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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
So the question is, what are the best headphones for casual listening, not requiring amplifiers or w/e. Something that my ipod can power and it will sound amazing. Right now I'm using BOSE, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Bose® - On-Ear Headphones - Silver/Black/7997368.p?id=1155071451080&skuId=7997368 They are pretty good, I like them, but I feel like there is something better out there. I also want the studio headphones that engulf my whole ear. Where are the audiophiles at!  | ||
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Loser777
1931 Posts
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Rotodyne
United States2263 Posts
 , but yea, read up on head-fi.org. What's your price range? | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
Then again I'm not that knowledgable on how that stuff works. I've just been reading reviews from all sorts of websites. If someone could clue me in a little bit, thatd be awesome. | ||
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vek
Australia936 Posts
However it might not "engulf your whole ear" enough for your liking. Edit: just so you get what I mean, they do completely enclose your ears (otherwise noise canceling wouldn't really work) but they aren't overly massive like this: + Show Spoiler + ![[image loading]](http://ployer.com/archives/2008/04/13/AKG-K701-Studio-Headphones-thumb-580x481.jpg) Not really clear what you want. | ||
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sob3k
United States7572 Posts
If you want explanations of why then find one of the older threads. Buy Sony MDR-V6's. (This is from a serious music enthusiast and producer) | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
You definitely want to stay away from high-impedance, low-sensitivity headphones if you're using it out of an ipod, as you might not get enough volume on music that is soft or has large dynamic range. Harder-to-drive headphones also would drain battery life slightly more. Most of the popular choices in the few hundred dollar range would therefore not be appropriate for you. This includes the Sennheiser HD 600, HD 650, etc. A good open headphone for a little over $220 would be the Ultrasone PROLine 2500. Closed would be maybe the Denon D2000 for a little more--it's also supposed to be very comfortable. edit: whoops, didn't see that you wanted huge circumaural. Check the size of the above. The Audio Technica a900 (or any axxxx) for closed, any high-end Audio Technica ad900 (or higher number), maybe. The AKG 601 is a good open headphone that I have, but it's borderline for driving it out of an ipod. It's the same size as the headphone picture shown earlier in the thread (that one is a AKG 701, which is a little better but is more unpleasant and bright with bad sources). Sony MDR-SA5000 is also a good open headphone, for more like $300. The Beyerdynamic DT880 (32 ohms version) would be great for open too. After a certain point, better headphones are going to be really limited by the relatively low-fi sources you're using, so there's not much point to going higher. | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
For example, personally, I steer clear of Bose as a brand because they tend to over-hype the sound quite a bit, making people say wow at the listening post, but not really giving an accurate representation of the original sound. I put much more value on accuracy and a flat frequency response, but maybe that's because I'm an audio producer and that's what I look out for as a hallmark of good quality audio gear. What I mean is, you should just try out a bunch of different models and not worry too much about the reviews. However, for us to recommend some models to you, it's sorta essential that we know your budget, otherwise I might suggest a pair like these as high-end headphones, when really you mean at the high-end of your budget, whatever that may be. It's also worth noting that expensive (>£200 generally) headphones often require a headphone amp to sound their best and to power them efficiently, but they don't all need them, and will still sound much better than cheaper/worse models even without a headphone amp. On top of that, there's little point in spending all your money (not suggesting that you are, but just making a point) on a pair of top-notch headphones if all you ever do is listen to 128kbps MP3s. If you really want to have good quality music, you'll need to make sure every link in the chain is good quality. | ||
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prodiG
Canada2016 Posts
