[dsio]

Just picked up a pair of HD595s today after months of using a pair of HD437s and a 2KG pair of Sharp quadaphonic monsters, and the difference has been nothing short of astounding but I'm yet to really work out the best way to have them set up.

Currently I have a Sound-Blaster Audigy, which I've been using again for the last few months because the X-Fi was complete rubbish and nearly useless.

Outputting directly from that to the HD595s the sound is weak, lacking bass, and at higher volumes theres a fair bit of hiss, but it has a great deal of detail in the mids and highs.

When I reduce the volume on the Audigy, and output it to my stereo, which is an AIWA RX30 / Bose Studiocraft setup, I get all the volume in the world, strong, tight bass, and a very full range, but the detail is greatly lost in the highs and mids. A fast drum roll becomes a continuous sound, and individual sounds like an AK47 in Counter-Strike: source sounds like one continuous note rather that rapid pops.

Either way, I'm not using any EQ/DSP and I like the range and accuracy, just not the fact that I'm trading off between mid/high detail, and bass.

Something else is the left channel sounds louder than the right channel does. Using the amp's balance control I can get them about equal, but its taking a disturbing amount of balancing to do so. When I reverse the cans to check if its just my hearing, the left is still louder than the right. This is on several recordings, and even reversing the source output in software on the computer has the same effect.

Is this likely to be the phones, or the source?

 

[Skylab]

You need a proper headphone amp to make these sound their best. I am listening to my HD595's right now actually, through my Ray Samuels Audio Hornet, and the sound is crazy good.

 

[dsio]

Could you suggest an amp that would work well? I'm still using this old AIWA set, as its the only one I have with a reasonable quality headphone out. Reasonable being better than terrible.

Also, what is the proper way to connect the Audigy? The front speaker out is what I'm using, as I can't seam to find a proper line out (analog).

 

[leng jai]

Well for starters the Audigy is a pretty bad source. The X-Fi is much better, but judging by your post you had the crackling issue with it. The LDM+ is a very cheap amp for the 595s, and the combo works amazingly well. It costs $59USD + shipping

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsio Could you suggest an amp that would work well? I'm still using this old AIWA set, as its the only one I have with a reasonable quality headphone out. Reasonable being better than terrible. Also, what is the proper way to connect the Audigy? The front speaker out is what I'm using, as I can't seam to find a proper line out (analog).

I used the 595's with the RSA Hornet for portable use, and the Meier Audio Headfive for home use, both with great results.

 

[dsio]

Crackling on one motherboard, then overheating on the other motherboard, as that one had the X-Fi sitting right in the "Jet-wash" of an extremely hot graphics card, so full lockups in games.

I've heard good things about the LDM+/HD595 combo! I imagine it would sort of bridge the gap I have now, giving me the range and depth I'm after, without sacrificing detail.

Is there a decent alternative to the X-Fi that will give me quality and EAX?

 

[soloz2]

not really...

 

[OpTicaL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsio Currently I have a Sound-Blaster Audigy, which I've been using again for the last few months because the X-Fi was complete rubbish and nearly useless.

Agreed! However, did you know how to adjust your settings in X-Fi to make them sound good? You have to remember to go into headphone mode and launch THX console and add bass gain for the 595 to be bassy or else it's just flat bass.

You must also turn off those pathetic effects X-Fi uses like EAX, CMSS, Crystalizer, SVM off, Equalizer off. Only then will your soundcard sound raw and untouched.

 

[threEchelon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsio Crackling on one motherboard, then overheating on the other motherboard, as that one had the X-Fi sitting right in the "Jet-wash" of an extremely hot graphics card, so full lockups in games. I've heard good things about the LDM+/HD595 combo! I imagine it would sort of bridge the gap I have now, giving me the range and depth I'm after, without sacrificing detail. Is there a decent alternative to the X-Fi that will give me quality and EAX?

I think that the crakling is caused by overheating, which was solved by the addition of a heatsink, which now comes on all new cards. If the heatsinks didn't fix the crackling then you're SOL, though the X-Fi Elite Pro card might not have the crackling problems since it has an external unit.

I keep my case door off and a fan blowing partially on my X-Fi card (which doesn't have a heatsink).

That keeps the temperatures low enough most of the time. I only get crackling occasionally during the hottest days of the summer and only in Gaming mode.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

You must also turn off those pathetic effects X-Fi uses like EAX, CMSS, Crystalizer, SVM off, Equalizer off. Only then will your soundcard sound raw and untouched.

Or simply put, turn to Audio Creation and enable Bit Accurate Playback from Audio Console. All effects are off or bypassed in that mode (even THX bassboost is non-functioning), raw high quality audio playback.

 

[leng jai]

See sig. No bass boost required here

 

[chouman]

If you do end up getting an amp, adding a 75 ohm adapter sorta rounds out the 595s. I enjoy them more since they have a fuller sound this way.

 

[dsio]

I did actually try to sink the X-Fi but the problem is the die is so, so small in comparison to the older Audigy, and there are no mounting holes, so the only option is direct die thermal epoxy.

To make things worse, the X-Fi uses a BGA package, which means even a light heatsink could very easily pull the chip right off the board. In fact you could rip the thing off with a fingernail if you wanted. In contrast the Audigy uses a large TSOP die, which was easy to mount a sink to, and is fixed to the board by a couple of hundred strong solder joins.

Dispite the age, the Audigy does also come with CMSS, and I only just even looked at it in the audio console. I NEVER used headphone mode, because it sounded like headphone mode made them sound absolute crap.

It sounded like I was listening to my music through a 10 foot PVC pipe in headphone mode. Now I notice its been turning CMSS on whenever I switched it.

To give it some credit, in games, the positional ability of CMSS is noticeable, but its exagerated, not exact, and the effect it has on sound quality is... well, it sounds like I'm firing an AK47 down a PVC pipe again in Counter-Strike.

Is it possible that an external DAC (I'm thinking a DAC / headphone amp) would give the Audigy a considerable help?

The static and hiss its throwing out the front speaker out even at low volumes is somewhat annoying.

I've used the PaX-Youp Audigy 4 softmod as well, which did actually make the Audigy sound a bit better. But nothing to write home about.