[usf09]

This will be my first post, and first foray into high-end audio equipment...I am building a new computer which will serve as my media center as well and I have a set of Klipsch 2.1 speakers for movies and such, but I am looking to get Denon D2000 or Sennheiser 595s for music mostly (I listen to ALL types of music so hopefully these will be good all-rounders...)

Using an HT Omega Striker sound card, I want to hook my headphones up to an amp first, but I can't spend $400 on a desktop amp...is there anyway I can use a toslink to mini-plug adapter, and hook that to an ibasso portable amp or some amp of the sort, then plug the headphones into the amp? Or do I NEED a desktop amp to be happy with either set of headphones? if any of this isn't clear, i'll try to be clearer/more succinct tomorrow, at 130 i tend to ramble...thanks for any advice!

 

[scootermafia]

For $165 you can get an iBasso mini amp with built in USB DAC. You just connect it to your computer via a USB cable and it bypasses your computer's sound card, giving you pure, untainted sound output. You then plug your headphones into the iBasso. That's it.

 

[usf09]

ohhhhhhhhh...i'm assuming the sound card in the ibasso is decent then? will i get the same sound quality as if i were to use the ht omega soundcard? the only reason i am buying a $100 sound card is because i thought the headphones needed a high-end soundcard, the klipsch speakers can definitely play dvd/blu-ray with a cheaper card (don't really care about surround for movies until i can buy a real 5.1 system pieced together...)...oh and thank you for the very quick reply, it's much appreciated!

 

[Brandon B]

The Denon D2000's have an impedance of 24ohms while the Sennheisers have an impedance of 50ohms which means both pairs will work just fine without an amp. In other words, go ahead and jack them straight into the sound card's output. It is convenient to have an amplifier just so that you can control the volume from your desk rather than using the volume control on the computer, but it certainly isn't necessary in your case.

My headphones are rated at 60ohms, and they sound great plugged straight into my soundcard. I have a nice amp I can use, but it only makes a marginal difference in sound quality. I think you would be alright without one.. If you're willing to spend the money on the ibasso, you might actually be better off just buying an even better sound card although I'm sure the one you mentioned would sound pretty good.

 

[usf09]

By straight into the output, do you mean through the pc's headphone jack, or to buy a converter from toslink to mini-plug and then use female-female adapter? I still haven't decided what to do yet, but getting all options would be nice before spending money (college student, saved for a while just for this setup...)...thanks for the help

 

[xxbaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by usf09 /img/forum/go_quote.gif By straight into the output, do you mean through the pc's headphone jack, or to buy a converter from toslink to mini-plug and then use female-female adapter? I still haven't decided what to do yet, but getting all options would be nice before spending money (college student, saved for a while just for this setup...)...thanks for the help

He means using the soundcard's headphone out. Toslink is optical which means the cable is either a plastic or glass cylinder. Light is transmitted through this so you need something specifically designed to convert that to electric signals that are used by your headphones (a DAC or Digital to Analog Converter)

 

[usf09]

sorry, but do any sound cards have a headphone output directly on the card? i know on most sound cards i would have to connect the sound card to the internal headphone out on the pc case, but i assume quality somewhat degrades over this connection(?)...this is what seems easiest for me, can someone jsut make sure it's okay....

-HT Omega Striker 7.1 Sound card, connect to the headphone output on case
-iBasso mini-amp connected to a headphone output on the pc case, then plug in...
-quality headphones for music, gaming + Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 for movies...

Will the sound card in the iBasso sound as good as the HT Omega?

 

[Brandon B]

On every soundcard I've owned (and I've owned a few) you can plug your headphones into the jack designated for the two front speakers. The jack is almost always green, and there's usually some sort of option in the soundcard's control panel to turn it into a headphone output. I actually just checked the website for your soundcard, and it says it does indeed support headphones. Check out htomega.com. That's a nice looking card by the way.

Wait until you hook up the headphones directly to the card and see if you like the way it sounds before you spend any more cash on an amp. I haven't heard the Striker before, but I was just reading reviews about it, and it seems like a high quality card.

 

[usf09]

Ohhhh, gotcha, I didn't know the front speakers output could be used...alright, now that I know that, I will definitely try it out like that before buying the amp, at least I won't have any doubts about it...thanks for putting up with all the questions, really appreciate it...i'll be sure to post back if anything else comes up but the quick replies have been great...thanks again!

 

[Moontan13]

Nice card! That sound card supports a front panel headphone jack that auto-mutes the other outputs. That's a nice feature. The toslink is there mainly for surround speaker systems that support that input, so plan on using the card's line-out for any conventional amp.
Personally, I'd wanting to hear how the card sounds by itself before getting an amp for it.

 

[scootermafia]

Pretty sexy, I like those dual digital outputs, and how no nonsense it is, Creative's cards give me the willies. Good luck with it...may a Zero or a Compass be in your future.

 

[scootermafia]

Long story short, you could just sell/not use that sound card, get an ibasso with a built in USB dac, and use your computer's onboard audio for any of your other audio needs, but use USB for headphone listening.

For the cost of that card ($90) you have most of the price of an iBasso covered.

 

[usf09]

A lot of people mention Zero/Compass...is the Zero 24 bit/192 Khz amp that is reviewed on this site a better buy? It's about $120 on ebay, and it has a digital input which seems kind of convenient, i wouldn't have to change any settings or anything...or are the Zeros that people mention the high-end ones?

 

[Brandon B]

The Zeros are pretty cheap, I've heard they go for $100 + shipping so the price on ebay sounds about right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moontan13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice card! That sound card supports a front panel headphone jack that auto-mutes the other outputs. That's a nice feature. The toslink is there mainly for surround speaker systems that support that input, so plan on using the card's line-out for any conventional amp. Personally, I'd wanting to hear how the card sounds by itself before getting an amp for it.

I agree you should wait until you hear how your new headphones sound plugged into the card before deciding to get an amp or DAC. That HT Omega Striker card looks really nice to me! The front panel jack for headphones is pretty nice to have.

 

[usf09]

oh yeah, i'll def. wait on the amp for now...once i know how the headphones sound, i can decide if it's really worth it for me to buy an amp...i keep reading new reviews on headphones so now im not even sure which set to get, there's too many choices...once i figure that out, then i actually get to listen and figure out what to do...thanks for the comments