Powering the Sennhieser 58X

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

My Asus Xonar STX is probably going as I am moving to ITX. 

 

Now i need to drive my 58x, am4 itx motheboard don't seem to have a decent dac but i may be ignorant. 

 

Any low cost solution to drive my 150omhs would be much appreciated. 

I like stuff like Modi3 but it is 70ohms.

 

[Update] Thanks for all of your comments, i decided to keep the Xonar Stx and go MATX.  Until I get the opportunity to listen to some External DAC and AMPs first hand, i wont take the plunge. 

[FloRolf]

Onboard is fine and don't worry about the ohms, that's mainly marketing BS

 

Edit: a nice Schiit Stack would be a decent upgrade though but definitely not necessary. 

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

1 minute ago, FloRolf said:

Onboard is fine and don't worry about the ohms, that's mainly marketing BS

 

Edit: a nice Schiit Stack would be a decent upgrade though but definitely not necessary. 

 

How is Ohms marketing bs if the volume is low without a sufficient amp?!

[MeatFeastMan]

13 minutes ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

 

How is Ohms marketing bs if the volume is low without a sufficient amp?!

It's nonsense though. I have used both the GSP 600 and G4ME ZERO from Sennheiser. GSP has 28 ohms, g4me zero has 50. GSP 600 is better quality and isn't quiet. Everything on the gsp 600 is better in terms of sound. The volume isn't low, in fact I need volume on youtube at about 10% or it'll be too loud! So I have no idea what you are on about.

 

And I don't know anything about audio to be honest. I'm no expert. But I can tell the difference between these two headsets. The one with the lesser ohms is better and louder as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

35 minutes ago, MeatFeastMan said:

It's nonsense though. I have used both the GSP 600 and G4ME ZERO from Sennheiser. GSP has 28 ohms, g4me zero has 50. GSP 600 is better quality and isn't quiet. Everything on the gsp 600 is better in terms of sound. The volume isn't low, in fact I need volume on youtube at about 10% or it'll be too loud! So I have no idea what you are on about.

 

And I don't know anything about audio to be honest. I'm no expert. But I can tell the difference between these two headsets. The one with the lesser ohms is better and louder as far as I'm concerned.

 

Headphones like the 58X, require sufficient or they are very quiet.  I have used both my old board Maximus Hero and the Asus Xonar STX. Output impedence is crucial.  I defjnitely needs an Amp, DAC may not be required.

[Lauen]

1 hour ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

Headphones like the 58X, require sufficient or they are very quiet.  I have used both my old board Maximus Hero and the Asus Xonar STX. Output impedence is crucial.  I defjnitely needs an Amp, DAC may not be required.

Output impedance is only crucial when it comes to being lower than 1/8 of the impedance of the speakers in whatever you are using. a higher output impedance will lead to distortion. The lowest possible output impedance is the best, what you need is actual power (the actual ampere) for sufficient volume. 

 

I used to have an ASUS D2X card which by my math had 10 ohm output impedance, and when I plugged my JBL J33i IEMs into it (this was in late 2013) it broke the IEMs. Low output impedance is the way to go. DACs in most motherboards in the last 10 years are actually pretty good, they mostly produce sound detailed enough for the average human to not hear the difference between it and higher end ones. Schiit Fulla (combo DAC + amp unit) or Schiit Magni (just amp) should be sufficient for your needs. 

[Tz000]

3 hours ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

My Asus Xonar STX is probably going as I am moving to ITX. 

 

Now i need to drive my 58x, am4 itx motheboard don't seem to have a decent dac but i may be ignorant. 

 

Any low cost solution to drive my 150omhs would be much appreciated. 

I like stuff like Modi3 but it is 70ohms.

Lowest cost entry level DAC + AMP combo FX-audio dac x6 cant go wrong for the price and plenty of output power for the 58x it just has enough for my 6XX

[rice guru]

3 hours ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

My Asus Xonar STX is probably going as I am moving to ITX. 

 

Now i need to drive my 58x, am4 itx motheboard don't seem to have a decent dac but i may be ignorant. 

