Amp/DAC (or sound card?) for DT 990?

[EagleOD1]

I've been looking for headphones, and I found the Beyerdynamic DT990. I have two main things: I want to use them for gaming (CS:GO: pinpointing the exact location of footsteps), and listening to some music (EDM, house, trap) with some bass.

My motherboard is the Gigabyte. GA-Z170X-UD5 TH.
Now, will I need an external DAC/Amp (under $150) and which one? Or possibly even a sound card? Or nothing at all?

Thank you.

 

[ssddx]

responded in your other thread on the hd598. (they really should be combined into one thread if you arent sure what you want to do).

first thing: best advantage on fps games is wide soundstage, good positional accuracy and very little bass output. this is why cans like the ad500x are so good. why lack of bass? bass covers footsteps and most gunshots are treble and mids territory.

can you play games competitively even if you have more bass? yes. skill trumps any advantage you may have here. its still suggested to have decent soundstaging and positional accuracy but you can certainly game well on equipment that is not considered ideal by the masses. my suggestion is to always use what you like the sound of over any advantage it brings.

dt990 is a great open can. bright detailed highs and decent low end considering its an open can. mids are recessed. very vibrant and detailed but at the same time this can be a bit fatiguing for some. the dt880 is more of a neutral version with not as much bass and not as much of a treble edge. still bassier than the hd598 though.

if you wanted even more bass, the dt770 closed can delivers (80 ohm is the bassiest of the three). while certainly not as ideal, they can be used for gaming and for gamers who want bass i suggest them.

a good amplifier for the dt990/880 would be the schiit magni 2. you could get away with something lesser but you may not be able to get the most from your headphones in all situations. if you wanted virtual surround you could use onboard processing on your motherboard if it has it, razer virtual surround or just use a soundcard like the xonar dx which doesnt have much of an amplifier (its dac is the one in the $250 stx).

if you dont care about virtual surround, you could always use an external dac+amp (schiit modi+magni stack for example) or combined dac/amp (audioengine d1, fiioi e10k).

 

[EagleOD1]

responded in your other thread on the hd598. (they really should be combined into one thread if you arent sure what you want to do).

first thing: best advantage on fps games is wide soundstage, good positional accuracy and very little bass output. this is why cans like the ad500x are so good. why lack of bass? bass covers footsteps and most gunshots are treble and mids territory.

can you play games competitively even if you have more bass? yes. skill trumps any advantage you may have here. its still suggested to have decent soundstaging and positional accuracy but you can certainly game well on equipment that is not considered ideal by the masses. my suggestion is to always use what you like the sound of over any advantage it brings.

dt990 is a great open can. bright detailed highs and decent low end considering its an open can. mids are recessed. very vibrant and detailed but at the same time this can be a bit fatiguing for some. the dt880 is more of a neutral version with not as much bass and not as much of a treble edge. still bassier than the hd598 though.

if you wanted even more bass, the dt770 closed can delivers (80 ohm is the bassiest of the three). while certainly not as ideal, they can be used for gaming and for gamers who want bass i suggest them.

a good amplifier for the dt990/880 would be the schiit magni 2. you could get away with something lesser but you may not be able to get the most from your headphones in all situations. if you wanted virtual surround you could use onboard processing on your motherboard if it has it, razer virtual surround or just use a soundcard like the xonar dx which doesnt have much of an amplifier (its dac is the one in the $250 stx).

if you dont care about virtual surround, you could always use an external dac+amp (schiit modi+magni stack for example) or combined dac/amp (audioengine d1, fiioi e10k).

While I'm thinking about it, do you mind answering a quick little out of topic question? Which pair of headphones have more bass? Bose QC25 or HD598?

 

[ssddx]

couldnt tell you.

what i can say after having owned bose in the past is that they are utter trash and not worth more than 1/3 their pricetag. at first i thought they were good, until i got something else and realized how wrong i was. build quality is poor, durability is poor, sound quality is average and active noise cancelling distorts audio terribly.

perhaps i'm a bit opinionated there, but i've certainly owned them in the past so can make that call from my own experience. ymmv.

 

[EagleOD1]

couldnt tell you.

what i can say after having owned bose in the past is that they are utter trash and not worth more than 1/3 their pricetag. at first i thought they were good, until i got something else and realized how wrong i was. build quality is poor, durability is poor, sound quality is average and active noise cancelling distorts audio terribly.

perhaps i'm a bit opinionated there, but i've certainly owned them in the past so can make that call from my own experience. ymmv.

Alright, will be getting a DT990 Pro without any amp or dac. My motherboard has an amp and it should be fine. Thanks.

 

[ssddx]

even the very best onboard amplifiers arent really ideal for high impedance cans. you could likely use them with good onboard, but you wont get the very best out of them.