Sound card and new headphones =D

[Ryukyra]

Hey guys, I have built my first pc this year and it's been working great for quite a while now, I've gone with pretty good hardware overall but never really thought about getting a dedicated sound card...

Is it really that much of an improvement? I mean i listen a lot of songs every day, play a lot of games and on board audio sounds amazing to me (I've got z623 Speakers and Logitech g930 headset, if i invest in a new sound card i'll get proper headphones too) but i never actually tried a dedicated card so i don't really know what to do...

If that's the case (big improvement) what card would you recommend? If possible i'm searching for the best solution since i have got a little bit of money stocked, but only if it really is a huge difference.

Also what kind of headphone would be best to listen music and play games? (250 budget on these) I'd like to have surround but stereo is ok too, thank you for your answers (if there will be any lol)

[Helltech]

Any ASUS card that you feel comfortable pay, any Sennherser headset that you feel comfortable paying. :P

[Ryukyra]

Any ASUS card that you feel comfortable pay, any Sennherser headset that you feel comfortable paying. :P

Well thanks i guess but you didn't really answer the main point, is it that much of an improvement over on-board audio?

[Guest]

Any ASUS card that you feel comfortable pay, any Sennherser headset that you feel comfortable paying. :P

If you've got above average headphones with a decent source then you'll notice the difference.

[Ryukyra]

Ok so what kind of headphones do i need? Is an amplifier required? I'm really a noob on this topic because as i said i never had the chance to try a dedicated card, it has always been marked as optional so i don't know :P Can i hear a difference with my z623? They're pretty good speakers nonetheless

[Guest]

You won't need an amplifier as the sound card will come with one suitable for powering headphones of various specifications. If you were to go with say an Asus Xonar STX, you would run a high quality RCA cable between the card and your speakers then plug your headphones into the 6.3mm output from the soundcard.

As for buying headphones, I recommend you go down to your local electronics store that sells headphones and check them out yourself. Everyone's preferences and ears are a little different.

[t0wer]

if you ever use a laptop, I'd recommend a combo dac/amp unit from fiio or ibasso.

as for there being a difference, there is a big difference IMO.

I agree with windspeed, you should go try as many headphones as you can.

I've had good experiences with shure and sennheiser.

[Ryukyra]

Yea, if only stores were nearly as good as other countries in Italy, the only place i could go and try something that has barely anything to do with true computers components and stuff is fnac (wich actually only sells peripherals) but it's far away and i can't reach it without a couple hours by car -.-'' It's ridiculous, the only few cities here that have even decent stores are of course Milan and Rome which are both more than 4 hours by car away from me right now... I swear i'll be moving to the states as soon as i can, i'm tired of this place... Anyway back in topic, since i cannot really try anything out i can tell you pretty much what i like, i know i'm being a little invasive right now but i really do'nt know where to bang my head right now... Usually i love deep bass, with clear highs but comfort comes at first place because i really hate g930s for the headband, it's too stiff! Also the less cabling the better, even though i would like one of those little amps to sit on my desk as a hub for headphones =P I really hope i'm not asking too much, but really electronics in italy aren't that advanced because people isn't interested in it, atleast i can still rely on amazon services which are crappier than most other countries but still great!

[Ryukyra]

Yea, if only stores were nearly as good as other countries in Italy, the only place i could go and try something that has barely anything to do with true computers components and stuff is fnac (wich actually only sells peripherals) but it's far away and i can't reach it without a couple hours by car -.-'' It's ridiculous, the only few cities here that have even decent stores are of course Milan and Rome which are both more than 4 hours by car away from me right now... I swear i'll be moving to the states as soon as i can, i'm tired of this place... Anyway back in topic, since i cannot really try anything out i can tell you pretty much what i like, i know i'm being a little invasive right now but i really do'nt know where to bang my head right now... Usually i love deep bass, with clear highs but comfort comes at first place because i really hate g930s for the headband, it's too stiff! Also the less cabling the better, even though i would like one of those little amps to sit on my desk as a hub for headphones =P I really hope i'm not asking too much, but really electronics in italy aren't that advanced because people isn't interested in it, atleast i can still rely on amazon services which are crappier than most other countries but still great!

Oh also i like more of a closed noise-isolating headphone since my sister's a pain in the ass sometimes with her noises :P

[Ryukyra]

if you ever use a laptop, I'd recommend a combo dac/amp unit from fiio or ibasso.

as for there being a difference, there is a big difference IMO.

I agree with windspeed, you should go try as many headphones as you can.

I've had good experiences with shure and sennheiser.

Mhh i'll see what i can find but i don't think i'll find anything good at any local store near me, it's a miracle if they sell monitors! (crappy 17 inches...)

[t0wer]

beyerdynamic dt770 pro 80ohm would probably fit your needs, super comfortable for the short time I tried them, good sound, and closed.

[Ryukyra]

Wow they look awesome, and they got awesome reviews too, i actually never even heard of the company before (that's how bad i am xD). I'll do some research and let you know, they're also available through amazon.it at a reasonable price (150 euros), you've been very helpful thank you^^ I guess i'll be buying an audio card to try it out, xonar phoebus looks good, especially since it's optimised for gaming which is something i do a lot (yea i'm still 17 =P) do you think it's worth it? Goes for around 170 euros on amazon

[t0wer]

I prefer outboard dacs.

I would recommend an ibasso d4, and have heard fantastic things from the jdslabs o2/odac.

Great customer service from jdslabs, he sent out a connector for my friends cmoy, because my friend had an older rev board and bought the wrong connector.

something like a fiio e7 wouldn't be a bad choice either.

http://www.ibasso.com/en/home/

http://www.jdslabs.com/storecat.php?fetchcat=5