New Headphone question

[Ferdinandvdv]

Hi!

 

Recently I bought a new pair of headphones, the beyerdynamic DT990 PRO 250 ohm edition.

At first I thought that I would need an AMP to power these headphones but in my motherboard manual it tells me it can power up to 600 ohm headphones.

But something I find weird is that when I plug my headphones in via the front connector, they sound way louder then through the back connector.

 

Is this normal? I would think that the sound card on my motherboard would be for the back connection.

 

My motherboard is a ASUS maximus VI Formula

 

Thanks

[Bigman397]

Up to 50ohm is 'ok' off of onboard audio. Anything beyond that you should get a dedicated amp or soundcard with amp.

 

However - If your board says it can drive up to 600ohm that means it has a discrete headphone amp, this is starting to be more common. Sometimes you will see an weird power plug near the sound stuff on the board you might need to plug into power to give it more juice.

[BigDamn]

I had an Asus Maximus VII Formula that was supposed to have good onboard audio, but it still sucked (like the rest of the board). Onboard audio is still onboard audio. You can look for USB DACs which might suit your needs better. You can also look into getting a dedicated internal soundcard if you wish (my preferred option on a desktop).

[Bigman397]

3 minutes ago, dogger20011 said:

I had an Asus Maximus VII Formula that was supposed to have good onboard audio, but it still sucked (like the rest of the board). Onboard audio is still onboard audio. You can look for USB DACs which might suit your needs better. You can also look into getting a dedicated internal soundcard if you wish (my preferred option on a desktop).

Specifically my soundblaster Zxr has a special headphone amp and 1/4" trs plug - built for headphones. Its been the best soundblaster i've used so far.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audiophile-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00AQ5PK6I/

 

The volume pod is nice and has an array mic built in as well as 1/4" and 1/8" trs so you can plug in either style headset plug.

[an actual squirrel]

Some motherboards come with headphone amplifier chips, but don't assume it "just works". Sometimes, you have to use a specific jack, or install the audio driver from the motherboard's website, to get it to work. When things are a lot louder, then you probably got it working.

[Reckless95]

31 minutes ago, Bigman397 said:

Specifically my soundblaster Zxr has a special headphone amp and 1/4" trs plug - built for headphones. Its been the best soundblaster i've used so far.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audiophile-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00AQ5PK6I/

 

The volume pod is nice and has an array mic built in as well as 1/4" and 1/8" trs so you can plug in either style headset plug.

 

I still have my ZxR. Recently upgraded to Lyr 3 Schiit. I won't go back to the Sound Blaster. 

 

Sounds in games like BFV etc. Are way more realistic and the bass response doesn't get degraded because of the 3D reverb processes. A dedicated DAC/Amp gets you more for your money compared as well. 

 

Im interested in Sennheisers GSX 1000 however the amp on it is weak and it doesn't have line out. I have though about double AMPing it.

 

I did use my headphone out from my ZxR to my Schiit as I got begetter headphones. However even with SBX surround, it sounds tinny and doesn't help the sound stage and positioning for my LCD-X's. 

[EsaT]

On 9/22/2018 at 8:11 PM, huilun02 said:

When a mobo has only one amp, it means only one analog output line comes off that amp. It cannot uphold the 600 Ohm spec if you split the line, due to simple electrical circuit maths.

Question isn't about splitting.

Question is about case front and motherboard rear connectors being literally different outputs in Realtek codec.

And both would need own amplifier, or then one output would have to be split to both connectors...

Losing ability to separate those connectors as entirely different ports. (possibly playing back different signals)

 

Anyway if configured for headphone output Realtek codec can certainly give enough voltage for 250 ohm Beyers to reach hearing dangerous volume.

Though there are no public datasheets for ALC1220 so maybe it differs from other Realteks.

Or what ever parts Asus put under that marketing hype.

[moderategamer]

I don't know but I'm assuming you're correct it would make sense to have more of a simple line level out on the rear where you're more likely to be plugging in to an amp and the amped output on the front for passive headphones. 

[EsaT]

On 9/22/2018 at 7:35 PM, Bigman397 said:

Up to 50ohm is 'ok' off of onboard audio. Anything beyond that you should get a dedicated amp or soundcard with amp.

Impedance tells very little about how demanding headphones are.

https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BeyerdynamicDT880600ohm.pdf

https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/HiFiMANHE6.pdf

That Beyerdynamic is only 40 times easier load, and that's putting difference very conservatively.

 

On 9/22/2018 at 8:33 PM, Reckless95 said:

Im interested in Sennheisers GSX 1000 however the amp on it is weak and it doesn't have line out. I have though about double AMPing it.

You forgot GSX also lacking that proper DAC with its cheap ass Conexant CX20745 at level of low end Realteks.

By Sennheiser's pricing logic SoundBlasterX G6 should cost 1000$.

[BigDamn]

On 9/22/2018 at 11:55 AM, Bigman397 said:

Specifically my soundblaster Zxr has a special headphone amp and 1/4" trs plug - built for headphones. Its been the best soundblaster i've used so far.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audiophile-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00AQ5PK6I/

 

The volume pod is nice and has an array mic built in as well as 1/4" and 1/8" trs so you can plug in either style headset plug.

Yeah i've got the ZXR also and I love it. I actually hook it up to my stereo receiver and it works great. I haven't used the headphone amp on the card much, since I usually just plug my headphone into the receiver. Love the card though