[Atavax]

i have a budget of around $300, but im not in a huge hurry, might try to get stuff on sale on like black friday and i want the best sound quality from headphones possible for my computer, i have nothing but my mobo's integrated sound right now and no amp. they do not need to be transportable, i do have people over for LANs, so i would prefer open over closed headphones so i can listen to people while wearing them. So how should i split the money between potentially headphones, amp, and sound card? should i only buy headphones? i haven't found anything about the specifics of the intergrated sound on my mobo, but here's a link to my mobo's specs, if you want to know: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2778#ov

 

[falis]

Personally, I'd be inclined towards spending on the headphones and deal with the rest of it later.  That means headphones that don't require a lot of amping (but that can improve with it later).
 
- Ed

 

[Atavax]

i was thinking of possibly the HT | OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier to supply the soundcard and amp, and then go for maybe a SENNHEISER HD555; not sure if spending $200 on the sound card and amp makes sense for a $130 headphone though... also not sure of the quality of the amp thats built in to the sound card.

 

[Atavax]

Quote:

Personally, I'd be inclined towards spending on the headphones and deal with the rest of it later.  That means headphones that don't require a lot of amping (but that can improve with it later).
 
- Ed

 
you don't think a soundcard is needed to take advantage of good headphones?

 

[project86]

I'd start with trying some headphones, just to see how you like them. Personally my favorite budget options, in no particular order: Equation Audio RP-21 (under $100), Goldring DR-100 ($50 at audio advisor), Grado SR60 (under $80), Audio Technica M40 ($80), JVC RX700 or RX900 (under $50). All of these should sound acceptable with your built in audio, and will give you a good baseline to decide what you like or don't like, what is missing, etc. If you like what you hear you can upgrade from there if needed.
 
I don't think it is ever a good idea to just go out and buy a bunch of stuff. Better to find out what you like and go from there.

 

[Atavax]

i've had creative fatality headphones for i think about a year, they were $50 and i was pretty disappointed with the sound quality, there wasn't really any part of it i liked and now sound is only coming out one side and the volume sometimes goes low by itself, so they're not going to last much longer, and i guess my biggest fear is wasting money on another set that i will be thoroughly disappointed with. A friend of mine has a Audio Technica ATH-AD500 that i've used on occasion and quite liked. i guess those would be the standard, only thing i didn't like was the lack of volume control on the headphone or wire; and i would prefer if the standard was surpassed.

 

[project86]

Any of the headphones I mentioned would be a serious upgrade over the Creative stuff, and should practically last forever if you don't rough them up too much. The only thing you won't find is an inline volume control, as serious full sized headphones don't usually have those. Volume would be controlled via software, or else on your amp if you ever end up with an external amp.
 
You could get a nice little setup for under $200 though. This is what I would do:
 
small usb DAC with amp built in, under $100:
http://cgi.ebay.com/HA-SM29-MKII-Digital-Sound-Card-USB-DAC-I2S-Out-/260565089215?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3caae3bbbf
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/HOTAUDIO-BIT-PERFECT-USB-DAC-HEADPHONE-AMPLIFIER-AMP-/280390189063?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41488ec007
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/HA-NG27-USB-Sound-Card-Headphone-Amp-DAC-PCM2702E-/110571579636?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19be9468f4
 
http://www.vividaudiotech.com/products.htm
 
Then some good heaphones, also under $100:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Equation-Audio-RP21-Stereo-Headphones-/350387978003?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5194c03f13
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Grado-SR-60i-Headphone-/280567957790?pt=Other_MP3_Player_Accessories&hash=item415327491e
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-dynamic-headphones-/290471994416?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a17ae430
 
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GODR100
 
 
The cheapest combo here is the HA Info SM29 for $65, plus the Goldring DR100 for $50 (probably more like $60 after tax and shipping). Still, under $130 for a pretty nice little setup. If it was me, I'd probably spend a tiny bit more and get the Hot Audio DAC/amp, just because I'm more familiar with Hot Audio and I trust that they will fix any issues that arise.
 