easily the best $130 i've ever spent at axe music. no bullshit sounds from your surroundings will be interrupting you with these on 8) | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:00 Myrmidon wrote: What sound card or integrated motherboard sound chip do you have? Do you care about open (non-sound-isolating) vs. closed (sound isolating)? You definitely want to stay away from high-impedance, low-sensitivity headphones if you're using it out of an ipod, as you might not get enough volume on music that is soft or has large dynamic range. Harder-to-drive headphones also would drain battery life slightly more. Most of the popular choices in the few hundred dollar range would therefore not be appropriate for you. This includes the Sennheiser HD 600, HD 650, etc. A good open headphone for a little over $220 would be the Ultrasone PROLine 2500. Closed would be maybe the Denon D2000 for a little more--it's also supposed to be very comfortable. edit: whoops, didn't see that you wanted huge circumaural. Check the size of the above. The Audio Technica a900 (or any axxxx) for closed, any high-end Audio Technica ad900 (or higher number), maybe. The AKG 601 is a good open headphone that I have, but it's borderline for driving it out of an ipod. It's the same size as the headphone picture shown earlier in the thread (that one is a AKG 701, which is a little better but is more unpleasant and bright with bad sources). Sony MDR-SA5000 is also a good open headphone, for more like $300. The Beyerdynamic DT880 (32 ohms version) would be great for open too. After a certain point, better headphones are going to be really limited by the relatively low-fi sources you're using, so there's not much point to going higher. Ok cool, so basically for your standard power sources like a computer or ipod, these are the best possible? Any higher requires some sort of amplifier or studio equipment correct? Sorry I'm new. I have a Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card 700 Watt Power supply SLI ready(whatever that means) ASUS P6T Intel X58 Chipset Crossfire and SLI supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple channel DDR3, Gb Lan, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3 Way SLI SLI PCI-E MB Also price is not an issue. | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:02 jtype wrote: Well, what will sound 'amazing' to your ears will sound mediocre or bad to someone else's and vice versa. For example, personally, I steer clear of Bose as a brand because they tend to over-hype the sound quite a bit, making people say wow at the listening post, but not really giving an accurate representation of the original sound. I put much more value on accuracy and a flat frequency response, but maybe that's because I'm an audio producer and that's what I look out for as a hallmark of good quality audio gear. What I mean is, you should just try out a bunch of different models and not worry too much about the reviews. However, for us to recommend some models to you, it's sorta essential that we know your budget, otherwise I might suggest a pair like these as high-end headphones, when really you mean at the high-end of your budget, whatever that may be. It's also worth noting that expensive (>£200 generally) headphones often require a headphone amp to sound their best and to power them efficiently, but they don't all need them, and will still sound much better than cheaper/worse models even without a headphone amp. On top of that, there's little point in spending all your money (not suggesting that you are, but just making a point) on a pair of top-notch headphones if all you ever do is listen to 128kbps MP3s. If you really want to have good quality music, you'll need to make sure every link in the chain is good quality. I'm also wondering how do amplifiers work with headphones? Can i somehow use an amplifier with my computer or ipod? Sorry if this is dumbest question of the day I have no clue. | ||
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theshin2007
United States133 Posts
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Jayme
United States5866 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:15 Zeller wrote: I'm also wondering how do amplifiers work with headphones? Can i somehow use an amplifier with my computer or ipod? Sorry if this is dumbest question of the day I have no clue. You plug the amp into the jack and the headphone into the amp...drains more power but it does sound better. | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:19 Jayme wrote: You plug the amp into the jack and the headphone into the amp...drains more power but it does sound better. So I'm guessing there is probably a whole world of kickass amps I would have to research if I went that route? For example I own these speakers for my PC. http://www.amazon.com/Bose-Companion-multimedia-speaker-Graphite/dp/B000HZBR64/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1283804606&sr=1-2 Could I plug an amp into that? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:14 Zeller wrote: Ok cool, so basically for your standard power sources like a computer or ipod, these are the best possible? Any higher requires some sort of amplifier or studio equipment correct? Sorry I'm new. Also price is not an issue. "Requires" is kind of the wrong word, since any headphones will produce sounds out of any source. Amplifiers in this context are used not really to provide more power (though they do provide more power than your standard sources, and this power is necessary for high-impedance, low-sensitivity headphones), but to improve the sound quality over the ipod or computer stock amplifier chip. Worse amplifiers produce more distortions and have problems that wouldn't be noticed with worse headphones. With better headphones, you can start to hear inaccuracies of any of the parts along the signal chain, notably