Headphones paired with Amp or Sound card

[blakers28]

Hello all,

 

I did some searching on the forum and other review websites but i still have a question or two that id like to get some advice on.

 

My current situation: 

 

Im using the Asus maximus V formula with Supreme FX onboard sound card (im reading that it is garbage for a sound card).

Im also using the Skull Candy Supreme Sound Aviator headphones (have been back and forth to Microcenter trying to find the right headphone/headset but failing hard).

I use a Blue Yeti Microphone and plug whatever headset im using into that mic.

 

My question is, if i were to get say the latest Asus Amp which i think is the Xonar series maybe(?) or a dedicated sound card, would would this improve any headset i plug into it or would it take special headphones to notice any improvement in sound?  Also, assuming i were to get a Sound Card, would plugging the headphones into my mics headphone jack not be able to utilize the sound card? (Dumb question, but i just want to be sure)  I ask this because, when plugged into the mic, i can hear myself talk which i prefer to have. 

 

What i need in a headset/headphone:

 

Currently Im thinking about just going back to Microcenter, getting a refund and buying online.

I prefer none mic or maybe retractable mic.  

Punchy Bass as well as great mids/highs for game immersion and to also be able to take phone calls and be able to understand clients and not have to worry about the bass in the headset making them sound muffled.

Closed earcups

Over the ear

3.5 mm jacks

I game as well as work from home and take calls. I need a headset that has high bass but also has high mid/treble as well so i can immerse myself in games and also be able to understand who im on a call with for work.

 

I hear Vmoda has awesome  bass as well as treble which is what i need but im nervous ill get the same result ive been getting for the last month; that the headphones are great in terms bass but have no treble or vise versa. 

 

I do have a previous thread that outlined what i was looking for in a headset and currently im STILL searching. 

 

I understand that i may be asking alot here, but i have gone back and for to stores around here and returned every headset ive bought. Its a shame that stores around here dont have "try before you by" types of stations when it comes to headphones/headsets. I understand my overall problem may be because i dont have a dedicated sound card or Amp, but im holding off getting one until i get some closure on things i need to know about them first. I also understand ive mentioned what im looking for in a headset/headphone on a previous thread and if rules dictate i must use that thread, i will. I wasnt sure if i could bring it up here as well.

 

Any, i mean any help/advice on headphone/headset sound card/amp combination is welcome.

I dont take anything offensively unless its meant to be taken that way. I only really use this forum because of the great community i have noticed here.

 

Thanks very much for reading!

 

Blake

[MayflowerElectronics]

Blake - What is your total budget, for amp, and headphones?

[ShearMe]

Woulda been better for you to use the old thread, but you've already made this so whatever. 

 

What all have you tried from the stores? I don't think an amp is going to "improve" a crappy headphone/headset - truly the difference between two headphones is going to be more noticeable than the difference between two soundcards/onboard. However, inb4 Mr. Mayflower recommends an objective amp, a good amp can be a great investment.

[blakers28]

Altogether? I have a total budget of about $300 max.

[blakers28]

Ive tried:

 

Razer Maghledon

Razer Carcharias

 

Corsair Vengence 2000

Bose am3 i think?

Skull Cander Supreme Aviator

 

I thinks thats it so far, Currently using SKull cander in ear headphones until i find the right ones

[MayflowerElectronics]

http://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/standard-objective2-amplifier.html

 

and

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Beyerdynamic-DT-990-Pro-Headphones-DT990Pro-DT990-PROAUDIOSTAR-/400567533734?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item5d43af80a6

 

Don't buy a sound card.

[blakers28]

Those headphones look to be open cupped. Do they offer a close cup version. I do need it to be closed to prevent sound leakage since i work from home and live in an apartment. Also, why no sound card? Would they not benefit?

[ShearMe]

Ive tried:

 

Razer Maghledon

Razer Carcharias

 

Corsair Vengence 2000

Bose am3 i think?

