Amp or soundcard for Beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm?

[popeisdope]

I'm a noob when it comes to sound, but i just purchased the Beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm. And i would like to know if i need to buy a new soundcard to power the headphones or do i just need an amp? Or do i need both? I also want good sound and i want to run my mic through the soundcard/amp for clear and static free recordings/calls. I will be using the headphones for mostly gaming but also listening to music (PC). What amp/soundcard should i buy that work's well with the 990's 600 ohm? My budget is around 150$

The motherboard i'm using is: Asus Z87-Plus (soundcard is: Realtek ALC892 8-channel)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 😀

 

[anonymousdude]

You will likely benefit from a good amp. Most sound cards have an amp built in as well. Do you need the extra features that a sound card will provide i.e. virtual surround? If not you will be better off getting an amp. For sound cards you really don't have that many options. It's basically asus or creative and you'll likely need one of their higher end cards. So for asus that would be an essence st and for creative the sound blaster z at the bare minimum becasue you're gonna need its slightly more powerful amp.

My personal preference would be to get a amp or even a amp/DAC. Schiit makes good products for the price. For your budget it would be either the magni 2 or vali.

http://schiit.com/

FiiO makes good stuff as well. For desktop use the e10k is good, and if you want something a bit more portable e18 or e17k or e12. THe e10k. e17k and e18 are actually amp/DACs, while the e12 is amp only.

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443418052&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio

http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-E17K-ALPEN-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00RPD7KP8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1443418087&sr=8-6&keywords=fiio

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E18-KUNLUN-Android-Phone/dp/B00GCDJBMM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1443418123&sr=8-10&keywords=fiio

http://www.amazon.com/E12-Blanc-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00B6QXWIY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1443418137&sr=8-7&keywords=fiio

There's also the jds labs O2 amp.

https://www.jdslabs.com/products/35/objective2-headphone-amplifier/

There are a lot more, but off the top of my head these are usually the ones that stand out to me as being very good for the price.

 

[popeisdope]

Okey! Thx for the help!