[393699]

I used to own a Sound Blaster Z. The Z and ZX are the same card, except that the Z does not come with the audio control module that sits on your desk. To be honest, it is an average sound card at best. I also found the headphone amp on it to be rather weak as well. It struggles at higher volumes. The lower bass and upper treble lose focus when more volume is used. It just ends up sounding far too slow. I would suggest you return it, and get yourself an HT OMEGA Claro Halo instead. You will get far more power, and much better sound quality compared to the ZX card. There honestly is no comparison. The Claro Halo is currently selling for 160 at newegg, which is 40 bucks off.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271004&cm_re=ht_claro_halo-_-29-271-004-_-Product

 

[anthonyl]

  I used to own a Sound Blaster Z. The Z and ZX are the same card, except that the Z does not come with the audio control module that sits on your desk. To be honest, it is an average sound card at best. I also found the headphone amp on it as rather weak as well. It struggles at higher volumes. The lower bass and upper treble also lose focus when more volume is used. It just ends up sounding far too slow. I would suggest you return it, and get yourself an HT OMEGA Claro Halo instead. You will get far more power, and much better sound quality compared to the ZX card. There honestly is no comparison. The Claro Halo is currently selling for 160 at newegg, which is 40 bucks off.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271004&cm_re=ht_claro_halo-_-29-271-004-_-Product

The problem with that is that I am running 2 x GTX 970's in SLI and don't have a PCI slot available... So the card needs to be PCI-Ex..
 
Perhaps an AMP/DAC would help things along?

 

[393699]

I use the Racoon SG300 tube amp/dac combo to drive my K612 Pro. It has more than enough juice. I rarely get beyond 9 o'clock on the volume. It offers very good synergy with the K612 Pro as well. It has dropped a bit in price too. You can get it now for just 140 bucks with free shipping. It used to be about 170 or so. I think it is perfect for your needs.
 
http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/racoon-sg300-24bit-96khz-usb-decoder-tube-headphone-amplifier.html
 
Edit: Awesome that you have two of the GTX 970 cards as well. I got myself a Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 edition about 2 weeks ago. It is the best video card I have owned to date. My credit card is still crying about it though.

 

 

[Punnisher]

You could simply buy a dedicated amp and use your soundcard as the source. Don't underestimate the need for amplification for the 601/612. It's 120ohms which means for SS amps it's more difficult to drive than the 701/702.

 

[MUSICCURE]

My E09k powers the 612's nicely. I'm about to try my first tube amp (Bravo audio ocean).

 

[anthonyl]

Would a Styleaudio CARAT-UD1 do the job?

 

[kid vic]

You could simply buy a dedicated amp and use your soundcard as the source. Don't underestimate the need for amplification for the 601/612. It's 120ohms which means for SS amps it's more difficult to drive than the 701/702.

Agreed, compared to the the K7XX's the K612 is more power hungry on an amp. The tube amp i use currently is $60 on ebay so its a good low cost starting point if you want to try an amp and dont mind Chinese products.

 

[Koukol]

The tube amp i use currently is $60 on ebay so its a good low cost starting point if you want to try an amp and dont mind Chinese products.

Some Chinese products are fantastic today.
Just look at the Oppo.
I also love my Little Dot III Amp.

 

[Mad Max]

  You could simply buy a dedicated amp and use your soundcard as the source. Don't underestimate the need for amplification for the 601/612. It's 120ohms which means for SS amps it's more difficult to drive than the 701/702.

 
Despite the higher impedance, it still remains the other way around.  An amp suitable for 601/612 can be unsuitable for 70x, but an amp suitable for 70x is always suitable for 601/612 as well.
Maybe some of the very low budget SS amps will not do justice to 601/612, but there's plenty of good recommendations around the forums for better SS alternatives from what's currently in production these days.

 

[kid vic]

Some Chinese products are fantastic today.
Just look at the Oppo.
I also love my Little Dot III Amp.

