amp for headphones

Last edited by a moderator:
I would recommend you to go with audio card. There is no point in amplifying rubbish sound. That headset is 50 ohm so you won't need some V8 horse power from your amp. STX II is one of the daddies. What is your budget?

Cheaper DACs are very close to similarly priced newer sound cards. Yes the more expensive ones are good. There is a bit of a theme about PC components distorting the analog signal witch is true but only if you are into audio production. Then you will buy external audio interface (Focusrite, Roland,...) which are way more expensive. And we are getting in deeper waters. If i find some time in following months I will write a lengthy review on audio setups. If you are not running high-end studio monitors, and studio headphones, and i mean proper sacks of money worth, with big hairy ones you just need a quality sound card.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
yaniv said:
Should i buy sound card or apm/dac?
I do want something good but not to expensive
Click to expand...

If your onboard plays 92khz then you are OK, just get an amp. If you don't know how to change it holler and I will run you through it.

And be careful, cheaper DACs do not play nice with gaming. I should know, I have one.
 
AlienALX said:
If your onboard plays 92khz then you are OK, just get an amp. If you don't know how to change it holler and I will run you through it.

And be careful, cheaper DACs do not play nice with gaming. I should know, I have one.
Click to expand...

My onboard soundcard is alc892 .
Fiio e10k is cheaper?
What you recommend?
 
Yes Fiio e10k is cheap DAC, but arguably you get good quality for the money. If you are in no hurry read some reviews, and other forums then make your decision. There is plenty of information online. Just take time to seep trough it.
 
dear yaniv there is very simple solution, http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-surround-5-1-pro

it has 24bit very high quality dac/adc ,more powerful output amplifier than 99% of other soundcards and it measures like professional gear. plus there is good compressor/eq in drivers and few other neat solutions if you need them. i make soundcards for living and i would recomend this over mine for your application. only drawback of this soundcard is that you need to install drivers other than microsoft provided ones for full resolution.

also you can plug your speakers and there is both high pass for satelites and lowpass for sub with 48dB/oct digital crossover,wich can be bypassed if you have fullrange stereo speakers.

dont buy tubes not even for music if you didnt grew up with tubes becouse they measure poorly for all known standards and are "sounding good" only to those who are used to listen to them that were born before transistors existed and now are deaf of old age. tubes in guitar amplifier for sound coloration is different thing and not a proof that tubes are good.
 
AlienALX said:
I recommend the Little Dot MK1.

Did you check your sound card supports 92khz?
Click to expand...

I dont know if its support it, i saw i only have alc982.
There is nothing else that wrote there.

The biggest question is that if i need dac/amp or sound crad like asus axonar or creative soundblaster and which kind

Because i dont really audiophile man, its more for games and a little bit to music too
I just feel.like they dont work as they need to and i want to take the juice out of them
 
yaniv said:
I dont know if its support it, i saw i only have alc982.
There is nothing else that wrote there.

The biggest question is that if i need dac/amp or sound crad like asus axonar or creative soundblaster and which kind

Because i dont really audiophile man, its more for games and a little bit to music too
I just feel.like they dont work as they need to and i want to take the juice out of them
Click to expand...

In your task bar you should have a speaker. Right click it and go to playback devices.

OFCosLN.png


Look for your sound card.

DV4cyt7.png


Right click it and go properties.

lZSNzos.png


Go to Advanced.

vMaReb2.png


Change the setting to 24 bit 96,000 HZ (Studio Quality). Press "TEST".

If your sound card plays back the test sound try it with a FLAC or WAV file. If that works OK your sound card is fine and you just need an amp.

As for the valve argument? I have a variety of amps (five) varying in price from £40 to £600+ and the Little Dot MK1 is the best amp at that price I have listened to. And that is comparing it directly with a Graham Slee Novo, one of the best amps at any price.

I understand people are very happy with the Filo or whatever it's called but yes, at that price that is the best amp I have yet heard. Nothing even comes close at that price.
 
If his sound card plays back 96khz he doesn't need a sound card. Onboard sound cards these days are very good, they just lack any amplification circuitry because they cheap out on that.

He only needs an amp if his sound card can play back all formats.
 
AlienALX said:
If his sound card plays back 96khz he doesn't need a sound card. Onboard sound cards these days are very good, they just lack any amplification circuitry because they cheap out on that.

He only needs an amp if his sound card can play back all formats.
Click to expand...

Trust me m8 they are not good. If you plug in some dedicated card you will notice the difference on any decent sound system. If you have good phones/speakers (aka game zero) you need to upgrade your sound card. If you have some standard-low end phones/speakers by all means on board audio it is all that you will ever need.
 
