sunburntbum
New member
Audiophiles of the internet!
I am posting this to ask for help in deciding between soundcards, and to a lesser degree headphones. Im looking at upgrading my computer, and along the way I started thinking about getting a dedicated soundcard for additional aural pleasure (hah). I have M-Audio AV40 monitors which Ive had for about 3 years and absolutely love, they make music a religious experience compared to what I used to use, but theyre hooked up to just onboard audio and Im slowly beginning to realise what a travesty this is.
What the card will primarily be used for:
- Music (HQ from spotify premium, dont have much flac, etc, though how much of spotify is 320kbps is up for debate)
- Gaming (I should have enough firepower when upgraded to not have to worry about losing too many fps, but Id like to avoid it if possible. Id also like good 3D positional as I play BF3 etc)
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT880 Premium (at a ohm level that can play on laptop/iphone, but mainly for comp) <-- these look great, but Im very open to suggestions. Havent delved too deeply into headphone territory yet. To give you an idea of the volume I normally listen to headphones at, its about two volume blocks on an iphone
. (possibly the most obscure measurement ever)
Soundcards I cant decide between:
- Xonar Essence STX <-- Leaning towards this atm due to higher quality, but Im a bit worried about lack of expandability...especially to a 2.1 system
- Xonar D2X
- Xonar DX
I dont really want to go Creative as Ive had awful driver issues with them in the past that have left a bad taste, but Im open to any suggestions from other manufacturers. Two last things: Im not an extreme audiophile, I just like good music, and find the sound environment in games to be almost as important as the visuals. So, since Im viewing this as a long term investment, Im not too worried about paying a bit extra if I think its worth it.
Ive been researching this for the past two weeks or so, and didnt quite realise how deep the rabbit hole went when I first started lol
, so Ive been finally forced to admit I dont know a DAC from an opamp, and in posting this I'm now slightly worried they're the same thing
. In any case, Id really appreciate some advice from the good peoples of oc3D, so I leave my auditory future in your hands!
Thanks in advance everyone
I am posting this to ask for help in deciding between soundcards, and to a lesser degree headphones. Im looking at upgrading my computer, and along the way I started thinking about getting a dedicated soundcard for additional aural pleasure (hah). I have M-Audio AV40 monitors which Ive had for about 3 years and absolutely love, they make music a religious experience compared to what I used to use, but theyre hooked up to just onboard audio and Im slowly beginning to realise what a travesty this is.
What the card will primarily be used for:
- Music (HQ from spotify premium, dont have much flac, etc, though how much of spotify is 320kbps is up for debate)
- Gaming (I should have enough firepower when upgraded to not have to worry about losing too many fps, but Id like to avoid it if possible. Id also like good 3D positional as I play BF3 etc)
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT880 Premium (at a ohm level that can play on laptop/iphone, but mainly for comp) <-- these look great, but Im very open to suggestions. Havent delved too deeply into headphone territory yet. To give you an idea of the volume I normally listen to headphones at, its about two volume blocks on an iphone
Soundcards I cant decide between:
- Xonar Essence STX <-- Leaning towards this atm due to higher quality, but Im a bit worried about lack of expandability...especially to a 2.1 system
- Xonar D2X
- Xonar DX
I dont really want to go Creative as Ive had awful driver issues with them in the past that have left a bad taste, but Im open to any suggestions from other manufacturers. Two last things: Im not an extreme audiophile, I just like good music, and find the sound environment in games to be almost as important as the visuals. So, since Im viewing this as a long term investment, Im not too worried about paying a bit extra if I think its worth it.
Ive been researching this for the past two weeks or so, and didnt quite realise how deep the rabbit hole went when I first started lol
Thanks in advance everyone
