[Marest]

I would like to take the step onto "entry-level" audiophile sound equipment. I'm more specifically looking for a pair of really nice headphones that will more or less blow my mind. To go with that, I'm more than confident that I would need a stand-alone soundcard.

Current system:
I'm using the MSI P67A-GD65 (http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-GD65.html) motherboard, which has a built in Realtek ALC892 sound chip. Together with that, I'm using a Plexgear 2.1 speaker system and (when for example watching movies) a Philips MC-M570 stereo system that in my opinion has at least pretty decent sound quality (much better than the Plexgear setup). I'm also using a Logitech G330 (basically only for Skype and Ventrilo) and Philips SHE9550 in-ear headphones.

What I'm looking to get:
I've been looking to take the step into a better audio gaming experience, especially with Battlefield 3 on the horizon. I'm more or less planning to replace the Plexgear 2.1 system with some high-end headphones for games and music. My music taste is mostly hardcore rock and metal mixed in with the odd dubstep. My budget stretches around 2500SEK maximum, what that corresponds to in dollars, pounds or euros when it comes to audio equipment I have no clue.

Soundcard:
I am more or less clueless when it comes to soundcards. I have always used the integrated one and been "happy". I was looking at the ASUS Xonar D1 and the ASUS Xonar DX as those are fairly cheap and has some decent reviews attached to them. But do they have all the features I would need? And how much of a difference is there stepping up to an ASUS Xonar Essence STX or an ASUS Xonar D2? What would you recommend?

Headphones:
I've been looking at a few different ones:

- AKG K 272 HD: ~1800 SEK
Above my budget, but they seem to be about the best I can get around the 2000 SEK mark. I'm willing to consider them if, of course, the sound experience these offer far exceeds the others.

- Sennheiser HD598: ~1650 SEK
I don't specifically like the look of these, but they have some awesome reviews. They are borderline too expensive for me, but if the sound experience these offer is that much better than others, I might consider it.
 
- Audio Technica ATH-M50: ~1600SEK
Recommended by DaBomb. Slightly out of my price-range though.

- AKG K 242 HD: ~1400 SEK
These I like, a lot, both the look and the price. Seems to have great reviews and are usually classified as "entry-level audiophile headphones" by reviewers. I've read comments saying that they perform great but that the bass can be a bit stiff.

- Audio Technica ATH-AD300: ~900 SEK
They seem like a nice price/performance choice, but are below the desired "entry-level audiophile" that I seek. Perhaps they will offer enough gain in quality anyway? I also like the look of these.
 
Anyway, as I know were little of audio equipment I'll leave it up to more experienced users to recommend a pair of headphones that will suit me perfectly. I'm not interested in portability.


Also, given such an upgrade, how much of a gain in sound quality am I looking at compared to my current system (the Realtek ALC892 chip with the Philips SHE9550)? I was chatting to a friend who is into music development, and he specifically said that it would be like going from the 480p to the 720p option in Youtube on songs like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY1FzvRVo3s. Is that a fair estimate?
 
 
Thanks for any help!
 
Regards,
Marest

 

[DaBomb77766]

I think you should add the ATH-M50 to that list too.

 

[Marest]

Added the ATH-M50 to the list, although they are borderline too expensive for me at 1600 SEK.
 
Anyway, I was thinking about going for the AKG K 242 HD together with an ASUS Xonar DX. Any comments on that? Good choice/not a good choice?

 

[Nupie]

Just in case people don't jump in this thread immediately - you can always use search function (which is surprisingly helpful) and read full reviews or discussions on the headphones you've listed. You'll learn about their build quality, sound signature and other stuff that people might not tell you right away.
 
Regarding Xonars - people say Xonar STX paired with Sennheiser's HD headphones is pretty neat. You can read more in Computer audio part of the forums.
 
I've converted the prices you've listed to USD and they seem a little bit high. Maybe you should think about getting stuff from amazon.com and other less expensive shops.
 
Let's talk about "going from the 480p to the 720p" part:
 
Going from something casual to your first starter audiophile setup is a world of difference (I remember it quite well since I'm a rookie too) but you have to remember at least a couple of things - start upgrading your music library to better quality files, it's important. Also a lot of headphones require burn in. That means out of the box they might not sound like they will sound a couple of weeks later so if you're not enjoying your new phones right away just give them more time.
 
I'm sure more knowledgeable people will come along and tell you more important stuff. 

 

[Marest]

Quote:

Just in case people don't jump in this thread immediately - you can always use search function (which is surprisingly helpful) and read full reviews or discussions on the headphones you've listed. You'll learn about their build quality, sound signature and other stuff that people might not tell you right away.
 
