption that the output close to the 300ohm specs are linear.
The JDS Element II outputs ~546mW - $400
The JDS AMP II outputs ~546mW - $249 (Obviously it is same components)
JDS ATOM AMP ~418mW - $99
Schiit Magni 3+ ~648mW - $99 (FML this is good bang for buck)
THX AAA 789 ~216mW (single ended output) - $300

I will come back and add more as I research and get feedback from community.

 

[Fluffy]

It's safer to have an amplifier with enough headroom to accommodate the preferred listening level without getting close to clipping. If I want to listen to music with 110 db spl peaks, I would like to do it with an amp that could potentially deliver 120 db spl – that way I'm never reaching the point where it can potentially start to lose linearity (even before clipping).

Though all of the suggested amps above are capable at driving just about anything.