Skull Cander Supreme Aviator

 

I thinks thats it so far, Currently using SKull cander in ear headphones until i find the right ones

 

Oh gahd man, I feel bad for your ears. Definitely get a V-Moda like we suggested in that other thread if you're still insistent on flashy headphones - I'd get the Crossfade LP2 and then checkout Mayflower's O2 amp.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Those headphones look to be open cupped. Do they offer a close cup version. I do need it to be closed to prevent sound leakage since i work from home and live in an apartment. Also, why no sound card? Would they not benefit?[/quote

Read the FAQ why sound cards are not worth it.

Look at the dt 880 250 ohm then, they are semi open and won't leak as much.

[_ASSASSIN_]

http://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/standard-objective2-amplifier.html

just wondering, how does the objective 2 compete against the schiit magni?

[MayflowerElectronics]

just wondering, how does the objective 2 compete against the schiit magni?

The magni is set at a very high gain, which is too strong for low impedance headphones. That right there is a deal breaker for anyone who has headphones under 200 ohms (pretty much the majority of headphones). As for sound quality, I'm sure the o2 is better. Just looking at the circuit it looks like a crappy cmoy amp, and is made with SMD components which isn't good for high end audio.

[_ASSASSIN_]

The magni is set at a very high gain, which is too strong for low impedance headphones. That right there is a deal breaker for anyone who has headphones under 200 ohms (pretty much the majority of headphones). As for sound quality, I'm sure the o2 is better. Just looking at the circuit it looks like a crappy cmoy amp, and is made with SMD components which isn't good for high end audio.

ok then, thank you for the input, building up a new audio set up slowly

[ShearMe]

Those headphones look to be open cupped. Do they offer a close cup version.

 

The Beyerdynamic DT 770 is completely closed, and as a benefit, high impedance headphones should work better than lower impedance headphones on your mobo.

[blakers28]

MayflowerElectronics,

 

I apologize, i see a shipping FAQ but cant seem to find the FAQ you were referring to.  Also i do like your page and like that you can customize your amp. Thats pretty cool

 

ShearMe,

 

Im kinda wondering why the 250Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO  is the least expensive out of the three listed on that page. Wouldn't the one that takes more power to push sound be the more expensive?

Also im seeing the Vmoda on amazon is way more expensive than the LP2 from vmoda's site, im assuming this is becuase the amazon one is Limited edition?

 

Also im curious, if i had a cheap 20 dollar headset, would an amp like the O2 help it at all or would it take a specific kind of headset to benefit from this?

[MayflowerElectronics]

I meant FAQ at the top of this forum, not my website. (But thanks for the compliment).

The 770 is the lowest end model, it goes in order from 770 to 990. That's why it's lower priced.

If you had a cheap headset, it's not worth the $100 for an amp would it? You would hear a sound improvement, but it's best if you get a nice pair of headphones first.

[blakers28]

Ohh ok gotcha. And yes  i do understand its best to have a better quality headset if you are getting an amp, i just wanted to know personally. I know linus swears by the Xonzar series cards and i think the Asus Essence One Amp or whatever its called so i had to ask.

 

Now im assuming if i were to get the O2 Amp, since im running a 750W power supply, this should suffice to power it i believe.

[MayflowerElectronics]

The o2 is an external unit, it had nothing to do with a computer internally.

http://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/standard-objective2-amplifier.html

[ShearMe]

Im kinda wondering why the 250Ohm Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO  is the least expensive out of the three listed on that page. Wouldn't the one that takes more power to push sound be the more expensive?

 

Same reason the better headphones (DT 990) are cheaper than the 770 currently - American prices for Beyerdynamic headphones are weird! Beyerdynamic doesn't try to control prices like Sennheiser does, so things fluctuate quite a bit depending on market demand (as more people buy a headphone, the price goes down).

 

Also im seeing the Vmoda on amazon is way more expensive than the LP2 from vmoda's site, im assuming this is becuase the amazon one is Limited edition?

 

That's strange, I didn't realize I was linking to the limited edition. Upon further review It looks like the regular LP2 is no longer around - the version on V-Moda's site is the limited edition as well.

 

 

Also im curious, if i had a cheap 20 dollar headset, would an amp like the O2 help it at all or would it take a specific kind of headset to benefit from this?

