The Most Powerful AmplifierDAC For Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro?

[Alan James]

Hi, my Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro 250 ohm headphones are connected to Fiio K5 Pro amplifier. Even at the highest gain & volume, they play very quietly with this amplifier, and there is some distortion.

I need many times more powerful amplifier with built-in DAC - which amplifier is the best and most powerful (among all) for DT 1990 Pro? I like Matrix X-Sabre Pro - but is it powerful enough for these headphones? Is the ES9038Pro chip really the best?

https://matrix-digi.com/en/products/318.html

 

[Zensō]

RME ADI-2 DAC FS

 

[Jimbob54]

RME ADI-2 DAC FS

+1

 

[Vini darko]

Flux labs fa10 and schiit modius = destroyer of worlds. Doesn't have all the toys of rme though.

 

[Jimbob54]

Flux labs fa10 and schiit modius = destroyer of worlds. Doesn't have all the toys of rme though.

Also, one box too many for the OP ;-)

 

[raistlin65]

Hi, my Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro 250 ohm headphones are connected to Fiio K5 Pro amplifier. Even at the highest gain & volume, they play very quietly with this amplifier, and there is some distortion.

Something sounds very wrong with your setup. DT1990 are 102db/1mw, 250 ohms. They would only need 7mw/1.32 V to reach 110 db, which is very loud (use this headphone amp calculator). So your headphone are not that hard to drive.

Meanwhile, ASR measured the K5 Pro to produce 136mw at 300 ohms.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../review-and-measurements-of-fiio-k5-pro.9118/

The K5 Pro should get loud enough such that you should fear damaging your hearing.

So I recommend figuring out what the problem is, as your assumption you need more power is incorrect.

 

[Jimbob54]

Something sounds very wrong with your setup. DT1990 are 102db/1mw, 250 ohms. They would only need 7mw/1.32 V to reach 110 db, which is very loud (use this headphone amp calculator). So your headphone are not that hard to drive.

Meanwhile, ASR measured the K5 Pro to produce 136mw at 300 ohms.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../review-and-measurements-of-fiio-k5-pro.9118/

The K5 Pro should get loud enough such that you should fear damaging your hearing.

So I recommend figuring out what the problem is, as your assumption you need more power is incorrect.

I dont know the Fiio but Im always surprised when people say they cant get high volumes from almost any device with any cans. Whether it is distortion free and sounds good is another matter so I always think the same as you, something must be wrong. The DT1990 arent that hard to drive IME, at all.

Some EQ running with more than a few dB of reduction?

 

[raistlin65]

I dont know the Fiio but Im always surprised when people say they cant get high volumes from almost any device with any cans. Whether it is distortion free and sounds good is another matter so I always think the same as you, something must be wrong. The DT1990 arent that hard to drive IME, at all.

Some EQ running with more than a few dB of reduction?

Maybe. But I think we should probably find out. Could be Equalizer APO preamp is on -30db. lol

 

[Zensō]

Something sounds very wrong with your setup. DT1990 are 102db/1mw, 250 ohms. They would only need 7mw/1.32 V to reach 110 db, which is very loud (use this headphone amp calculator). So your headphone are not that hard to drive.

Meanwhile, ASR measured the K5 Pro to produce 136mw at 300 ohms.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../review-and-measurements-of-fiio-k5-pro.9118/

The K5 Pro should get loud enough such that you should fear damaging your hearing.

So I recommend figuring out what the problem is, as your assumption you need more power is incorrect.

I had the same thought...

 

[MRC01]

The Oppo HA-1 measured 7 watts output in balanced mode when Amir reviewed it. That's twice its rated power and one of the most powerful DAC/amps we have seen here.
That said, there is simply no way you need that much power for most headphones. It's enough power to blow the drivers through the wall of your house into the next county!
Maybe for a very unusual headphone like the HiFiMan HE-6. But not the DT990 or any other normal headphone.

 

[Alan James]

What about IFI PRO ICAN? With 14,000mW of power. He is too expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/iFi-Pro-iCAN-Professional-Headphone/dp/B01GO98QSS

 

[Alan James]

Flux labs fa10 and schiit modius = destroyer of worlds. Doesn't have all the toys of rme though.

Flux Lab FA-10 doesn't have a built-in DAC?

 

[Alan James]

The K5 Pro should get loud enough such that you should fear damaging your hearing.

So I recommend figuring out what the problem is, as your assumption you need more power is incorrect.

What could be wrong? How can I find out? What to look for?

 

[Alan James]

Maybe. But I think we should probably find out. Could be Equalizer APO preamp is on -30db. lol

My Equalizer APO preamp - 0 db

 

[raistlin65]

What could be wrong? How can I find out? What to look for?

It could be your amp is broken.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

I agree with the other posters. There has to be a problem with the OP's setup.

Contrary to what some people think, the 1990 Pro aren't hard to drive provided you have an amp, and the K5 Pro is capable of driving them comfortably to loud listening levels, without even resorting to the high gain position. Maybe ask @BraveHeart95 , apparently he has exactly the same setup and has no issues with it.

So I am sure of two things :

• You don't need to buy a new amp (unless you want to)
• There is something wrong within your setup.

As for your problem, it can theoretically be :

• Window's Sound Control Panel volume (is it set to 100?)
• EQ APO gain (it shouldn't be at 0 dB BTW if you're EQing, but that's another story)
• DAC gain (is it set to 0 dB?)
• A problem with your amp
• ...

What is your DAC BTW ? Because if you don't have a dedicated DAC and you're using your soundcard's output, that could be part of the problem if such output is ridiculously low before entering the amp. In that case, instead of getting another headphone amp, you could just get a decent USB DAC (100-150 $/€), plug your headphone amp, and be happy !

 

[dfuller]

RME ADI-2 DAC FS

Pro FS has even more power because of the balanced mode

 

[Zensō]

Pro FS has even more power because of the balanced mode

True, though he’d be paying a lot for the ADC if he doesn’t need it. Nice box though...

 

[solderdude]

What about IFI PRO ICAN? With 14,000mW of power. He is too expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/iFi-Pro-iCAN-Professional-Headphone/dp/B01GO98QSS

You do not need more power, the issue is gain !

Besides the IFI PRO ICAN can only deliver 0.5W in the DT1990.
The DT1990 is 200mW rated and starts to distort audible when these levels are exceeded (7V) at which point the peak SPL is 125dB !!

The K5Pro can deliver 180mW in the DT1990 so should be able to play extremely loud.

Pro FS has even more power because of the balanced mode

The DT1990 can not be used on balanced outputs. SE only.

 

[edahl]

I'm running the DT 1990 Pro off an RME ADI-2 DAC. If I want permanent hearing loss, I'm pretty sure I have what I need for that.