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computer audio interfaces - double as a headphone amp?

post #1 of 14
9/27/08 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 
hi all,

do you know of any computer audio/midi interfaces out there that work well for amping headphones?

i'm using an apple powerbook g4 and looking for an external audio interface.

i run apple logic and would def. want some input options for instruments.

ive got an older emagic 26 audio interface right now and wondering if it would be efficient for for driving beyerdynamic dt 880s or 770s?

im looking in the $300ish> range.

thanks!
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post #2 of 14
9/28/08 at 1:52am
A new sound card just came out that does what you want and looks really nice. The "HT Omega Claro Halo" with built in amp.
Newegg.com - HT OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Sound Cards
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post #3 of 14
9/28/08 at 3:14am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brando View Post
A new sound card just came out that does what you want and looks really nice. The "HT Omega Claro Halo" with built in amp.
Newegg.com - HT OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Sound Cards
that's a sweet hybrid man - thanks for the link.

guess i should have mentioned that i've got a mac powerbook g4 and that i'm looking for an external audio interface...
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post #4 of 14
9/28/08 at 7:17am
E-MU 0404 has a headphone amp built into it, and its USB, should work just fine with OS X and Core Audio:
E-MU Systems - 0404 USB 2.0 - USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interface

not sure if it'll drive the 880's or 770's, iirc neither of them is mega high impedance though, so it should work, no idea how the amp actually sounds on it (but its relatively popular, so mods abound)
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post #5 of 14
9/28/08 at 7:26am
The Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 soundcard has a very decent built-in head-amp. It has some hiss with low-impedance phones but otherwise has plenty power reserve to drive even the monstrous K340 to satisfying levels. I imagine current generations of Audiotrak's soundcards carries (and possibly improve) on this capability.

Cheers!
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post #6 of 14
9/28/08 at 7:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zorander View Post
The Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 soundcard has a very decent built-in head-amp. It has some hiss with low-impedance phones but otherwise has plenty power reserve to drive even the monstrous K340 to satisfying levels. I imagine current generations of Audiotrak's soundcards carries (and possibly improve) on this capability.

Cheers!
did you read the thread? I ask because afaik the Prodigy is a PCI card, and OP has a laptop, which means no PCI cards

tis all good though mate, its still early!
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post #7 of 14
9/28/08 at 8:09am
I did read the OP but I did miss the subsequent posts (and hence the laptop part).
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post #8 of 14
9/28/08 at 8:31am
Depending on budget - Apogee Mini-DAC. Not only one of the better audio interfaces (you can use USB, but may be even better running digital optical straight from the Mac), but is also has a superb headphone amp built in.
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post #9 of 14
9/29/08 at 5:12am
Thread Starter 
appreciate all the recommends and insight so far folks. looks like i should have been a little more specific in my original post.

something like the E-MU 0404 would def. work nice for my set-up.

the hunt continues - thanks again.



one amazon review reads:
"I was quite excited about getting this sound card. At first I was a little concerned about using a USB 2.0 interface (versus a firewire interface) and I must say that I'm still not convinced that USB 2.0 is stable enough to support a real time / ASIO audio device. The pre-amps on the 0404 are very nice, very clear and transparent. The gain isn't very smooth though, and tends to "jump" quite quickly. If I worked for excessive periods in ASIO mode it began to click and pop a lot and sometimes the LED meter would freeze for no reason. Occasionally it would stop working all together and I'd have to restart it and the program(s) I was using. Support is a little less than spectacular, with (at the time I had it) no real driver or firmware updates. It comes packaged with some handy audio tools, programs and plugins.

Overall, really liked it at first but quickly grew annoyed at it's inconsistent and erratic behaviour. Decent for a beginner or not so demanding user but if you intend to get serious there are much better options available for a similar price."

"better options available for a similar price" - i'll have to track those down... any ideas on alternatives guys?
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post #10 of 14
9/29/08 at 1:36pm
uh, i would just forget the amazon reviews, people love to cry

as far as "better options", there isn't much that can do everything the 0404 can do for the price, there is higher quality single output, but it isn't a full on audio processor, so consider that
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post #11 of 14
9/29/08 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by obobskivich View Post
uh, i would just forget the amazon reviews, people love to cry

as far as "better options", there isn't much that can do everything the 0404 can do for the price, there is higher quality single output, but it isn't a full on audio processor, so consider that
yeah that E-MU 0404 looks like a great piece of equipment. i'll have to start up a new thread to see if there are any similar options to "upgrade to.

i'm guessing it works well as a DAC and mp3s sent to my receiver from the E-MU 0404 would sound good (presuming the file type is adequate)?
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post #12 of 14
9/29/08 at 5:00pm
I recently got fed up with playing my music at work. Every time you switch desktop PCs you have to worry about what soundcard might be in there and/or whether there is a 5 V capable PCI slot in there to drive my soundcards. Even if there is, and in the SMP machine there often isn't, then I still have to rip the box open. After finishing that you are left with the requirement for a headphone amp. Not to mention even if you drag your own soundcard around there might still be new interference in the new PC.

What I found is the Tascam USB sound controller series, US-122, US-224 and US-428. They have a USB soundcard that works flawlessly under most OSes including Linux and a professional quality headphone amp. Next to MIDI, symmetrical inputs and whatnot.

So I just drag one of those around and it's easy. I just need a USB-2.0 port and one black box powers me all the way through to the phones.

I didn't make a deliberate comparison between this unit and my own soundcard->amp combo but then I didn't have a good headphones amp before either.
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post #13 of 14
9/29/08 at 5:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aphinity View Post
yeah that E-MU 0404 looks like a great piece of equipment. i'll have to start up a new thread to see if there are any similar options to "upgrade to.

i'm guessing it works well as a DAC and mp3s sent to my receiver from the E-MU 0404 would sound good (presuming the file type is adequate)?
The 0404 is a good DAC, but personally, at the moment, I'm not too fond of the headphone amp in it.
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post #14 of 14
9/30/08 at 10:14pm
Check out the Apogee Duet. It's a little more than your budget, but is definitely worth the extra $$, especially if you are looking to record with Logic.

Apogee Website: Apogee Electronics: Premium Digital Audio Solutions

There are also a couple extensive threads on Head-Fi discussing it

nine
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