Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro 250hm Amp?

Audio Hardware & Software Sound Cards & DACs & Other Hardware
1

So I Picked up the DT 880 Pros a few weeks ago and I need a amp for it and i am kinda a Noob at audio Right now So I don't Know What a DAC is and if I need one. Any Ideas ?

2

I'm kinda surprised you need an amp, my 250 ohm DT990s don't need one and I've heard people say that the 250 ohm DT770s don't either.

Anyways, for a cheap, beginner AMP I would look at the Schiit Magni or the JDS Labs/Mayflower Electronics Objective2.

The Magni is nice because it looks sleek and is really straight forward. The downside is that the only input is RCA and there's no gain switch.

The Objective2 is nice because it has the gain switch and uses the standard 3.5mm input. The downside is that everything is attached to the front, so all the cables will be seen.

A DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. It usually takes a digital signal, like across USB for example, and converts it to an analog signal that headphones/speakers use to produce sound. Since analog signals can pick up electrical interference pretty easily while digital signals are less likely to do so, the idea behind a DAC is to essentially bring that digital signal outside the electrically noisy environment that is a computer and convert it to analog in a much less electrically noisy environment, like a desk or whatever where the signal won't pick up as much interference.

3

I use nuForce udac-3 with my 990 Pro. It's actually quite nice, compact dac-amp. Works nice with Windows and OSX and cost like 125 euros. Because it's small I can take it with me wherever I go and use with MacBook.

4

Regarding the Schiit: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/banned-at-head-fi.html

5

I have a couple issues with that blog post

  1. It's almost three years old. Any company worth their salt will have fixed a problem that is a major as the one he is claiming.
  2. His side of the story is drastically different than the ones other people are saying (trying to help, threatening, general butthurt, etc.)
  3. It appears that the issue was being addressed before the NwAvGuy even posted the blog (the second comment to the blog post)
  4. The reviews of Schiit products are actually pretty good. Even the negative one on the Asgard 2 simply says that there is better for the price.

I guess what I'm trying to get across is that that blog post really isn't relevant anymore, nor should it be relevant. It would be like saying nobody should buy a Wii anymore because the wrist straps used to break on the remotes.