FiiO K5 Pro with AKG K701 or Beyerdynamic DT 990 600Ohm Edition

[Beryd]

Hi everyone!
I have a small problem with deciding whether which of these two headphones (K701 or DT990 600Ohm) I should pair with FiiO K5.

My first choice was AKGs but sound characteristics of DT990s fit my taste better. Problem is, there are mixed opinions about pairing DT 990 600ohms with Fiio K5 Pro, some say it will be enough to drive them, some say they sound muddy.

 

So I want to ask what you think about pairing DT990s with FiiO K5 Pro and eventually ask you for other DAC in the same price range that would fit well with DT990s?

 

Cheers !

[rice guru]

The k5pro is enough to drive 600 ohm beyers. The mud comes from the midbass boost of the 990 it's kinda a take it or leave it kinda deal with the 990. You can eq it out or just get A 880 600 ohm instead.

[Spuriae]

Whether or not an amplifier is "enough" to drive headphones often comes down more to the user's maximum listening levels than the headphones being driven. That said, even if you listen fairly loudly or use EQ, the K5 should have plenty of power for the DT990 600Ω (114dB peak based on 96dB/1mw).

[Beryd]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

The k5pro is enough to drive 600 ohm beyers. The mud comes from the midbass boost of the 990 it's kinda a take it or leave it kinda deal with the 990. You can eq it out or just get A 880 600 ohm instead.

Thanks for an answer, but talking about that muddines, and it comming from the midbass boost. I've read that there is a way to make the bass tighter and mid brighter or more forward by replacing foam net pads with interfacing inserts, or by removing the foam net pads. Have u heard about something similar ?

[Spuriae]

21 minutes ago, Beryd said:

Thanks for an answer, but talking about that muddines, and it comming from the midbass boost. I've read that there is a way to make the bass tighter and mid brighter or more forward by replacing foam net pads with interfacing inserts, or by removing the foam net pads. Have u heard about something similar ?

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-a-i/dt990-pro-250ω/

 

DT1990B pads + felt in front of the driver might be able to get the effect you're looking for.

[CTR640]

Earpads can change the sound signatures, that's correct. But as a sucker I am, I don't change any earpads because that would be an endless path and I like to keep all my shit stock without having to fight the earpads because some headphones are very difficult to swap pads. The best to EQ is APO Equalizer with Peace addon to make it easier and play with EQ settings.

 

The DT880 would be my choice too instead of the DT990. i had the DT880 250ohm and liked it.

[Spuriae]

1 hour ago, CTR640 said:

Earpads can change the sound signatures, that's correct. But as a sucker I am, I don't change any earpads because that would be an endless path and I like to keep all my shit stock without having to fight the earpads because some headphones are very difficult to swap pads. The best to EQ is APO Equalizer with Peace addon to make it easier and play with EQ settings.

 

The DT880 would be my choice too instead of the DT990. i had the DT880 250ohm and liked it.

I love EQ and run EQ on all my headphones. Modding has certain advantages over EQ, though, if done properly. In practice I think certain changes should be done through EQ and others through mods.

• EQ reduces dynamic range because the average output level has to be lowered to prevent clipping, while modding usually does not. Honestly this usually isn't too much of an issue in practice except with low power or noisy electronics or high amplitude EQ filters.
• Normally bass is increased while modding by decreasing the damping, which usually leads to the same magnitude vs distortion/ringing tradeoff you'd get with digital EQ. But if a mod increases bass extension, it usually does so without those drawbacks. If a mod increases damping without reducing amplitude by a corresponding amount, that mod+EQ can be better than that mod or EQ alone.
• Narrow peaks and troughs in the treble aren't EQ-able because their frequencies will differ from person to person depending on the shape of their head. Mods can improve treble damping overall and reduce the sharpness of those features more generally.
• EQ cannot fix resonances where the sound pressure and energy do not match. Pass-notch and comb filters, pad bounce, etc.

For instance, in many measurements of closed-backs you'll see a deep notch around 4kHz. Attempting to use EQ to fix that can make the headphone sound significantly worse.

[Beryd]

Okey, so I'll try modding the DT990's by replacing the foam under the pads and/or pads if I will find them "muddy" sounding and then try to correct them with EQ if the "stock" sound characteristic will be satisfactory. This will be fun :D. Thanks for all the replies, they were very informative. Cheers!