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SoundCard or headphone Amp?

post #1 of 6
2/9/12 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 

Ok, so I just got a pair of Sennheiser HD 598s, and I want to get the best out of them. My budget is around 200$.

I either get :

Fiio E17

Or: 

Xonar Essence STX

(If you know a better soundcard for similar price, I'm open to all suggestions)

I'm using my desktop, which one of these 2 items will give me the best sound?

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post #2 of 6
2/9/12 at 1:37pm

I had the exact same question. I think that I asked yesterday, so you could take a look at that thread. I have the Denon d2000's so my situation is a little different from yours. My understanding is the d2000's run fine without amping. Don't know about the 598's. 

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/594737/got-200-asus-xonar-essence-or-dac-amp

 


Edited by MattTCG - 2/9/12 at 1:48pm
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post #3 of 6
2/9/12 at 1:49pm

Get the Essence STX if you'll make use of its Dolby Headphone stuff. Otherwise, the output impedance will color the sound slightly (increased mid-bass, ~1 dB at 90 Hz) and as such you might want the E17 instead which I expect doesn't have high output impedance.

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post #4 of 6
2/9/12 at 2:14pm

Are the E17's available for sale yet?  If so where?

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post #5 of 6
2/10/12 at 8:17pm

Can I bump this for my question above?

 

thanks...

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post #6 of 6
2/11/12 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 

I don't think the E17s are available yet. However, they should be here soon.

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