I'm sure there are plenty of more options, but this is a good list to start. Don't let anyone tell you have MUST spend X amount of money or else it is not worth bothering with..... that is simply not true.

 

[Atavax]

i appreciate the effort put into the post.... i am fairly certain i want the headphones open and it looks like grado has a good range of quality, open, choices if i do want to upgrade, i'd be able to stay with the same brand; and then i'll probably buy a dac/amp for myself for christmas if . just to double check; you aren't concerned about upgrading past integrated sound, you would suggest focusing on headphone and possibly dac/amp?   also dac = digital audio control?

 

[project86]

Quote:

i appreciate the effort put into the post.... i am fairly certain i want the headphones open and it looks like grado has a good range of quality, open, choices if i do want to upgrade, i'd be able to stay with the same brand; and then i'll probably buy a dac/amp for myself for christmas if . just to double check; you aren't concerned about upgrading past integrated sound, you would suggest focusing on headphone and possibly dac/amp?   also dac = digital audio control?

 DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter. You generally connect them via USB output, and it shows up on your computer as a device that replaces your sound card. So a DAC/amp combo like the ones I linked to would be considered upgrading from your integrated sound to a dedicated device.
 
Some people find the Grado sound harsh, and some people find them uncomfortable. But many, many people enjoy them (including me). The SR60 is the entry level model but really captures most of the character of the higher end models, and the price is nice. Also if you end up disliking them you can easily sell them for a good price, making it a very low risk proposition.

 

[stevenswall]

^Or with a reputable dealer or Amazon.com, ect, you can return them to get a full refund, and not have the problem of selling them lower than their original cost.
 
Best way to try phones other than CanJam in my opinion (buy and return!)

 

[blur510]

Quote:

i was thinking of possibly the HT | OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier to supply the soundcard and amp, and then go for maybe a SENNHEISER HD555; not sure if spending $200 on the sound card and amp makes sense for a $130 headphone though... also not sure of the quality of the amp thats built in to the sound card.

Senn HD555 is $75 shipped till 10/03 then you will have $225 for a good usb dac/amp or a xonat stx which has a good headphone amp. and have change left over.

 

[Atavax]

i tried that Senn HD555 promo thing, couldn't get the code to work, kept going to the original price when in cart. My creative fatalities died today, so i ordered those grados SR60's today from amazon.

 

[batphink]

Since you're using your computer for gaming, you should probably get an X-Fi soundcard.  Mobos, USB DACs and other sound cards use the CPU to render audio, which will have a negative impact on gaming performance.  Creative is refreshing their line for the holidays so I can't recommend any of their cards but 2 other companies, Auzentech and Audiotrak, also use X-Fi chips.  Their cards also have replaceable op-amps.
 
PRODIGY 7.1e X-Fi Audio
Auzen X-Fi Forte 7.1
Auzen X-Fi Bravura 7.1
Auzen X-FI™ Prelude 7.1
 
If you get one of these cards, you won't need an amp.  Because they use the PC's power (at least 400 watts), they are loud.  The first time I paired the Prelude with the Audio-Technica ATH-M40fs, my head almost got blown off.

 

[Atavax]

Quote:

Some people find the Grado sound harsh, and some people find them uncomfortable. But many, many people enjoy them (including me). The SR60 is the entry level model but really captures most of the character of the higher end models, and the price is nice. Also if you end up disliking them you can easily sell them for a good price, making it a very low risk proposition.

in case i find the Grado uncomfortable, could you list some other open headphones i might want to try out for like 80-120
 

 

[Atavax]

ok, i got my sr60's in the mail today and my only complaint is im hearing background static.... even if i have no audio turned on at all, im hearing faint static and i still hear the static while listening to music ofrplaying a videogame with the headphones. is this because they're new and haven't been broken in? a characteristic of the headphones, or something faulty?