[393699]

  I'm new to the audiophile world and i'm currently doing research on various headphones, looking to buy my first decent pair. 

Would the k612pro function fairly decently powered by a cmoy amp? i'm an electronics major right now and i'm interested in building my own amp

also how does my onboard audio look in terms of quality? it's not a standard motherboard, fairly high-end

http://i.gyazo.com/ed3adbe66fbf77feee99ff7dcf9f5dea.png

http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/M5A97_EVO/specifications/ (see audio)

I have been a computer tech for 11 years. The Realtek ALC892 is rather low end. You will most certainly experience noise, and you will also find you will not achieve a decent volume level attempting to drive the K612 Pro off it. The Realtek ALC 892 does not include a headphone amp. You definitely need a headphone amp to properly drive these headphones. A cmoy will not offer you the most out of the headphones, but it will certainly be a good improvement over your onboard. Something like a Racoon SG300, or a Hifiman EF2A would offer you good synergy with the K612 Pro. They are both USB tube DAC/AMP combo units, and are both around 170 bucks. As a point of reference, I currently own the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H board. It comes with the Realtek ALC898, which also sucks. I don't even bother with it.

 

[kman1211]

  I have been a computer tech for 11 years. The Realtek ALC892 is rather low end. You will most certainly experience noise, and you will also find you will not achieve a decent volume level attempting to drive the K612 Pro off it. The Realtek ALC 892 does not include a headphone amp. You definitely need a headphone amp to properly drive these headphones. A cmoy will not offer you the most out of the headphones, but it will certainly be a good improvement over your onboard. Something like a Racoon SG300, or a Hifiman EF2A would offer you good synergy with the K612 Pro. They are both USB tube DAC/AMP combo units. As a point of reference, I currently own the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H board. It comes with the Realtek ALC898, which also sucks. I don't even bother with it.

My experience with Realtek sound chips is that they pretty much suck. A dedicated dac and amp make a big difference.

 

[393699]

 
My experience with Realtek sound chips is that they pretty much suck. A dedicated dac and amp make a big difference.

 
There is no doubt about it. I can always hear crackles, pops, background noise, and compression on Realtek onboard. The lower bass is completely missing, as is the upper treble. It has a much more narrow sound to it. Customers will call me sometimes and state things such as "I want better sound, because I hear static", or "what can I upgrade my sound to for not too expensive". Almost all of these customer though are of course never using high impedance headphones like many of us do on headfi. I usually just go to their house and toss in a 50 dollar Xonar DS (PCI) or Xonar DSX (PCI-E), and they are more than happy.

 

[393699]

Oh, and kman1211, with my K612 Pro, I am now using the following EQ set with foobar2000. This sounds awesome to my ears. It now sounds "just right" to me. Give it a try on your pair and see how you like it.
 
55 Hz @ +1
77 Hz @ +1
110 Hz @ +1
156 Hz @ +1
2.5 Khz @ -3
14 Khz @ -1
20 Khz @ -1

 

[cdma2k]

 

 
My experience with Realtek sound chips is that they pretty much suck. A dedicated dac and amp make a big difference.

 
There is no doubt about it. I can always hear crackles, pops, background noise, and compression on Realtek onboard. The lower bass is completely missing, as is the upper treble. It has a much more narrow sound to it. Customers will call me sometimes and state things such as "I want better sound, because I hear static", or "what can I upgrade my sound to for not too expensive". Almost all of these customer though are of course never using high impedance headphones like many of us do on headfi. I usually just go to their house and toss in a 50 dollar Xonar DS (PCI) or Xonar DSX (PCI-E), and they are more than happy.

Realtek has done pretty good job on updating their drivers. if you go to Realtek website, update the driver, not that bad.
Normally, static noise, pops, .... is caused by poor connection/grounding, not the chip set.
The analog audio stage is not good enough to drive k612, but the digital output is decent and flexible to feed outboard DAC.
 
your EQ setting is pretty much aligned with goldenears' FR curves except 14KHz and 20 KHz, any explanation?
For K612, Q701 and K712, I guess goldenears' FR curves make more senses than headroom's curves.

