[BigBallinGPR]

Hi All!
 
I'm very new to the "hi-fi"/audiophile world but am very interested and have some setup questions.  I recently impulse bought a pair of Sennheiser HD 650's off of ebay for a decent price and am loving them playing straight off of my Creative X-Fi Titanium soundcard.  From what I've read, the soundcard does not have the ability to fully power the cans to their full potential.  To address that issue, I did a little research on these forums and decided to go with the NuForce Icon Hd DAC/Amp combo which will be coming in the mail tomorrow!  I'm kinda kicking myself as right after I purchased it I read about the Schiite Valhalla and how the 650's go well with tube amps.  Plus the Valhalla looks gorgeous! 
 
Anyways, I'm looking to get some insight into the kind of setup route I should make to get the best sound quality out of my music.  I konw about lossless audio file formats and all that so I'm good there, but I'm concerned about the use of the soundcard.  Should I run the Icon HD through the soundcard?  Also, what kind of software settings should I have on/off/enabled to get the best quality?  I've read that you want to turn off all of the effects soundcard-wise, turn up all of the volumes in the control panel/media player and leave the volume adjustment to the amp.    I don't know if this is true or not and want to get some feedback regarding it.  Thanks in advance for any input, I really appreciate it!

 

[BigBallinGPR]

I just realized that the NuForce connects via USB and would bypass my soundcard entirely.  So question answered on that end, although there is something else I was wondering.  Currently I'm using Winamp as my media player to play my FLAC files.  I hear a lot of talk about Foobar and its capabilities and was wondering what the advantages/disadvantages of the two are.
 

 

[TwoEars]

I have a Titanium HD soundcard and Sennheiser HD650s.
 
I previoulsly had the Icon HDP, I tried running the HDP from the optical out on the sound card and thereby letting the HDP D/A do the converting. I also tried running the HDP from the the RCA outputs on the Titanium HD and thereby using the HDP as an amp only.
 
In all honesty I wasn't too impressed by the HDP, there wasn't anything it did better than my Titanium HD card. I felt that the DAC part was worse and I felt that the amp part wasn't any better either so I ended up selling it.
 
The HDP is a good cheap "do it all" solution, but it is also just that. By itself It's not a great amp, nor a great DAC.
 
You have the Titanium card which is one step below my Titanium HD so we'll see how you fare.
 
The HD650 needs a really good amp to bloom; like a Burson HA-160, Lehmann BCL or Graham Slee Solo. The amp section of the nuforce gear isn't good enough in my opinion.

 

[BigBallinGPR]

I'm seeing a huge difference!!!! Holy cow, these 650's came to life through the Icon HD compared to being run off of the Titanium.  I'm stunned, I had no idea that the music I've been listening to all these years could sound like this.    Every single note, every wobble, every snare kick, every everything! its really that good. 
 
I know that there are improvements that can be made, like way better amps, way better DAC's etc.  But for a guy who is just starting down the long, winding and dark road (for my wallet at least) of audiophilia, this is incredible.  Wow, I have a few pics if y'all are interested.  If not, well too bad they're here anyways and I have the newcomers enthusiasm and glee = D.  Looking forward to exploring the science/engineering behind audio and understanding it a lot better then I do now, Cheers.
 

 
 

 

[TwoEars]

As long as you're happy and enjoying music that's all that matters
 
Seems your Titanium card was under-driving the HD650s. And then that Icon is a good budget solution, you probably have to spend 4x times what you payed for the Icon on a dedicated DAC and Amp (or a Burson HA-160D) to get the same "wow effect" again.

 

[BigBallinGPR]

Yea, I would agree with you're statement.  In order to get the "wow" going from crap on a stick to Senn's and a DAC/Smp, its gonna take a lot.  That said, I just got back from a live blues show at my local bar, and damn, I can see the room for improvement already.  Granted, I'm listening to Mim0sa's 58 degrees right now (who I'm seeing tomorrow night), but I can see the room for improvement. 
 
God D*** I'm a happy camper though, music is now up to par with what i've expected for the past 4 years.  "Bose" and "If its THX Certified" has only gotten me to the moon. I''m in a new Universe entirely now.  Thanks to all the audio Engi's/Nerdballs,  I'm one as well just in a different field.  Was never one for EE, but am now tempted to take a few electives in that department so I can get my soldering skills and tech knowledge up to snuff.  Cheers = D.