DAC/Amp recs for DT1990s + is my amp faulty?

[Gizelli]

I recently bought a pair of DT1990s as my DT990s broke and loved the sound they produced so stuck with Beyer (no, the highs didn't put me off), but thought I'd invest a bit further and buy a decent DAC/Amp to drive them. I was previously using an old Sound Blaster Audigy 5 Rx soundcard, which supposedly could power headphones up to 600ohms and got my 1990s to a decent volume level but the quality wasn't great - I didn't expect them to be enough, this is just for context.

I bought an ifi Zen DAC v2 (DAC/Amp) which I'd heard amazing things about from many different reviews but read a couple of reddit posts that said they're not quite powerful enough for the DT1990s. Since I could get them on Amazon with next day delivery I thought I'd try them and see for myself. (Un)surprisingly they didn't impress me as I had to turn the volume dial to 3 o'clock to get them loud enough for what I wanted. The bass, even with the bass boost, also didn't hit quite as hard as I thought but with some EQ I managed to mostly resolve that. Annoyingly though, when the bass gets to a certain level, it sounds distorted and ruins the clarity of the sound. Another big issue when using this Zen DAC is that there is a random popping/cracking noise when there are sudden sounds. Not so much with music when there's a constant stream of sound, but when talking on Discord for example, often when it's silent and someone suddenly talks, it'll pop/crack which is incredibly off-putting.

Is this popping/cracking issue characteristic of a dodgy amp? Could this be a problem with the headphones or cable?

Is the bass distortion caused by the amp not being powerful enough to drive the 1990s at certain volumes?


Another query I have is that I have the opportunity to buy a Schiit Asgard 1 and Bifrost 1 for £200 together. I'm aware that these are a bit dated but would the sound quality still hold up compared to more modern DACs/Amps? If so, would these be a good match for my 1990s? (See end of post for my sound preferences)

I've also found a used Magni 2 for £60 and used Magni 3 for £90 if they'd work well with a good DAC.

Alternatively, I've been looking at other options in the price range of £150-250 such as the Topping DX3 Pro+, would anyone recommend these for 1990s?

Other suggestions are appreciated but please keep them in the price range (I'm in the UK so bare that in mind - an Atom stack would cost too much with the shipping and VAT included and brand new Schiit DAC/Amps would also be too much from the UK store)

For additional context - I listen to a large variety of genres but the main ones are EDM, rock and hip hop, in that order. I like punchy, thumpy bass but I don't like it to muddy the sound and remove clarity from the mids and highs.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I own a set of dt1990's myself, but I've only used them with my primaluna dialogue premium hp and my njc audio reference headphone amplifier both drive them effortlessly, unfortunately the njc is a bit above your budget, if I were you I'd try and save a bit more cash and get a amp that the Beyerdynamic's deserve. Njc is a small cottage industry type manufacturer based in the Devon/Cornwall area, the guy's build the products to order, great build, sound and reliability, I really can't speak highly enough about the service from them.

 

[Gnik_Nus]

I recently bought a pair of DT1990s as my DT990s broke and loved the sound they produced so stuck with Beyer (no, the highs didn't put me off), but thought I'd invest a bit further and buy a decent DAC/Amp to drive them. I was previously using an old Sound Blaster Audigy 5 Rx soundcard, which supposedly could power headphones up to 600ohms and got my 1990s to a decent volume level but the quality wasn't great - I didn't expect them to be enough, this is just for context.

I bought an ifi Zen DAC v2 (DAC/Amp) which I'd heard amazing things about from many different reviews but read a couple of reddit posts that said they're not quite powerful enough for the DT1990s. Since I could get them on Amazon with next day delivery I thought I'd try them and see for myself. (Un)surprisingly they didn't impress me as I had to turn the volume dial to 3 o'clock to get them loud enough for what I wanted. The bass, even with the bass boost, also didn't hit quite as hard as I thought but with some EQ I managed to mostly resolve that. Annoyingly though, when the bass gets to a certain level, it sounds distorted and ruins the clarity of the sound. Another big issue when using this Zen DAC is that there is a random popping/cracking noise when there are sudden sounds. Not so much with music when there's a constant stream of sound, but when talking on Discord for example, often when it's silent and someone suddenly talks, it'll pop/crack which is incredibly off-putting.

