Sennheiser Momentum over-ear low volume with Realtek ALC1150

[Christianm]

Hi everyone I just got my Sennheiser Momentum over-ear headphones. I cannot say anything about sound because I'm getting a very low volume with these in my Asus Maximum VI, Realtek ALC1150 motherboard. I find the headphones little bit tighter on my head and I hope the headband gonna loosen up after some time. the volume is even lower than my old beats studio. can anyone guide me what to do to make it enjoyable. my cousin is coming from Canada next month and I've been thinking about getting Sound Blaster Z if its worth or how about Fiio E07K. but SBZ have more features to have benefit of. thank you.

[ShadowCaptain]

Hi everyone I just got my Sennheiser Momentum over-ear headphones. I cannot say anything about sound because I'm getting a very low volume with these in my Asus Maximum VI, Realtek ALC1150 motherboard. I find the headphones little bit tighter on my head and I hope the headband gonna loosen up after some time. the volume is even lower than my old beats studio. can anyone guide me what to do to make it enjoyable. my cousin is coming from Canada next month and I've been thinking about getting Sound Blaster Z if its worth or how about Fiio E07K. but SBZ have more features to have benefit of. thank you.

 

Strange, there are not very high impedence, I use sennhesier momentums and can use them with my iphone, pc, laptop etc, no amplification should be needed

[vlkn´]

Open the Realtek HD Audio-Manager

Click on the tab "Soundeffect" 

You need to find a guitar symbol, beyond that there is a second symbol, it says "change to equalizer" if you put your mouse on the symbol.

Click on it. Now you see many different numbers... 31 62 125 500 1k 2k 4k 8k 16k 

Set all these frequencies to the top and click on the save symbol and name the equalizer settings.

[Lays]

Strange, there are not very high impedence, I use sennhesier momentums and can use them with my iphone, pc, laptop etc, no amplification should be needed

 

 

Impedance has very very little to do with that, the sensitivity is much more important. 

(How loud it gets with 1 milliwatt of power)

They have a 118 DB / mw sensitivity, so with 1 mw of current, they will have 118db of SPL.

[ShadowCaptain]

Impedance has very very little to do with that, the sensitivity is much more important. 

(How loud it gets with 1 milliwatt of power)

They have a 118 DB / mw sensitivity, so with 1 mw of current, they will have 118db of SPL.

 

No idea what you just said.....

 

All I am saying is, the momentums are designed to be used with phones, mp3 players etc so it seems strange that you would need a Fiio or something just to get acceptable volume, mine are deafening just plugged into my iPhone

[Lays]

No idea what you just said.....

 

All I am saying is, the momentums are designed to be used with phones, mp3 players etc so it seems strange that you would need a Fiio or something just to get acceptable volume, mine are deafening just plugged into my iPhone

 

 

Impedance has extremely little to do with how hard a headphone is to power, manufacturers measure how loud their headphones get with a designated amount of current, being 1 volt, or 1 milliwatt.

They list these specs on their product pages as efficiency, or as sensitivity in decibels.

So if they say the sensitivity of the headphone is 100 decibels for 1 milliwatt, that means with 1 milliwatt of current applied to the headphone, it will reach a loudness of 100 decibels.

 

 

Does that make more sense?

[Guest]

Open the Realtek HD Audio-Manager

Click on the tab "Soundeffect" 

You need to find a guitar symbol, beyond that there is a second symbol, it says "change to equalizer" if you put your mouse on the symbol.

Click on it. Now you see many different numbers... 31 62 125 500 1k 2k 4k 8k 16k 

Set all these frequencies to the top and click on the save symbol and name the equalizer settings.

I do not recommend doing this as all that does is boost the gain on those frequencies dramatically, distorting the sound and not solving the issue.

[ShadowCaptain]

Impedance has extremely little to do with how hard a headphone is to power, manufacturers measure how loud their headphones get with a designated amount of current, being 1 volt, or 1 milliwatt.

They list these specs on their product pages as efficiency, or as sensitivity in decibels.

So if they say the sensitivity of the headphone is 100 decibels for 1 milliwatt, that means with 1 milliwatt of current applied to the headphone, it will reach a loudness of 100 decibels.

 

 

Does that make more sense?

 

Oh yes sorry, i did know that, I think I just had my terminology mixed up, I should have said they are sensitive so should run on pretty much anything

[vlkn´]

I do not recommend doing this as all that does is boost the gain on those frequencies dramatically, distorting the sound and not solving the issue.

