[raff012]

If u are after a sound card the xonar ST/STX should be able to drive them properly from their built in headphone amp with high/medium/low impedence matching. The plus to this is the SNR of 124dB which is great if u figure that u want to purchase an amp down the line. I own an ST and have since purchased several amplifiers and feel that it does blow several DACs out of the water (2-3 times the price). The headphone amp is good borderlining on great but the xonar as a source cannot be beat by any other equipment i own as of now...

 

[beeman458]

So the listening scale is logarithmic?  That would explain the volume jump.
 
???
 
The HD-650's have a sensitivity of 103 db @ 1Vrms and the Essence STX puts out 2 Vrms according to the spec sheet that came with the HD-650's.
 
It seems that a 103 db is the track limit for a sports car club track.  So I guess the track monitors consider 104 db to be a penalty issue which makes 103 db, very loud.
 
???

 

[Dalamar]

If the volume you get is acceptable, you don't need an amp. Essence ST/STX are a great deal but the Win 7 drivers are pretty broken.
EMU 0404 if you have a laptop, but the power may be limited.
 
Anything more expensive or with lower specs (for the money) is a total waste of money.
 
Before buying ANYTHING, read/watch the links in my signature.

 

[qusp]

so loud enough = good enough?? I beg to differ this would be like saying those car systems that blare crap for everyone to hear are hi-fi

 

[Mr Joboto]

^ lol, my thoughts

 

[Dalamar]

Quote:

so loud enough = good enough?? I beg to differ this would be like saying those car systems that blare crap for everyone to hear are hi-fi

Bad, and irrelevant analogy. Car hifi is an oxymoron.
 
AMPS and DACS are usually transparent, though the THD/IMD seems to increase as you push the amp. In many cases I don't think it would be audible, at least, for headphones.
Headphones don't use much power, I can't help but laugh at what people pay for poorly measuring amps/dacs.
 
Then again, seeing how much you spent in your sig makes me realize there's no point in even replying to you, you're set in your ways of expensive $$$$ placebo. You'd cry if you did some objective tests, because you've wasted thousands.

 

[beeman458]

Headphones don't use much power, I can't help but laugh at what people pay for poorly measuring amps/dacs.
 
Currently listening to KCSM.Org  @ 5/100 and I've EQ'd the sound to deal with the rolling off of the highs (treble) of Jazz style music.  Gotta love the output specs of the STX.
 
Is it possible that folks don't give their headphones enough credit for their capabilities and that somehow "neutral" is overrated in that short of dropping a couple of grand on headphones and another two or three grand on DACs and Amps, is this as good as it gets for our day and age?  Why has it become a crime to EQ the sound quality to taste, like adding salt, pepper and horseradish to our mealtime plate?  In the 70's, it was cool to EQ your "Quad" sound, now everything needs to be neutral and it seems that EQ'ng sound is the sole domain of the amp design engineer (coloring the sound) and the end user is only allowed to OpAmp roll.  Anything else, like the culinary police arresting you if you use catsup, you're made to feel as if the sound police are going arrest you.
 
???
 
This is two thousand and ten..... how good do we have it compared to what we had back in nineteen fifty-seven or nineteen sixty-two?  I lived those days and my opinion, in the case of playback equipment for the little people (budget minded shoppers), we had crap by comparison.  The point, are we just spoiled and unwilling to bring this point into the sonic discussion?  Are our expectation too high and we're expecting too much from too little?
 
My opinion, being that I like such low listening levels and I'm not afraid of EQ'ng sound quality, the Xonar STX is easily capable of driving the HD-650, even at low listening levels.
 
Another question that needs to be discussed in regard to the OP's question, what's considered decent "sound quality?"  When is good enough, good enough?  What level of sound quality is the OP, in honesty, expecting to get out of the deal when the question revolves around powering the HD-650?  In real terms, how much does one need to pony up, to be happy drinking at the sonic bar?  When the custom headphone cables arrive, I'll have spent $1,220.00 to get what I consider acceptable sound quality.
 
...so I was wondering if there is a sound card that could power these baby's to their full potential. 
 
To the OP, after all the above philosophical dribble is taken into consideration and your above quote added to the mix, I ask, what are you expecting to get out of the deal when you ask about powering the HD-650's to their full potential?
 
???
 
Edit: To be more "specific", I don't mind a rather vague response.  I don't need a specific card listed, I just need to know that there is a sound card out there that could power them.
 
Okay, a vague response to your edit..... Yes there is.  You can now rest easy.
 

