Do I need a new Soundcard ?
May 8, 2017 at 10:47 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 18
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druqqdealer

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After my Logitech G930 broke after like 6 months I decided that I won't waste my money anymore on these Gaming Headsets. So I decided to look for a pair of good headphones with a big soundstage. Because I have a rather small budget I bought the AKG k240 Studio and an external mic. I have only used headsets with a built in soundcard like the g930 so I never had to use my onboard soundcard.

My PC specs:
- Thermaltake Berlin 630W power supply
- Intel I5 4670K
- GTX 970 GPU
- ASROCK Z87 Pro 3 Mainboard
 
May 8, 2017 at 11:23 AM Post #3 of 18
I'd recommend you try your headphone out with your on board setup first, if the headphone runs without any issues (ie, enough power, no distortion, etc) then you don't need an external DAC/Amp or soundcard. If it does, I'd recommend getting an external DAC/Amp over a soundcard as most soundcards have issues like high impedance but that varies between different models.
 
May 8, 2017 at 1:32 PM Post #4 of 18
Mattuz said:
I suggest you to buy a good DAC to pair with that AKG, no soundcard
Click to expand...

He can't drive a headphone with just a DAC's line output.

druqqdealer said:
After my Logitech G930 broke after like 6 months I decided that I won't waste my money anymore on these Gaming Headsets. So I decided to look for a pair of good headphones with a big soundstage. Because I have a rather small budget I bought the AKG k240 Studio and an external mic. I have only used headsets with a built in soundcard like the g930 so I never had to use my onboard soundcard.

My PC specs:
- Thermaltake Berlin 630W power supply
- Intel I5 4670K
- GTX 970 GPU
- ASROCK Z87 Pro 3 Mainboard
Click to expand...

Try it with the motherboard first. If it can't go loud enough then you definitely need an amp. If you don't like the sound, you'll have to sort out whether it needs an amp or that's just what the headphone sounds like by trying it out (preferably not having to by and return the amp).

If you need virtual surround because you play games that don't have it embedded in the audio programming, then get a soundcard.
 
May 8, 2017 at 6:18 PM Post #6 of 18
There are many here that refer to a Dac but mostly mean Dac/Amp. I agree with the others try it out on your onboard sound to see if it is good enough. Then you can make the decision to go with soundcard are a dac and amp or a Dac/Amp. If your using Dsp effects then it will be a soundcard for sure. When you said K240's I thought of the old ones and they are monsters to drive but I'm sure you bought the new ones and not sure how easy they are to drive at 55 ohms and 91 db sensitivity they are not real sensitive but could work for you.
 
May 10, 2017 at 7:39 AM Post #7 of 18
Ok so i tested the headphones and i am really enjoying the soundstage and it seems to work fine with the soundcard. But it is still too quiet when max. volume. Do i need an DAC/AMP now ? If so could you
recommend something thats not too expensive.
 
May 10, 2017 at 7:41 AM Post #8 of 18
druqqdealer said:
Ok so i tested the headphones and i am really enjoying the soundstage and it seems to work fine with the soundcard. But it is still too quiet when max. volume. Do i need an DAC/AMP now ? If so could you
recommend something thats not too expensive.
Click to expand...

Could you be a bit more specific with the budget?
 
May 10, 2017 at 10:43 AM Post #12 of 18
druqqdealer said:
Ok so i tested the headphones and i am really enjoying the soundstage and it seems to work fine with the soundcard. But it is still too quiet when max. volume. Do i need an DAC/AMP now ? If so could you
recommend something thats not too expensive.
Click to expand...

Check your settings and set it to high gain. Problem here is soundcards are rife with Marketing Dept BS so it's probably called something else. My Xonar U3 has "Exciter Mode" and "Pro Mode."
 
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