Headset and Sound Card Budget

[markchotech]

Let's say I had 100 dollars to spend on both headset and sound card. How much of the 100 dollars should i spend on a sound card and how much on the headset? If you can, can you guys also include what you guys personally use and recommend? My actual budget for both is $400 so I would appreciate all recommendations! Thanks in advance!

[bradscoolio]

I use a Siberia v2 and xonar DGX :) for $100 I'd recommend the vengeance 1300 and DGX

[OddballMV]

There is no one answer for that. If you cheap out on a sound card and buy a high impedance or low sensitivity headset/phone then you may not be pushing them hard enough, it comes down to what headphones you like. Always choose the headphone first and then choose the sound card (external or internal) to suit the headphones.

I'm using Lindy Premium Hi-fi Headphones with and Audio GD external DAC/AMP (basically an external soundcard).

[Aphexx]

I'd blow it all on headphones, one bassy one and one with open soundstage with the pennies left over going to a soundcard.

[s0nrise]

I'd blow it all on headphones' date=' one bassy one and one with open soundstage with the pennies left over going to a soundcard. [/quote']

You are wrong, the soundcard is a really important part, you shouldnt cheap out on it.

[Aphexx]

perhaps I should have provided more info:

using the asus lineup going from onboard to an asus card is a good and required jump away from onboard however climbing up the asus lineup is small steps in the difference I experience in sound.. am I saying dacs and amps are irrelevant? no people wouldnt be paying thousands of dollars for dacs and another few thousand for an amp. but the jumps in audible gains climbing up the asus xonar ladder is small compared to the vast and varying leaps in sound you get from changing headphones.

[Protoss]

the vengeance 1300 are great, they're a little fragile. I dropped my vengeance 1300 and one of the drivers became less loud than the other side, had to RMA them, fortunately Corsair RMA went really smoothly. I've heard Plantronics headsets are of good quality, I'd do more research on them though.

[NewKID]

Do yourself a favour and dont buy a headset. Get a good pair of cans such as the dt770. I use the HD 598 and M50. I used to couple them with a xonar dg but thats not available right now so im stuck with on board atm. Ill eventual get an external amp and dac later on. Ive been eyeballin the o2 amp and dac combo at jds labs. Schiit also has a good amp and dac for $99 each.

What types of games do you play?

What genre of music do you listen to?

How important is bass to you on a scale of 1 to 10?

[markchotech]

I would love to see how you guys pick a "perfect pair" between the headset and sound card, in terms of specifications. Do you guys just buy what you want or do you guys do research and match the dB, frequency, driver, amplifier, etc to what would sound best? For example (not really an audiophile), a headset can support up to 100 dB, would you then buy a sound card that can power 100 dB?

[OddballMV]

I would love to see how you guys pick a "perfect pair" between the headset and sound card, in terms of specifications. Do you guys just buy what you want or do you guys do research and match the dB, frequency, driver, amplifier, etc to what would sound best? For example (not really an audiophile), a headset can support up to 100 dB, would you then buy a sound card that can power 100 dB?

Sound Cards and DAC/AMPs won't change the sound of your headphones all that much however much you spend, they are more for improving the existing characteristics of a headphone in my experience. If you have a bassy headphone, a better soundcard will make the bass clearer but it will still be a bassy headphone. I look for the type of headphone that i want i.e. bassy, neutral, treble focused etc. and then (if it needs one) buy a source powerful enough to drive it.

Two of the important numbers on the headphone will be impedance (ohms) and sensitivity (dB/mW) when choosing a source to power them.