Regarding Xonars - people say Xonar STX paired with Sennheiser's HD headphones is pretty neat. You can read more in Computer audio part of the forums.
 
I've converted the prices you've listed to USD and they seem a little bit high. Maybe you should think about getting stuff from amazon.com and other less expensive shops.
 
Let's talk about "going from the 480p to the 720p" part:
 
Going from something casual to your first starter audiophile setup is a world of difference (I remember it quite well since I'm a rookie too) but you have to remember at least a couple of things - start upgrading your music library to better quality files, it's important. Also a lot of headphones require burn in. That means out of the box they might not sound like they will sound a couple of weeks later so if you're not enjoying your new phones right away just give them more time.
 
I'm sure more knowledgeable people will come along and tell you more important stuff. 

Thanks for the reply Nupie. I'll give the search function a go (I searched earlier for both the Xonar DX and the AKG K 242 but nothing of interest came up; the Xonar DX had 1 review and it was fairly poorly written). But, I'll give it another go and scout the forum threads that pop up.
 
It should be mentioned that computer hardware (and I guess sound equipment as well) is a fair bit more expensive here in Sweden (and Europe for that matter) compared to the US. Shipping from Amazon.com would mean a great deal of tax and shipping fees and it would just make the purchase even more expensive. I know this because I have ordered things from the US before.
 
The Xonar STX is just not within my pricerange. Buying such a card would leave me with 700-800 SEK for the headphones. I can pick up a DX for around 700 SEK and the mentioned AKG K 242 for 1400 SEK, for example, which seems like a more fair split of my budget.
 
Already started upgrading to .flac (and high bitrate .mp3) files. I'm a rookie video and effects editor myself and when working with video you will sooner or later stumble upon sound and sound editing - and thereby also sound quality.
 
Again, thanks for the reply.
 
Regards,
Marest

 

[dyl1dyl]

Another option that you should consider is a second hand k701 or hd580/600, should be within your budget

 

[Nupie]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply Nupie. I'll give the search function a go (I searched earlier for both the Xonar DX and the AKG K 242 but nothing of interest came up; the Xonar DX had 1 review and it was fairly poorly written). But, I'll give it another go and scout the forum threads that pop up.
 
It should be mentioned that computer hardware (and I guess sound equipment as well) is a fair bit more expensive here in Sweden (and Europe for that matter) compared to the US. Shipping from Amazon.com would mean a great deal of tax and shipping fees and it would just make the purchase even more expensive. I know this because I have ordered things from the US before.
 
The Xonar STX is just not within my pricerange. Buying such a card would leave me with 700-800 SEK for the headphones. I can pick up a DX for around 700 SEK and the mentioned AKG K 242 for 1400 SEK, for example, which seems like a more fair split of my budget.
 
Already started upgrading to .flac (and high bitrate .mp3) files. I'm a rookie video and effects editor myself and when working with video you will sooner or later stumble upon sound and sound editing - and thereby also sound quality.
 
Again, thanks for the reply.
 
Regards,
Marest

Even with the vast community Head-fi has it's not easy to cover all the products available on the market.  However my way of thinking about this is that if the product isn't discussed here you probably do not want it . That said AKG K 242 HD seems to be some new remake of an older set of headphones.
 
I know about the prices in Europe all too well. You could probably try and contact the seller and ask them to lable the package as 'gift' you might not even have to pay the tax (not sure if it works. You might also want to check if you even need to pay the tax for the headphones). By the way check the local buy/sell section.
 
I am not that knowledgeable about sound cards either but my guess is that you're better off buying the best headphones that suit your prefered sound signature and upgrading the sound card later. Or just study the Computer audio section closely. Something like that.
 

 

[Nupie]

Try this one btw http://www.head-fi.org/t/529144/buying-headphones-seeking-guidance-don-t-start-a-new-thread-ask-for-advice-here/7080.
 
Just write down how you want them to sound like or what music you listen to and maybe your budget in USD which would be your budget in Swedish kronas converted to USD minus the percentage difference based on the difference between a price of  certain pair of headphones in Sweden and the price on amazon.com. After that you could always jump to Computer audio and ask them for an advice on the sound card based on the amount of money you'll have left.

 

[Marest]

Well, the PC360 together with the Xonar DX seem to be what I'm aiming at currently. But, given proper headphones, is there a nice (and cheap) microphone solution that I could pick up? I'm thinking about a clip-on, as I'm not a huge fan of table-stand microphones. Any suggestions?