Am i missing something here?

[mtbaird5687]

i just bought a Cmoy from someone here and am using it in conjunction with my Soundblaster Audigy and HD-570 phones.

im using the song Pig, by dave matthews to test the differences mainly, and i can barely tell a difference from when i am using them and when i am not.

maybe its cause i have a bad cold and my ears are clogged up, but is it just that i need a better source to see a difference? or do i have a problem.

 

[go_vtec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtbaird5687 is it just that i need a better source to see a difference? or do i have a problem.

Yes, better source and/or better phone would make Cmoy little more noticeable.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtbaird5687 maybe its cause i have a bad cold and my ears are clogged up, (...)

That's highly probable. For myself, I've totally given up on critical listening (and sometimes even casual listening), when I have a cold - the sound is just too weird then...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[episiarch]

Also, are you using a real CD or high-bitrate sound file? An MP3 that's been coded down to 56KBps or so isn't going to benefit as much from the improved gear.

 

[Kirosia]

Get rid of the audigy and HD570. And maybe even the cmoy.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I don't think your setup needs an amp. Could use new headphones though.

Biggie.

 

[PinkFloyd]

garbage in = garbage out

get a half decent source to make Quality in = Quality out.

 

[mtbaird5687]

aight ill consider getting hte chaintech av 710.

btw im using 320KBPS L.A.M.E. encoded MP3s to test with.

if i get teh chaintech will the cmoy help me out?

would it hurt anythign to use the chaintech with gaming, will i just not get good positioning?


btw, i couldnt heard a difference from using the cmoy with my portable and withought the amp. i dunno maybe im jsut wierd.

 

[mtbaird5687]

i may not even get a new card. i wasnt really commenting about how my card sounds bad to me. i dont think it sounds like garbage at all and i really enjoy the sound, i was just looking for a difference.

 

[amb]

Most sound cards' output is driven directly by an op amp, which is also what a cmoy is. Better sound cards may even have a beefier output section than just an opamp. The quality of the source and headphones certainly do matter, but it is also unreasonable to expect a cmoy to do miracles. A better headphone amp with a buffered output stage will surely make a noticeable difference.

-Ti

 

[DanT]

I think from the perspectice of a new user people tend to overstate the effect of an entry-level amp or amp in general. Sometime for an audiophile what he call night and day difference is barely noticable for the untrain ears.

The more you listen to good setup the more your able to appreciate the difference. The better your gear the better you'll be able to appreciate small subtil change. The keyword here being appreciate.

Of course amp is important when going to mid-hi level gear. It may not be a good idea to power an high end phones with a cheap amp. But I believe entry level amp provide major benifit only if the current source/amp is seriously lacking in term of power. The keyword here is major. Of course there will be subtil difference. Sound flavor aside, in the end that all the amp supose to do provide good clean power. With entry level source and entry level headphones IF there is plenty of power the subtility of an amp can be hard to hear.

EDIT:What I learn over time is to truly appreciate the difference you need to listen to the gear for more than a couple of minute of doing A/B comparaison. And after a long listening periode you may also come up with the conlcusion that it's not worthwhile.

That only my opinion.

 

[meat01]

All an amplifier does is amplify the signal. It does not alter the sound or produce data that isn't there. Get some 580s.

 

[Asmo]

Agreed, that lil cmoy is not going to make the sound magically sound better, the 570s and audigy are just horrible, you need to re-start from scratch

 

[mtbaird5687]

well i thought it would because a lot of people said it would help me out in this thread : http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...highlight=cmoy

and also people said its power hungry so i thought an amp would help. i dont have the money for HD580s

 

[meat01]

Quote:

well i thought it would because a lot of people said it would help me out in this thread :

Yeah, but even more people told you to get a better source and headphones

We're not trying to give you a hard time, but really a used pair of 580s and a Chaintech or a decent CD player would make you a lot happier. The CMoy will help drive the headphones. A Pimeta would be better, but a CMoy will work fine. I understand that you can't afford those though.