[Astralogic]

I plan on buying a Sound Blaster X7 AMP/DAC which can drive 600 ohm headphones. I was planning on getting some ATH-AD900X's that are only 38 ohms. Does this mean the headphones are not compatible with the SBX7?

Thanks

 

[cossix]

The whole "driving up to 600 ohm headphones" is the marketing department trying to fool you into thinking the amp is super powerful.

Other than that, they are definitely compatible. The amp will only give the headphones enough power they need. As long as you don't whack the volume all the way up all at once then you'll be fine. It's just like how you can drive a 500hp car at 15mph with no problem, just because it has a lot of horsepower doesn't mean it can *only* drive super fast

 

[MindsMirror]

Creative's "600 Ohms headphone amp" thing is just a marketing tactic. It doesn't tell you anything about the headphone amp, it's 100% meaningless. It will work just fine with the ATH-AD900X.

How do you plan on using the X7? I wouldn't consider it a good value as just a headphone amp/DAC. Unless you need many of the other features of the X7, you could do better with a dedicated amp and/or DAC and put more of your budget towards the headphones.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I plan on buying a Sound Blaster X7 AMP/DAC which can drive 600 ohm headphones. I was planning on getting some ATH-AD900X's that are only 38 ohms. Does this mean the headphones are not compatible with the SBX7?
Thanks

The ($300 +) Sound Blaster X7 is way overkill for the AD900X headphones.
Spending $70-$100 for a Sound Blaster Z sound card
or a USB-DAC/amp, like the FiiO Q1 Mk II or Schiit Fulla 2 is more practical.

 

[cossix]

+1 on the Fulla 2

 

[Astralogic]

I like SBX Pro on the SBX7, (I do currently have a SBZx) for positional audio in games and such. It will mainly be for gaming. Do you still recommend the Fulla knowing its mainly for games?

 

[MindsMirror]

Upgrading the DAC and amp gives only subtle improvements that may not even be noticeable. You should be spending the most on the headphones, you'll get more bang for your buck that way. I say stick with the Zx, no need to upgrade it unless you're getting much higher end headphones ($500 or more).

 

[cossix]

I like SBX Pro on the SBX7, (I do currently have a SBZx) for positional audio in games and such. It will mainly be for gaming. Do you still recommend the Fulla knowing its mainly for games?

If you don't care about surround sound effects that some sound cards have built in (all of which seem to ruin sound quality and sound very unnatural to me) then any external dac/amp will be fine for gaming