[sugarkang]

this is my first post. head-fi is evil. i've been reading for 5 hours at a time, several days straight. i want to just buy the right gear and never have to come back. help me!

this all started with my friend borrowing my sony v900s, and then realizing that he wanted to buy them off of me. it was his birthday, so i let him have em for about 90 bucks. now, i don't have headphones.

i just placed an order for senn 595, and they should be here sometime in september. at least that's what they tell me.

i need a new soundcard, and a headphone amp. gaming is not a concern.

1. chaintech or emu1212? i will spring for the emu if the difference is really huge, not otherwise.

2. can i put two output sources (1. senn595 2. jbl creatures) on one soundcard? if i can, is there some kind of switch that will let me play through one output and not the other? i don't want my 595s to continually be pumping music while i'm listening to my JBL's.

3. i get a nasty series of pops from my speakers when i boot my computer. my current card is just the onboard 5.1 audio (asus a7x). will the chaintech and/or EMU eliminate this problem? if not, will an M-AUDIO TRANSIT eliminate it? (logic being that the pops come from the audiocard picking up noise in the computer. although, i've heard that the pops are a result of audiodrivers being loaded.) anyway, i HATE these pops.

4. what do you guys think of a xin supermono as the amp between soundcard and headphones? i know the supermono isn't even out yet, but assuming that some of you guys have experience with any of xin's other products, will it (probably) be sufficient? i like to go to coffee shops occasionally, and do some reading. hence, i want to be portable. so non portable amps and BIG amps are out of the question.

i'd really really be thankful to all comments, and references to which question you are referring to.

also, i'd appreciate if someone gave me one of those "welcome to headfi and sorry about your wallet" greetings.

 

[Zoide]

Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet

Btw, nice avatar. Is that from Cidade de Deus?

 

[proxops-pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoide Btw, nice avatar. Is that from Cidade de Deus?

That's what I was gonna say!!

That sounds like the right movie...

 

[proxops-pete]

1. E-mu 1212m will definitely sound mucho better!! If you are too scared to shelve out $160 to $200 for it, you can also get 0404 for $80 or so.

2. Yes. A generic switch... or even a Y-splitter (though I think you'd lose some current/power due to being splitted).

3. I have Chaintech and I have no nasty pops when I boot my computer.

4. If you get E-mu 1212m or 0404, you should probably get at least a PiMETA or even a PPA! If you google for "what is..." and fill it with CMOY, META42, PIMETA, PPA, and such, you will find out what they are...

 

[sugarkang]

Zoide: thanks! yes, it's from city of god.

proxops-pete: thanks for the comments. you said that the EMU would be loads better, but in your sig you've got the chaintech. i think that means i'm going with the chaintech.

with regard to the speaker pops during boot up, have you ever had this problem in the past? this pop only happens because i always leave the volume on the JBL's at near max, and like to control my volume within windows (keyboard controls). the POPPING problem would go away if i turned the speaker volume down everytime i turned off my computer, but... i'm too lazy for that.

so, if i get the chaintech, i probably won't have the pops?

also, you said that if i get the EMU, then i should get an amp.
does that mean that if i get a chaintech, i won't need an amp?

i mean i've read that 595s do well without amps. is that what you're recommending?

 

[Mr.Radar]

The problem is probably specific to your onboard audio and won't affect any add-in soundcards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarkang proxops-pete: thanks for the comments. you said that the EMU would be loads better, but in your sig you've got the chaintech. i think that means i'm going with the chaintech.

If you can afford the EMU's you should definately get those. The EMU 0404 is a step above the Chaintech in sound quality and the 1212m is a step above the 0404 (though not as big of a step). The 0404 is said to have a more dynamic, aggressive sound while the 1212m is more refined, smooth, and detailed so it's not only a matter of price but of the sound you want if you want to get an EMU card.

 

[Jasper994]

Go to Guitar Center (if you have one near you) pick-up an E-MU 1212m (negotiated price should be $165), grab either Mogami or Monster balanced 1/4 to 1/4 (TRS) cables (X2 to go from E-MU to amp, mogami should be $40-80 depending on the length you want, 2m is $80), PreSonus HP-4 (negotiate for $60 and see what they'll do for you, I got mine as one of my first purchases there and paid full price but I know they'll come way down on other PreSonus gear so they should on that too). The PreSonus has the ability to pass through a signal so you'll need to find the correct cables/adapters to connect the JBL's. It has 1/4" balanced/unbalanced female jacks for this.

E-MU 1212m = $165
PreSonus HP-4 = 60
Mogami cables = 80
cable/adaptor for
JBL = 50

Total = $355 +tax

...and you're done, you don't ever have to come back here and you'll have an outstanding system that will sound very very good with those 595's. Of course if you want to come back...

For the coffee shop I don't think I'd recommend the 595's, they'll work fine unampped, but you'll hear EVERYTHING around you. While you're at Guitar Center have them throw in some Shure E2's for $55 and you'll be set.

WELCOME TO HEAD-FI, SORRY ABOUT YOUR WALLET!!! <good enough?>

 

[Hello]

3. I've had the speaker 'pops' when booting or restarting my computer with a bunch of sound cards, including the M-Audio Sonica. It occurs when the drivers are loaded. I get it with one pair of speakers but not another; so, my guess is that it has more to do with the choice of speakers than soundcards.

 

[commando]

I find the chaintech compares well with my $250 AOS DAC.

 

[sugarkang]

Jasper994: thank you for the suggestions. i forgot to mention i was on a budget

i think i'll go with the chaintech for now, and upgrade to the emu down the line. i've come to the conclusion that the 1212 offers a noticeable boost in performance, but not a justifiable $150 increase in performance. at least not right now when i still need a headamp.

Then there's the issue with the CABLES / PRESONUS / JBL adapter. we're looking at $190 for all that. do you think i'd be better off just getting some klipsch gmx 2.1s? those have a headphone out, and my jbl's do not. apparently, once you plug into the Klipsh's headphone out, it kills the speaker sound. shouldn't that effectively eliminate the need for the switch, cables, while also giving me better sound that the jbl's?



Hello: thank you for eliminating the m-audio sonica as a choice. at this point, choice eliminations are what i need!

Commando: i love hearing that!

 

[commando]

No worries. I second eliminating the sonica, it's average at best, even it's optical out is sub-par.