Are Beyerdynamic dt770 80ohm worth it without an amp

[jonathanfoster46]

I'm thinking about buying beyerdynamic dt770 pro (80ohm) but I don't have an amp. How much of a difference does it make using an amp?
Should I buy them and save up for an amp or is it not worth it?

 

[Dunlop0078]

Something like a phone would probably have a difficult time driving them. What motherboard do you have? If it's a decent board with a decent on board sound card it should be able to drive 80ohm DT770s pretty well.

The difference will depend on how capable your onboard sound is. If it's good enough to drive them then a good amp would likely make some difference but it wouldn't be night and day. A good external DAC/AMP would allow you to run them loud enough to make your ears bleed, some have bass boosting features if you are into that, and might produce better sound across the range to a good ear that knows what to look for.

 

[jonathanfoster46]

Something like a phone would probably have a difficult time driving them. What motherboard do you have? If it's a decent board with a decent on board sound card it should be able to drive 80ohm DT770s pretty well.

The difference will depend on how capable your onboard sound is. If it's good enough to drive them then a good amp would likely make some difference but it wouldn't be night and day. A good external DAC/AMP would allow you to run them loud enough to make your ears bleed, some have bass boosting features if you are into that, and might produce better sound across the range to a good ear that knows what to look for.

My motherboard has a realtek alc887 sound card built in. The motherboard itself isn't great so I don't expect it could power them very well.

 

[jsmithepa]

IMHO, PC-base sound crap anyway, don't spend any $ on fancy headphone, unless you are willing to: PC (digital) ---> ext DAC/amp ---> fancy headphone. And that's my opinion. But if u got the dough and the phone just looks bitching cool, go ahead.