[cssarrow]

Spending lots of money is not the same thing as "knowing" anything. In fact, you might just be the sucker of the year, as far as I am concerned.

Not trying to be rude or hateful, but you sir, are incorrect. Realtek chips don't test to have "distortion at high volumes" - your headphones / speakers do. There can be gain mismatches and so on that make you hit different "ceilings" or whatever you call it with different amps / speaker systems, but no, your experience is contradicted by fact.

Your assumption that low cost = low quality is also laughable. Realtek can sell a million chips for a buck and make more money than some botique supplier with an equivalent chip - and that is economies of scale, pure and simple. High quality and low costs are good things. AMP/DAC makers only WISH they had such a cost advantage or such a huge market to serve.

the Green jack is most ALWAYS the headphone / speaker out. It is typically low impedance and higher power, and most often NOT the line you would feed into an amp. It is there to power headphones or weak low end computer speakers. With a higher end realtek set, line-outs are assignable to different tasks, and you can have, effectively, the same high impedance (=lower distortion) 1V or so output that a typical audio device might have. But that would be a black/gray jack, NOT the green one. That is the amplified output. Even though you couldn't hear the difference, it probably does "distort" more. 

My experience with onboard audio, which includes cheap as dirt computers and over-priced high end junk tells me that, for the most part, distortion is NOT a problem with things properly connected and set up.

You just contradicted yourself by "not trying to be rude or hate" when all you've thrown at me were rude and hateful things like calling me sucker of the year.

I have never said low cost = low quality, which is why i recommended the Schiit combo because it's very high in value. But we're on a head-fi forum which people come here to learn and heighten themselves in the audio field.
What you said about realtek is true indeed, they have more supply and demands thus they can sell for much cheaper than what the competition can offer, but let's face it, when it comes to audio chips (motherboards in general), there is no great circuitry for the audio on there. Many PC Gamers know little to none about audio, so those motherboards most likely will not have a great dac chip anytime soon (or other variables to improved sound)

When i was talking about the distortion, i should of specifically said the green jack. My mistake. I should of clarified myself a little, not all motherboards come with black/gray ports, some only light green,blue,pink thus i was only left to talk about the only possible line out in that situation which would accommodate to extra noise. (I can hear it with hard to drive headphones at loud volumes, which stated before)

he said he would be using the HE-400, so i only recommended for what i saw to be a better outcome to drive the planar magnetics.
Like roller says, its a "disservice by running an onboard audio chip."

- Tim
 

 

[DarthUnnamed]

Quote:

 
Ah, fair enough
 
Well, it depends on your listening habits, whether it is music, gaming (casual, immersive and/or competitive?) or movies.

Music being edm and bands including radiohead, muse, and arcade fire
Gaming mostly for immersive sounds, sometimes competitive but not as much
Movies...well..i mean i love a good soundtrack as well as amazing sound design (see- the new batman movies by Nolan)

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Music being edm and bands including radiohead, muse, and arcade fire
Gaming mostly for immersive sounds, sometimes competitive but not as much
Movies...well..i mean i love a good soundtrack as well as amazing sound design (see- the new batman movies by Nolan)

 
You could get an Asus Xonar Essence STX, which is a high quality soundcard with an integrated amp for headphones up to 600 Ohm. However, you might find that adding a more robust headphone amp would improve the overall sound of the setup.
 
Alternatively you could get a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, a soundcard with high quality DAC and components and on the same level as the Essence STX, with the addition of having full gaming audio support, which improves both immersive and competitive gaming, being beyond what the Essence STX can provide. However, instead of coming with an integrated amp, it comes with an amped headphone out for headphones up to 330 Ohm, but since I suggested adding a robust headphone amp to the Essence STX, the same applies with the Titanium HD.
 
Amp wise, you should look into the O2, Schiit Asgard and Matrix M-Stage.

 

[DarthUnnamed]

Quote:

 
You could get an Asus Xonar Essence STX, which is a high quality soundcard with an integrated amp for headphones up to 600 Ohm. However, you might find that adding a more robust headphone amp would improve the overall sound of the setup.
 
Alternatively you could get a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, a soundcard with high quality DAC and components and on the same level as the Essence STX, with the addition of having full gaming audio support, which improves both immersive and competitive gaming, being beyond what the Essence STX can provide. However, instead of coming with an integrated amp, it comes with an amped headphone out for headphones up to 330 Ohm, but since I suggested adding a robust headphone amp to the Essence STX, the same applies with the Titanium HD.
 
Amp wise, you should look into the O2, Schiit Asgard and Matrix M-Stage.

Anything decent Amp/dac-wise that's about $100-140 total? I've been looking into the e17, sadly it doesn't work with the galaxy s3 so it's useless for portable use...

 

[cssarrow]

Anything decent Amp/dac-wise that's about $100 total? I've been looking into the e17, sadly it doesn't work with the galaxy s3 so it's useless for portable use...

It will be a really hard to find a $100 DAC/AMP outside of PC Sound cards.
You only have $100 left since im guessing the HE-400 will cost you $399.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Anything decent Amp/dac-wise that's about $100-140 total? I've been looking into the e17, sadly it doesn't work with the galaxy s3 so it's useless for portable use...

 
If $140 is as far as your budget can stretch, then the Essence STX will be your best option. The Fiio E17 has a lower quality DAC when compared to the Essence STX and the Titanium HD.
 
EDIT: I might've looked on the wrong places, but it seems the Essence STX has increased in price quite a bit, being well above your budget.

 

[DarthUnnamed]

Quote:

 
If $140 is as far as your budget can stretch, then the Essence STX will be your best option. The Fiio E17 has a lower quality DAC when compared to the Essence STX and the Titanium HD.
 
