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HFI-580, Soundcard recommendations

post #1 of 2
4/11/11 at 1:20am
Thread Starter 

Hi there, I have decided that the hfi-580 phones suit my needs and am looking for suggestions on a soundcard/amp.

 

Source is PC, which is currently just using onboard sound from a Asus p5k pro board. It will only really be used for music listening, iTunes w/256k+ music.

 

The Xonar STX card seems to be quite popular on this forum, will this be overkill for the headphones ? I am aware it has a built in amp, but unsure if it is required. I understand higher ohm headphones need more power to run, but that is about the extent of my knowledge. Anything else bar what will be used to run headphones is of no concern (optical outs etc),

 

I am one to listen loud, however I wish to bring out the best in these headphones.

 

Suggestions from possibly 580 owners ?

 

Thanks in advance =D

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post #2 of 2
4/11/11 at 7:42am

Hi there, 

 

I used my HFI-580's with a Xonar ST for years and loved it. If you are a little brave you can order some LM49720 opamps for the I/V section of the ST, might find that your 580's now have bass-hits like a closed can with the soundstage of an open can. They sound great even with the stock opamps though, it was a night or day difference with me. As they say, your mileage may vary. I used the Hi-Gain (second option) mode for them just because I also had a pair of active monitors plugged into the RCA outs which I did not want to accidentally play really loud when I switched to them after jamming out with headphones on. The HFI-580's are only 32Ωs so they don't need an amp but they do benefit from one. If you want to listen loud, use the Hi-Gain setting but don't go past 50%'ish volume or the sound will start to distort and you will be deaf.

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