DT 990 PRO X

It depends on which model you got. The DT 990s come in a range of impedance levels- if you got the 80 ohm version or the Pro X model (48 ohm), chances are your motherboard really is enough to power them and buying an amp would have minimal benefits. If you're happy with the sound, don't go out of your way to spend more money on them.

I don't have a DAC myself but I believe Fiio's are meant to be good value. Again though if you're happy with the sound you're happy with it.

My brother has DT 990 Pro X and they need to be EQ’d however this is really simple and you can find everything really quick with a couple searches. I’d never done anything like it and set them up in 10 mins for him. They are insanely good i unfortunately am not a headphone user but I tested them out on valorant for a short period and the pin point accuracy of footsteps on and being able to time someone walking round corners because of the accuracy of the imaging. This was something that made me dive into the audio space because I couldn’t believe I’d not invested in decent audio before.

They definitely need EQing. straight out the box they weren’t great but very easy fix. I suppose it depends what you are looking for. You mentioned gaming so I assumed you wanted that wallhack type of sound.

Stop here. Don't buy anything else. Pro X doesn't need an amp if you're happy with how loud it gets. This is the one and only "wow" feeling you'll get, everything else is chasing this feeling again and you eventually end up with $5k headphones. Amazing gear, happy you're happy.

I went through the exact same process you’re going through about 2 weeks ago. After some research I went with the beyerdynamic DT 990 pro x (open back). Crazy how much better the directional audio is compared to the Arctis Pros I’d been using for the past 8 years. Funny enough Arc raiders is also the game I’ve been playing and the reason I made the switch was because I was having trouble figuring out where sounds were coming from. The improvement in audio detail was mind blowing.

1990 MK2 is great, 990 Pro X treble is HORRIBLE for games. join the HD 490 gang.

I have the closed back Beyerdynamic DT 770's for when it's loud in my home office, but prefer to use Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X which are open backs. The sound is neutral and very clean. They are also probably the most comfortable thing I've ever put on my head.

I disagree, try using like Creative Aurvana Live SE and you will only be able to tell the 4 cardinal directions, and with Koss Porta Pro any remote explosion will sound like right on you. I can't count the times I was accused of wallhack because I used HD555, and likewise, cant count times I have won because I had them. Good headphones won't make you automatically good, but all things equal, if players know how to play by the sound (that is also a skill), there can be surprisingly big difference. It can be the difference between hearing the enemy is in the next room, and actually rushing in and prefiring the exact spot.

User made frequency response measurement of MMX 330 Pro, DT900 Pro X and DT990 Pro X [https://gadgetrytech.squig.link/headsets/?share=beyerdynamic\_MMX\_330\_Pro,beyerdynamic\_DT\_900\_Pro\_X,beyerdynamic\_DT\_990\_Pro\_X](https://gadgetrytech.squig.link/headsets/?share=beyerdynamic_MMX_330_Pro,beyerdynamic_DT_900_Pro_X,beyerdynamic_DT_990_Pro_X) DT990 Pro X seem to be likely the sharpest. DT900 Pro X seem a bit more sharp than MMX 330 Pro due to peak around 7kHz, but also thicker from mids down. Depending to what part you adjust your loudness level it might differ a bit between those headphones, but even if you align treble peak and bass, then MMX 330 Pro has just more in the presence area. Again, can't really say anything without hearing, but if I was to order without trying, and with the idea of returning them if they aren't good, I might try MMX 330 Pro out of the three. That said I'm Sennheiser person, and only play comptetitive fps on neutral signature open backs (unfortunately I'm not up to speed with all the newly released models). When I tried DT770 Pro 80Ohm, it felt like it is more of a competition to $50 Philips SHP9500 (actually friend who owns those DT770, bought SHP9500 after we made a comparison) :P

You don't really have to worry about impedance unless you would want to use some super low impedance IEMs. I've checked the spec, but I can't find power output of your player, that is a weird thing to omit when they output impedance and even IMD listed. Since it is based on CS43198, it should be able to get 2Vrms from unbalanced and 4Vrms from balanced into high impedance loads, but if there is more or what is the output into low impedance is unknown. Given the price of the device I would mail/call their support and demand exact information about output power. Anyway if the 250Ohm recommendation you got was DT770/880/990 then, that would not be a very good one as those headphones work only with unbalanced connection and their 250Ohm variant needs 2.5Vrms to reach 110dB SPL (loudness). So among Beyerdynamics models an 80Ohm variants (so only DT770/990, as there is no 80Ohm DT880) would be much better pick since they only require 1.4Vrms for that. You should be fine with anything from Sennheiser from 500 series, so HD560S/505/550, including possibly HD58X from american Drop store, and also HD490 Pro. I would not recommend going for 600 series which will work fine, but in their case I would advise getting balanced cable for those and if balanced output in your player is limited to 4Vrms, I would say 600 series can get better with more. Aside those you might want to take a look at planars like FiiO FT1 Pro and Hifiman headphones, but I do lack experience with those so can't tell much. Spec wise FT1 Pro should run fine even from 3.5mm unbalanced, while Hifimans can vary a lot depending on the exact model. Be warned though, Hifiman is kind of known for poor reliability (but also for not making problems with warranty claims and just replacing faulty units).