It is just getting a higher main signal, not boosting it up?

Just tested it with my speakers @70% (I din´t test 100%, because I don´t won´t to destroy my ears)

-No distortion for me

[Guest]

It is just getting a higher main signal, not boosting it up?

Just tested it with my speakers @70% (I din´t test 100%, because I don´t won´t to destroy my ears)

-No distortion for me

What using an EQ does is boost or cut that particular signal to alter the final output. In a home audio sense this is done to adjust a speakers sound to make it sound better. Prime example is with my pair of Beats - cutting everything below 400Hz by 8dB. If you boost all of the frequencies you can by 12dB as you have done, it will sound somewhat similar to that if left flat however when the gain and master output are set to unity, you're going to have issues with clipping. I won't go into the detail of the electronic side of things but basically this is bad for both the amplifier and for the speakers. You may have heard a speaker clip when it pops or crackles due to basically a signal being 'too hot'

[Christianm]

well thank you all for your quick replies. I play with EQs of Realtek as well as iTunes, realtek EQ really does not improve the volume infact it ruins the sound quality but iTunes EQ makes just a bit but I have to boost windows volume to at least 60-70 normal to get decent volume. don't know what to do if I get sound card or AMP I'm afraid I'd waste my money.

[vlkn´]

What using an EQ does is boost or cut that particular signal to alter the final output. In a home audio sense this is done to adjust a speakers sound to make it sound better. Prime example is with my pair of Beats - cutting everything below 400Hz by 8dB. If you boost all of the frequencies you can by 12dB as you have done, it will sound somewhat similar to that if left flat however when the gain and master output are set to unity, you're going to have issues with clipping. I won't go into the detail of the electronic side of things but basically this is bad for both the amplifier and for the speakers. You may have heard a speaker clip when it pops or crackles due to basically a signal being 'too hot'

But if you set all frequencies to max, and not cut down any fq.

It does sound as it was @ 0 gain, just louder.

I don´t understand what you are trying to tell me.

I don´t get speakers clipping?? 

What are trying me to tell me with "too hot" signal, too much amplified or what.

That is going to kill the headphones, I know but on a realtek chipset thats not a real amplifier that has enough power to kill speakers.

Please explain me, so I can learn. Teach me teacher.

[Guest]

But if you set all frequencies to max, and not cut down any fq.

It does sound as it was @ 0 gain, just louder.

I don´t understand what you are trying to tell me.

I don´t get speakers clipping?? 

What are trying me to tell me with "too hot" signal, too much amplified or what.

That is going to kill the headphones, I know but on a realtek chipset thats not a real amplifier that has enough power to kill speakers.

Please explain me, so I can learn. Teach me teacher.

The easiest way to describe clipping is below: on the left you have a 1Khz wave that is running at full output. Now when you adjust the EQ to boost the frequency from +-0dB to +6 or perhaps higher, you're trying to make the amplifier work harder than it can to produce a signal. Without getting too technical, when the speaker and amplifier are operating correctly, they are running off of an AC current to change the polarity of the speaker causing a sound wave to generate. When the signal clips, the amp can begin to push a DC current through the speaker, causing heat build up, a horrible noise and eventually a blown speaker. On the right you'll see what a clipped signal looks like, note the elongated crests or moments of maximum output - beyond what the amplifier and speaker can cope with. Hopefully this makes sense to you as I've had quite a long day

 

[vlkn´]

 

thanks

[creatip123]

But if you set all frequencies to max, and not cut down any fq.

It does sound as it was @ 0 gain, just louder.

I don´t understand what you are trying to tell me.

I don´t get speakers clipping?? 

What are trying me to tell me with "too hot" signal, too much amplified or what.

That is going to kill the headphones, I know but on a realtek chipset thats not a real amplifier that has enough power to kill speakers.

Please explain me, so I can learn. Teach me teacher.

 

Google 'the right way to set EQ'. The right way is either:

 

- Set down the frequency bands you don't want to be boosted

or

- Set up the frequency bands you want to be boosted, BUT set the overall gain down

 

Setting all up senselessly means you're giving a command for the amp to do something out of the safe capability, for both the amp and the speaker/headphone itself. Think of it like overclocking senselessly. You might get what you want in the first few minutes, then the system becomes unstable, then heat builds up, then the cores melt down because of overheating. 

