Do I need a gaming sound card with a headphone amp?
Oct 2, 2012 at 3:20 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 26
aznkid24

aznkid24

New Head-Fier
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Posts
18
Likes
0
Hey guys, I just bought the BD DT 770 pro 80s, I was reading articles on how gaming soundcards with built in headphone amps would greatly improve the quality of my gaming audio. I asked myself if I should get one myself since i was still on onboard. I would say 80% gaming,20% Music and movies, for music genres I usually just turn on the radio station whether it be z100 or 103.5 ktu, For price I would not go higher than $150 USD. 

Specs: Win7, DT 770 pro 80 ohms, mobo: ASUS P8Z86-V LGA intel 1155 

Thanks for all reccomendations!
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 4:10 PM Post #2 of 26
The first thing I could suggest would be the $45 X-Fi Titanium coupled with whatever headphone amp you could afford with the rest of your budget, probably something like a FiiO E9.
 
The other thing I could suggest is the $120-130 X-Fi Titanium HD, but I'm not certain that it would drive a DT770 adequately by itself without some sort of dedicated amp connected to it, and given how expensive the card is already, you don't have enough left over to buy any sort of amp.
 
I do have to ask, though...what games do you play?
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 4:17 PM Post #3 of 26
Well, the games I'm playing right now  are BF3, Guild wars 2, Starcraft, Torchlight 2, Borderlands 2, Dota 2 and League of legends, yeah the genres are all over the place haha.I was pretty interested at the Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 but i couldn't find any stores that had it, (micro center, zzounds, amazon and newegg no luck).
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 4:34 PM Post #5 of 26
What's wrong with dedicated headphone amps? You'll probably end up better off that way, since you can more easily match the amp to your headphones instead of the other way around.
 
I found an X-Fi Forte, but it'll eat up most of your budget. I just hope it's one of those newer-revision cards with the heatsink on the DSP, which I can't tell with a stock photo.
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 7:11 PM Post #7 of 26
Quote:
namelesspfg said:
The first thing I could suggest would be the $45 X-Fi Titanium coupled with whatever headphone amp you could afford with the rest of your budget, probably something like a FiiO E9.
 
The other thing I could suggest is the $120-130 X-Fi Titanium HD, but I'm not certain that it would drive a DT770 adequately by itself without some sort of dedicated amp connected to it, and given how expensive the card is already, you don't have enough left over to buy any sort of amp.
 
I do have to ask, though...what games do you play?
Click to expand...

 
According to specs, the X-fi ti HD is able to drive headphones up to 300+ ohms, it should be fine with the 80ohm beyer right? 
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 7:21 PM Post #8 of 26
Quote:
aznkid24 said:
hmm well one reason I don't like is cause my desk isn't the biggest of desks so yeah not really that much room for a dedicated headphone amp such as the E9.
Click to expand...

The Asus Xonar DG sound card ($20-$30) comes with a half-way decent headphone amplifier and Dolby Headphone surround sound.
It should better then whatever audio is built into the motherboard.
Some even use the DG to drive their 250-Ohm headphone (half-way decently).
So 80-Ohm should be fine.
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 9:23 PM Post #9 of 26
Quote:
amorgan said:
According to specs, the X-fi ti HD is able to drive headphones up to 300+ ohms, it should be fine with the 80ohm beyer right? 
Click to expand...

 
Only one way to find out...
 
I don't have a DT770 or any other significantly demanding dynamics, hence why I haven't tested it myself. (My headphones of choice can't be driven by sound cards anyway.) But I wouldn't expect them to sound horrible straight out of the Titanium HD.
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 11:19 PM Post #10 of 26
Quote:
aznkid24 said:
hmm well one reason I don't like is cause my desk isn't the biggest of desks so yeah not really that much room for a dedicated headphone amp such as the E9.
Click to expand...

 
 
If size is a concern, try the FiiO E17. It's a DAC and headphone amp rolled into one that is smaller than an iPhone. You can use it with an mp3 player as a headphone amp. 
 
However, if you have computer desktop speakers or plan to get some, then it definitely makes good sense to get the new card so that they can benefit from the improved sound, too. 
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 11:32 PM Post #11 of 26
Well even though the TiHD doesnt have a headphone amp, i've read some reviews about it and I'm compelled to believe its just as good as people but there are rumors that is has a life expectancy of 1 year is that true?
 
Oct 2, 2012 at 11:51 PM Post #12 of 26
Quote:
aznkid24 said:
Well even though the TiHD doesnt have a headphone amp, i've read some reviews about it and I'm compelled to believe its just as good as people but there are rumors that is has a life expectancy of 1 year is that true?
Click to expand...

I think the current Titanium HD is on it's third revision (C?), so I would guess it would be more reliable then the previous versions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top