It's not that the X-Fi is bad, it's just not the best for the money. For gaming with EAX, it can't be matched but for music playback it can. The X-Fi is a fine source and adding an amplifier will indeed lead to a marked improvement.

Quote: Originally Posted by nick20 LMAO. I hope you don't recommend products, because I'll think you work for them too. It just happened that I responded to, two threads pertaining to Darkvoice. Now you jumped all over me for that? HA! I was joking. It's pretty obvious that...

The 595's are known to sound good without an amp, so yes I think it will be fine. An amp will obviously improve the SQ, but they will sound well without one.

I think nick20 works for Darkvoice.

If we're doing songs that were written to be strung together then Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist and Lily of the Valley from Queen's Sheer Heart Attack Edit: I take it back.. Ogre Battle, The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke and Nevermore... I couldn't recall at the time whether or not Ogre...

Is It In My Head - The Who

Yuck... I really dislike telling people, sorry, you just spent your money on the wrong "thing", but the XtremeMusic really is a poor card. See if you can get your money back and buy/exchange for a different card like an e-mu or higher end X-Fi. I did happen to list my own for sale earlier...

There's a lot to be said about burn-in, and to be fair there are some people that say it's hocus pocus altogether, but many people allow a few hundred hours of burn-in before they feel comfortable listening to their cans. With regard to the amp question, a basic rule of thumb is the higher...

Thanks. d-cee, I saw you mention the Chaintech card on another thread... I can't seem to find a solid opinion on whether this outputs a bit-perfect digital signal, do you know? Edit: After one final search, it seems that with the right drivers, Chaintech will meet that criteria =)

I believe the iMac's have optical out, which means that if you pick up a DAC and a Toslink cable, you can have some great sound coming out of your mac. If you were to pick up a modest DAC in the $200 range, you'd have another $300 to spend on an amp. Your current cans don't necessarily need...

Is there any difference between using the digital-out from a motherboard versus the digital out from a dedicated PCI sound card? It seems logical that they would be identical, but I'm thinking about the typical "under-powered component" argument with regard to the motherboard. Any thoughts or...

Quote: Originally Posted by The Godfather sounds like a good idea. can i connect the hd600 or the k-701 to my sound card via S/PDIF? Not directly, no. S/PDIF is a digital signal, and headphone cables require an analog signal to output sound. This means that if you want to use the...

I've never heard her music, but I do have Lily Allen's debut CD (Alright, Still) and it's fantastic, fun stuff. Edit: I just sampled one of her songs. It can best be described as a mix between Erykah Badu and Fiona Apple (if you can imagine it), with a poor backing beat track.

Beethoven. Unfortunately, I've been forever tainted by Immortal Beloved and if the story behind Ode to Joy is accurate it's BREATHTAKING. They did a wonderful job with the filming. Beethoven, I believe, had the finest tuned sense of melody. Even his bagatelles which are simple in their nature...

Quite a ridiculous thing you're asking, but here's the first 5 that popped into my head I've Got A Feeling One After 909 You Know My Name Look Up The Number Happiness Is A Warm Gun The Night Before