the music file (if lower-rate mp3) and amplifier. Just to clarify, that's around the quality level of headphones I'd recommend and that I've seen recommended before it's kind of a waste without a better source. Jayme: well, if the amplifier has its own power source (battery, or own power from the wall), then using an amplifier will actually draw less power from the computer or the ipod. Also, you'd want to avoid taking the audio signal from a normal headphone jack to send it to the amplifier. It's better to use a line-out to avoid going through the stock amplifier headphone driver chip on the device. | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:23 Myrmidon wrote: "Requires" is kind of the wrong word, since any headphones will produce sounds out of any source. Amplifiers in this context are used not really to provide more power (though they do provide more power than your standard sources, and this power is necessary for high-impedance, low-sensitivity headphones), but to improve the sound quality over the ipod or computer stock amplifier chip. Worse amplifiers produce more distortions and have problems that wouldn't be noticed with worse headphones. With better headphones, you can start to hear inaccuracies of any of the parts along the signal chain, notably the music file (if lower-rate mp3) and amplifier. Just to clarify, that's around the quality level of headphones I'd recommend and that I've seen recommended before it's kind of a waste without a better source. Jayme: well, if the amplifier has its own power source (battery, or own power from the wall), then using an amplifier will actually draw less power from the computer or the ipod. Also, you'd want to avoid taking the audio signal from a normal headphone jack to send it to the amplifier. It's better to use a line-out to avoid going through the stock amplifier headphone driver chip on the device. Ok so another question, if I want some beasty Sennheiser type of headphones. Would there be any way to get the most sound out of them from my computer? If so , what would I need? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:20 Zeller wrote: So I'm guessing there is probably a whole world of kickass amps I would have to research if I went that route? Yes, and researching them is probably more difficult. The problem is that portable amps are kind of a hassle when using with your ipod, if mobility is a concern. Also, portable amps aren't as good price/performance as desktop amps. Side note: differences between amps are overstated on audiophile forums generally. Differences between DACs (digital-to-audio converters, which take the digital music source and pass to amps) are even more overstated. Finally, differences between interconnect cables...I'm not going to go there.  | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:15 Zeller wrote: I'm also wondering how do amplifiers work with headphones? Can i somehow use an amplifier with my computer or ipod? Sorry if this is dumbest question of the day I have no clue. Nah it's not a dumb question at all. If you don't know, then you don't know. I don't really know all that much about the electronic side of things, but I know some general things. Basically, your ipod or computer headphone output will only have a certain amount of power dedicated to it. This may be slightly more or less than a pair of headphones needs to function at maximum efficiency, so you'll want to make sure that you're not under-powering your headphones, otherwise they may sound too quiet, or you may not quite get the best performance out of them. Also, as with most hifi amps/gear, headphone amps can impart a bit of 'colour' or 'personality' to the audio signal. Good quality or well-built amps may introduce more subtle and nicer characteristics to the sound. As an example, quite a few people favour Valve amps, because of the warm sound they produce, due to the soft harmonic distortions the valve components produce when sound is driven through them. | ||
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SiN]
United States540 Posts
These are the best in-ear headphones around. They are $80 with a $300 sound quality. I HIGHLY recommend them. Seriously, if you are getting in-ear headphones, get these. If you don't care about the kind of headphones, get these. For over-the-head headphones, go with Sennheisers. They are all high quality. | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
Now if I try to go with high end Sennheiser type of headphones. What do I need to get the most out of them on my computer? I listed my motherboard, power supply, sound card above. And these are the speakers I'd be plugging them into. http://www.amazon.com/Bose-Companion-multimedia-speaker-Graphite/dp/B000HZBR64/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1283804606&sr=1-2 | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:29 GoSu] wrote: For over-the-head headphones, go with Sennheisers. They are all high quality. I'd actually disagree with that. They do have a couple of very good-quality models, but their range, like most popular manufacturers is largely made up of cheaper mass-market stuff that isn't really fit for anything more than a very very casual listener. @OP - Try not to get too caught up in any particular brand prejudice, where possible, as many different companies have good models in their range, but it's not always their most popular or best-selling models. In fact, despite the love that Sennheiser have been receiving in this thread (and numerous other threads/forums also), there are many people who don't like even their most well-regarded models. Everybody's ears are physically different, so nobody hears things exactly in the same way. | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
