[weejua]

Hello all of you!
 
Let me introduce myself, I'm Yorran, a 25 year old entry level audio enthousiast from the Netherlands. After reading a lot on these forums (now and in the passed) I found this the right place to ask for proper advice. I am no audiophile by any means but I do enjoy high quality sound.
 
ATM I'm using a Asus Xonar Essence STX combined with a pair of Alesis M1 Active MK2 monitors and a Sennheiser PC360. I am more than satisfied with the Alesis monitors combined with the SXT so I dont plan on upgrading the STX in any short term but I do feel like upgrading my current headset.
 
As everyone knows a proper headphone will out perform any gaming headset, so I started to look for a good headphone wich I can combine with a clip/mod-mic. As I dont know a lot about headphones I started to look for brand I know people appriciate a lot(Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic), from the research I did online (I havent actually heard anything) I sort of deceited to go for the DT 770/880.
 
After looking for a as-high-as-possible impedance version my STX would amp I started to Google again - many said the  STX only amp's up to 7volt which is in no case enough to amp the DT770/880 -600 in any way, in fact I've read the STX does a "poor" job on amping higher impedance headphones and it would be best off amping a 32 ohm headphone.
 
Now my question is, what of all this ^ is true and what would your advice be? If the STX really does a better job at 32 Ohm headphones, would I be better of buyng the Beyerdynamic MMX300 (DT770+condenser mic) or does it make more sense to buy a DT 770/880 - 250/600Ohm?
 
In short: I have an Asus Essence STX amp which I am not going to upgrade - what impedance headphone is recommended (32/250/600)?
 
This is my first post on head-fi so i'm really looking forward to any advice!
Kind regards and sorry for the grammer

 

[weejua]

BTW: I can't be bothered with desk-mic's since I go to LAN's a lot. So I'm either looking for a MMX 300 (32 or 600 ohm - I dont know which matches better with my STX) or any other proper headphone + clip/mod-mic that suits my Asus STX.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hopefully you disabled the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIO, before you installed the Essence STX and the Asus software.
 
Here are some third party drivers (Unified Xonar Drivers) for the Essence STX
http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/
 
My Essence STX can drive my AKG K240M 600-Ohm and DT880 Premium 600-Ohm and DT990 Premium 600-Ohm headphones.
 
Your Sennheiser PC360 should be proving good headphone surround sound, as the STX comes with Dolby headphone, so wondering why your looking at other headphones.
I can see getting different set of headphones for music, maybe something with a stronger bass and treble, then the PC360s.
I use to plug my O2 headphone amplifier, into my STX's RCA jacks, for use with my lower impedance headphones, for listening to music.

 

[weejua]

Yes I do know how to install the stuff properly and with all honesty every virtuall surround feature is gimmick and makes sound worse. As long as you do not have physical speakers in front, beside or behind you there will be no true surround sound. Using 7.1 virtual on a 2 way headphone makes no sense at all unless you like the hallow EQ effects that come with it.
 
My sennheiser has alsways been a good stereo headset to me and still does the job but the sound of it isn't too great.
Thanks for letting me know your 600 ohm headphones work properly on your STX

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Yes I do know how to install the stuff properly and with all honesty every virtual surround feature is gimmick and makes sound worse. As long as you do not have physical speakers in front, beside or behind you there will be no true surround sound. Using 7.1 virtual on a 2 way headphone makes no sense at all unless you like the hallow EQ effects that come with it.
 
My Sennheiser has always been a good stereo headset to me and still does the job but the sound of it isn't too great.
Thanks for letting me know your 600 ohm headphones work properly on your STX

Does it matter much if the headphones are open or closed?
 
Headphones you might consider.
DT880 Pro 250-Ohm
Audio Technica ATH-AD900X
Soundmagic HP200 (never used it, but it gets good feedback)

 

[weejua]

Not a lot, I guess it depends on the overall sound. Open design does give me more a natural feeling as closed give me more the feeling of wearing ear-buds. As I do travel a lot to lan partys and are annoyed by the envoirement noise a lot I concider buying (semi)closed headphones. Thats why I started looking for a pair of 770/880. Personally I think I will get used to the closed-design headphone because for my avarage use it SHOULD bring more pro's then con's.
 