The amp doesnt conecting stright into the soundcard so what its matter?
The only thing i can think of is that i can conect speakers to the soundcard and headphones to the amp
Or buy asus exonar or soundblaster zx with amp for headphone(i saw they come together)
 
Avet said:
Trust me m8 they are not good. If you plug in some dedicated card you will notice the difference on any decent sound system. If you have good phones/speakers (aka game zero) you need to upgrade your sound card. If you have some standard-low end phones/speakers by all means on board audio it is all that you will ever need.
Click to expand...

Trust me they are good. If they conform to certain standards they conform to those standards.

I've only spent forty years testing this theory. Nothing serious, like.

Stand alone sound cards are louder than onboard sound cards. This fools people into thinking they sound better but it does not work like that.

As I said, if his card plays 96khz he just needs an amp to drive the headphones. That is up to him because how you like things to sound is subjective.
 
Avet said:
For that just go with:
http://en.europe.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blaster-z
or
https://www.asus.com/uk/Sound-Cards/STRIX-SOAR/overview/
and be happy as a little monkey. :D
Reviews:
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Creative/Sound_Blaster_Z/
https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/audio/asus_strix_soundcard_range_review/1
Click to expand...

Go with one of these. They have on board amp/dac and that is all, and more what you will ever need for above normal use. We could brag about whole day about sound setups. If you are high-end user you wouldn't be asking these types of questions. Go with one of these and you will enjoy your headphones to the max.
 
Avet said:
Go with one of these. They have on board amp/dac and that is all, and more what you will ever need for above normal use. We could brag about whole day about sound setups. If you are high-end user you wouldn't be asking these types of questions. Go with one of these and you will enjoy your headphones to the max.
Click to expand...

I'm not bragging about high end set ups. I have a bit of everything, including the very lower end. As you can see in this rig I am using a DX, not the D2X.

No sound card on the market is as powerful as a good amp. They are big headphones he has there and need some driving. But let's ignore science and just make recommendations based on reviews on computer sites.

For the best sound he needs 96khz and a good amp. Period. That way he can play back anything of any quality (even direct WAV rips) and so on and can drive his headphones properly.

When I vouched for the Little Dot MK1 I did so comparing it to amps and so on at much higher price ranges. It absolutely crushes at its price level and beats much more expensive amps.
 
AlienALX said:
I'm not bragging about high end set ups. I have a bit of everything, including the very lower end. As you can see in this rig I am using a DX, not the D2X.

No sound card on the market is as powerful as a good amp. They are big headphones he has there and need some driving. But let's ignore science and just make recommendations based on reviews on computer sites.

For the best sound he needs 96khz and a good amp. Period. That way he can play back anything of any quality (even direct WAV rips) and so on and can drive his headphones properly.

When I vouched for the Little Dot MK1 I did so comparing it to amps and so on at much higher price ranges. It absolutely crushes at its price level and beats much more expensive amps.
Click to expand...


Are you talking about this kind https://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-6JI-standard-Headphone/dp/B00A2QM5O6

I saw lot of option and diffrent looking mk1

I also saw creative amp e1 in my country with nice price
They good?
 
AlienALX said:
I'm not bragging about high end set ups. I have a bit of everything, including the very lower end. As you can see in this rig I am using a DX, not the D2X.

No sound card on the market is as powerful as a good amp. They are big headphones he has there and need some driving. But let's ignore science and just make recommendations based on reviews on computer sites.

For the best sound he needs 96khz and a good amp. Period. That way he can play back anything of any quality (even direct WAV rips) and so on and can drive his headphones properly.

When I vouched for the Little Dot MK1 I did so comparing it to amps and so on at much higher price ranges. It absolutely crushes at its price level and beats much more expensive amps.
Click to expand...
As i have said before. On board cards have bad DACs. Amplifying rubbish sound is pointless...

Going for a good sound card gives you all in one solution. For a normal customer who wants good every day audio for his expensive headphones, and doesn't have spoiled ears plug it in, install driver, select preset and enjoy. Those 2 cards that i have recommended have a plethora of options for everyone.

And you will notice the difference compared to onboard audio, except if you are half deaf.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Avet said:
As i have said before. On board cards have bad DACs. Amplifying rubbish sound is pointless...
Click to expand...

Yes you can repeatedly say it but from what other people have said this is not true. Do you have any evidence to backup your claim?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

AlienALX
For Robbie.
Replies
4
Views
116
AlienALX
AlienALX
A
Finally first cheap 10G NICs for PCIex1 slot
Replies
0
Views
493
Azure_Bram_225
A
AlienALX
Any one getting Atomfall?
Replies
3
Views
231
AlienALX
AlienALX
AlienALX
The Fairchild Ghost subwoofer project
2
Replies
35
Views
653
AlienALX
AlienALX
D
Looking for gym headphones
Replies
7
Views
9K
darnn
D
Back
Top