Is this popping/cracking issue characteristic of a dodgy amp? Could this be a problem with the headphones or cable?

Is the bass distortion caused by the amp not being powerful enough to drive the 1990s at certain volumes?


Another query I have is that I have the opportunity to buy a Schiit Asgard 1 and Bifrost 1 for £200 together. I'm aware that these are a bit dated but would the sound quality still hold up compared to more modern DACs/Amps? If so, would these be a good match for my 1990s? (See end of post for my sound preferences)

I've also found a used Magni 2 for £60 and used Magni 3 for £90 if they'd work well with a good DAC.

Alternatively, I've been looking at other options in the price range of £150-250 such as the Topping DX3 Pro+, would anyone recommend these for 1990s?

Other suggestions are appreciated but please keep them in the price range (I'm in the UK so bare that in mind - an Atom stack would cost too much with the shipping and VAT included and brand new Schiit DAC/Amps would also be too much from the UK store)

For additional context - I listen to a large variety of genres but the main ones are EDM, rock and hip hop, in that order. I like punchy, thumpy bass but I don't like it to muddy the sound and remove clarity from the mids and highs.

The best thing for you to do is to go to a store where they sell audio equipment and check out the stuff they have. Test it. Get what sounds good to you. No point in asking people here because what they like may not be what sounds good to you, and nothing can be demoed or neckties proven here. A lot of so-called audiophiles often gloat about stuff that barely sounds better than cheap no-brand crap from Argos. They just think because they spend the money and swallowed the marketing and took advice from other self-appointed music fans that they have something special when in real life most people hear music on cheap and cheerful stereos which provide good sound at affordable prices.

 

[Al ears]

The best thing for you to do is to go to a store where they sell audio equipment and check out the stuff they have. Test it. Get what sounds good to you. No point in asking people here because what they like may not be what sounds good to you, and nothing can be demoed or neckties proven here. A lot of so-called audiophiles often gloat about stuff that barely sounds better than cheap no-brand crap from Argos. They just think because they spend the money and swallowed the marketing and took advice from other self-appointed music fans that they have something special when in real life most people hear music on cheap and cheerful stereos which provide good sound at affordable prices.

This thread is quite old...... And your advice not particularly helpful

 

[Gnik_Nus]

This thread is quite old...... And your advice not particularly helpful

I didn’t realise the thread was old but the advice was for the OP, it wasn’t for you so I am not sure why you are saying it is not helpful. Also, you don’t say why it isn’t helpful. Anyone can say “oh this isn’t helpful” but that in itself does not mean anything unless you say in which way it isn’t helpful.
The whole point of my comment was to state that people should just get what sounds good to them. How is that bad advice?

 

[Al ears]

I didn’t realise the thread was old but the advice was for the OP, it wasn’t for you so I am not sure why you are saying it is not helpful. Also, you don’t say why it isn’t helpful. Anyone can say “oh this isn’t helpful” but that in itself does not mean anything unless you say in which way it isn’t helpful.
The whole point of my comment was to state that people should just get what sounds good to them. How is that bad advice?

If your advice is for the OP then I will not comment, however you might also notice he hasn't been on the forum since the his first post.....always best to check these things....

 

[Gnik_Nus]

If your advice is for the OP then I will not comment, however you might also notice he hasn't been on the forum since the his first post.....always best to check these things....