Do you think the DT 770 -600 will sound actually better then my PC360 or would it just sound different?

 

[weejua]

Basicly I am looking for a headphone/set that is an upgrade to my PC360. Since the MMX300 is the 770 with a attatched mic, I might concider buying it but it does only come in 32 or 600 ohm.
So would it be best to go for a DT 770 32 ohm, a DT 770 600 ohm? (the 880 sounds good but then I'll have to buy a clip/mod-mic which adds another 50€).

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Not a lot, I guess it depends on the overall sound. Open design does give me more a natural feeling as closed give me more the feeling of wearing ear-buds. As I do travel a lot to Lan party's and are annoyed by the environment noise a lot I consider buying (semi)closed headphones. That's why I started looking for a pair of 770/880. Personally I think I will get used to the closed-design headphone because for my average use it SHOULD bring more pro's then con's.
 
Do you think the DT 770 -600 will sound actually better then my PC360 or would it just sound different?

 
I would assume the DT770 600-Ohm would be an improvement, in audio quality, over the PC360.
What is the price of the DT770 (Pro or Premium) 600-Ohm, in your area?
 
I would think something like the Soundmagic HP150, would be a better value, for a closed headphone, over the DT770 600-Ohm.

 

[weejua]

DT 770 Pro costs 150€ atm which is a lot cheaper then the PC360 I currently use. Neither im looking for top of the build, I just want a richer, perhaps warmer sound then the PC360 gives. BTW thanks for your feedback so far, really appriciated.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  DT 770 Pro costs 150€ atm which is a lot cheaper then the PC360 I currently use. Neither I'm looking for top of the build, I just want a richer, perhaps warmer sound then the PC360 gives. BTW thanks for your feedback so far, really appreciated.

 
150 Euros for the DT770 Pro 600-Ohm?
Assuming they are a little on the old side?
Might be in need of new ear pads?

 

[weejua]

   
150 Euros for the DT770 Pro 600-Ohm?
Assuming they are a little on the old side?
Might be in need of new ear pads?

New ones ofc! 150€ is about 200 USD-ish

 

[Darkseth]

If you can get dt 770 600 Ohm fr 150€, thats perfectly fine. The dt 770 Pro 250 Ohm cost 140-150 already~.
 
But: They have strong bass and treble, and are closed. So NOT compareable to the PC 360.
 
I personally would prefer the DT 880. they are open, sound quite neutral (just sliiiiiiiiightly raised bass and treble), so they are a much more compareable upgrade there.
 
Or: DT 990 Pro for around 150€~, which should also be better than the PC 360. And compared to the dt 880, more "fun" (but slightly less "high resolution")
 
Ohm: Completely ignore that. Thats ONLY comparebla in Beyerdynamics case, where you have the same headphone with differenc impedances. like DT 770 Pro with 32, 80, 250, 600 ohm.
On EVERY other headphone, that alone doesnt tell you anything at all. Not how it sounds, not  how much power you need to drive.
A 600 Ohm Beyerdynamic T1 (Tesla is MUCH more effizient) should be easier to drive and louder than the 250 Ohm beyerdynamic DT-series.
My 250 Ohm T90 (driven by a Phoebus) is pretty much just as loud as my 32 Ohm superlux 681.
 
Just see the Headphone as a whole, if you like it, keep it. But do yourself this important favour: If possible, Compare at least 2 or 3. Only YOUR ears can decide, which one you should keep.
Essence STX: Thats perfectly fine, i dont know any heapdhone below 1000€~, where i would want to replace the Essence STX. Remember, 70-90% of the Soundquality comes from the Headphone itself. Not from the Soundcard.

 

[weejua]

Thanks for your informative post!
As you mentioned, I useually dont bother about Ohm too much but I have read there is quite a difference within the Beyerdynamic's. I have listend (not via an STX) to the 770 and 990 and found the 770 more plesant at lower to medium volumes for all content and I found the 990 basicly to sound less deep/warm but more positional-accurate, although I was more surprised by the positioning/accuracy of the 770 then I was of the sound of the 990 - so i deceited to go for the 770 pretty much.
 
All I actually wanted to know was if it is efficient to connect a 600 ohm Beyer to the Essence STX.

 

[Darkseth]

That certainly. The STX has no problems driving 600 ohms.

 

[weejua]

Thank you