BMac86
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2013
- Posts
- 3
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- 0
Hi Guys, long time browser first time poster.
I am currently upgrading my headphones from and old pair of Sennhieser HD-590's and going for a pair of HD650's as I can source a pair for quite cheap (almost half RRP). Now I have a few questions for when I use them for gaming - I currently don't have a sound card in my new PC build as I wanted to want for the Soundblaster Z Series to come out, and I have now gotten around to purchasing one. However I have a few questions after some cursory research on these forums and elsewhere, which I haven't really found have been answered directly.
1) I think the headphone amps differ from the Z/Zx and the ZxR - Is this true? If so is the Z/Zx amp enough to power a HD650, or is the ZxR the one to go for? For that matter is either amp enough for a HD650? At the moment I am not looking to get an 'out of the box' DAC/Amp solution as I want the features of the Z Series in terms of gaming and postional audio.
2) I have seen this table (http://www.head-fi.org/t/668238/headphones-sensitivity-impedance-required-v-i-p-amplifier-gain) in relation to people speaking about the effects of Windows volume and the soundcard volume control. I have noticed the gain of the HD650's is 0dB - does that mean I find the Windows volume percentage equivalent of 0dB (using Windows 8 BTW) and then use the volume control knob that comes with the card to adjust my volume - or am I way off the mark in my understanding?
3) Will the 600Ohm setting actually damage the headphones? I would er on the side of caution normally and only use the 35-300Ohm setting as the HD650's are a 300Ohm headphone, but I'm curious if the warning is actually something to worry about with a PC audio card.
I appreciate and answers any advice, and would particularly love to hear from anyone with a HD650 paired with a Z Series card about their experiences and and likes or faults with the setup!
Cheers!
I am currently upgrading my headphones from and old pair of Sennhieser HD-590's and going for a pair of HD650's as I can source a pair for quite cheap (almost half RRP). Now I have a few questions for when I use them for gaming - I currently don't have a sound card in my new PC build as I wanted to want for the Soundblaster Z Series to come out, and I have now gotten around to purchasing one. However I have a few questions after some cursory research on these forums and elsewhere, which I haven't really found have been answered directly.
1) I think the headphone amps differ from the Z/Zx and the ZxR - Is this true? If so is the Z/Zx amp enough to power a HD650, or is the ZxR the one to go for? For that matter is either amp enough for a HD650? At the moment I am not looking to get an 'out of the box' DAC/Amp solution as I want the features of the Z Series in terms of gaming and postional audio.
2) I have seen this table (http://www.head-fi.org/t/668238/headphones-sensitivity-impedance-required-v-i-p-amplifier-gain) in relation to people speaking about the effects of Windows volume and the soundcard volume control. I have noticed the gain of the HD650's is 0dB - does that mean I find the Windows volume percentage equivalent of 0dB (using Windows 8 BTW) and then use the volume control knob that comes with the card to adjust my volume - or am I way off the mark in my understanding?
3) Will the 600Ohm setting actually damage the headphones? I would er on the side of caution normally and only use the 35-300Ohm setting as the HD650's are a 300Ohm headphone, but I'm curious if the warning is actually something to worry about with a PC audio card.
I appreciate and answers any advice, and would particularly love to hear from anyone with a HD650 paired with a Z Series card about their experiences and and likes or faults with the setup!
Cheers!
