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Would Xonar Essence One drive HD650's - Page 2

post #16 of 24
9/26/12 at 5:16pm

I use a Xonar Essence STX and it has a pretty good on-board amp that I'm guessing might be similar to that of the external model.  I haven't tried it with HD-650's yet, but it does an "ok" job with my other 600ohm cans.  I would like to have a little more headroom and power at that high of a load, but it's not bad for an on-board "bonus" in my PCIe soundcard.

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post #17 of 24
9/26/12 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Thanks guys.  Think i am going to try out a little dot mkIII whenever I see one pop up for sale.

What have you been using for a DAC?

Or at least what have you been plugging your current amplifier into?

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post #18 of 24
9/26/12 at 10:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hybridamp View Post

I use a Xonar Essence STX and it has a pretty good on-board amp that I'm guessing might be similar to that of the external model.  I haven't tried it with HD-650's yet, but it does an "ok" job with my other 600ohm cans.  I would like to have a little more headroom and power at that high of a load, but it's not bad for an on-board "bonus" in my PCIe soundcard.

Hah, yeah that soundcard sure beats the price of the external model.  May have to get one sometime.

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post #19 of 24
9/26/12 at 10:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

What have you been using for a DAC?

Or at least what have you been plugging your current amplifier into?

Based on your prior suggestion I looked into the LD MK III and ended up getting one.  Sounds great with the HD650s.  I rolled the stock tubes for some Tung Sol 6ak5s, and the soundstage seemed to open up a little more.  Also switching gain from 10 down to 5 made an even larger difference.  So thanks for the suggestion. 

 

Amp also does a respectable job at driving the he400s, but I feel there is room to spare power wise.  Thinking of going with some hybrid or solid state.  For hybrid i have been debating the little dot 1+.  For solid state might go with a Fiio of some sorts.  Any suggestions?

 

Right now I don't have a DAC.  Input for my amp comes directly from onboard soundcard.   I know, a weak link right?  I am not sure to go with some sort of DAC or just upgrade the soundcard.  My understanding is that either would be comparable.  If I upgrade soundcard i would prob go with the asus stx as Hybridamp suggested.  I think it would trump the price tag of the xonar external amp.  I have no clue which dac to try, maybe the odac?

 

My question about an external dac is could you still use eq settings on your PC?  Reason being, I like a little bass boost added to my music.

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post #20 of 24
9/26/12 at 11:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Based on your prior suggestion I looked into the LD MK III and ended up getting one.  Sounds great with the HD650s.  I rolled the stock tubes for some Tung Sol 6ak5s, and the soundstage seemed to open up a little more.  Also switching gain from 10 down to 5 made an even larger difference.  So thanks for the suggestion. 

 

Amp also does a respectable job at driving the he400s, but I feel there is room to spare power wise.  Thinking of going with some hybrid or solid state.  For hybrid i have been debating the little dot 1+.  For solid state might go with a Fiio of some sorts.  Any suggestions?

 

Right now I don't have a DAC.  Input for my amp comes directly from onboard soundcard.   I know, a weak link right?  I am not sure to go with some sort of DAC or just upgrade the soundcard.  My understanding is that either would be comparable.  If I upgrade soundcard i would prob go with the asus stx as Hybridamp suggested.  I think it would trump the price tag of the xonar external amp.  I have no clue which dac to try, maybe the odac?

 

My question about an external dac is could you still use eq settings on your PC?  Reason being, I like a little bass boost added to my music.

As your covered headphone amplifier wise, you could get a lower cost sound card.

For $50 you can get a used Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, CS4398 DAC chip.

The CS4398 DAC should be a fair bit better then whatever is in your motherboard.

The Xonar DX/D1 will give you Dolby Headphone surround sound for movies, thru the LD MKIII.


Edited by PurpleAngel - 9/27/12 at 12:24am
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post #21 of 24
9/27/12 at 12:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Based on your prior suggestion I looked into the LD MK III and ended up getting one.  Sounds great with the HD650s.  I rolled the stock tubes for some Tung Sol 6ak5s, and the soundstage seemed to open up a little more.  Also switching gain from 10 down to 5 made an even larger difference.  So thanks for the suggestion. 

 

Amp also does a respectable job at driving the he400s, but I feel there is room to spare power wise.  Thinking of going with some hybrid or solid state.  For hybrid i have been debating the little dot 1+.  For solid state might go with a Fiio of some sorts.  Any suggestions?

 

Right now I don't have a DAC.  Input for my amp comes directly from onboard soundcard.   I know, a weak link right?  I am not sure to go with some sort of DAC or just upgrade the soundcard.  My understanding is that either would be comparable.  If I upgrade soundcard i would prob go with the asus stx as Hybridamp suggested.  I think it would trump the price tag of the xonar external amp.  I have no clue which dac to try, maybe the odac?

 

My question about an external dac is could you still use eq settings on your PC?  Reason being, I like a little bass boost added to my music.

 

You should get a DAC. It makes a big difference, onboard sound is usually bad.

The ODAC is a good choice, for $99, as a standalone DAC.

The STX is a more budget oriented solution, as it gives you an amp as well.

You can still use EQ settings on the PC. The EQ is done in software anyways.

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post #22 of 24
9/27/12 at 12:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

As your cover headphone amplifier wise, you could get a lower cost sound card.

For $50 you can get a used Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, CS4398 DAC chip.

The CS4398 DAC should be a fair bit better then whatever is in your motherboard.

The Xonar DX/D1 will give you Dolby Headphone surround sound for movies, thru the LD MKIII.

So you would just suggest a better soundcard and then just use the soundcard's dac?

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post #23 of 24
9/27/12 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

So you would just suggest a better sound card and then just use the soundcard's dac?

Get a sound card (Xonar DX or D1) that's better then your motherboard's built in audio.

An yes, you would use the Xonar sound card as the DAC.

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post #24 of 24
9/27/12 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

Get a sound card (Xonar DX or D1) that's better then your motherboard's built in audio.

An yes, you would use the Xonar sound card as the DAC.

Thanks.  That will go on my list as an update.  I knew at some point I would need to improve the source.  Think I am happy with the cans I have now so I can focus more on the source.

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