Not to mention hifiman going toe to toe with big brands and U.S. based boutique brands (Audeze) and winning!

 

[CADCAM]

I am still blow away by how good the K612 sounds with my Keces HA-171 amp. I didn't like either separately (especially the K612) but together they sound very, very good. I don't know if it's the design\specs of both that just line up well or if they are some mystical magic pairing. Things I heard in the K612 that would have prevented me from keeping them are now gone and have been replaced with speed, detail and musicality...

 

[Mad Max]

Of course, that amp is designed with great National Semiconductor opamps.

 

[icsi]

It should be enought. On their site it sais it can drive 600 ohm headphones (like Xonar STX II, wich i have). The AKG K612 Pro has 120 Ohm.
At Xonar STX  i have to setup the amp. I use the 64-300ohm).
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/illustration-4.png
 
I think you have something like this with your card too.

 

[anthonyl]

OK...I ended up taking the Sound Blaster Zx back for a full refund...kept my Titanium Fatal1ty Pro sound card and purchased a "cheapish" headphone amp just to see if it made any difference to my AKG K612 Pro's.
 
YES YES YES it did!! Volume is now waaay up and I am now satisfied with the level of volume.
 
The headphone amp I purchased is a PRESONUS HP4 http://www.presonus.com/products/HP4

Inputs
Connector Type	¼” TRS, balanced
THD+N	0.0025%, 1 kHz, unity gain
Max Input Level	+18 dBu, <0.5% THD+N, unity gain
Input Impedance	10 kΩ
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, ±0.5dB

Monitor Outputs
Connector Type	¼” TRS, asymmetrical, impedance-balanced
THD+N	0.0025%, 1 kHz, unity gain
Max Output Level	+18 dBu, <0.5% THD+N
Output Impedance	51Ω
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, ±0.5dB

Headphone Outputs
Connector Type	¼” TRS, stereo
Max Output Power	130 mW/Ch., <0.5% THD+N, 60Ω load
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, ±0.5 dB, 60Ω load
Headphone Impedance Working Range	32Ω - 600Ω

 
Is this a reasonable amp? Should I be looking at anything else?
 
 
 
I am wondering if looking at anything else like a amp/dac combo would further enhance my listening enjoyment.
 
My AKG's have come alive and will never go back to "gaming headphones" again.

 

[kid vic]

  OK...I ended up taking the Sound Blaster Zx back for a full refund...kept my Titanium Fatal1ty Pro sound card and purchased a "cheapish" headphone amp just to see if it made any difference to my AKG K612 Pro's.
 
YES YES YES it did!! Volume is now waaay up and I am now satisfied with the level of volume.
 
The headphone amp I purchased is a PRESONUS HP4 http://www.presonus.com/products/HP4

Inputs
Connector Type	¼” TRS, balanced
THD+N	0.0025%, 1 kHz, unity gain
Max Input Level	+18 dBu, <0.5% THD+N, unity gain
Input Impedance	10 kΩ
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, ±0.5dB

Monitor Outputs
Connector Type	¼” TRS, asymmetrical, impedance-balanced
THD+N	0.0025%, 1 kHz, unity gain
Max Output Level	+18 dBu, <0.5% THD+N
Output Impedance	51Ω
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, ±0.5dB

Headphone Outputs
Connector Type	¼” TRS, stereo
Max Output Power	130 mW/Ch., <0.5% THD+N, 60Ω load
Frequency Response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, ±0.5 dB, 60Ω load
Headphone Impedance Working Range	32Ω - 600Ω

 
Is this a reasonable amp? Should I be looking at anything else?
 
 
 
I am wondering if looking at anything else like a amp/dac combo would further enhance my listening enjoyment.
 
My AKG's have come alive and will never go back to "gaming headphones" again.

Usually stand alones are better than combo's. The first thing you should do is get a "proper audiophile amp" (if you are comparing your current to most setups your amp is not reasonable). BUT, you are on the brink of an extremely slippery slope so choose your next question carefully