[SargentChimera]

I am currently useing a FiiO E17 amp with a pair of Sennheiser 598s and I absolutely love the sound I am getting. I am pretty inexperianced as an audiophile and my setup could probaby be tuned to produce even better sound in the hands of someone more experianced but I love what I have discovered so far. I aquired a Denon DRA397 reciever from a friend for free and I would like to know if you guys think it is worth hooking up to my PC. I have a couple questions about it too...

- Can I still use my FiiO E17 with the reciever and if I can is that even recommended?
 
- Would the sound be partially or noticably different than my current setup?
 
- Does the reciever act like an amp such as my FiiO does?

- How exactly do I go about hooking up the reciever if it is worth the hassle?
 
- Would I notice a differnce in my main speakers sound quality? (They are not connected to the
                                                                                                                                               amp)

My computer does not have a sound card, just built in 7.1 audio or something of the sort, and the speakers I use are Razer Mako 2.1s.

Thank you so much for any answers, I have no idea how I would get through this alone!

 

[PurpleAngel]

If you got the Fiio L7 adapter ($10) for the E17, you could use the E17 as a DAC between the PC and the Denon.
Would use a S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) cable (or USB?) from the PC's motherboard to the E17.
Then run analog audio cable (3.5mm to RCA) from the L7 to the Denon receiver.
 
If your into gaming and movies on the PC, you might get an Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card,
sometimes sold used on eBay for $50-$60, comes with the CS4398 DAC chip.
You would use the same 3.5mm to RCA cable to connect the Xonar to the Denon.
With the sound card you would not have to keep plugging and unplugging the E17.
I'm assuming the E17 is also used for a portable audio player?
 
With the Denon connected to the computer, you could try plugging the HD598s into the Denon's headphone jack, it might give the HD598 a little more bass then the E17.
 
With the Xonar  DX or D1 connected, you can send Headphone 7.1 Surround Sound from the Xonar to the Denon's headphone jack.

 

[SargentChimera]

I keep the E17 on my desk, I do not use it as a portable amp. So the soundcard would just serve to replace the E17? All that would be gained is a deeper bass and 7.1 sound if a get one of the sound cards? Would you say that the 7.1 surround sound is worth it for my headphones?
 
I do use the computer game quite a bit.
Thank you for the reply!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I keep the E17 on my desk, I do not use it as a portable amp. So the sound card would just serve to replace the E17? All that would be gained is a deeper bass and 7.1 sound if a get one of the sound cards? Would you say that the 7.1 surround sound is worth it for my headphones?
 
I do use the computer game quite a bit.
Thank you for the reply!

Technically, if you plug the E17 into the motherboard's S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) connection and the HD598s into the E17, you can use any headphone (5.1 or 7.1) surround sound features that the motherboard's on-board audio has.
 
Would the Xonar DX or D1 offer better Headphone Surround Sound, maybe(?)
You can plug the E17 into the Xonar's S/PDIF port, so using the Xonar's surround sound features while using the E17's DAC and head amp.
 
Or plug the E17 line-in (analog)port to the Xonar's line-out (analog) port and just use the E17 as a headphone amplifier only.

 

[SargentChimera]

Ok interesting. I wonder how I would enable the features present on my motherboard. I assume through the speaker icon on the taskbar. I will have to look into it and I will set up the Receiver to see if it is worth it.  

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Ok interesting. I wonder how I would enable the features present on my motherboard. I assume through the speaker icon on the taskbar. I will have to look into it and I will set up the Receiver to see if it is worth it.  

Usually the little speaker icon on the lower right side of the screen (taskbar) is a shortcut the audio control panel
 
Might be a good idea to update to the latest software version of the motherboard's on-board audio.
Do you know that make and model of the motherboard?

 

[SargentChimera]

I am not sure what my motherboard is, ive looked up how to find it and all the relevant places to find the info on my computer are labelled unknown. The closest I found to a name was Alienware A06 but I think that is the bios version. I have an Alienware Area 51 but they replaced the motherboard with a different one so it is no longer stock...

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am not sure what my motherboard is, ive looked up how to find it and all the relevant places to find the info on my computer are labelled unknown. The closest I found to a name was Alienware A06 but I think that is the bios version. I have an Alienware Area 51 but they replaced the motherboard with a different one so it is no longer stock...

Download and install the program PC Wizard, it should provide details on the motherboard.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/pc-wizard.html

 

[SargentChimera]

Oh wow, thank you so much. I have been looking for software like that. According to the software my "Mainboard" is a...

Manufacturer :    Alienware
Mainboard :    Alienware 0XDJ4C
Bios :    Alienware
Chipset :    Intel X58
Physical Memory :    12288  MB DDR3-SDRAM
 
I am not sure if this helps or not. The processor is a Intel i7 980x Extreme if that helps narrow the motherboard selection.


 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Oh wow, thank you so much. I have been looking for software like that. According to the software my "Mainboard" is a...
Manufacturer :    Alienware
Mainboard :    Alienware 0XDJ4C
Bios :    Alienware
Chipset :    Intel X58
Physical Memory :    12288  MB DDR3-SDRAM
I am not sure if this helps or not. The processor is a Intel i7 980x Extreme if that helps narrow the motherboard selection.

Not a lot of info out there on this motherboard.
When using the PC wizard, you need to click on the "Multi-Media" button.
Is will have more details on the audio, like if it's Realtek or VIA or other.