How to improve setup?

[JosephDuffy]

Hi,
I'm getting back into listening to music a lot, and I think I could upgrade my system a little.
I'm currently using:
HD 650's
On-board audio (

)
Foobar 2000
FLAC Audio Files
 
My Foobar setup is just stock, no settings changed on anything. How could I improve this, what settings should I choose?
Also, I'm looking at a sound card. I'm thinking Creative Recon3D PCIe since it's got the 600 Ohms headphone amp.\
Overall, what do you think?

 

[eclipes]

get a dedicated DAC and dedicated Amp..

 

[Modo]

Except for THD, Creative is all about bling these days. If you're going to get a sound card, get a real one, like the Xonar Essence ST/STX. It's supposed to be a very good match for the HD 650. If that's too costly, a simpler thing like the Xonar DS/DX should also play much better than onboard sound.

When using an Asus card for music, you might also want to set up ASIO in Foobar. This is to prevent dynamic audio compression, which those cards do sometimes.

 

[stv014]

The Xonar D1/DX (and possibly also other Xonars with no dedicated headphone amplifier) have line outputs only, which are still not ideal for driving headphones, since they have about 100 Ohm output impedance, and with a voltage of 2 Vrms, can output a maximum of only about 5-10 mW to any headphone impedance between 16 and 600 Ohm. But if you do not mind the effects of the high output impedance - it can color the frequency response, most often by adding more "boom" to the bass, and it also slightly increases distortion - and the limited power, it can be OK. In any case, the DAC itself should be a good improvement over onboard audio, and with a suitable external amplifier, you can drive any headphone. But a Xonar DX + FiiO E9 setup for example costs almost as much as a Xonar STX, and the latter's amplifier is not less powerful than the E9.
 

 

[JosephDuffy]

I believe I neglected to mention that a feature of the Creative card was the DDL output (for my gaming audio setup (Astro A40's)).
I'll take a look at the options you have al mentioned, thank you very much.

 

[cifani090]

A nice tube amp would go great with your setup.

 

[sdfx]

As suggested by everyone else I'd just get:
 
1. A dedicated Tube Amp.
2. Then get a lower end Xonar and get a dedicated DAC to run out of that.
 
 

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

I believe I neglected to mention that a feature of the Creative card was the DDL output (for my gaming audio setup (Astro A40's)).
I'll take a look at the options you have al mentioned, thank you very much.

Do you game on the PC? You could use the Essence STX's Dolby Headphone with the HD650.
 
I'd avoid tube amps personally. I prefer neutral "wire with gain", and tube amps at this price range are almost guaranteed to play up the "tube sound" with lots of harmonic distortion. The HD650 is already a smooth, dark headphone, no need to throw extra THD in there to make it softer.

 

[joe_cool]

Quote:

I believe I neglected to mention that a feature of the Creative card was the DDL output (for my gaming audio setup (Astro A40's)).
I'll take a look at the options you have al mentioned, thank you very much.

If you have an interest is gaming, there is a conflict with requirements for music playback. Maybe you should consider 2 sound cards, one for gaming and one for music. Creative cards are *mostly inferior for music.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

As suggested by everyone else I'd just get:
1. A dedicated Tube Amp.
2. Then get a lower end Xonar and get a dedicated DAC to run out of that.

The Asus Xonar DG, DS, DX & D1 will not power the 300-Ohm HD650.
The audio sound would be too weak.
Xonar wise, only the STX & ST can power 300-Ohm headphone.
There are single tube headphone amplifiers sold on eBay that can power 300-Ohm headphones.
Prices start at around $50, but you really want to spend $90-$120 for the better ones.
The Fiio D3 external DAC costs around $25.
 
 
 

 

[stv014]

The HD650 actually would not be that bad from tha Asus Xonar line outs (2 Vrms/100Ω), although the sound quality would be affected somewhat by the high output impedance, and it would be limited to 106-107 dB, which is enough for music with low dynamic range. But the integrated amplifier of the Essence ST or STX will drive it easily, with better quality (mainly due to the much lower output impedance), and these are recommended if you are looking for a sound card for music listening with >= 80Ω headphones.
 

 

[bluzeboy]

this  setup sounds  very good
http://www.head-fi.org/t/555263/foobar2000-dolby-headphone-config-comment-discuss

 

[Roseval]

As you are using Foobar, try a bit transparent audio driver.
WASAPI is an obvious choice.

 

[DoctorHeadz]

Asus STX & ST or external Asus One wery good source for novice and very good for HD650.

 

[nihaz]

A good DAC and Amp will do you wonders, perhaps more members would be able to provide you with more recommendations if you provide a price range that you were willing to spend?
 
= D
 
P.S :http://www.coconut-audio.com/ Guaranteed 9000% improvement over on board sound!
 
 
 
P.P.S: PLEASE don't buy anything from the above store... it was only a joke xP