 

In my personal experience, a $20 headphone is going to sound like a $20 headphone, and a $1000 dollar headphone is going to sound like a $1000 headphone. A bad source is going to sound like an extremely detailed bad source on nice headphones. The headphone and the source are independent of one another (so long as the impedances aren't mismatched, of course).

 

 

Now im assuming if i were to get the O2 Amp, since im running a 750W power supply, this should suffice to power it i believe.

 

Lol dude, the amp comes with its own power brick.

[blakers28]

Damn it, im sorry, i totally forgot its an AMP, not a Card..My apologies. 

 

You guys have been MORe than helpful. I now have what i need to get this ended finally.

 

Again, this community, the best so far ive seen on the internet!

 

Thanks

[h264]

Those headphones look to be open cupped. Do they offer a close cup version. I do need it to be closed to prevent sound leakage since i work from home and live in an apartment. Also, why no sound card? Would they not benefit?

 

They don't leak like speakers or anything, and not much unless you turn them WAY up (as in VERY loud for me, but I like things pretty quiet I understand, so who knows).  If you really want closed, get the DT770 80 or 250 Ohm sets.

 

Even my HE-500s wouldn't leak into another apartment unless I really cranked them all the way up.

 

 

We're saying INSTEAD of a soundcard, look at a usb DAC and AMP combo like the FiiO E10 or O2+ODAC.  Not only would headphones really not benefit from any soundcards on the market  (besides volume), it's actually detrimental in many ways sonically to most modern headphone models.

 

EDIT: nevermind, you clearly already understand

[h264]

Same reason the better headphones (DT 990) are cheaper than the 770 currently - American prices for Beyerdynamic headphones are weird! Beyerdynamic doesn't try to control prices like Sennheiser does, so things fluctuate quite a bit depending on market demand (as more people buy a headphone, the price goes down).

 

I believe that's because there's more demand for the pro models for studios and they buy them in bulk.  I think I even saw a pair of DT770pros on Justin Beiber's head once... scary!

 

[blakers28]

Ah lol, thats funny! God, that guy needs to do something...dont know what it is but he needs to do it

[blakers28]

Hello again,

 

Im reading on the forum that everyone is saying to get a dedicated sound card because it supports surround sound among other reasons. I still could not find a FAQ regarding this unfortunately. But doing searches on the forum threads is revealing to me that everyone says to get a card over an amp.  Can someone explain to me what the main difference is between them, other than the fact one is internal and one is external.

 

Thank You

[Theo]

Hello again,

 

Im reading on the forum that everyone is saying to get a dedicated sound card because it supports surround sound among other reasons. I still could not find a FAQ regarding this unfortunately. But doing searches on the forum threads is revealing to me that everyone says to get a card over an amp.  Can someone explain to me what the main difference is between them, other than the fact one is internal and one is external.

 

Thank You

Im gonna get bashed for saying this but i dont really think theres a difference, When i was looking for a soundcard, i saw reviews for the STX comparing it to other solutions and they performed pretty equally.

People will say external dacs/amps have lower interference since they are on the outside, i havent had a single problem with interference with my STX.

I just dont want to have another thing on my desk, if you're going to be moving the audio solution around then an external amp/dac would be better but i dont. 

If you have a lot of money then of course you ll buy more than a soundcard since audiophile gear costs a lot more than 150 euros or whatever

[mr moose]

Im gonna get bashed for saying this but i dont really think theres a difference, When i was looking for a soundcard, i saw reviews for the STX comparing it to other solutions and they performed pretty equally.

People will say external dacs/amps have lower interference since they are on the outside, i havent had a single problem with interference with my STX.

I just dont want to have another thing on my desk, if you're going to be moving the audio solution around then an external amp/dac would be better but i dont. 

If you have a lot of money then of course you ll buy more than a soundcard since audiophile gear costs a lot more than 150 euros or whatever

 

Haha, no. you will only get "bashed" if you said soundcards sound better than on board.

 

With regard to interferance, you'll note majority of the advice around here is that you only need to upgrade if you get interference and that the best path to avoid it is to get an external solution. This is because they are the same price if not cheaper than a basic soundcard with the advantage of being able to drive low impedance headphones just like the on board can.