[dtamp]

I've decided to pair my beyer DT 1990 Pro with an amp but I need a dac too because I'm also into music production.

I came with the idea of buying darkvoice 336se all cool when I started seeing that I have to change the tubes, then make a 72h burn out without listening and other things. Nobody got time for that!

Assuming that my setup was darkvoice 336se ($600) I needed a dac for the music production, so I would spend $200-250. That's $800-850 just by buying the dac and amp. Add the new tubes you must change and you hit $900-1000.


So, is this setup great or I should not waste time and directly buy WooAudio w7 for $999 (new 2nd gen.) ?

 

[marcussmj]

Skip woo and dark voice. Get a good solid state amp instead.

 

[dtamp]

The music I produce is alternative r&b. People said a tube amp will suit perfect with my headphones AND this type of music production.

If you say solid would be better, what amps do you recommend? Budget for an amp: $600-800 (as long as the dac costs between 200-250)

 

[marcussmj]

First of all, you shouldn't produce music with headphones, a pair of near field studio monitors would have been better. Anyway, a simple audio-gd nfb-11 could do the job, or the schiit magni 3 and modi2u stack. You have an odd price point so I don't see the benefit of spending $800 for both. If you are willing to step up your budget the RME ADI-2 DAC is an amazing device that covers almost all ground for you with its vast feature set.

 

[dtamp]

First of all, you shouldn't produce music with headphones, a pair of near field studio monitors would have been better. Anyway, a simple audio-gd nfb-11 could do the job, or the schiit magni 3 and modi2u stack. You have an odd price point so I don't see the benefit of spending $800 for both. If you are willing to step up your budget the RME ADI-2 DAC is an amazing device that covers almost all ground for you with its vast feature set.

Well.. Assuming that I've already paid $580 for the headphones I'm not gonna pair them with a $200 amplifier. (is like eating icecream with salt, you said I have an odd price, I hope this explains haha)

Music production in headphones is a 100x different than using monitors. You do know with headphones you can create/hear the most smallest sound that a monitor can barely reproduce but yet that sound is important for the entire song/track.

Rme looks nice and the price is great. Can you give a deeper details about Rme "quality" on my type of music I produce?

 

[marcussmj]

Well.. Assuming that I've already paid $580 for the headphones I'm not gonna pair them with a $200 amplifier. (is like eating icecream with salt, you said I have an odd price, I hope this explains haha)

Music production in headphones is a 100x different than using monitors. You do know with headphones you can create/hear the most smallest sound that a monitor can barely reproduce but yet that sound is important for the entire song/track.

Rme looks nice and the price is great. Can you give a deeper details about Rme "quality" on my type of music I produce?

You don't use headphones to MASTER you use it to MONITOR. I hope that explains my point. Nothing wrong with pairing a $200 amplifier, it shouldn't cost more than your headphones in the first place, transducers are the one that makes the most immediate difference in sound than your source, not asking you to cheap out entirely but this is somewhat true for the most part. The RME doesn't colour too much in sound except maybe a tiny bit lesser lower mids and emphasis on upper mids. However, I try not to use terms like neutral as it doesn't say much as the perception of neutral varies from each individual. Hope that helps.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I came with the idea of buying darkvoice 336se all cool when I started seeing that I have to change the tubes, then make a 72h burn out without listening and other things. Nobody got time for that!

Well, first off, it's "burn in." Closest thing is a "break in," like a new engine. "Burn out" is for tyres to get to the right temp before you launch down the quarter mile.

Second, it's not really a "break in," since there are no mechanical parts - that happens more with the driver suspension on headphones and speakers, or the earpad compression.

What you need is a warm-up, which is more like jumping around the court before the jump, not the hard "burn out" people tend to do to their tyres, which outside of an actual drag strip is just people wasting rubber to show off.

In any case, you can get around that warm up by:

1. Doing other things. Get home, fire it up, take a shower, cook and eat, etc. That's enough time to warm it up.

2. Leaving it running 24/7/365.


Also, you don't have to change the tubes unless they broke.

I came with the idea of buying darkvoice 336se all cool when I started seeing that I have to change the tubes, then make a 72h burn out without listening and other things. Nobody got time for that!

Assuming that my setup was darkvoice 336se ($600) I needed a dac for the music production, so I would spend $200-250. That's $800-850 just by buying the dac and amp. Add the new tubes you must change and you hit $900-1000.


So, is this setup great or I should not waste time and directly buy WooAudio w7 for $999 (new 2nd gen.) ?

I'd much rather get a Magni3 and Modi2 Uber if you want to do all that for less money. Not to mention it's the safer choice. Even if you overcompensate for a relatively bright headphone this way, doing it the other way around with a slightly warm tube amp can mean you'll end up with a mix that's too bright.

Also you'd be better off having a Magni3 and several headphones so you can compare what the mix sounds like on different headphones to approximate the different playback systems that music will be played through.

 

[Monsterzero]

OP Im selling my La Figaro 339 for close to your budget. It is considered to be the next step up from the 336. Its a great amp and only reason im selling is I grabbed a GOTL.
PM me if interested,I have yet to post it for sale.

 

[marcussmj]

Only buy a darkvoice if you want a fire hazard and need to claim insurance.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I've decided to pair my beyer DT 1990 Pro with an amp but I need a dac too because I'm also into music production.
I came with the idea of buying darkvoice 336se all cool when I started seeing that I have to change the tubes, then make a 72h burn out without listening and other things. Nobody got time for that!
Assuming that my setup was darkvoice 336se ($600) I needed a dac for the music production, so I would spend $200-250. That's $800-850 just by buying the dac and amp. Add the new tubes you must change and you hit $900-1000.
So, is this setup great or I should not waste time and directly buy WooAudio w7 for $999 (new 2nd gen.) ?

The Darkvoice 336se normally cost around $214-$250, so how did you come up with a $600 price, for the 336se?

I believe on Head-fi, most people see tube headphone amplifers as something that will color the sound.
So for audio production a solid state headphone amplifier would be a better choice.
Audio-GD NFB-11.28, total price around $380, delivered to your door.
http://audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFN1128/NFB1128EN.htm
The NFB-11.28 comes with a line-output (RCA), so you could connect a 336SE to it, for when your in the mood for a more colorful sound, for listen enjoyment like for music or movies (not audio production).

Also might buy some used Sony MDR-V6 (or MDR-7506) headphones, should provide a very neutral sound for audio production.
(not sure how neutral the sound is on the DT1990)