Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro on Scarlett 2i2

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Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro on Scarlett 2i2

Post by TrueComposer »

Hello team,

Curious!

To maximise headphone output efficiency, therefore reducing unnecessary noise bleed by pumping up the Scarlett headphone volume knob, if there is a headphone amp out there to prevent this i.e. something that can handle the 250 ohms?

...has anyone bought a headphone amp with their Scarlett 2i2 and had a better listening experience compared to a direct connection with a Scarlett 2i2 without an amp?

Maybe a Clarett+ 2Pre would negate the need to worry about a separate headphone amp?

Thank you for your time and replies..
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Re: Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro on Scarlett 2i2

Post by Wonks »

I’m afraid your thinking is flawed.

Noise bleed from the headphones has nothing to do with the headphone amp driving the headphones.

If you need 30mW of power to get the headphone volume you need to track with, then that’s the amount of power you’ll need regardless of what’s driving the phones, and the bleed level picked up on a mic will be just the same. That is down to construction and how well the headphones seal off the sound around your ears.

The DT1990 Pro are open-backed headphones, so have no sealing and a lot of sound leakage. If you need to track with headphones then you’ll need closed-back headphones e.g DT 770 Pro.

If you simply mean that there is a lot of hiss in the headphones when you turn up the volume to the level you want, then that is a different thing entirely.

If you want more efficient headphones, then I’d look for ones with lower impedance (80 ohns or less) and a high sensitivity value.

If you want a quieter, more powerful headphone amp for use with your DT1990 Pros, then you are probably best going for a dedicated headphone amp, but this will need a couple of line outputs to drive it. If you also use monitors, then you’ll need an interface with at least 4 line outputs, something the 2i2 doesn’t have but the Clarett+ 2pre does (as do many other interfaces).

If you can describe what you actually want, you’ll get better answers.
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