Does anyone else experience background noise at around 90 volume? With or without IEMs.

The headset just received a mediocre score on a Swedish PC site. They complained that the frequency response was uneven and with certain emphasis on the mids; that they are comfortable at first wear but get uncomfortable after prolonged periods; bad sampling on mic; and that the volume...

Comfort-wise I think they're great for gaming, especially in noisy environments (given that they do isolate well or better than the ordinary closed headphones, which is something Steelseries claim they excel at), but I'm dubious to whether the audio will compete with headphones in the same price...

That feel when    

I'm not expecting it to mute the source, some ext volume controllers I've used before had no sound leakage when dial is turned to minimum. It's kind of annoying when you don't want to hear anything at all; makes it more convenient to use an external DAC/Amp.

But does any of you experience sound when external volume controller is on minimum volume (given that the soundcards/computer level is at 100%).

Reinstalled latest drivers and got a clicking sound on start-up now (or maybe I didnt hear it properly before). Still issues with volume though.

  It doesn't click on start-up. It does click when I switch between speaker and headphones   Rollbacking drivers did not working, going to return it tomorrow for a new one

  If that's the case I'll try a roll back in driver first and see if I notice any difference.   Last time I checked I didn't hear any clicking noise during start-up.

I've had 'Do nothing' option on since forever since it messes with Skype calls and so forth. So yeah, hopefully faulty card, but I honestly still doubt it. A soundcard that doesn't use external power via a molex (like Phoebus and STX) is liable to have insufficient output power for headphones.

  Thats one of the first things I tried, the difference in volume is marginal and still doesnt remedy the issue with not being able to mute all sound at minimum volume via the external controller

  ZxR

Recently purchased this card to slim down on equipment, amp, DAC etc. And boy was that a bad move. I haven't been this disappointed since I bought Xonar Phoebus.   The features and DAC section is totally fine, which is one of the reasons I bought the card. But the amplifier is just on par with...

Quote:   I sold the HD650 because I bought the LCD-2 which I thought sounded much better. Then I made a budget cut, sold the LCD-2 and got the X1 instead and couldn't be any happier; for the price X1 is a real gem. I also find the X1 more comfortable for my head.

I compared them both via the very delicate DAC/Amp D100 MKII. I personally own the X1, while my brother owns my HD650; which I sold to him. I haven't owned the X1 for so long, so the burn-in time does not exactly match that of the HD650; that's why I haven't gone into any serious reviewing of...

Quote: What headphones are you using? I had absolutely no background noise with my LCD-2 and HD650, apart from IEMs.

Quote: IMO cables don't make that much difference anyway. Unless you're actually using, say, a true balanced system and running it through RCA only. You'd want XLR recabling in order to use the full potentials of the MK VI+ for instance, David wrote so himself in an email when I asked him...

Quote: I really liked the A18 with LCD-2, there's a sort of fluidity in the sound which compliments the natural bold sound of the Audezes. However, I feel it benefits some dynamic cans even more, for example my K701 and HE-400 were almost blissful through the A18, I guess the...

Quote: For $300 you can get a used D100 II, really good DAC/Amp, and it works quite well with LCD-2.

Quote: Among the solid state amps I've tried I found the Yulong A18 to have the best soundstage. It can be run balanced, but I am not sure about it being truly balanced judging by the posts in the review thread.

Indeed they are, so if anyone is on a budget but really want the LCD-2 then they can just buy them and run them out of practically anything until they can afford a powerful amp.   I know Audeze says minimum 1W, and others say that the best way to drive them is through very high output power...

Quote:   From what I've heard HD-400 and MadDog modded T50RP. I haven't had time to compare the HE-400 with LCD-2 (but I liked the HD650 slightly more when compared to the Sennheisers, the new rev of HE-400 was a bit too bright for my taste), and I haven't listened to the T50RP. A cheaper...

Quote:   Very hard to say, at least audition them and try to A/B them at home before buying or selling. To my ears, the HD650 sounds quite anemic in comparison to LCD-2, they lack the same thick and powerful body, plus they have a totally cramped soundstage. The longer you listen to the...

If anything I sometimes feel that I want the LCD-2 to be warmer lol

I also think the D100 (as well as MKII) is quite popular around here, just like the D18.   I'd also like to point how great the amp section of the D100 MKII is. It may not have the same output power as my A18 or my previous V200, but it drives my LCD-2 well enough. To my ears, with soundmode...