[ShearMe]

I have to boost windows volume to at least 60-70 normal to get decent volume

 

So, it does get loud enough...?  :huh:

[vlkn´]

Google 'the right way to set EQ'. The right way is either:

 

- Set down the frequency bands you don't want to be boosted

or

- Set up the frequency bands you want to be boosted, BUT set the overall gain down

 

Setting all up senselessly means you're giving a command for the amp to do something out of the safe capability, for both the amp and the speaker/headphone itself. Think of it like overclocking senselessly. You might get what you want in the first few minutes, then the system becomes unstable, then heat builds up, then the cores melt down because of overheating. 

haven´t thought of a realtek chip overheating, luckily I have the windows overall gain @40% and the eq at stock.

[Christianm]

that a very good explanation windspeed36 for me and others to learn something thanks. I do not have decent option in realtek sound manager but iTunes 12 EQ is helpful in some way. still trying different settings. I tried to quote the windspeed36 post but something is not working.

[Christianm]

yeah 60-70 % is good enough but is this the only solution? am I compromising the sound quality to raise the volume level that high? is there any other option? should I buy sound blaster Z to improve the volume as well as sound quality I thing realtek sucks.

[ShearMe]

yeah 60-70 % is good enough but is this the only solution? am I compromising the sound quality to raise the volume level that high?

 

What? No! Windows volume is completely flexible. That's why it's there.

[Lauen]

yeah 60-70 % is good enough but is this the only solution? am I compromising the sound quality to raise the volume level that high? is there any other option? should I buy sound blaster Z to improve the volume as well as sound quality I thing realtek sucks.

You're not compromising quality at all. If you're getting decent volume even though you have to go all the way to 90-100%, it's fine. I've even heard someone say that onboard doesn't use its full potential unless it's at 100% but I'm a little sceptical towards that one LOL

[CameronUK]

Impedance has extremely little to do with how hard a headphone is to power, manufacturers measure how loud their headphones get with a designated amount of current, being 1 volt, or 1 milliwatt.

They list these specs on their product pages as efficiency, or as sensitivity in decibels.

So if they say the sensitivity of the headphone is 100 decibels for 1 milliwatt, that means with 1 milliwatt of current applied to the headphone, it will reach a loudness of 100 decibels.

 

 

Does that make more sense?

Not necessarily. It's both. Impedance is the resistance of the wire used (wrapped around the voice coil). The thicker and shorter, the lower the impedance, the longer and thinner, the smaller.

 

Sensitivity also affects it, but I'm not as sure why. If I was guessing, it'd be how sensitive the driver is to power.

 

Either way, I'm not sure why OP is having issues.

 

Could be to do with the settings. Do you have loudness on? What about the volume settings - are they max? 

[ShearMe]

Not necessarily. It's both. Impedance is the resistance of the wire used (wrapped around the voice coil). The thicker and shorter, the lower the impedance, the longer and thinner, the smaller.

 

Sensitivity also affects it, but I'm not as sure why. If I was guessing, it'd be how sensitive the driver is to power.

 

Sensitivity is a direct measure of how loud a headphone gets with a certain amount of power or voltage applied. Impedance is not a necessary factor after that measurement is taken.

 

 

What about the volume settings - are they max? 

 

No. He already said they get loud enough around 60~70%. He was just afraid to turn it up for whatever reason.

[Christianm]

well I have tried different EQ settings in both iTunes and Realtek manager but both pretty much useless. for many songs I have to crank up the volume by 90% -100% and if I move the preamp settings of iTunes than I have to adjust the EQ settings for every song. I don't live in the US so sadly I cannot return it and buy another brand. but since my cousin is coming from Canada I have a chance to get SBZ 'cus it's little cheaper than other AMP/DAC. but still what do you guys suggest? please. thanks

[ShearMe]

well I have tried different EQ settings in both iTunes and Realtek manager but both pretty much useless. for many songs I have to crank up the volume by 90% -100% and if I move the preamp settings of iTunes than I have to adjust the EQ settings for every song. I don't live in the US so sadly I cannot return it and buy another brand. but since my cousin is coming from Canada I have a chance to get SBZ 'cus it's little cheaper than other AMP/DAC. but still what do you guys suggest? please. thanks

 

Just grab the cheapest soundcard or amp/dac you can find if your onboard is faulty.