But you said my advice wasn’t useful. How so? If you make a comment like that you should respond. It is your comment that are of zero use.
If anything my comment might be helpful to anyone who might be reading his thread in the future like I was. You have said nothing of substance.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The best thing for you to do is to go to a store where they sell audio equipment and check out the stuff they have. Test it. Get what sounds good to you. No point in asking people here because what they like may not be what sounds good to you, and nothing can be demoed or neckties proven here. A lot of so-called audiophiles often gloat about stuff that barely sounds better than cheap no-brand crap from Argos. They just think because they spend the money and swallowed the marketing and took advice from other self-appointed music fans that they have something special when in real life most people hear music on cheap and cheerful stereos which provide good sound at affordable prices.

Coming to a hifi site and saying unpleasant things about people who like hifi isn't really very helpful or productive. And as has been pointed out, the OP hasn't been here for some time.

 

[Gnik_Nus]

Coming to a hifi site and saying unpleasant things about people who like hifi isn't really very helpful or productive. And as has been pointed out, the OP hasn't been here for some time.

Lol. The person who initially replied to me himself said unpleasant things. I did not realise this was an old thread, but other people read old posts sometimes so they might find the advice helpful. If they don’t they don’t . It is up to people to make up their mind if they find advice useful or not. It is not for you anyone else to tell me whether my opinion is valid or not. It was actually the person who replied to me who was unpleasant who said my advice was not helpful without saying why, which is not a very intelligent way of having a discussion. Either way, people are entitled to say what they want, and I like hi fi too. It doesn’t sound like you like to hear different opinions, which is ok. Your main objection doesn’t seem to be the fact that the OP made his or her post a long time ago, but rather that I said “unpleasant things”. Being on a discussion forum sometimes means hearing other opinions which doesn’t means they nullify the volume of identikit posts here, so a minority voice with a contrary view should not make people so upset here. The post I originally made was for the Op, who did not reply (probably because it has been too long), yet you and some other character gave me some unpleasant responses. I have not desire to converse with you any further, given that both you and the person who replied to me seemed to be rude, even though the post wasn’t for either of you anyway.

 

[Friesiansam]

Lol. The person who initially replied to me himself said unpleasant things. I did not realise this was an old thread, but other people read old posts sometimes so they might find the advice helpful. If they don’t they don’t . It is up to people to make up their mind if they find advice useful or not. It is not for you anyone else to tell me whether my opinion is valid or not. It was actually the person who replied to me who was unpleasant who said my advice was not helpful without saying why, which is not a very intelligent way of having a discussion. Either way, people are entitled to say what they want, and I like hi fi too. It doesn’t sound like you like to hear different opinions, which is ok. Your main objection doesn’t seem to be the fact that the OP made his or her post a long time ago, but rather that I said “unpleasant things”. Being on a discussion forum sometimes means hearing other opinions which doesn’t means they nullify the volume of identikit posts here, so a minority voice with a contrary view should not make people so upset here. The post I originally made was for the Op, who did not reply (probably because it has been too long), yet you and some other character gave me some unpleasant responses. I have not desire to converse with you any further, given that both you and the person who replied to me seemed to be rude, even though the post wasn’t for either of you anyway.

Seems to me, that you are happy to criticise others but, object to others criticising you.

If you are going to make critical posts on forums, you have got to understand, not everyone will agree with you and, all posts are public and available for all to read and respond to.

 

[Al ears]

I wasn't going to reply but I will if only to educate the uninitiated.
Most new members come to the forum to ask a question and not to reply to old threads.
You mentioned identikit answers when you have done exactly that by saying "go audition" in a roundabout way.
I said your reply was not very helpful as it wasn't.
You haven't addressed a single question the OP asked, so I don't exactly know how your comments can be useful to other readers of the thread as they will be reading it with the OPs questions in mind.
You are, of course, free to post whatever you like within forum rules but so am I.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

that I said “unpleasant things”

Either way, people are entitled to say what they want,

It was how you said things, and no, you are not entitled to say what you want - there are rules to which posters are required to adhere.

Please don't discuss moderation in open forum as per rules (feel free to contact the moderators or site admin directly should you wish)- I would encourage you to read them. Civility is expected, and commenting upon the character of others is not permitted.