Do I need a high end sound card?

[Recon97]

Headphone:Sennheiser-G4ME-ZERO-Gaming-Headphone

Motherboard:Asus x99 Deluxe

I don't want to sacrifice even a single quality of that headphone.

I cant really go for 200$ sound card. Pockets are empty.

[Aniallation]

No

[Rorgash]

no, not for a gaming headset, not for any headset, now yes for 300+ $£€ headphones, but even there, only if you got ears and listen to music good enough for it. so in most cases its always a no

[flibberdipper]

No. Hell, the Realtek HD in my netbook and SoundMax AC97something in my Dell are better than the Realtek HD in my grandma's HP and what was on my ASRock board.

 

They rival my SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Digital (even my SoundBlaster 128 and SoundBlaster 16 trade blows with it).

[qwertywarrior]

if all u do is lick your parrot

then no

[Recon97]

Asus X99 Deluxe has Crystal Sound 2.Is it good?

[Recon97]

if all u do is lick your parrot

then no

I love to lick my parrot

[Recon97]

no, not for a gaming headset, not for any headset, now yes for 300+ $£€ headphones, but even there, only if you got ears and listen to music good enough for it. so in most cases its always a no

I hardly listen to any music.

[Recon97]

no, not for a gaming headset, not for any headset, now yes for 300+ $£€ headphones, but even there, only if you got ears and listen to music good enough for it. so in most cases its always a no

This double posting issue!

[Toddwjp]

I hardly listen to any music.

then no way at all, onboard will be fine

[BrianPena]

For the Sennheiser G4ME ZERO headset you will need a headphone amp since the sound impedance of the headset is 150 ohms. So unless your motherboard has a headphone amp I would suggest buying something like the Asus Xonar DG to get the most out of your headset. 

 

I know this thread is a couple of days old but I thought that I should post this since everyone is telling you that you don't need one.

[creatip123]

For the Sennheiser G4ME ZERO headset you will need a headphone amp since the sound impedance of the headset is 150 ohms. So unless your motherboard has a headphone amp I would suggest buying something like the Asus Xonar DG to get the most out of your headset. 

 

I know this thread is a couple of days old but I thought that I should post this since everyone is telling you that you don't need one.

 

It may or may not need an additional/stronger amp than the OP's onboard, but that's not solely determined by how many ohms the impedance is. That's just one factor, with the other and more important one is sensitivity/efficiency of the headphone.

 

Xonar DG faltered badly driving my 50 ohms headphones, because my headphone's efficiency isn't too high. Best way is of course test it himself. If it's loud enough without any audible distortions, then he don't need any additional amps. Don't need, but if he wants to get one anyway, it's his choice though....

[BrianPena]

It may or may not need an additional/stronger amp than the OP's onboard, but that's not solely determined by how many ohms the impedance is. That's just one factor, with the other and more important one is sensitivity/efficiency of the headphone.

 

Xonar DG faltered badly driving my 50 ohms headphones, because my headphone's efficiency isn't too high. Best way is of course test it himself. If it's loud enough without any audible distortions, then he don't need any additional amps. Don't need, but if he wants to get one anyway, it's his choice though....

 

Headphone:Sennheiser-G4ME-ZERO-Gaming-Headphone

Motherboard:Asus x99 Deluxe

I don't want to sacrifice even a single quality of that headphone.

I cant really go for 200$ sound card. Pockets are empty.

 

You're right, it is his choice ^^. Although if he doesn't want to buy a high end sound card I highly suggest he buys an amp for it. This video

 

( 

)

is a review of the headset and at about minute 8:00 he talks about the difference when he used it without and amp and with. If he doesn't want to lose any quality of the headphones like he mentioned he should buy an amp.

 

Also quoting OP in case he is still interested.

[BoredErica]

You're right, it is his choice ^^. Although if he doesn't want to buy a high end sound card I highly suggest he buys an amp for it. This video

 

( 

)

is a review of the headset and at about minute 8:00 he talks about the difference when he used it without and amp and with. If he doesn't want to lose any quality of the headphones like he mentioned he should buy an amp.

 

Also quoting OP in case he is still interested.

JayzTwoCents doesn't know anything about audio. Sorry. Whatever his opinions are about amplification, he either parroted off of somebody else or is akin to flipping a coin.

 

I didn't even comment in that video when I first watched it because I didn't even wanna bother with him. 

[Max Ruscky]

I have that headset and it sound waaaay better on my Xonar STX soundcard than it did on my motherboard audio, well at least I noticed a difference but other peoples experience may differ. 

[Max Ruscky]

Just to add to the above post, I also own a pair of HD650 and Alpha Dogs and I have to say I prefer them for gaming and use a desktop mic but the I was just curious about the G4ME ZERO but might send them back

[MayflowerElectronics]

Yes, those headphones do need some kind of amping.

[Recon97]

Thank you guys for reviving my post. Looks like I should buy an amplifier. But one thing I still don't understand?, what's the difference between a high end sound card and an amplifier?.

[BrianPena]

JayzTwoCents doesn't know anything about audio. Sorry. Whatever his opinions are about amplification, he either parroted off of somebody else or is akin to flipping a coin.

 

I didn't even comment in that video when I first watched it because I didn't even wanna bother with him. 

 

You don't need to know anything about audio to notice the difference between a high impedence headset without a sound amp and with.

Thank you guys for reviving my post. Looks like I should buy an amplifier. But one thing I still don't understand?, what's the difference between a high end sound card and an amplifier?.

Some high end sound cards include amplifiers for headphones. Essentially you only need the amp if you want to save money.

[Recon97]

You don't need to know anything about audio to notice the difference between a high impedence headset without a sound amp and with.

Some high end sound cards include amplifiers for headphones. Essentially you only need the amp if you want to save money.

OK. So the amplifier and the sound card are nearly same?

[creatip123]

OK. So the amplifier and the sound card are nearly same?

 

No, a sound card is more similar to AV receiver, with the ability to convert digital to analog signals, and process multi channels sound. You only need an amp.

[Recon97]

No, a sound card is more similar to AV receiver, with the ability to convert digital to analog signals, and process multi channels sound. You only need an amp.

OK so which amplifier is the best?

[BrianPena]

OK. So the amplifier and the sound card are nearly same?

Well a sound card is just a way to add DEDICATED higher quality sound to your pc that some motherboards may lack in giving you. Amplifiers would just give more power to the headset (make them louder), for instance without enough power to the headset the sound will be kind of flat.

[BoredErica]

You don't need to know anything about audio to notice the difference between a high impedence headset without a sound amp and with.

You have a point there.

However, he is claiming that bass frequencies are missing when the headphone isn't being amped properly. I think clipping would be the major sign that a headphone isn't being amped properly (and possibly not being loud enough along with some other distortions). Listening to lots of modern mainstream music like rap which suffer heavily to the loudness war, these types of tracks make driving a headphone several times easier than listening to classical. If you also think it makes sense that an amp which cannot output the power requirements of a headphone would cause significant drops in bass but not other frequencies, can you tell me why? (Don't tell me that it will sound "flat", I want to know what is happening on a technical level to satisfy my curiosity.)

 

I don't think what he observed makes sense. And if it doesn't, then his perception could be marred by expectation bias. (Had he known what lack of power does to the sound, then his opinion might have changed. We're back to inexperience again.)

 

And well, if you explain why bass would be gone, then I retract my earlier statement and this one as well.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Dedicated headphone amplifiers are better engineered than your standard gaming sound card.