[brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse_HD650 OK I will be upgrading my sound card in the future and when I do I will make sure it would do a HD650 some justice (that is if I still have it by then). But for now, if you guys think that with an amp (for now a Cmoy, but later a gilmore lite) the 650's will vastly improve and dwarf the 497's as they should; then should I keep it and not return it?

I have Audigy 2 ZS in my PC. A few days ago compared its sound to the sound of some DVDPs and CDPs through my Corda Prehead amp and now I KNOW - Audigy 2 ZS is not that crap! It sounds better than some of the players!
My advice is - get an amp (I use Corda Prehead with my 650s - a great combo!) and after that try another source.

 

[Apocalypse_HD650]

Whats the best source system I can get, without crazy money? Why is it that the Audigy 2 is so hyped up at least for gaming. It seems around here its considered useless? I don't mind spending a fair amount on a sound card-$250=£130; but I would want a dramatic change for that price!

By the way I have the Civic Type-R GO VTEC!!!-Best engine in the world!

Thanks

 

[Apocalypse_HD650]

I don't get it brat-it's like when you have an audigy 2-its like your not even remotely in the game as far as decent audio is concerned in headfi. But when your buying your PC rig its like the only decent choice-or so it seems to be. Do you use your porta corda with the 650's and audigy 2 zs?

 

[go_vtec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse_HD650 Whats the best source system I can get, without crazy money? Why is it that the Audigy 2 is so hyped up at least for gaming. It seems around here its considered useless? I don't mind spending a fair amount on a sound card-$250=£130; but I would want a dramatic change for that price!

I too own Audigy for gaming purpose. It's probably one of the best gaming cards, but it is not the best for musicl/movie-soundtrack reproduction. Currently I have dual-soundcard setup so that I use an external soundcard (Yamaha) to listen to music or watch movie and use Audigy for game. I think EMU 1212m is one of the best sounding cards around $200 USD. You can post more questions on Computers-as-Source Components forum to get the answers. This is headphone forum and we should stay with the headphone related topics.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse_HD650 By the way I have the Civic Type-R GO VTEC!!!-Best engine in the world!

I too like VTEC engines. I had to dump my NSX to keep my marriage (it's a long story).

Now I currently own fully modified Type-S Prelude with full Mugen header+exhaust. It ain't the fastest car on the road, but I love the way car involves the driver to keep it above 5000 RPM. Well, now back to the topic.

 

[cadobhuk]

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108192

read that thread and for hd497 vs hd600 comparison..and bear in mind that hd650 is considered to be significantly superior to hd600 by most.
Why do you have to return the 650?I didnt get that.Just upgrade source/amp,if you're out of money,save up.Your source/lack of amp holds hd650 back but hd497 will hold the better source/amp combination back.

 

[housecat]

remilard-
no one is dissing on the hd650s..

i have no idea where you got that.

it is elite to take a comparison someone was trying to make (based off of information YOU guys have posted here in the past, and I found through searches).. and try to turn that comparison into a "zing" on your favorite cans.

i notice you have them, and took even words that werent meant to degrade them into an attack because you dont want to hear any bad words about them.
lame

 

[Smiley Man]

my grado sr225s sound APPALING straight out of my soundcard, just terrible. you are wasting HD650s by using them straight out of a soundard, its like running an Orpheus system with a sony tape walkman as the source

 

[Natsuiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by housecat remilard- no one is dissing on the hd650s.. i have no idea where you got that. it is elite to take a comparison someone was trying to make (based off of information YOU guys have posted here in the past, and I found through searches).. and try to turn that comparison into a "zing" on your favorite cans. i notice you have them, and took even words that werent meant to degrade them into an attack because you dont want to hear any bad words about them. lame

I think what remilard meant to do was say that he believes were that you were miss informed about the differences between the 497 and 650s based on what you have read on headfi.
I don't really think it's off base to attack what someone says who bases his opinion soley what "someone" said in a thread somewhere on headfi. If you look around long enough, you'll always find someone who says something crazy.
I think that it's popular opinion form those who heard them that the 497s are not 85% of the 650s. To say so is just ludicrous

 

[timo_nyc]

After discovering Head-Fi I thought I wanted to get the HD-650s right away, but somehow I got involved with the "source is most important crowd" and started out with a DAC and later an amp.

I use my headphones at work, so sound leakage was an issue, I thought, and reading on the fora I remembered that open 'phones like the HD-650 leak too much. So I got both the AKG271 and the HFI-650s, but wasn't that thrilled. I even thought at times that my Bose QC2s sounded better -- less precise and way more sloppy, sure, but more FUN.

