[mikepp]

hi ! probably a stupid question, but ....

i bought one of these cards for my pc

Geek Stuff 4 U - For Geeks By Geeks ONKYO SE-200 PCI - English

but im not sure how to connect my headphones when it arrives .... will i need to buy something else also ?

 

[kansei]

Some audio cards have variable headphone outputs, but this one does not appear to have one. You will to run the RCA outputs to an amplifier and connect your headphones to the amplifier. You do have a choice - home stereo amplifier, headphone amplifier, even a preamp with a headphone output.

 

[mikepp]

thanks for the reply, what would be the best option ?

money is not unlimited

 

[hybrid.e]

You can use a RCA to female mini adapter but the impedance may be too high for your headphones. So, you can also try the multi-colored breakout cables that come the sound card.

 

[mikepp]

what do these breakout cables look like, and will they attach to headphones ?

 

[hybrid.e]

Take a look at the link.

Look at the green dongle with the cables

The breakout cables use 1/8" female(correct me if I'm wrong) so you can try using your headphones with those.

You'll know for sure when you get the card. I would recommend a good headphone amplifier, but it's up to you.

 

[mikepp]

well, lets say i want to be able to use my headphones usually, but occasionally connect some speakers.

would u be able to recommend an amp that would allow me to do that ?

 

[olblueyez]

It has a place for your headphones on the break-out cable. As for an amp, you could use the 2 RCA connectors. Or you could use the breakout cable for your speakers and the RCAs for a headphone amp. What kind of headphones do you have and what kind of budget do you have for the amp?

 

[mikepp]

i have some grado sr80, which i use mostly for gaming. i would just like to have some speakers and music sometimes as well though.

my budget it limited, im making my pc watercooled, so all my cash is tied up in that project.

so, just something that will sound decent but on the 200 usd area i suppose.

what about running the rca's to a little amp, which i could run headphones or speakers off of ?

any ideas ?

 

[olblueyez]

You will need to run the headphone amp from one output and the computer speakers from another. Take a look at the little-dot amps. They make one called the Little Dot I+, it is a hybrid amp with a solid state output and will work well with your low impedance Grados. You can do some tube rolling or even experiment with opamps if you like.

www.little-tube.com

 

[mikepp]

so, if i get this little dot thing, can i run any speakers from it ? or will it only do headphones ? im sorry i dont know what opamps are :s

 

[mikepp]

woops double post.

perhaps this ? : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Little-Dot-MK-...3A1|240%3A1318

 

[olblueyez]

Your sound card has 2 stereo outputs. One RCA and one via mini connector on the break-out cable. The RCAs can run your headphone amp and the mini connector can output to some powered speakers something like this, Newegg.com - M-AUDIO Studiophile AV 40 40 Watts 2.0 Speaker - Speakers

 

[olblueyez]

Like I said, I would go hybrid or Solid State, Grados wont do well with a standard tube amp.
LD Mk III(All Tube)
[size=small]Power Output:
350 mW @ 300/600 ohms
300 mW @ 120 ohms
100 mW @ 32 ohm[/size]s

LD I+ Hybrid(Hybrid)
[size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small]Power Output:
150mW @ 300 ohms
300mW @ 120 ohms
800mW @ 32 ohms

LD Mk V[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size](Solid State)
Power Output:
300 ohms: 187mW
32 ohms: 500mW
[size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small]
Your Grados are 32 Ohm, see what I mean? Solid State or Hybrid will give you more power at 32 ohms.
[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size]

 

[mikepp]

aha yeah i do see what you mean.

however, i was reading some reviews on these little dot things, and i read something like:

tube amp more forigiving for lower bit rate stuff, mkv doesnt sound good with 100ish kb/s mp3 files

this is what i would mostly be listening to i think, and why i though it better to go for a tube one. but if it has less power as u say, perhaps its a mistake.

i know that it is silly to buy a good sound card when listening to mostly lower rate files, but i just wanted the potential to listen to high quality in the system, so if i want to get into audiophihlia in the future, i can.