[milbauer]

first post... need some help with pending purchase

i'm looking to buy hd650's but i'd love someone to answer the following questions or link me to further reading (i've spent an hour or so searching)

- I'm looking at getting a ld mkIII amp, any issues with this choice?
- if i buy a DAC can i use it as a sound card to hear other sounds on my pc?
- if above is true does having a sound card still help?
- if i end up with a dac, amp, and a sound card how does everything hook up?
- any other stuff i'll need? (cabling etc)

i'll be listening to various music and gaming

current setup

headphones: hd485's
this mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188026
this sound card Amazon.com: Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External - Sound card - 24-bit - 96 kHz - 5.1 - USB: Electronics

thanks in advance

 

[Ninkul]

Welcome to Head-Fi.

1) Dont know, probably a lot of threads on the forum about it. Google is your friend

2) A DAC is literally a "Digital to Analog Converter", essentially what a "sound card" does. Think of a DAC as an external sound card. Sound cards themselves are DACs so any DAC you buy will function as any soundcard would.

3) If it has a line out, you may not need a DAC (see below)

4) [PC] ---[size=xx-small]SPDIF/USB[/size]---> [DAC] ---[size=xx-small]Typical Interconnect (Usually RCA)[/size]---> [Headphone Amp] ---> [Headphones]
Depending on the DAC you get, you will use different connections between your PC and DAC. Some DACs are USB only, some are SPDIF only (coax/optical) and some have both.

5) You should most probably only need one set of RCA cables to connect the DAC to the amp, however you can get DAC/Amp combos (usually USB).



If that Creative SB Live card has a true "Line Out" that is decent, i would recommend using that before getting a DAC as it will most probably be decent. Only if you find it to be insufficient you should upgrade (provided it has a line out). You can use the headphone-out however it is going through the sound card's amplifier which may distort the sound (significantly?) before going to your more expensive/accurate headphone amplifier.

I recommend upgrading one piece at a time as there are times where the upgrade may not be necessary as previous equipment may be sufficient. You may end up getting bit by the head-fi bug and buying a lot of different headphones and other things but try to keep smart about your purchases

There will always be something better so.. just find a point you're happy with instead of going all out right away.


I hope this helps

 

[milbauer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninkul /img/forum/go_quote.gif Welcome to Head-Fi. 1) Dont know, probably a lot of threads on the forum about it. Google is your friend 2) A DAC is literally a "Digital to Analog Converter", essentially what a "sound card" does. Think of a DAC as an external sound card. Sound cards themselves are DACs so any DAC you buy will function as any soundcard would. 3) If it has a line out, you may not need a DAC (see below) 4) [PC] ---[size=xx-small]SPDIF/USB[/size]---> [DAC] ---[size=xx-small]Typical Interconnect (Usually RCA)[/size]---> [Headphone Amp] ---> [Headphones] Depending on the DAC you get, you will use different connections between your PC and DAC. Some DACs are USB only, some are SPDIF only (coax/optical) and some have both. 5) You should most probably only need one set of RCA cables to connect the DAC to the amp, however you can get DAC/Amp combos (usually USB). If that Creative SB Live card has a true "Line Out" that is decent, i would recommend using that before getting a DAC as it will most probably be decent. Only if you find it to be insufficient you should upgrade (provided it has a line out). You can use the headphone-out however it is going through the sound card's amplifier which may distort the sound (significantly?) before going to your more expensive/accurate headphone amplifier. I recommend upgrading one piece at a time as there are times where the upgrade may not be necessary as previous equipment may be sufficient. You may end up getting bit by the head-fi bug and buying a lot of different headphones and other things but try to keep smart about your purchases There will always be something better so.. just find a point you're happy with instead of going all out right away. I hope this helps

thanks man it does, much appreciated

 

[KCChiefsfan]

One thing to add; The type of DAC we're talking about here isn't going to give you any surround sound processing (like CMSS-3D for games, or any of the DSP's for movies) like a dedicated sound card would. If you are in the market for that sort of thing, definitely go for a sound card with a decent DAC and Amp (plenty of resources on this type of thing in the PC as a Source forum). If all you are after is stereo listening though, you should go for a standalone DAC and Amp (or DAC/Amp combo, if you desire).

 

[DannyBuoy]

I agree with KCCheifsFan above.
It may make sense to keep the sound card for games and get a dedicated hybrid for music (what I have on my desktop setup).I can use the X-Fi for games or surround sound stuff, and then I switch sound devices in control panel and use my Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 for MP3s and FLAC listening.
I have Denon D5000s and they are somewhat similar to HD650s in sound signature, bass heavy, and I have had them connected to HifiMan EF2, LD MKIV, Audio-GD Compass and I like them best on the solid state Maverick D1. I found the smaller tube amps do not have the speed and resources to respond to the needs of the heavy bass drivers and all of them tended to sound muddy and flat when compared to the Maverick D1.
It took some heavy duty amps to make the D5000s sound great on tubes WooAudio WA-6, B22, Audio-GD Phoenix, but those rigs run into the thousands of dollars once you add on higher end cables, interconnects, etc.
If you are looking to just up your game on listening to music on your PC, my opinion is do what I did:
Maverick D1 (USB/DAC/Hybrid) with a good quality USB cable (I bought a cryoparts USB but any shielded one helps), I connected it to a dedicated conditioned power supply battery UPS I use for computers, and I choose to use J.River Media Center for playback becasue it supports native Direct Sound under Vista or Win7 with up to 24Bit/192KHz playback.
Total spent under $300. It BLOWS AWAY my internal X-Fi for 2 channel music.

Then, you can swap OpAmps or put in an HDAM like I did to up the Maverick's SQ a bit more.
Just my opinion.

BTW - Welcome to Head-fi, Sorry about your wallet...

 

[Palpatine]

I have the Hd650 with the LD Mk III ( Russian groove tube upgrade ) They sound nice together.

 

[milbauer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannyBuoy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree with KCCheifsFan above. It may make sense to keep the sound card for games and get a dedicated hybrid for music (what I have on my desktop setup).I can use the X-Fi for games or surround sound stuff, and then I switch sound devices in control panel and use my Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 for MP3s and FLAC listening. I have Denon D5000s and they are somewhat similar to HD650s in sound signature, bass heavy, and I have had them connected to HifiMan EF2, LD MKIV, Audio-GD Compass and I like them best on the solid state Maverick D1. I found the smaller tube amps do not have the speed and resources to respond to the needs of the heavy bass drivers and all of them tended to sound muddy and flat when compared to the Maverick D1. It took some heavy duty amps to make the D5000s sound great on tubes WooAudio WA-6, B22, Audio-GD Phoenix, but those rigs run into the thousands of dollars once you add on higher end cables, interconnects, etc. If you are looking to just up your game on listening to music on your PC, my opinion is do what I did: Maverick D1 (USB/DAC/Hybrid) with a good quality USB cable (I bought a cryoparts USB but any shielded one helps), I connected it to a dedicated conditioned power supply battery UPS I use for computers, and I choose to use J.River Media Center for playback becasue it supports native Direct Sound under Vista or Win7 with up to 24Bit/192KHz playback. Total spent under $300. It BLOWS AWAY my internal X-Fi for 2 channel music. Then, you can swap OpAmps or put in an HDAM like I did to up the Maverick's SQ a bit more. Just my opinion. BTW - Welcome to Head-fi, Sorry about your wallet...

after some research i think i'll go with the maverick d1... seems like a lot of performance for the money and a good choice for starting out, thanks