At any rate I finally broke down and went back to my original plan: HD-650s (thanks Todd!) The verdict for this office worker is great straight out of the box, and now I can hear my phone ring again! Most important, the low end is back, which I assume would not necessarily be there unamped. But with an amp, the sound is solid.

Above in the thread I read one poster who finds the sound revealing and another who finds the sound smooth (alluding no doubt to the Sennheiser "veil"). I can see (hear) both vantages -- compared to the AKG 271 or HFI 650 the sound is much more detailed, but at the same time I feel sibilence is down. Or perhaps the Senns are a better match for my DAC than the other 'phones, or the other phones don't benefit as much from DACs or amps in general.

Everyone's experience is hard to translate into a post. I'm now interested in seeing if this "burn in" experience many people matches my own. But so far, very happy with the Senn sound.

And I'm keeping the AKGs around for when I truly need isolation. They are more comfortable than the Senns.

 

[allenf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timo_nyc Above in the thread I read one poster who finds the sound revealing and another who finds the sound smooth (alluding no doubt to the Sennheiser "veil").

Yes - I said that the sound was both "smooooth" and very revealing - alluding to the fact that it is possible to have detail without an overly bright or "hard" upper-mid.

 

[Regus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse_HD650 Whats the best source system I can get, without crazy money? Why is it that the Audigy 2 is so hyped up at least for gaming. It seems around here its considered useless? I don't mind spending a fair amount on a sound card-$250=£130; but I would want a dramatic change for that price! By the way I have the Civic Type-R GO VTEC!!!-Best engine in the world! Thanks

EMU 0404 or EMU 1212m would seem to be your best bet - I have the 1212m myself and I like it very much, but you would almost certainly be very happy with the 0404, from what people say around the main difference between the two is that the 0404 is a little more fun and aggressive than the the more analythical 1212m but really with your current experience I would save the money and get the 0404.

However if you do get one of these cards do not neglegt to make sure you have a good Power Supply in your computer - when I first bought the 1212m I had a very cheap PSU and found it to be worse than my Terratec DMX XFire - when I replaced the PSU whole new worlds opened up. And no I am not talking about wattage I am talking about quality.

As someone suggested post in the Computer As Source part of the forum and there will be many people able to help you.

EDIT:
One thing you should be aware of though is that the EMU line is useless for gaming - if you can even make it work in your game you will have none of the EAX or 3D effects of the Audigy. It is possible to run multiple soundcards in one computer but I seem to recall there are some issues using Audigy and EMU together, you may want to do a serch on the forum for that or simply ask in computer as soruce

 

[asmox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman One must not listen to the sound overall, but the individual parts.

i stopped reading the thread at this point, in fear that what i might have read further on would've made me cringe in horror.

one must not listen to the sound overall? what in the world is that? why do you even listen to music? what difference does it make if the individual parts sound impressive when the sound as a whole doesn't do it for you? after all, in the end you're going to be listening to the entirety of the song.. most people aren't going to put on a pair of headphones after work and say, 'gee, i don't think i'm going to actually LISTEN to any music today, i think i'll just sit here and overanalyze these guitar overtones, and then every other single little obscure piece of the song! and after being impressed with all the individual parts, i'll actually LISTEN to the whole song and realize that i don't like it!'

jesus, sometimes i wonder what came first for some of the people here.. the audiophile or the music lover.

 

[e_dawg]

I would suggest not spending money upgrading to a better sound card, but rather, to get an external DAC and bypass your Audigy's DAC and analog section altogether. Most external DACs have better conversion and especially analog sections than any soundcard, including those pricey emus.

 

[cadobhuk]

Not aos picollo though,only $500+ DACs..Plus,audigy2 doesnt have a bit-perfect output,there would be a need for another soundcard anyway.

 

[e_dawg]

Can you not use 3rd party ASIO drivers to get bit perfect output from an Audigy 2? What's the point of getting an Audigy if it always resamples 2 ch audio?

I wouldn't agree with the exclusion of the Piccolo from a list of external DACs that would trounce most sound cards on the market. Its analog section and PS regulation are in a different league, component quality wise. Have you ever seen an AD8620-class op-amp on even the most expensive sound card? .5% metal film resistors, poly caps, multiple independent, high speed, low noise regulators?

I know the DACs on some sound cards have great specs, but the crappy onboard power supply regulation and filtration will hurt them. It's like stuffing a Ferrari engine in a Yugo chassis.