Improving Sound Quality Of My HD518's

[MoraisGT]

Hi guys,

 

first of all I would like to say that I am no expert when it comes to sound, but I do love everything related to this matter so I try to learn as much as possible and i'm sorry if a make a mistake during this post.

 

That said, let me explain my problem.

 

I currently have a pair of Sennheiser HD518 that I use everyday hooked up to my pc (my only source of audio).

 

The problem is that the source is of bad quality, it's my motherboard's onboard audio wich uses a Realtek ALC892 audio codec. 

And here's why I think my onboard audio is bad: When no sound is playing I notice a little bit of hiss in the background, the bass frequencies (Ex.: in explosions) can get very muddy, wich from what i've read that's not "a thing" with these headphones.

 

Having said that, I think it's time to improve my audio source, so I was looking for a DAC (perhaps even with an amp built in for future Headphone upgrades) that would give me the best sound that these headphones can reproduce.

 

 

What reccomendations do you have for me, keeping in mind that I don't have a lot o money to spend.

I don't really know the usual prices for these sort of equipments so I don't really know what to expect.

 

 

With my best reggards,

Morais-GT

[creatip123]

Budget?

 

From your condition, I think a Fiio E10k would be enough.

[MoraisGT]

Budget?

 

From your condition, I think a Fiio E10k would be enough.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, thank's for your reply!

 

In terms of budget I would say around the 150-170€ mark (I'm from Portugal). That's about 186-210$. Although, I'm only going to buy it within the EU.

 

Now, reggarding that Fiio, I read it boost the bass frequencyes.

That's not exactly what i was looking for, you see, I would like a neutral sounding DAC so that the natural sounding of any headphones I use wouldn't be changed.

 

Do you have any other suggestions now knowing my budget?

 

Thank's in advance,

Morais-GT

[h3ll0]

What about a Behringer 302usb. Its a mixer,sound card, and DAC for 49 euros. I have one and a Fiio E10k and they sound about the same with my Bose AE2's and Senheisser HD 219's.

 

Here is a link to a Portugal site.

 

http://www.musifex.pt/behringer-xenyx-302usb

[jobe]

Budget?

 

From your condition, I think a Fiio E10k would be enough.

 

This. E10K is a good budget dac/amp, will pair very well with even higher end headphones.

[creatip123]

 

Hi, thank's for your reply!

 

In terms of budget I would say around the 150-170€ mark (I'm from Portugal). That's about 186-210$. Although, I'm only going to buy it within the EU.

 

Now, reggarding that Fiio, I read it boost the bass frequencyes.

That's not exactly what i was looking for, you see, I would like a neutral sounding DAC so that the natural sounding of any headphones I use wouldn't be changed.

 

Do you have any other suggestions now knowing my budget?

 

Thank's in advance,

Morais-GT

 

 

E10k got bass boost switch, but you don't have to switch it on if you don't want to. Aune also got nice price vs performance value products, although it might be harder to find in europe.

[MoraisGT]

I can see that the Fiio is universally recommended. Nice.

 

Creatip123, I guess I interpreted wrong the information about the Fiio DAC. I thought that it would boost the bass "out-of-the-box".

 

 

I'm going to have to really thinkabout this one

 

 

What about the Audioengine D1?

I've seen it's quite popular. It's a bit more expensive but still within my budget.

Would it be worth the extra money?

 

 

Thank's for all your replies

[MoraisGT]

Bump!