If it's possible I want to go pretty high-end, I'm just not sure if my computer can handle it, what kind of amp I would need. Basically don't want to waste money on nice headphones that I can't get the most out of. | ||
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meeple
Canada10211 Posts
Does anyone have any reservations about that? | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
I'm really trying to get a little educated on this stuff. Weigh all my options. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
That ASUS sound card should be all you need. It can power headphones like the Sennheiser HD 650, Beyerdynamic DT 880 (600 ohms version), etc., and whatever. If you want to spend like $1500, I would recommend buying something with a generous return policy.  After all, reviews are only going to tell you so much.But after that, you can try some of the flagship top-end models I guess. Audio Technica W5000, Beyerdynamic Tesla T1, Sennheiser HD 800, JVC DX1000, Ultrasone Edition 9, etc. Those are the big guns, off of the top of my head. | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
For some lower mid-range DACs, I would recommend: E-MU 0404 Lexicon IONIX U22 Tascam US-122 Focusrite Saffire 6 Apogee ONE To get you started. For headphones, I would suggest taking a look at: Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Sennheiser HD595 Beyerdynamic DT990 The following are also very decent-sounding but are also very rugged and portable, if that's more what you need: Sennheiser HD25-1 II Shure SRH840 Sony MDR-V700 edit - Myrmidon is definitely suggesting some good stuff and is talking a lot of sense, but it seems we've both hit upon two slightly different price points. If you can afford the stuff that Myrmidon is suggesting, then yea, by all means go for it. The stuff I'm suggesting is a lot more entry-level-good-quality-stuff, but better-than-average-cheap-stuff. :D | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
1. Do I plug the amplifier directly into my pc? Or can i plug it into my bose speakers where the headphone port is? 2. For the high-end headphones, do those need to be plugged into my desktop or can those be plugged into the bose speakers as well? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
I like jtype's suggestions too, except that I wouldn't pay that much for a DAC/amp and then just get $100-200 headphones. The headphones, music file bitrate and encoding quality, and recording/mastering quality make more of a difference in the sound than the DAC and amp. Price/performance-wise I definitely would avoid audiophile DAC/amps. jtype is suggesting products used mostly in the pro audio world, which is the better value. High-end audiophile gear is pretty much like custom orders in terms of the volume of product produced, and audiophiles often overpay on gear when they don't know better, so prices can be killer. | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
On September 07 2010 06:03 Zeller wrote: Ok few more then. 1. Do I plug the amplifier directly into my pc? Or can i plug it into my bose speakers where the headphone port is? 2. For the high-end headphones, do those need to be plugged into my desktop or can those be plugged into the bose speakers as well? I would definitely suggest eliminating as many unnecessary parts of the signal chain as possible, so I would recommend plugging the headphones directly into the line out of your soundcard, or any headphone ports that it has. One reason for this is that the fewer components the audio has to travel through, the less things will degrade,colour, interfere, or otherwise lessen the quality of the signal. I don't know how good the circuitry is for the headphone port on those Bose speakers. It may be very good, or it may be a cheap afterthought, as the primary use for that product is for the 2.1 stereo system and not the headphones. | ||
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Open-Air-Dynamic-Audiophile-Headphone/dp/B00018MSNI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1283807248&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD5000-AH-D5000-Reference-Headphones/dp/B000MVEC10/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1283807781&sr=1-2 http://www.amazon.com/AKG-272-HD-High-Definition-Headphones/dp/B0028N78KC/ref=sr_1_23?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1283807656&sr=1-23 Would I get the sound I should get from them by plugging them into my desktop? As in they should sound better then my $170 pair of bose? Do I need anything like adaptors? http://www.amazon.com/Grado-Mini-Adaptor-Cable-Inch/dp/B001DK1ZVO/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_c whats that all about? | ||
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Xeris
