Dedicated Audio Budget

[MzCatieB]

is it worth dropping a few hundred in to audio on my next build?

 

i wonna get a Asus Essence One with some Sennheiser HD8Dj's on my next build. Im going all out as i have never had a budget this big before to make a new computer... i just wonna know if its gonna be worth doing as i have never put more then £50 in to audio before

[SSL]

Yes, but I wouldn't advise spending your money on those things. How are you intending to use the Essense One?

[MzCatieB]

PC-Dac-Headphones

i just want the cleanest possible audio to help me work

[EnsoZero]

Before you start jumping into audio it really pays to educate yourself and avoid spending a lot of unnecessary money. If you haven't had a lot of experience with high-end audio it's best to take small steps first, a lot of people overspend when they don't have to. Especially if it's for gaming or movie audio, the higher end headphones are actually less advisable as they're designed to be more neutral which isn't ideal.

[MzCatieB]

Before you start jumping into audio it really pays to educate yourself and avoid spending a lot of unnecessary money. If you haven't had a lot of experience with high-end audio it's best to take small steps first, a lot of people overspend when they don't have to. Especially if it's for gaming or movie audio, the higher end headphones are actually less advisable as they're designed to be more neutral which isn't ideal.

i make video games for a living, one aspect i find my work is always lacking in is the audio so i though i would put some extra cash in to be able to hear what im working with.

 

at this point audio is the one thing i have never put money in for other than in headphones... its the reason why im asking

[SSL]

i make video games for a living, one aspect i find my work is always lacking in is the audio so i though i would put some extra cash in to be able to hear what im working with.

 

at this point audio is the one thing i have never put money in for other than in headphones... its the reason why im asking

 

The Essense One is pretty much a waste of money. If you're doing any kind of audio as part of a professional endeavor, you should be using high quality studio monitors. Just getting some good speakers will have a much grater impact on your audio than an expensive and useless Asus product.

 

I recommend something like the JBL LSR305. Reference quality sound at an affordable price. You can plug these into your PC using a splitter, but you may want to get a nice audio interface - the Scarlett 2i2 has balanced outputs for studio monitors, a couple nice microphone pre-amps and a decent headphone amplifier with zero-latency monitoring.

[MzCatieB]

The Essense One is pretty much a waste of money. If you're doing any kind of audio as part of a professional endeavor, you should be using high quality studio monitors. Just getting some good speakers will have a much grater impact on your audio than an expensive and useless Asus product.

 

I recommend something like the JBL LSR305. Reference quality sound at an affordable price. You can plug these into your PC using a splitter, but you may want to get a nice audio interface - the Scarlett 2i2 has balanced outputs for studio monitors, a couple nice microphone pre-amps and a decent headphone amplifier with zero-latency monitoring.

 

i cant use speaker... and i find headphones more involving when listening to audio more intimately

[SSL]

i cant use speaker... and i find headphones more involving when listening to audio more intimately

 

Then I recommend you skip the Asus and start with a pair of reference-grade headphones - such as the Sennheiser HD600, Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro, AKG K612 Pro, Hifiman HE-400S. The HD8DJ is far too weirdly colored in sound signature to be suitable for audio production. It's meant for beat-matching in a noisy club, not critical listening.

[MzCatieB]

im not a sound producer in any form or way... im primarily a game design/developer... i need to test the sound within the game to check everything is going well

if the HD8DJ's arnt recommended i will look in to other headphones... i will say a pair with a good sound range will do the trick.

as for the essence i do feel like i need a DAC and at this point the Essence is the only one that i have found that offers a really good audio range.

 

in addition if im not working im zoning out to music whilst sketching or gaming.

 

(i work from home and do stupid hours sometimes and its the reason why speakers are a no)

[SSL]

im not a sound producer in any form or way... im primarily a game design/developer... i need to test the sound within the game to check everything is going well

if the HD8DJ's arnt recommended i will look in to other headphones... i will say a pair with a good sound range will do the trick.

as for the essence i do feel like i need a DAC and at this point the Essence is the only one that i have found that offers a really good audio range.

 

in addition if im not working im zoning out to music whilst sketching or gaming.

 

(i work from home and do stupid hours sometimes and its the reason why speakers are a no)

 

What makes you think you need a DAC specifically? I guarantee that something more reasonably priced, such as an O2+ODAC or even SMSL SD793-II will sound functionally identical. Either way, you'll get the largest sound upgrade by getting better headphones (or speakers ).

 

Even if you aren't producing the audio, headphones designed for music production would be best for critical listening, such as those I mentioned.

[MzCatieB]

What makes you think you need a DAC specifically? I guarantee that something more reasonably priced, such as an O2+ODAC or even SMSL SD793-II will sound functionally identical. Either way, you'll get the largest sound upgrade by getting better headphones (or speakers ).

 

Even if you aren't producing the audio, headphones designed for music production would be best for critical listening, such as those I mentioned.

true

the reason why im looking in to a DAC is because i want to reduce background interference... my motherboard atm has a separated part for the audio and even then i get feedback.

Anyways its not me paying for my new comp its work ^-^"

[KaminKevCrew]

true

the reason why im looking in to a DAC is because i want to reduce background interference... my motherboard atm has a separated part for the audio and even then i get feedback.

Anyways its not me paying for my new comp its work ^-^"

but you see, if you buy the SMSL or the o2+odac, then you can spend even more money on headphones! And as said before, that's where you'll see the biggest difference.

[TumbleButt]

-Edit since I botched quoting- 

 

is it worth dropping a few hundred in to audio on my next build?

 

i wonna get a Asus Essence One with some Sennheiser HD8Dj's on my next build. Im going all out as i have never had a budget this big before to make a new computer... i just wonna know if its gonna be worth doing as i have never put more then £50 in to audio before

 

Whats your budget?

Edited July 15, 2015 by TumbleButt

[spwath]

AKG K7XX are on massdrop now and are a great set of headphones.