[Dead Ghost]

I need a cheap sound card that is better than audigy 2 (SQ), for using with a pair of Grado SR80, without a head amp. Which is better for unamped headphones? AV710 or Revo 5.1?

 

[Dead Ghost]

bumb

 

[BlackJackSkanz]

I have the AV710 and the problem you are going to run into without a headphone amp is to get bit perfect sound with kernel streaming you end up bypassing the amps the card has for headphones. Hence without a headphone amp it would be very low volume. I know the SR-80 don't need much amplication but my guess you would be disappointed without at least a small CMOY or something giving it some juice.

 

[Dead Ghost]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackJackSkanz I have the AV710 and the problem you are going to run into without a headphone amp is to get bit perfect sound with kernel streaming you end up bypassing the amps the card has for headphones. .

So, the AV710 has amps for the headphones? I read somewhere that it doesn't have, but i was not sure...And what has kernel streaming got to do with the amps on the sound card?

 

[blueworm]

To get the good sound quality from the chaintech AV710 you need to use the channels 7 & 8 which are connected to the wolfson dac. These outputs are direct without any kind of amp. You will need an amp on the output.

The M-audio revolution 5.1 is allready amped but it is a more expensive card.

 

[Dead Ghost]

Thanks for the reply, this is what i wanted to hear (read

).

 

[Zenja]

Definitely do not get the AV-710 without an amp. I'm serious, don't. The volume isn't an issue, it's other things.

 

[Dead Ghost]

One more question: which is better in terms of SQ: M-Audio Revo 5.1 or 7.1?

 

[binkgle]

the 5.1 is reputedly better in terms of SQ

 

[blueworm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by binkgle the 5.1 is reputedly better in terms of SQ

I concur.
5.1 has a better DAC also.