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Asus Xonar DX + Sennheiser HD518?

post #1 of 22
12/26/12 at 8:22am
Thread Starter 

1)I have an asus xonar dx and i was wondering if it could power the HD518's

2)it would also be nice if someone could explain to me what a headphone amp can do (ex: do they even help with low impedence headsets?)

3)if you had a better choice of a sub $150 headset (preferably around $125) that would be powered by the asus xonar dx could you please link it

 

P.S i'm a new guy to this forum and higher end audio in general

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post #2 of 22
12/26/12 at 12:40pm
Thread Starter 

bump

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post #3 of 22
12/26/12 at 4:22pm

The HD518's are very sensitive, 108dB per 5mW , so yes your Xonar DX can drive them just fine.

 

Edit: Got the sensitivity rating wrong, fixed it.


Edited by Headzone - 12/26/12 at 8:04pm
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post #4 of 22
12/26/12 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 

thank you very much for clarifying that, just curious what does a headphone amp do, increase the impedence that the signal from the sound card has or does it increase voltage of the output of the card (or both), and when is one necessary
 

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post #5 of 22
12/26/12 at 9:03pm

...


Edited by Headzone - 12/26/12 at 9:05pm
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post #6 of 22
12/26/12 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevemk14ebr View Post

Thank you very much for clarifying that, just curious what does a headphone amp do, increase the impedence that the signal from the sound card has or does it increase voltage of the output of the card (or both), and when is one necessary.

The HD518s are 50-Ohms, so it's preferred to have the whatever headphone jack you plug your 50-Ohm headphones into have an impedance of 6.25-Ohms or less.

The Xonar DX's headphone is thought to have an impedance of around 100-Ohms.

But the Xonar DX will still drive the HD518 decently.

A low impedance headphone amplifier, 6.25-Ohms or less, should improve the sound quality of the HD518s

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post #7 of 22
12/26/12 at 11:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Headzone View Post

The HD518's are very sensitive, 108dB per 5mW , so yes your Xonar DX can drive them just fine.

 

Sennheiser headphones usually have their sensitivity specified in dB/V, rather than dB/mW. The Xonar can output slightly less than 2 Vrms through 100 Ω serial impedance, so, if the specs of the HD518 are true (50 Ω and 108 dB/Vrms), then it will be capable of roughly 105 dB SPL at most, about the same as with a DT770 Pro 250 Ω. If the OP finds the Xonar to be loud enough, then the main difference an amplifier would make with the HD518, because of its lower output impedance, is to reduce the "boominess" of the bass.

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post #8 of 22
12/27/12 at 1:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stv014 View Post

 

Sennheiser headphones usually have their sensitivity specified in dB/V, rather than dB/mW. The Xonar can output slightly less than 2 Vrms through 100 Ω serial impedance, so, if the specs of the HD518 are true (50 Ω and 108 dB/Vrms), then it will be capable of roughly 105 dB SPL at most, about the same as with a DT770 Pro 250 Ω. If the OP finds the Xonar to be loud enough, then the main difference an amplifier would make with the HD518, because of its lower output impedance, is to reduce the "boominess" of the bass.


I read somewhere that dB/V would equal to ~5mW. But I could be wrong.

 

If the Xonar DX really has 100ohm output impedance, then it cannot be recommended for the HD518's. Sorry OP, I mixed the Xonar DX with Xonar DG here, which has built in amp and a better headphone output..

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post #9 of 22
12/27/12 at 1:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Headzone View Post

 

I read somewhere that dB/V would equal to ~5mW.

 

That depends on the impedance. 1 Vrms into 200 Ω is 5 mW, but with 50 Ω it is 20 mW (power = voltage^2 / impedance).

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post #10 of 22
12/27/12 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 

i'm massively confused with all this Ohms and Vrm and SPL stuff, so maybe someone could clarify what they are, and if the DX can drive those headphone(some say they can others say no,so?),and

also who/what is OP

 

this line confuses me:

Quote:
The HD518s are 50-Ohms, so it's preferred to have the whatever headphone jack you plug your 50-Ohm headphones into have an impedance of 6.25-Ohms or less.

Edited by stevemk14ebr - 12/27/12 at 8:31am
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post #11 of 22
12/27/12 at 8:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevemk14ebr View Post

i'm massively confused with all this Ohms and Vrm and SPL stuff, so maybe someone could clarify what they are, and if the DX can drive those headphone(some say they can others say no,so?),and

also who/what is OP

 

this line confuses me:

The Xonar DX will drive the 50-Ohm HD518, just not as well as a dedicated headphone amplifier could.

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post #12 of 22
12/27/12 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

The Xonar DX will drive the 50-Ohm HD518, just not as well as a dedicated headphone amplifier could.


say i was to grab a headphone amp, which would you choose, and would it make a large difference

 

EDIT: would the Schiit Magni be a good choice


Edited by stevemk14ebr - 12/27/12 at 9:39am
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post #13 of 22
12/27/12 at 9:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevemk14ebr View Post


Say I was to grab a headphone amp, which would you choose, and would it make a large difference

 

EDIT: would the Schiit Magni be a good choice

I'm sure the new Schiit Magni would be a fine choice, it should improve the sound quality of any headphone used with the Xonar DX.

Maybe get the HD558 instead of the HD518?

Sometimes there are some good deals on used HD558s, On eBay and Amazon or the Head-Fi thread "Headphones for Sale".

The HD518 is a good choice for an unamped connection, but the HD558 would respond better to a good headphone amplifier.

I'm guess the HD518 will have a more bassy sound, but the HD558 should provide a more quality bass.

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post #14 of 22
12/27/12 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 

the 558 and the 518 use the exact same driver (i checked, some guy on this forum posted pictures of the drivel model numbers), the main difference is the cup design and materials, so they would respond the same, and i already ordered the headset (as soon as you guys confirmed the DX and the HD518's would work together) so even if i did find a reason to change it would be to late :D
 


Edited by stevemk14ebr - 12/27/12 at 3:04pm
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post #15 of 22
12/27/12 at 3:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevemk14ebr View Post

the 558 and the 518 use the exact same driver (i checked, some guy on this forum posted pictures of the drivel model numbers), the main difference is the cup design and materials, so they would respond the same, and i already ordered the headset (as soon as you guys confirmed the DX and the HD518's would work together) so even if i did find a reason to change it would be to late :D

Someone tested the HD518, HD558 & HD598 together. the HD558/HD598 responded better to an amplifier then the HD518.

I'm guessing the HD518 was designed have more bass and to work well with unamped sources.

But guess it does not matter anyhow.

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