Quote: Originally Posted by leeperry yep, use the adapter provided by Asus...the HP out on the Essence cards is completely worthless! and many other ppl have confirmed it(including friends of mine IRL). luckily it's got a high gain, so it's fully able to drive HP...try it, the...

Quote: Originally Posted by leeperry tried the line out? the HP out is a lot more agressive, especially w/ the highest gain.. Line out to drive headphones directly? You say it sounds better?

Quote: Originally Posted by penguindude I think the answer is in your experience. I'd go for the High setting. Yes, I do for now. Nevertheless I'd like to hear what setting are used by others with this combo (Essence + HD650). Just curious... And besides... it's this uneasy...

I just got the Xonar Essence STX card and am happy to report, that the results exceeded my expectations by large margin. Is sounds so much better with Sennheisers HD650, compared to headphone out of my receiver. Snappy, very fast bass, like I never before experienced at home. Only on live...

This duo sounds incredibly good, much better, than with headphone output of my AV receiver Pioneer SC-LX81. One question remains for me though... which gain level in Xonar driver should I choose for my HD650 cans? As you know, there are 3 options: Normal Gain (0dB for <64 ohms) High Gain...

Quote: Originally Posted by Superwhodatt Most DVD players will not output DTS into a headphone amp. I have an older non hdmi version which does however. The amps sound better on stereo. I plan to use the preamp outs of the Pioneer to connect a headphone amp - if I buy one that...

Quote: Originally Posted by Superwhodatt Firstly, the Pioneer is a 3 D head jack, as claimed by Pioneer in the manual. It sounds extremely like dolby headphone. Some Pioneer gaming phones now have dolby 3 d chips. This makes certain DVD/Blueray recordings fantastic, with a slight...

Thanks a lot for your advices. I researched a bit more and I think I know what path to choose now. I'll buy a soundcard with dedicated headphone amp first (Xonar Essence STX), which I need anyway, since my old Audigy 2ZS sounds pretty bad with HD650. Understandable, right? - poor headphone out...

I'm new here and very new to the high-end headphones business, so be gentle with me please... I always preferred listening through speakers, felling the deep and strong bass from a good subwoofer, etc. I was using headphones only when there is no other way. Like PX-100 for portable...