It doesn't matter what motherboard DAC you have if it doesn't have an amp.   It's the Ne5532 amp that makes the difference, especially for higher end headphones.   Just because a motherboard has an ALC1150, doesn't mean it has the Ne5532 amp.  The Ne5532 amp is found in quite a few...

I think a lot of open sound stage can be attributed to the headphones AND song.  For example, a song can be typical, but sound open on headphones people think have a better sound stage, but not on the 598's.  However, a nicely mastered song specifically for sound stage, sounds great on the...

Get em while you can, heck they'd be great to buy just to resell later.  Even though they're on-ear, that's an amazing price.  Would also make an amazing gift for friends or family.     http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0TH-0036-000B3   Promo Code: EMCATKT65   You're welcome...

The sad story behind that video though is that the guy didn't even realize they were fake until someone commented on his youtube review where he was raving about how good they were.

Your onboard sound is perfectly fine for audiophile level listening.  I have the same setup on a different board from Asrock.   The NE5532 amp supports up to 600 ohm headphones, which means it can drive even the highest end Sennheiser headphones.  it's also designed to shield from interference...

    I would say this applies more to newer genre's like dubstep/trance/electronica (or whatever other names you can think of) which use sounds purely digital in nature, that is to say, they weren't recorded on any microphone.  We're also getting a lot of music in the present day, that has gone...

I disagree with anyone who says the 598's don't have enough bass, especially if they're not using an amp.  The 598's bass does scale better with volume, because headphones in general are not bi-wired, and volume = energy.  I've seen people say bad things ranging from no bass to muddled bass, and...

A lot of people say bass type is preference, but I believe that is all it is.  You have to have a reference point, and I believe that reference point is tight controlled bass, not rumbly muddled bass.  When you lose clarity in bass, you are outside of the zone of this reference point. ---...

I think a lot of people have inaccurate beliefs about audio in general.  For example, a lot of people say things like "these headphones are good for this genre, and these are good for that genre", but the truth is, when a song is not producing enough bass or fails somewhere on the mids and...

I have the same exact Z97 board, and I can attest to the sound quality.  Zero noise, zero distortion.  It's an insanely feature packed little board at a decent price.  I bought this board not even going into it with the thought of audio down the line at all, so I am actually pleasantly surprised...