[AnAudioNewbie]

Hi guys

An audio newbie in need of advise.

I'm switching from a gaming headset to a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 (250 Ohm). As I will 99% of the time be using these headphones for gaming I will want to retain the positional audio capabilities such as virtual surround/7.1 (I know there are a lot of opinions on this subject, but as I play FPS games this is important for me).

I have narrowed my choices down to three options, and I hope you guys can educate me as to what to pick.

For info: I have a Asus Strix Z270E SupremeFx motherboard which claims to be able to power headphones up to 600 Ohm. Even if it can, I suspect you guys will laugh at this claim.
Also, I have a pair of active speakers (Audioengine A2) which I need to connect to the setup. I use these rarely, so they are of lesser importance.

1) Get a Fulla 2. Connect the line out from the motherboard to the analog input on the front of the Fulla 2 and the headphones to the headphone output. Thus circumventing the DAC function of the Fulla 2 and only using it as an amp to power the headphones. A Schiit tech guy has advised me this setup is possible, but I am unsure if it will work to my satisfaction (also there's the issue with having two cables running into the front and two from the back - bit messy).

2) Get a Xonar STX 2 sound card (or another sound card?). This should be able to power the headphones as well as having speaker output. As well as maintaining all the capabilities of virtual surround.

3) Get a Magni 2 Uber. Use the Magni as an external amp while maintaining the DAC capabilities of the motherboard soundcard and be able to connect the speakers to it.

4) Get the 32 Ohm version of the DT 990 and just use that with the motherboard sound. How does this version of the DT 990 compare to a high-end headset? From what I can read the 250 Ohm version is A LOT better than the 32 Ohm, but will a newbie like me be able to tell the difference and would it even matter when I only play games?

I guess what my question is, is what will I find the most useful for my purpose? As I will be playing games 99% of the time sound quality is not the utmost importance, but it would be nice with a step up from a gamer headset. Currently I am leaning towards getting the Xonar STX 2 sound card because of the convinience, but this is the more expensive option of the 3 (Magni being almost as expensive, and Fulla being cheapest).

Hope you guys can shed some light on what choice to make. Thanks in advance!

/A noob

 

[AnAudioNewbie]

I have after some more thought gone away from the Fulla.

So basically the choice is between the Magni 2 Uber, Xonar STX II sound card or getting the 32 Ohm pair.

Leaning towards the sound card because of convenience, but I am unsure what best fits my situation.

Any and all input is appreciated.

 

[AnAudioNewbie]

Any chance anyone has some input on this?

Almost about to pull the trigger on the sound card now.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Stick with the soundcard and relatively high impedance headphone, that way you won't have to worry about setting it up with a mic still going into the soundcard and the digital audio coming out somewhere else (like USB), you keep virtual surround, and the high impedance will make the high output impedance of soundcards a non-concern. Just use the high gain setting on the soundcard - except they usually have a term for it in the settings that was dreamed up my Marketing Dept to make it sound cool. My Xonar has "Pro Mode" on it (which is total bull, but whatever, it works).

 

[AnAudioNewbie]

Stick with the soundcard and relatively high impedance headphone, that way you won't have to worry about setting it up with a mic still going into the soundcard and the digital audio coming out somewhere else (like USB), you keep virtual surround, and the high impedance will make the high output impedance of soundcards a non-concern. Just use the high gain setting on the soundcard - except they usually have a term for it in the settings that was dreamed up my Marketing Dept to make it sound cool. My Xonar has "Pro Mode" on it (which is total bull, but whatever, it works).

Thanks for your input, much appreciated.

I believe it's called something like "Extreme Mode" or something with Asus I have currently, haha.

So would I benefit from getting the 600 Ohm versions over the 250 Ohm? I'm a bit hesitant that I won't really notice the difference, but they are the same price, so I don't know.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I believe it's called something like "Extreme Mode" or something with Asus I have currently, haha.

Stupid marketing department decisions. People either don't understand how they really work, or some people who would otherwise understand just dismiss everything as schittty thanks to how marketing handles it.

So would I benefit from getting the 600 Ohm versions over the 250 Ohm? I'm a bit hesitant that I won't really notice the difference, but they are the same price, so I don't know.

No, I did say relatively. 250ohms is relatively higher than, say, 62ohms or 32ohms, many headphones in that range or lower tend to be dynamic drivers that have high efficiency but are otherwise affected by the high output impedance of the soundcards.

250ohms is high enough that output impedance isn't a problem while voltage output still isn't that big of a problem. The soundcard might have slightly more noise and distortion than a Meier or Violectric, but not that big of a problem outside of critical listening. In other words, if it's on a gaming rig, not only will you be distracted by a lot of other stimuli in-game (not to mention that game SFX aren't exactly lossless recordings of actual explosions, much less instruments that have to sound a certain way; and if explosions were too accurate, it would just trigger PTSD in some veterans anyway), but not having it can get frustrating.

600ohms on the other hand would likely just have the soundcard, at best, overcompensating with gain, but lacks the voltage output to produce enough clean mW at that impedance.