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New listener looking to (budget) upgrade his experience

post #1 of 9
4/26/11 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
Last May, I had hearing restoration surgery on my right ear (stapedotomy) after living life in mono for 32 years. Since that surgery, I've been trying to enjoy all the sounds life has to offer. The trouble is having to do that on a budget.

My headset right now is a Creative Fatal1ty MK II gaming headset and my audio solution is the Creative X-Fi HD USB. It works well (with the exception of having to unplug the box and plug it back in sometimes for Windows to recognize the mic) but I'm looking to enjoy things on a little higher level than I am now. I've got a budget of $300 including headset and sound card, and the upgrade experience will come in two stages (part 1 now, part 2 in July).

I primarily play DDO and Guild Wars, and I occasionally throw a guilty pleasure like Serious Sam (or soon, Duke Nukem) in the mix just for the catharsis of blowing things up. Music-wise, I am building a Wind Band music collection, tossing in the occasional choral CD or two, and enjoy instrument-heavy rock and pop. Nuance is important to me, especially now that I have the ability to really appreciate it.

I would prefer a PCIe solution (so i can drop my X-Fi HD in my laptop bag permanently), but am open to the expert opinions here. Thanks for your help!
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post #2 of 9
4/26/11 at 6:53pm

You could head over to Ebay and get a pair of Sennheiser HD595 headphones for $160 and a Xonar D2X soundcard for about $140. I am currently selling a D2X on Ebay for $140 under the name austincabarnes. No one has bought the card yet, so you could possibly get it cheaper by bidding (I have bidding starting at $90).

 

I used the above setup for years and it sound amazing. It has been my experience that the HD595 headphones are pretty easy to drive, pretty much any soundcard should be able to drive them well.


Edited by ABXG - 4/26/11 at 6:54pm
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post #3 of 9
4/26/11 at 10:03pm
The X-Fi HD USB isn't a bad card. Unless you're set on having a PCI card (or extra features) I don't see much of a reason to replace it on your budget... I would at least get a nice pair of headphones first...and see how it sounds with the X-Fi before I bought something else. I don't know about headphones with a mic, I think sennheiser makes some, but I couldn't say how they sound.

There are a lot of nice headphones that can be had at your price range. I don't know what sound you are going for, and I haven't heard as many phones as many people here have, but....Grados are really easy to drive, and I loved my SR60is. I would also look into Shure and Audio Technica to start you out.... There are a lot of threads about headphone recommendations here, so read some and see what looks good to you =]
Edited by Snag1e - 4/26/11 at 10:24pm
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post #4 of 9
4/26/11 at 10:28pm

creative x-fi titanium or the asus xonar dx? the creative x-fi titanium fatal1ty looks nice too (although, i'm not sure how much better it'd be than the x-fi titanium). the first two options are under $100 so that leaves you more to spend on headphones. 

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post #5 of 9
4/26/11 at 10:30pm

and for headphones, if having a mic is that important, i do believe your choices will be limited. better off getting a separate mic to give you many more options to choose from for your headphones..or you could just get a zalman clip on mic as well (only $10; http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Microphone-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone/dp/B00029MTMQ)

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post #6 of 9
4/26/11 at 11:14pm

I agree with NY don't limit yourself to headsets with mics. Check out the grado SR-60s really good budget headphones. Good for music and gaming then get a little $10 USB mic. The Xonar series soundcards are great or you might try looking for a used Nuforce Icon HD. There are a ton of options out there that don't require you hitting the lottery especially when you consider looking at used gear as well as new.

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post #7 of 9
4/26/11 at 11:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMatt2600 View Post

I agree with NY don't limit yourself to headsets with mics. Check out the grado SR-60s really good budget headphones. Good for music and gaming then get a little $10 USB mic. The Xonar series soundcards are great or you might try looking for a used Nuforce Icon HD. There are a ton of options out there that don't require you hitting the lottery especially when you consider looking at used gear as well as new.


Sr60s are great headphones for $80, although you could probably even get some higher end grados with your budget. Also, if you want to get rid of the X-Fi, I would look into the Nuforce Udac 2 for a usb dac - amp combo.
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post #8 of 9
4/27/11 at 7:20am
^ I think the OP prefers a PCI-E card; although definitey if USB was an option, i'd say either the udac or even fiio e7, which would actually leave you with even more for your headphones. smily_headphones1.gif
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post #9 of 9
4/27/11 at 5:02pm

To add to the list of PCI cards, the Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 (PCIE) looks pretty decent, With the built in "headphone amp" among other things. I think some of the Xonar cards have this same feature as well. I haven't used the forte before, but I did own an older auzen card, and I thought it was pretty decent for what I paid.

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