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Please help me choose HD518 DT990 Xonar DX/DG

post #1 of 10
5/31/12 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I hope you can help me. (oh and sorry for my bad english)

I'm researching since 2 weeks on Head-Fi, Headphone.com and many others, and I finally fixed my choice on this 4 product but i can't make the final choice.

 

Sennheiser HD 518 = 102€ (127$)

Beyer DT990 Pro 250ohm = 132€ (164$)

Xonar DG = 28€ (35$)

Xonar DX = 59€ (73$)

 

As you can see, I want an open headphone, and I'm going to use it mainly for game (60%) and movie/music (20%/20%). I'm not playing game like Counter Strike, I'm playing RPG, Diablo 3... I listen to many different kind of music but mainly pop, techno, trance. I studied at a music conservatory for 10 years and I have some knowledge of studio so i have a decent ear, not gold but decent.

 

If I trust all reviews, both headphone have really good sound quality and comfort which are the two main features I'm looking for, so i'm pretty sure i can enjoy the one or the other.

 

Dt990 pro 250ohm seems to works with both DG and DX according some thread.

 

Xonar DX seems to have better sound quality than DG but I'm not really sure about that, opinions seemed fairly divided. But the price difference is so big that I find it hard to imagine that the DG might sound as good as the DX

 

I tried the Corsair HS1 and i enjoyed dolby sound for movie so I want a sound card, don't advise me an amp/dac.

 

And here are our finalists:

 

HD518 + Xonar DG = 130€ (162$)

DT990 + Xonar DG = 160€ (199$)

HD518 + Xonar DX = 160€ (199$)

DT990 + Xonar DX =  191€ (237$)

 

I'm not a rich man, so every penny is important for me, i guess I prefer the best value for money rather than the best quality about this 4, if the difference is not too big.

 

I really appreciate your helps.

Best regards.


Edited by ehboum - 5/31/12 at 6:24am
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post #2 of 10
5/31/12 at 7:47am

Havn't heard the HD518 so carnt make a comparsion bewteen the headphones but would look at getting the DGX instead of the DG. Its basically a DG but on a PCI-Express slot instead so should be more future proof if you upgrade often (should be roughly same price too).

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post #3 of 10
5/31/12 at 8:29am

The Asus DX in general is a better sound card then the DG, but the DX is not very good at driving/powering headphones, the DX can not drive the DT990 very well at all.

The DG (& DGX) can power headphones better then the DX.

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post #4 of 10
5/31/12 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 

Thx for the reply, DGX have a different audio processor, from CMI8786 (DG) to CMI8888DHT (DGX), maybe a little bit better (plus pci express of course) and cost 5€ (6$) more, so thx for your advice.

PurpleAngel, i'm glad to see you, i read a lot of your thread, That's exactly what I thought, and here the big deal, 518+DX or 990+DG-DGX since it's exactly the same price ?

Or maybe 518+DG-DGX is a better value for money, or 990+DX is a huge step up and it's worth it.

Breaking my mind x)


Edited by ehboum - 5/31/12 at 3:32pm
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post #5 of 10
5/31/12 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehboum View Post

Thx for the reply, DGX have a different audio processor, from CMI8786 (DG) to CMI8888DHT (DGX), maybe a little bit better (plus pci express of course) and cost 5€ (6$) more, so thx for your advise.

PurpleAngel, i'm glad to see you, i read a lot of your thread, That's exactly what I thought, and here the big deal, 518+DX or 990+DG-DGX since it's exactly the same price ?

Or maybe 518+DG-DGX is a better value for money, or 990+DX is a huge step up and it's worth it.

Breaking my mind x)

The DGX does not use the new CMI8888DHT audio processor, the DGX uses the CMI8768 (same as the DG),

The DGX just comes with a bridge chip that allows the CMI8768 to work with the PCI-Express bus.

I would say to get the DG or DGX, but get headphones that are lower then 250-Ohms.

I was in a rush before and did not finnish what I should have said.

The DG & DGX need to have all volumes maxed out to get decent volume from 250-ohm headphones.

The Fischer Audio FA-011 headphone is only 160-Ohm

The Senn HD558 is only 50-ohm

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post #6 of 10
5/31/12 at 3:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

The DGX does not use the new CMI8888DHT audio processor, the DGX uses the CMI8768 (same as the DG),

The DGX just comes with a bridge chip that allows the CMI8768 to work with the PCI-Express bus.

I would say to get the DG or DGX, but get headphones that are lower then 250-Ohms.

I was in a rush before and did not finnish what I should have said.

The DG & DGX need to have all volumes maxed out to get decent volume from 250-ohm headphones.

The Fischer Audio FA-011 headphone is only 160-Ohm

The Senn HD558 is only 50-ohm

You're right about audio processor, big fail from Asus France fr.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_DGX/#specifications .

The FA-011 seems awsome according reviews, I hope it is, cuz i'm gonna buy it right now x)

For the sound card, you wrote "The DS & DX are not that great for driving headphones, were as the DG comes with a half-way decent headphone amplifier.

With the FA-011 being 160-Ohm, it would be a wast to use it with the DS or DX.", 5 day ago on an other topic about the FA-011, so sadly, i guess i can't buy the DX, I hope the sound quality difference is not too big between DX and DGX.

Thank you very much for your advice, both of you, the Fischer Audio seems to be THE ONE for me.


Edited by ehboum - 5/31/12 at 5:46pm
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post #7 of 10
5/31/12 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 

mistake


Edited by ehboum - 5/31/12 at 3:29pm
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post #8 of 10
5/31/12 at 3:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehboum View Post

You're right about audio processor, big fail from Asus France fr.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_DGX/#specifications .

The FA-011 seems awsome according reviews, I hope it is cuz i'm gonna buy it right now x)

For the sound card, ou wrote "The DS & DX are not that great for driving headphones, were as the DG comes with a half-way decent headphone amplifier.

With the FA-011 being 160-Ohm, it would be a wast to use it with the DS or DX.", 5 day ago on an other topic about the FA-011, so sadly, i guess i can't buy the DX, I hope the sound quality difference is not too big between DX and DGX.

Thank you very much for your advice, both of you, the Fischer Audio seems to be THE ONE for me.

DG & DGX share about 95% of their parts.

So will sound the same.

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post #9 of 10
5/31/12 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 

I was talking about DX vs DG/DGX
 

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post #10 of 10
5/31/12 at 5:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehboum View Post

I was talking about DX vs DG/DGX
 

I had just assumed you had meant to say "DG vs DGX" but had mistyped it as "DX" vs. "DGX"

The DX is just not that great are driving headphones, it's ok.

The DX & D1 have high impedance and low voltage, which is not great for driving headphones.

The DX (&D1) are great if you add an external headphone amplifier.

On eBay they sell single tube headphone amplifiers, most can drive headphones up to 600-Ohm, priced from $65 to $130.

Ships from China, takes 10 days.

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