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

Quote:

Why has it become a crime to EQ the sound quality to taste, like adding salt, pepper and horseradish to our mealtime plate?  In the 70's, it was cool to EQ your "Quad" sound, now everything needs to be neutral and it seems that EQ'ng sound is the sole domain of the amp design engineer (coloring the sound) and the end user is only allowed to OpAmp roll.  Anything else, like the culinary police arresting you if you use catsup, you're made to feel as if the sound police are going arrest you.
 

Because its far better for the business to sell others amps,cable,sources etc... to fix the sound to your liking (also the EQ part add cost), the same reason why most hi-fi still use passive speakers without matching amps engineer to work with.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

I would say no there isn't a sound card that can power then to their "full potential" fairly certainly though I haven't heard all sound cards.  It really depends on your definition of "full potential."  I'm sure you can get a sound card that will sound quite good with them, but I'm also quite sure that no matter the sound card they'll sound better with a Buffalo DAC and Balanced B22 running them.

Same crap, different day. Still hurts to read such responses. What's funny though: "fairly certainly though I haven't heard all sound cards".
How about you define "full potential"? Good luck!
 
 
@OP: Powering headphone almost never is a problem. A headphone needs very little power to permanently damage your hearing. Often a fraction of a milliwatt is enough. A full volt into the HD650 = ouch!

 

[beeman458]

...the same reason why...
 
Aaaaaaah yes.  I got it.  Kinda like politics.  If you want to know what's what with what's up, just follow the money.
 
(As he writes his above while waiting for his uber expensive headphone cables to show up in the mail.)
 

 

[xxbaker]

Quote:

Same crap, different day. Still hurts to read such responses. What's funny though: "fairly certainly though I haven't heard all sound cards".
How about you define "full potential"? Good luck!
 
 
@OP: Powering headphone almost never is a problem. A headphone needs very little power to permanently damage your hearing. Often a fraction of a milliwatt is enough. A full volt into the HD650 = ouch!

 
Why build a headphone amp that's powerful enough to run speakers?  Why buy a Ferrari to drive on the street?  It's fun to know you could kill yourself at any second by pushing a pedal or turning a knob. Every amp I build has 220V live on the chassis.  I like to live wild.  150db? That's with the amp on it's mute setting.  I use tubes because I need higher voltages to run them.  That's how I define the full potential of HD650 - the higher the voltage in the amp, the better the headphones are driven.  Soundcards don't have 250V+ in them therefore they sound like crap.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Why build a headphone amp that's powerful enough to run speakers?  Why buy a Ferrari to drive on the street?  It's fun to know you could kill yourself at any second by pushing a pedal or turning a knob. Every amp I build has 220V live on the chassis.  I like to live wild.  150db? That's with the amp on it's mute setting.  I use tubes because I need higher voltages to run them.  That's how I define the full potential of HD650 - the higher the voltage in the amp, the better the headphones are driven.  Soundcards don't have 250V+ in them therefore they sound like crap.

I don't like analogies, but... you define "full potential" as driving 10 MPH with a Ferrari is better because it has a higher top speed than, lets say, a VW Golf. What gives you that idea?
 
I don't know how much you know about electronics (no offense, I also just know basics), but high voltage alone means nothing.

 

[xxbaker]

Quote:

I don't like analogies, but... you define "full potential" as driving 10 MPH with a Ferrari is better because it has a higher top speed than, lets say, a VW Golf. What gives you that idea?
 
I don't know how much you know about electronics (no offense, I also just know basics), but high voltage alone means nothing.

Well a Ferrari will handle better and gives short accelerations faster I guess you could say how an amp could give better transient response or slew rates or whatever metric you want to use.  I can't really tell much of a difference between amps and DACs once they reach a certain level of performance (speakers and headphones obviously are much more different) but I like to build stuff as a hobby so I figure why not use it also.  Some people like to spend their money going to Hawaii, some to race cars, others on camera equipment.  I like to build electronics.  That's the main reason I have "high end" equipment.
 
Also I realize that high voltage doesn't mean anything. 

  I might not have learned a lot during my three years in UCLA engineering, but I have learned something!
 
Also since our senses are all perceiving and not absolute, one could argue that even if people can't hear a difference, if they can perceive a difference then there is a difference.  During DBT they can't tell and therefore there isn't a difference, but when they aren't DBTing they perceive a difference and therefore there is a difference unless they are DBTing.  It's a weird way to think about it, but hey, I saw someone without any legs running this morning.  
 
Also just to defend all the crazy audiophiles, standalone amps and DACs do have some intrinsic benefits compared to soundcards.  I have preferred my standalone amps to soundcards in most of my listening, but it's not really a fair comparison (because of price).  If you're not looking to spend a lot but still want it to sound good soundcards are a great deal.  Once you reach a certain level a standalone amp will be better performance because of it's nature (less interference, more space, etc.) That's kinda what I meant in my original post though it's not really what I said.