Iran17695 Posts
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
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Zeller
United States1109 Posts
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD595-HD-595-Premier-Headphone/dp/B0001FTVE0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
On September 07 2010 07:11 Zeller wrote: Alright I think I'm going to take it down a notch, and go with the Sennheiser HD595's http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD595-HD-595-Premier-Headphone/dp/B0001FTVE0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top Yea certainly not a bad choice at all. Those will be very decent on both your computer and ipod, without a headphone amp. Let us know what you think of them. Enjoy! | ||
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scottyyy
United Kingdom796 Posts
http://cgi.ebay.com/ZERO-DAC-AMP-headphone-amplifer-USB-toslink-/110582776811?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bf3f43eb I'm sure there are better DACs for cheaper nowadays but this thing seriously rocks. I sold a Darkvoice 332 ($400 headphone amp) after getting this DAC because it honestly wasn't much worse. I've also had Denon D2000s which I sold to get the HD650s. I kinda miss them, the Denon's were extremely good. Best bass on any headphones I've ever heard. If not for the slightly recessed midrange I would never have sold them. The HD650s have a ridiculously nice midrange though so I doubt I will ever change headphones now. | ||
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smileyyy
Germany1816 Posts
On September 07 2010 09:21 scottyyy wrote: HD595s are great. Although for not much more you can get a used pair of HD650s. On head-fi they sell for around $200 all the time, gotta be quick though. I absolutely love my HD650s, I don't know what I'd do without them. I use them with a Zero DAC which I got about 3 years and it's so awesome. http://cgi.ebay.com/ZERO-DAC-AMP-headphone-amplifer-USB-toslink-/110582776811?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bf3f43eb I'm sure there are better DACs for cheaper nowadays but this thing seriously rocks. I sold a Darkvoice 332 ($400 headphone amp) after getting this DAC because it honestly wasn't much worse. I've also had Denon D2000s which I sold to get the HD650s. I kinda miss them, the Denon's were extremely good. Best bass on any headphones I've ever heard. If not for the slightly recessed midrange I would never have sold them. The HD650s have a ridiculously nice midrange though so I doubt I will ever change headphones now. Hmm I got my HD650 a few days ago..  ... I use them with a Asus Xonar DX which is not really capable of powering them I guess. I always get the urge to turn up the volume since the kinda sound quiet.(but they do sound great Especially Deadmau5 ) So do u have any experience on running them on a soundcard without an Amp ?. How big is the difference :o. I'm considering on buying an Amp maybe an Dac/Amp. on X-Mas since Im broke now ... 250€ so much money  | ||
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Cambium
United States16368 Posts
On September 07 2010 05:29 GoSu] wrote: http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/image-s4-overview/ These are the best in-ear headphones around. They are $80 with a $300 sound quality. I HIGHLY recommend them. Seriously, if you are getting in-ear headphones, get these. If you don't care about the kind of headphones, get these. Can you provide some additional details on these. I'm actually considering purchasing them for my GF who frequently travels on airplanes, so proper noise cancellation would be a huge plus (which from what I read, these are great). Any personal experience/testimony wrt noise cancellation would be great! But I don't really care about price (say under $300), so if there are much better in-ear headphones, I'm open to suggestions. To OP: sorry for the semi-hijack  | ||
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YejinYejin
United States1053 Posts
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=audio technica m50s&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=18394523251721601735&ei=nVqOTIn5B4K78ga-ut3NCw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q8wIwAA# | ||
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Aylear
Norway3988 Posts
http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,252,pid,252,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html They cost me $280. They were worth it. Nowadays, the Mark II version is out. I trust the AKG K series enough that I can comfortably recommend the Mark II even without having ever put a pair on my head. Edit: Should qualify my statement by saying I even do some of my final audio mixing on these things. They're just that damn good. | ||
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MinoMino
Norway1103 Posts
