Driving directly from the PC

[spdtdl]

Hi, new here, this might be a dumb question.
 
I have a very new PC with an Asus Maximus VIII Extreme motherboard.
 
I believe this has pretty decent on board audio, here are the specs:
 
ROG SupremeFX 2015 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC 
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
- SupremeFX Shielding Technology
- ESS® ES9023P DAC: dB SNR, dB THD+N (Max. kHz/ -bit)
- TI RC4580 2VRMS audio OP AMP(s)
Audio Feature :
- Gold-plated jacks
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
- Sonic SenseAmp
- Sonic Studio II
- Sonic Radar II
 
ROG’s latest Supreme FX 2015 audio produces incredible sound using an ESS Sabre DAC, dedicated clock, de-pop relay, and other premium components. The amplifier can drive 2V RMS into conventional headphones with impedances from 32-600Ω, and it detects and sets the ideal gain automatically. Sonic Studio II software adds surround-sound emulation, while Casting Enhancer and Perfect Voice improve recording for streaming and in-game chat.
 
When I plug headphones in (HD650) Sonic Studio II pops up, tests the resistance, and sets the amp power accordingly. I believe it can drive up to 600ohms. 
 
All my music is sounding good, and I don't think I need to purchase anything else, but I'm new to this, so maybe I do?
 
If I would benefit from an amp could you recommend one (that I could buy from Amazon UK).
 
Thanks

 

[HUM24H]

Honestly with this sort of situation it is all subjective and relative to the listener.
 
There are many people in these forums, including myself, who would advise getting an external amp/dac due to the nature of electrical interference inside PC's and despite all the efforts companies like Asus do with EMI Shielding, etc... The interferencefrom PC components will still affect the sound chip. But some people will say that it has no affect or is no issue.
 
Would you benefit from an amp? Possibly and it my opinion yes.
 
There are loads of amps for the Sennheiser HD650 that people have already recommended on Head-Fi.
 
I have no experience with these headphones, so perhaps someone who has can recommend an external amp and dac.
 
But even still I personally recommend getting an external dac and amp instead of driving headphones with the on-board sound cards in motherboards.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I have a very new PC with an Asus Maximus VIII Extreme motherboard.
I believe this has pretty decent on board audio, here are the specs:
ROG SupremeFX 2015 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC 
- ESS® ES9023P DAC: dB SNR, dB THD+N (Max. kHz/ -bit)
When I plug headphones in (HD650) Sonic Studio II pops up, tests the resistance, and sets the amp power accordingly. I believe it can drive up to 600ohms. 
All my music is sounding good, and I don't think I need to purchase anything else, but I'm new to this, so maybe I do?
If I would benefit from an amp could you recommend one (that I could buy from Amazon UK).

 
Adding the ESSES9023P DAC chip to motherboards is only very recent, so I'm guess there has been every little, if at all, of comparisons of it to external DACs (or DAC/amps), so it might not be easy to say the minimum amount needed to spend to make a noticeable improvement
 
This EHP-02Di (ODAC/O2) external headphone amplifier, for 180 GBP, is what I think is the minimum you might consider spending, to try to improve audio quality.
http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/dacs/ehp-o2di-desktop-headphone-amplifierdac-3/
 
Or maybe getting a Little Dot MK III tube headphone amplifier, 165 GBP.
http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=815
 
Might try reading up and asking questions about the HD650 on this thread.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/197776/sennheiser-hd650-impressions-thread

 

[spdtdl]

Thank you for the advise. I will look into the EHP-02Di.

 

[spdtdl]

Tried a iFi Micro iDSD today.
 
Really couldn't tell any difference.
 
So, either I already have very good on board sound with this brand new motherboard, OR my ears are not advanced enough to tell the difference....

 

[HUM24H]

Well as always with Audio, it is relative to the listener.
 
So to be completely honest if you enjoy the sound coming out of your motherboard more than an amp/dac in your price range then all power to you, just stick with the motherboard audio.

 

[spdtdl]

I stumbled across this article http://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/info/hi-fi/in-english/ifi-idac-digital-analogue175136
 
Seems to indicate the iDac uses ES9023P which could be the reason iFi gear sounded so similar to me?

 

[darilon]

  Tried a iFi Micro iDSD today.
 
Really couldn't tell any difference.
 
So, either I already have very good on board sound with this brand new motherboard, OR my ears are not advanced enough to tell the difference....

Either way, it sounds like you are fine with what you have.  Now the trick  is to not let those ears get too advanced!

 

[ethiopianprince]

From what I've heard, even if the PCB is isolated, the wire connecting the front panel audio and the audio out on the motherboard will still pick up interference and sometimes can produce some unplesant ringing noises as well as "degrade" the quality of music. Ive only experienced this in a super old school setup I had from years ago because it didnt want to cooperate with my DAC/amp. No clue on the newer motherboards/cases as i dont use the included audio anyways. It might just be snake oil but I do enjoy the convenience of having a DAC/amp setup relatively further away from my computer, especially as a (former :C) owner of open backed headphones, the noise always bothered me, however small.

 

[spdtdl]

Looks like Asus got something right with this motherboard then (and so they should of for the price!).
 
I hear no interference, hissing. No popping when power on / power off the pc.
 
Looks like I just saved £300+ on an amp. Happy Days.

 

[ethiopianprince]

  Looks like Asus got something right with this motherboard then (and so they should of for the price!).
 
I hear no interference, hissing. No popping when power on / power off the pc.
 
Looks like I just saved £300+ on an amp. Happy Days.

Perfect then! Haha 

 

[jooonnn]

I have this same motherboard and plan to compare this to some other DAC's including the Chord Mojo with my LCD-XC

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
When I plug headphones in (HD650) Sonic Studio II pops up, tests the resistance, and sets the amp power accordingly. I believe it can drive up to 600ohms. 

 

It doesn't adjust power, only gain. Not even power delivery profile, in how most amps deliver the most power at 32ohms or 16ohms (the same way speaker amps do so at 8ohms or 4ohms) while there are exceptions where the circuits of some other amps like OTL tube amplifiers that deliver more power at 300ohms (or even 600ohms) than at 32ohms. No software setting can rework the hardware design, and if anything, either it's just a software control on the hardware gain switch, or it's adjusting digital gain.

 

Note also that in other cases, an amp with 1000mW at 32ohms and 300mW at 300ohms driving a 62ohm headphone with 92dB sensitivity and a 300ohm headphone with 98dB sensitivity will still get the latter much louder, despite getting less than half the power, since sensitivity matters too, which is why I personally prefer manual gain settings in case you use a low impedance, low sensitivity headphone. That said, that soundcard even on high gain won't properly drive, say, an HE500 anyway. As for 600ohms, even with high enough sensitivity, sometimes relying more on gain without actually putting more clean power into it will just result in more noise and distortion.

 

As for your specific case with the HD650, not much in the way of problems, these are just clarifications about things you might have to look out for. An amp might make the output a little cleaner and tighten up the bottom end but no need to sweat about using the soundcard.