 

[Rawthentik]

I don't experience any symptoms of a bad dac from realtek, no noise at all, but if i really need one I don't have a big budget for amp/dac, will need to be under $100.
 
would something like the fiio e10k or the smsl sd793ii be good?

if not reccomend something better 

 

[appsmarsterx]

  I don't experience any symptoms of a bad dac from realtek, no noise at all, but if i really need one I don't have a big budget for amp/dac, will need to be under $100.
 
would something like the fiio e10k or the smsl sd793ii be good?

if not reccomend something better 

 
 not sure about E10, but I already tried E12 and E17.  I'm currently sticking with E17.  I found spike around 2k is bothering me, and it makes sound signature little dry, I believe that's the reason people recommending warmer amps fix the synergy with 612 . but you can easily fix that by slightly boosting the bass on E17 that makes 612pro such a wonderfully musical headphone (according to my subjective impression)  

 

[cdma2k]

   
 not sure about E10, but I already tried E12 and E17.  I'm currently sticking with E17.  I found spike around 2k is bothering me, and it makes sound signature little dry, I believe that's the reason people recommending warmer amps fix the synergy with 612 . but you can easily fix that by slightly boosting the bass on E17 that makes 612pro such a wonderfully musical headphone (according to my subjective impression)  

Yes, 612pro is such a wonderfully musical headphone, IMO too.

 

[393699]

At this price level, I have heard the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm, the Shure SRH840, the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 Ohm, the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro, the Audio Technica ATH-M50, and the Sennheiser HD598. In my opinion, the K612 Pro beats them all. I have yet to hear to the DT880 Pro. It has been recommended to me though due to the fact that has a much more linear and neutral sound than the DT770 and DT990. Unfortunately, I cant find a pair locally to have a listen to. I am sure I am going to be happy with the K612 Pro for a long time. The last couple days, I have been looking at some other tube amps as well. I find the Racoon SG300 tube AMP/DAC combo to have very good synergy with the K612 Pro. I am interested in the xDuoo TA-03 XMOS though. As with everyone here, I am wondering about going to "the next level". I am very interested to hear what kind of improvements it would offer when driving the K612 Pro. It looks like a very high quality unit for 320 bucks. As a bonus, amazon.com, who does not normally ship to Canada, offers free shipping to both Canada and USA on this tube amp. Who knows, maybe I will buy one in a few months when I can afford it.
 
http://www.amazon.com/xDuoo-TA-03-WM8740-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00L25RM2G/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1412104322&sr=8-4&keywords=tube+amp+dac
 
One of my customers asked me if he could hear my K612 Pro. I brought it over to his house this morning. He is now ordering the Racoon SG300, but he decided to one up me and is getting the K712 Pro instead of the K612 Pro. Damn, now I am jealous.

 He actually made a point of saying "your headphones sound amazing, so I am going to avoid future upgrades and just buy the K712 Pro instead".

 

[Majestyk]

^ I had the DT880 and IMO my K612 blows it away...same goes for my former Q701's too. Of course it all depends what one is using to drive. I'm using a vintage 70's Yamaha receiver. I have yet to find anything it can't drive.
 
I'm curious what your friend thinks of the K712. You should go to his place and compare your K612 with them. I've read better comments about the K612 than the K712, but the price could be a factor there.

 

[393699]

I almost don't want to listen to them when the guy gets his pair. I will probably just end up disappointed that I did not continue saving cash to get a pair myself. The K612 Pro is my first AKG pair, so I decided to stay at the 200 dollar price level for my introduction to their headphone line up. I am very impressed though. This certainly won't be my last pair. These are definitely the best 200 dollar headphones I have found thus far.

 

[393699]

Just reporting back again quick here. I have had to adjust the EQ again to a flat treble response. It would appear that the very slight peak I was hearing before at the 16 KHz to 20 KHz region is now gone. I am now using the following below. I am so glad I jumped into a pair of AKG headphones. These puppies really are living up to everything I expected. Cheers again to kman1211. I owe you a beer dude. I am having one myself right now.

 
55 Hz @ +1
77 Hz @ +1
11 0Hz @ +1
156 Hz @ +1
2.5 KHz @ -3

 

[Trickster5596]

  Oh, and kman1211, with my K612 Pro, I am now using the following EQ set with foobar2000. This sounds awesome to my ears. It now sounds "just right" to me. Give it a try on your pair and see how you like it.
 
55 Hz @ +1
77 Hz @ +1
110 Hz @ +1
156 Hz @ +1
2.5 Khz @ -3
14 Khz @ -1
20 Khz @ -1

I think I will try that as well

 

[393699]

 
I think I will try that as well

Hey Trickster5596, just note that I just posted again a minute ago with an updated EQ set I am using. I am no longer using that -1 on the 16 KHz and 20 KHz treble region.

 

[Trickster5596]

 
Hey Trickster5596, just note that I just posted again a minute ago with an updated EQ set I am using. I am no longer using that -1 on the 16 KHz and 20 KHz treble region.

My page wasn't refreshed at the time. Got it!