As for the E-MU 0404 USB, it was perferct for my use. I like switching between speakers and headphones, and with this I got separate knobs for the volume, meaning I can just have both headphones and speakers playing at the same time if I wanted, without having to switch any cables. I also got my PS3 hooked to it through an optical cable, so the sound just mixes with the sound from my PC. It's just perfect. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On September 14 2010 02:00 Cambium wrote: Can you provide some additional details on these. I'm actually considering purchasing them for my GF who frequently travels on airplanes, so proper noise cancellation would be a huge plus (which from what I read, these are great). Any personal experience/testimony wrt noise cancellation would be great! But I don't really care about price (say under $300), so if there are much better in-ear headphones, I'm open to suggestions. To OP: sorry for the semi-hijack All the in-ear headphones do not do active noise cancellation, afaik. They just create a seal, which can passively block out a lot of sound. The amount varies widely between models. Some models are even vented in the back, or by design they do not isolate much. Granted, the active noise cancellation on many full-size headphones that have it may not even compare with the noise reduction of certain in-ear types. Etymotic is renowned for having in-ears with really high isolation and also good sound. Other models from Shure, etc. are close. In terms of sound quality, there is much better than the Klipsch Image S4, though those are not a bad choice. The Image S4 is unremarkable at isolation though. Check this mega review thread. The Etymotic ER4 is a good option for around $170. On September 14 2010 02:31 Aylear wrote: The best pair of headphones I ever owned, the AKG K240S, now discontinued: http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,252,pid,252,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html They cost me $280. They were worth it. Nowadays, the Mark II version is out. I trust the AKG K series enough that I can comfortably recommend the Mark II even without having ever put a pair on my head. Edit: Should qualify my statement by saying I even do some of my final audio mixing on these things. They're just that damn good. Apparently, AKG's old K240 models from the 70's and 80's--or something like that--were actually much better. The K240S can now be found for around $100. The K240 MK II and K242 are actually the same headphones, just with different selections of accessories (ear pads, cords, etc.). i.e. the transducers in the cups are the same. I don't doubt that they're good, especially since they've served your needs well, but I think for $280 you got ripped off a little. Prices for higher-end headphones always go way under MSRP after a couple years, at least in the states. | ||
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Aylear
Norway3988 Posts
On September 14 2010 03:20 Myrmidon wrote: Apparently, AKG's old K240 models from the 70's and 80's--or something like that--were actually much better. The K240S can now be found for around $100. The K240 MK II and K242 are actually the same headphones, just with different selections of accessories (ear pads, cords, etc.). i.e. the transducers in the cups are the same. I don't doubt that they're good, especially since they've served your needs well, but I think for $280 you got ripped off a little. Prices for higher-end headphones always go way under MSRP after a couple years, at least in the states. To be fair, I bought them from a local retailer way over here in Norway. Not only does the store want a cut, but income tax plus having bought them a few years back upped the price a fair bit. That aside, they were still overpriced by a goodly bit, but I got a discount for the next piece of equipment I bought there, so I don't feel too horrible about it. Still, all I cay say is that the headphones sound excellent, are very comfortable on the ears, are very durable, and -- if you order them from Amazon or whatever -- is great value for the price. If you're looking for something more expensive, go for it. I can't help you with that, however. | ||
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scottyyy
United Kingdom796 Posts
On September 14 2010 01:53 smileyyy wrote: Hmm I got my HD650 a few days ago.. ... I use them with a Asus Xonar DX which is not really capable of powering them I guess. I always get the urge to turn up the volume since the kinda sound quiet.(but they do sound great Especially Deadmau5 ) So do u have any experience on running them on a soundcard without an Amp ?. How big is the difference :o. I'm considering on buying an Amp maybe an Dac/Amp. on X-Mas since Im broke now ... 250€ so much money I don't have a good sound card dude so I can't really tell you. But switching between my onboard sound card (realtek) and the Zero DAC is pretty funny. The realtek is literally 100x worse, it's like going from 360p youtube to blu-ray but with audio. It's definitely worth getting a DAC/amp, but I can't tell you how much of an improvement it would be over your current sound card. Although you have nothing to lose since you could always sell the DAC/amp on head-fi if you don't like it - cheap amps sell extremely fast and you won't lose much value on it. This is assuming you can't just return it. | ||
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DoctorHelvetica
United States15034 Posts
You should head over to head-fi.org, an audiophile/headphone forum. They'll give you better advice then you'll get here on TL | ||
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