Do soundcards also need burn-in

I bought a ASUS Xonar u1 USB soundcard for my sennHD555.

They sound terrible. Too much forward, extremely bad sound reproduction.
It feels if everything is in you head, and somehow it has changed the Senn sound signature as well. Its difficult to explain but you woudnt want to keep listening to it even for 20 min straight.

I wonder what the problem is.

One thing, 555 come with that big pluug for converting into 3.5mm adapter. That thick thing therefore, doesnt go completely inside Xonar, just half of the plug goes inside. And I check Xonar with my Nokia 5800 earphones. They sounded ok, even better than 555. I wonder what the problem is. I dont think that the plug could be an issue because many ppl have used the senn+u1 and have reviewed highly. (And fooled me into buying this crap)

someone plz bump in..

I am planning to sell it away.. :|

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sjonnie 

I had the xonar stx, I don't know if its based on the same built, but they were also very forward. It really hurt my ear after 15min, and I mean hurt in the sence that I just couldnt listen any longer. So I always turned the 3D effect on that came with the card. Sound quality went down hard, but the sound was more airy (good soundstage) and blurry, which was a lot more pleasant to my ears.

 

But yeah, I was not happy with them, and I am sure your card is a bit worse to some degree.

 

edit: to answer your question, I didn't notice any difference after prolonged usage.

Yeah... this is how I am feeling. Cant put it on for more than 15-20 minutes.

Actually, I find the new Realtek HD onboards that come with intel's i5 better.

I will try them for some more time. After that, I am looking forward to Fiio E7. Any comments on e7...

I dont wanna waste another $100 just to plug the HD555 back to my laptop..

Thanks again..

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Aizura 

Comon people, obviously the problem is the big ass plug, the headphone jack needs to be pushed completely into the Xonar, not half in.

buy an adapter cable instead to convert your HD555 to 3,5mm. That way the plug is small enough to fit the Xonar.

oohhh really... is that the mistake I have been making for the past 1 month.
I had even packed my useless Xonar and had thought of using it with my speakers maybe when I get to my hostel.

I really really (2x more times) hope it fixes the problem.

My simple nokia 5800 earphones sounded 10times better, & I was wondering wtf 555 are performing so bad.

Would update the thread shortly and in the meantime, one pic showing how I use the 555+Xonar. Just in case, I coudnt explain the stuffs nicely.

And btw, here is that amazon uk review that I curse to this day. It made me buy the Xonar, which I curse to this day. (Again)

Hoping all this changes.

Quote:

Amazon UK review
 

I spent a long time wondering which sound card would be best for me to buy: Creative Surround 5.1 or Asus Xonar U1. As I became a student I had to get rid of my PC and my laptop does not provide me with the sound quality I used to get using my PC. The only factor that really mattered for me was how good a card would be for listening to music. I have been using Sennheiser HD555 which sounds great when you have a decent sound card on board.

I finally decided to go for the Asus, although I have never used this manufacturer's sound cards. Without a doubt it has turned out to be an excellent choice! All tracks sound great, there is definitely a big difference between on-board sound card and Xonar U1. Moreover, while using Xonar U1 I've heard things I wasn't able to hear using Creative Audigy 2. I am surprised that such a small device can deliver outstanding sound quality.

I have no idea how it would work if one tried to get the 5.1 sound out of it, but I can definitely say that if you are seeking to improve the quality of the tracks you like listening to and if you love putting your headphones on, closing your eyes and just enjoying every little detail of the music - this is something you will not regret spending money on. I can confirm it does live up to the expectations that I had.

..

Yeah.. I tried them again.. (had to unbox them)

I tried my nokia 5800 earphones. They sounded too good. I was almost checking out my favorite songs once again as each of the tracks had something new to offer in terms of sound staging and sheer quality. At a few places, those earphones (which I think arent totally crap) sometimes sounded as "immersive" (obviously not as rich) as my 555+onboard Realtek.

Thanks Aizura for pointing out my mistake. I was going to place the Fiio e7 order in a week. You saved my $80.

Would go out and buy this M/F adapter this evening. The problem would probably get fixed.

(btw, am thankful to head-fi again.. first time I was all set to buy the bose triports that cost some Rs. 10,000 here. Head-Fi reviews made me switch to HD595. And later to HD555. Saved another $80-90 there and got a much better product.  // Coudnt try the  Grados or the ATH as they arent available in my country.)

Happy and thankful.