80 Ohms Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro - Can my onboard run it?

[L. f]

Greetings everyone! After looking at some headphones and ignoring some and taking other advice from this audio board, I landed at an attractive deal from beyerdynamic, offering the DT 990 Pro not only in black and a good bit cheaper but also with an Impedance of 80 Ohms rather than the usual 250. I really like how they look and from what I've seen and heard I believe I'll like the sound signature and feel as well, if I wasn't getting these I'd be getting the normal 250Ohm pros and a DAC/AMP, and as always if I feel I am in luck I decided to check if I'm missing some detail. The problem with checking details is that there is no specific datasheet: The datasheet at the bottom of the page is not the one for this specific product but rather the normal DT 990 Pro, as shown in the picture and the number in the top left corner. Therefore, I am here to consult the LTT Audio board: Can by onboard sound run it?

I have a Gigabyte Gaming X X570 Motherboard. I don't know which other stats are relevant for this, so I don't know if it helps, but it uses the Realtek ALC887 audio codec. Also, I don't really like very loud audio, I have fairly sensitive hearing so I prefer it a bit more on the quieter side.

I tried - and failed - to get on the english beyerdynamic page, so here's the link to the german page of the product in question, if you're in luck, you might get redirected: https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-990-pro-limited-edition-80-ohm.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_N7hvsDd7wIVh5SyCh2ndw3HEAkYAiABEgJiXvD_BwE
 

It has a button marked "Datenblatt" if you scroll down to the Downloads section, thats the data sheet download.

 

Thanks for any responses! Best regards.

 

[Senzelian]

5 minutes ago, L. f said:

Gigabyte Gaming X X570

I suggest you contact the Gigabyte support to find out which impedance is officially supported as they don't state any specs on their website.

[SupaKomputa]

Realtek soundcard only support up to 32ohm. And it won't drive a 32ohm headphone to the fullest, so goodluck with higher impedance.

[Ahoy Hoy]

It will probably work perfectly fine. Id bet very good money on it work absolutely fine like house value money.
May not be as willing to bet that kind of money on the 250ohm version but 80ohm should be fine.


Also the data sheet is missing the important information for some reason. Beyerdeynamic sometimes puts in data sheets some time doesnt. 
The important info you need is impedance and sound volume per volt or per watt. That way you can calculate the maximum SPL.
 

20 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Realtek soundcard only support up to 32ohm. And it won't drive a 32ohm headphone to the fullest, so goodluck with higher impedance.

Thats just utter crap. Realtek doesn't make sound cards they make audio converters which don't determine anything to do with impedance or power output.

[FloRolf]

Impedance is not anywhere as important as the efficiency of the headphones. My 250ohm 880s run fine on my onboard so 80ohms will too. 

You might have to crank the volume up a bit. 

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, L. f said:

Greetings everyone! After looking at some headphones and ignoring some and taking other advice from this audio board, I landed at an attractive deal from beyerdynamic, offering the DT 990 Pro not only in black and a good bit cheaper but also with an Impedance of 80 Ohms rather than the usual 250. I really like how they look and from what I've seen and heard I believe I'll like the sound signature and feel as well, if I wasn't getting these I'd be getting the normal 250Ohm pros and a DAC/AMP, and as always if I feel I am in luck I decided to check if I'm missing some detail. The problem with checking details is that there is no specific datasheet: The datasheet at the bottom of the page is not the one for this specific product but rather the normal DT 990 Pro, as shown in the picture and the number in the top left corner. Therefore, I am here to consult the LTT Audio board: Can by onboard sound run it?

I have a Gigabyte Gaming X X570 Motherboard. I don't know which other stats are relevant for this, so I don't know if it helps, but it uses the Realtek ALC887 audio codec. Also, I don't really like very loud audio, I have fairly sensitive hearing so I prefer it a bit more on the quieter side.

I tried - and failed - to get on the english beyerdynamic page, so here's the link to the german page of the product in question, if you're in luck, you might get redirected: https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-990-pro-limited-edition-80-ohm.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_N7hvsDd7wIVh5SyCh2ndw3HEAkYAiABEgJiXvD_BwE
 

It has a button marked "Datenblatt" if you scroll down to the Downloads section, thats the data sheet download.

 

Thanks for any responses! Best regards.

 

The better question should be: Will it sound as good as it possibly can? No, nowhere near. My 250ohm 990's sounded horrible on my onboard. Even a pair of 770 80ohm sounded pretty weak as well. Since the efficieny is pretty low the output wont be loud or nowhere near the optimal output for the best sound as the bass and treble will sound weak underpowered. I'd definitely recommend the X2HR. Look in my review comparing the 990 pros to the X2HR's. They are about the same price as well. Please take the time to read it. It will be quite helpful and crucial in your choice of headphones.

[Ahoy Hoy]

45 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Since the efficieny is pretty low the output wont be loud or nowhere near the optimal output for the best sound as the bass and treble will sound weak underpowered.

80ohms have a sensitivity of 96dB per mW
250ohms have a sensitivity of 93dB per mW

neither are low, now the 250ohm I can see that being difficult for some devices but not the 80ohm, 8 year old iphones can smash that out the park.
Your living in the 90s and 00s where audio components were still expensive. There not any more, the cost to make a opamp chip which can provide a few milli watts evenly across all frequencies at 80ohms is so cheap that basically every electrical device can do it.

Your talking out your arse.

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

80ohms have a sensitivity of 96dB per mW
250ohms have a sensitivity of 93dB per mW

neither are low, now the 250ohm I can see that being difficult for some devices but not the 80ohm, 8 year old iphones can smash that out the park.
Your living in the 90s and 00s where audio components were still expensive. There not any more, the cost to make a opamp chip which can provide a few milli watts evenly across all frequencies at 80ohms is so cheap that basically every electrical device can do it.

Your talking out your arse.

How come plugging the 80ohm 770 to multiple modern smartphones doesn't sound as good as my soundcard? Do you have any logical technical explenation to that? It is probably at listenable levels at 100% but it sure don't sound good compared to a good amp that can deliver that power beyerdynamic headphones need. Especially the older models.

[Ahoy Hoy]

12 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

How come plugging the 80ohm 770 to multiple modern smartphones doesn't sound as good as my soundcard? Do you have any logical technical explenation to that? It is probably at listenable levels at 100% but it sure don't sound good compared to a good amp that can deliver that power beyerdynamic headphones need. Especially the older models.

Do you purposely buy the worst tech know to man. Do you have hearing problems, like legit deaf level? Why is it only you who has this problem constantly.

The maths is so obviously clear. 1 milli Watt at 80 ohms is a volume that is already loud.
https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-5/audio-quality.htm

This is a iphone 5. A phone ten years old tech has out passed this. Now before you go look at the graph and say look its not flat. Look at the scale. The scale is so small that its flat.
He puts DT880s 600 ohms which have a sensitivity of 95dB/mW. Thats a dam lot hard then the DT770s. Iphone smashes it out of the park.

If you want some more stats. Heres the tiny lighting audio adapter for new iphones.
https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-quality.htm
The reviews final opinion "This tiny Apple device has better performance and more and cleaner output than many fancier "audiophile" devices I've tested."
He does say if you do go get very hard to drive headphones like the Dt880s you may want to consider a amp but DT770s are not the 880 and are easily runnable on the adapter.


Also especially the older models. Dude physics is physics. 1990s physics doesn't mean the exact same spec modern headphone is any different.