EDIT: I might've looked on the wrong places, but it seems the Essence STX has increased in price quite a bit, being well above your budget.

Indeed. I think i might just get the he-400's and wait out for more money for an amp + dac. They won't be at their full potential, but i doubt they'll be terrible.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Indeed. I think i might just get the he-400's and wait out for more money for an amp + dac. They won't be at their full potential, but i doubt they'll be terrible.

 
Don't wait too long. An amp will improve the HE-400 quite a bit.
 
It's not good to run an onboard audio chip rather than a soundcard or a DAC, but for your headphones pick, it's definitely recommended to get an amp. For your specified budget, the Fiio E9/09K will drive the HE-400 reasonably well.

 

[Sniping]

Quote:

Indeed. I think i might just get the he-400's and wait out for more money for an amp + dac. They won't be at their full potential, but i doubt they'll be terrible.

That was my case. I had to wait it out for a miracle to happen, and of course, it did. 

You'll live though, because what comes to my mind when looking at amps is "Buy nice, or buy twice".

 

[MrMateoHead]

Quote:

Indeed. I think i might just get the he-400's and wait out for more money for an amp + dac. They won't be at their full potential, but i doubt they'll be terrible.

Stick with your onboard for the time being - yours is very good and comparable to the STX in many ways.
 
the HE-400s MIGHT scale for you with a more powerful amp, but I don't think a DAC is going to make a big difference. I would wait for reviews of the Schiit Magni as it offers a lot of power for the money (~1 watt for $100 bucks). Otherwise, an O2 @ about $160 is a very good amp for the HE-400s, and technically "portable" (if a bit chunky). None of the portable amps I have looked at likely make enough power to drive the HE-400s under ALL listening conditions, but probably meet the needs of MOST conditions.
 
While you wait, you can save a little more, as I think you will need $200-$300 for best bang for the buck results.

 

[jsmooth67]

Quote:

I took some time today to go through all of my headphones to make absolute of what i would keep and what i will end up selling.
Listened to them for 4 hours.


FIRST to leave would be the AKG. Bass is nice and punchy, treble is good, but the highs are too screechy for my ears (too harsh). Sound stage is nice, however they are not forward enough for me, the person singing seems to be more distant than compared to other headphones.
Main Reason for selling: Harsh Treble
Reason worth keeping: Looks nice
SECOND to leave would be the Sennheiser HD650. It's very detailed, but a little too smooth for my taste. When its playing low and mid vocals, it sounds forward enough. The sound is well rounded/full. However when things go mid high and high, there is a large gap of recessed treble. Music is all around my head, i prefer something more centralized.
Main Reason for selling: Too smooth, recessed highs, too forward at times, and a little full.
Reason worth keeping: Very great headphone to fall asleep to, very comfortable, detailed yet smooth
THIRD to leave will probably be my HE-400. It's overall quality is very much like the HE-500, however in some categories, the HE-500 just excelled better in(i finally understood why people said so). Both headphones are well centralized and forward. the HE-400 being a little tad darker and less neutral. Bass is more aggressive on the HE-400 than the HE-500, but when using the HE-500's silver cable, its harsh bass was improved significantly, however, the HE-500 was still better by a quarter mile. Treble on the HE-500 was better, no doubt about it. Separation & Transparency, the HE-500 wins also.
Main Reason for leaving: Too close to the HE-500 and loses in important categories
Reason Worth Keeping: IT IS FUNNER THAN THE HE-500. I don't know how to explain it, but sometimes i get random frequency jumps in both bass and treble on the HE-400 AND ITS FREAKING AWESOME! It's like a freaking ninja. WITH THE HE-500's SILVER CABLE, THE TREBLE IMPROVED, THE BASS SOUNDED LESS HARSH. (I've never been a believer when it came to better cables, now i am)
HE-500 > HE-400 > Sennheiser HD650 > AKG Q701
96% > 90% > 85% > 75%
HE-400's with silver cable = 93% (percentage shows how good it is in terms of grade, 90%+ = A Grade)
This is all MY OPINION while running from the NuForce Icon HDP w/ Sigma 11.
Tested on my friend's Asgard as well, still doesn't change my opinion of the headphones.
I bet each headphone's sound would improve if i test them with my Xonar Essence One Muses Edition.
I'm happy i found a near perfect headphone (HE-500) - High Hopes of finding the 100% one day. Might be the LCD-2 or LCD-3
 

 
Cssarrow, would you say the HE-400 is hands down better than the HD 650?

 

[Sniping]

Quote:

 
Cssarrow, would you say the HE-400 is hands down better than the HD 650?

According to Matt, that's a no.

 

[cssarrow]

Cssarrow, would you say the HE-400 is hands down better than the HD 650?

Depends what type of listener you are.
Do you like laid back sound?
If you're not one of those listeners who are so picky about so much detail in music, then the HD650 will be a better choice for you.
It will give you a better mixture of music & with its smooth signature, your ears can listen for hours. (con: not enough treble, can be a tad too smooth)
HD650 rolls off that upper treble (which i find important to really feel the power in the singers vocal ability)

If you like detailed music that is well separated and less mixed, go for the HE-400. The HE-500 can do better for $300, however, it's not as surprising to listen to as the HE-400. HE-400 does better for more bass filled songs.

So yes, i would say the HE-400 is significantly better than the HD-650. Resolution and quickness is just extraordinary once you put a orthodynamic headphone on, you'll know. It's a love it or hate it situation. You could even be one of those who ends up preferring the HD-650.

Tim

 

[TMRaven]

For me the difference was just bass.  HE-400 has it.  HD650 doesn't.

 

[cssarrow]

For me the difference was just bass.  HE-400 has it.  HD650 doesn't.

True, HE-400 extends much lower and more punchy. HD-650 just seemed more boomy to me.