[deltaspirit]

Hopefully this is in the correct area. I just recently purchased a pair of grado sr80's, they are my first "good" headphones. I also just built a new gaming computer that i'll also use for everyday stuff, I'd like to start listening to more music as it's a big part of my life and I'd like to hear the music for what it really is so I want to get a better soundcard (currently I'm using realtek onboard) and or get an amp. Eventually I'd like to get better headphones as these grado's are considered beginner headphones and I'm hungry for more so a future upgrade is possible. So basically I need the best mid level (good money/performance ratio) setup for full out music listening and a little bit of gaming.

I don't really have a budget, I just really want the best for my money. And if it matter I listen to stuff like queens of the stone age, new order, el ten eleven, and anime soundtracks. So no rap or anything like that.

 

[El_Doug]

assuming your motherboard has some kind of spdif output, your best bet for improving your source right now is to get the DAC of your choice, really.

once you're in the "budget doesn't matter, so long as I consider it a good value" range, it is highly advisable to demo any and all units you are considering, BEFORE you take the plunge.

 

[obobskivich]

uh, doug, why does he have to get an external DAC? a soundcard would improve his experience a lot more (especially since he's very likely gaming, on his gaming computer

)

oh, and genre/etc doesn't matter when picking a soundcard (imho anyone who wants to argue the flavor of a source as a "solid influence on buying the component for a specific genre", especially in regards to PC hardware, is pretty silly)

I'd take the Creative X-Fi route if you're using Windows XP, and the Asus Xonar route if you're using Windows Vista

and what are you talking about "beginner" headphones??????

 

[deltaspirit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif uh, doug, why does he have to get an external DAC? a soundcard would improve his experience a lot more (especially since he's very likely gaming, on his gaming computer ) oh, and genre/etc doesn't matter when picking a soundcard (imho anyone who wants to argue the flavor of a source as a "solid influence on buying the component for a specific genre", especially in regards to PC hardware, is pretty silly) I'd take the Creative X-Fi route if you're using Windows XP, and the Asus Xonar route if you're using Windows Vista and what are you talking about "beginner" headphones??????

I'm using vista. I'll take a look at the asus soundcard, also I want to mention I don't really pay attention to the sound when I'm playing a fps, I really just want to sit down and have a listening session. As for the grados I figured that if I move up with everything other than headphones I should upgrade the headphones too, or else it wouldn't be worth it.

Thanks for the replys so far.

 

[paaj]

You don't have to upgrade anything, SR80 is a very nice sounding headphone and will benefit from upgrades in the rest of the chain.
Upgrading the headphone depends a lot on budget, because at it's price point it is a very nice offer.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Sound quality in FPS is important. People think they don't hear it as they are too busy staying alive but.... When a explosion sounds realistic or bullets whip by your ears. You will notice that over not having it.

 

[El_Doug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif uh, doug, why does he have to get an external DAC? a soundcard would improve his experience a lot more (especially since he's very likely gaming, on his gaming computer )

i suggested external because he said he had no budget, and there are certainly much better sounding options outboard than on a card, in my experience. i game myself, and I can tell you that since EAX is for all intents and purposes a gimmick (imo, of course), there is no reason to sacrifice a better analog output by forcing yourself to limit your options to soundcards

not to say that he should discount soundcards, but it seems very irresponsible to suggest, "youre a gamer, get a card," especially when SQ preference (for most people) has more to do with the music listening experience, and is less important for gaming

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by El_Doug /img/forum/go_quote.gif i suggested external because he said he had no budget, and there are certainly much better sounding options outboard than on a card, in my experience. i game myself, and I can tell you that since EAX is for all intents and purposes a gimmick (imo, of course), there is no reason to sacrifice a better analog output by forcing yourself to limit your options to soundcards not to say that he should discount soundcards, but it seems very irresponsible to suggest, "youre a gamer, get a card," especially when SQ preference (for most people) has more to do with the music listening experience, and is less important for gaming

in order to match or exceed the quality of a $100-$200 soundcard, you have to get to $600-$900 or more

thats fiscal irresponsibility if I've ever seen it (sorry, I could care less if it sounds better, its $600+ to plug stereo headphones into your computer, thats worthless imho)

as far as EAX, it may be a gimmick, but theres other features that aren't, and that your external solutions won't offer

 

[deltaspirit]

Hey, totally forgot about this thread as I've been away from the pc for a bit. I looked at the asus cards is there anything else that's recommended? say I get a sound card, what would be next?

 

[Twoguns]

I used the X-FI for gaming, but I find it way to noisy for actual HiFI use. I use the Styleaudio Carat-Peridot (DAC/HA-combo) for that.

 

[deltaspirit]

Hi, I finally got around to getting a new sound card. I want to get the Xonar because I have Vista and it seems to be the best choice for my Grado's. The only thing I'm not sure about is the difference between the two I want to get.

ASUS Xonar D1 7.1 Channel PCI-E Low Profile Sound Card 24BIT Dolby Dvs DH Dpliix DDL - DirectCanada

and

ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channel PCI-E Sound Card 24BIT Dolby Digital 116DB SNR W/ Low Profile Bracket - DirectCanada


Also, would this sound card be enough for better headphones? or would I have to get a amp, or does it just depend on the headphones?

Thanks

 

[deltaspirit]

Anybody? I'll order at any moment I'm just not sure what the main differences are between the two.

 

[ABathingApe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltaspirit /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anybody? I'll order at any moment I'm just not sure what the main differences are between the two.

Other than the PCI headers at the side, I don't see much difference. the PCB's look pretty close. And at the price point, I'd imagine they'd perform about the same. And actually, if you look on the Asus website under products->multimedia->audio cards->gaming, both are listed and you can do a comparison. After a quick one over, you'll notice that sections from the D1 are actually copied onto the DX description, which further leads me to believe they are neigh identical performing products, though the D1 has

"S/PDIF Header: Connecting to supported VGA cards with HDMI output"

I'd probably take the D1.

 

[deltaspirit]

Thanks for the explanation. Seems there's not much difference between the two. I think these will go great with my grados.

 

[lxxl]

If you can afford the xonar essence line, I'd recommend it over those 2. STX comes with an amp which might interest you, since you are much into headphones. ST, PCI version, is coming out shortly if you want PCI over PCI-E.

You can find a lot of people here talks about the Essence and their opamps.