 

Any low cost solution to drive my 150omhs would be much appreciated. 

I like stuff like Modi3 but it is 70ohms.

My 58x is powered fine with my msi b350 board.  And impedance values on dacs don't matter cause it's a dac your supposed to pair it with an amp anyway.. but if you really want to make sure you can grab a fiio k3 , a dac x6, or a fulla. But you won't really need it. 150 ohms don't mean anything. My 55 ohm k240 are harder to drive than the 58x.

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

4 hours ago, Lauen said:

Output impedance is only crucial when it comes to being lower than 1/8 of the impedance of the speakers in whatever you are using. a higher output impedance will lead to distortion. The lowest possible output impedance is the best, what you need is actual power (the actual ampere) for sufficient volume. 

 

I used to have an ASUS D2X card which by my math had 10 ohm output impedance, and when I plugged my JBL J33i IEMs into it (this was in late 2013) it broke the IEMs. Low output impedance is the way to go. DACs in most motherboards in the last 10 years are actually pretty good, they mostly produce sound detailed enough for the average human to not hear the difference between it and higher end ones. Schiit Fulla (combo DAC + amp unit) or Schiit Magni (just amp) should be sufficient for your needs. 

See my other comment, re motherboard testing, and soundcard amplification. My headphones are designed for their rating. 

 

Thanks, but I am fully aware of the schitt amp, i already have a stereo amp on the other side of the room.  No interest, in getting more hardware than needed. 

 

 

 

[rice guru]

22 hours ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

See my other comment, re motherboard testing, and soundcard amplification. My headphones are designed for their rating. 

 

Thanks, but I am fully aware of the schitt amp, i already have a stereo amp on the other side of the room.  No interest, in getting more hardware than needed. 

 

 

 

Then why even make this thread if you can already power the thing?

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

On 5/1/2019 at 4:59 PM, rice guru said:

Then why even make this thread if you can already power the thing?

Honestly, because external DACs and AMPs are uncharted territory for me.   There are alot of DAC/AMP like the Schitt Fulla, FIIO E10k etc.. lying around and I wondered if they are any good.   Not to mention, my living room is awkward and in 1-2 years my computer will be in a den.

 

Currently it is STX - Long cable - AMP - Stereo Speakers, STX - Headphones

Ultimately I need to design my room with less cables involved.   Headphone AMP + DAC taking music from my HTPC sounds like a solid option and it removes the cable. The extra 150 just makes my wallet weep 

 

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

Honestly, because external DACs and AMPs are uncharted territory for me.   There are alot of DAC/AMP like the Schitt Fulla, FIIO E10k etc.. lying around and I wondered if they are any good.   Not to mention, my living is awkward and in 1-2 years my computer will be in a den.

 

Currently it is STX - Long cable - AMP - Stereo Speakers, STX - Headphones

Ultimately I need to design my room with less cables involved.   Headphone AMP + DAC taking music from my HTPC sounds like a solid option and it removes the cable. The extra 150 just makes my wallet weep 

 

Those amp dac options are pretty good. Do you need it? No does it cost money? Yes just the cost of audio really

 

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Those amp dac options are pretty good. Do you need it? No does it cost money? Yes just the cost of audio really

 

As with anything like this, just because you can doesn't mean that you should.  A Topping D30\JDS Atom stack is supposedly amazing, shame there is no where in the area where I can hear them before taking the plunge

[rice guru]

5 hours ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

As with anything like this, just because you can doesn't mean that you should.  A Topping D30\JDS Atom stack is supposedly amazing, shame there is no where in the area where I can hear them before taking the plunge

Yeah you gotta find a audio fiend of a friend who has access to all that  basically how I landed on my setup. Heard the d30 and d 10 and found they sounded so similar that I did t want to spend more and heard the atom and the liquid spark and prefered how the liquid spark sounded.

[Derkoli]

On 4/30/2019 at 12:08 PM, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

 

How is Ohms marketing bs if the volume is low without a sufficient amp?!

Ohm's dont tell you how hard headphones are to drive. my 50 ohm headphones are easier to drive than my 23 ohm ones. efficiency is the main worry when powering headphones.