[Picard]

Firstly, I want to get some bookshelf speakers and do 2.1 audio and upgrade to 7.1 a little later on for surround sound, and right now I am using a sound card for my headphones, a Titanium HD.
 
I was looking at receivers and was interested in this one: Yamaha RX-V673
 
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/rx/rx-v673_black_u/?mode=model
 
I want to run audio through my graphics card to the receiver, but I use my Audio-Technica headphones a lot too.  If I use the headphone jack on the receiver how will the quality of sound be compared to the sound card? Does the receiver have a good DAC vs the Titanium HD?  I would in a way like to make the sound card obsolete so I never need one again too.  The receiver will support a 2560 x 1440 monitor too?
 
I would greatly appreciate any informative helpful responses. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Firstly, I want to get some bookshelf speakers and do 2.1 audio and upgrade to 7.1 a little later on for surround sound, and right now I am using a sound card for my headphones, a Titanium HD.
I was looking at receivers and was interested in this one: Yamaha RX-V673
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/rx/rx-v673_black_u/?mode=model
I want to run audio through my graphics card to the receiver, but I use my Audio-Technica headphones a lot too.  If I use the headphone jack on the receiver how will the quality of sound be compared to the sound card? Does the receiver have a good DAC vs the Titanium HD?  I would in a way like to make the sound card obsolete so I never need one again too.  The receiver will support a 2560 x 1440 monitor too?
 
I would greatly appreciate any informative helpful responses. 

Currently using the Yamaha RX-V671, it's nice.
Best price for the RX-673 is at Electronics Expo for $404, need to use the coupon code "BOUNTII" to get the $404 price.
Usually a sound card like the Titanium HD comes with a better DAC then a receiver, but my headphones do sound good hooked up to my RX-V671.
I'm guess a lot of receivers come with a headphone jack with a high impedance, which is a negative for low Ohm headphones.
What model Audio Technica headphones do you have?
HDMI can carry 7.1 (8-channels) of uncompressed PCM audio, so running audio from the graphics card thru the HDMI sounds good.
Guess you can sell off the TiHD for some cash.

 

[proton007]

Quote:

Firstly, I want to get some bookshelf speakers and do 2.1 audio and upgrade to 7.1 a little later on for surround sound, and right now I am using a sound card for my headphones, a Titanium HD.
 
I was looking at receivers and was interested in this one: Yamaha RX-V673
 
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/rx/rx-v673_black_u/?mode=model
 
I want to run audio through my graphics card to the receiver, but I use my Audio-Technica headphones a lot too.  If I use the headphone jack on the receiver how will the quality of sound be compared to the sound card? Does the receiver have a good DAC vs the Titanium HD?  I would in a way like to make the sound card obsolete so I never need one again too.  The receiver will support a 2560 x 1440 monitor too?
 
I would greatly appreciate any informative helpful responses. 

 
I'd suggest to get an external DAC that has an integrated headphone amp and a line out. Use the line out into your receiver. Use the headphone amp when using headphones.
 
A cheaper option would be the Xonar STX, but thats a sound card.
Otherwise, depending on your budget, there's a lot of options.

 

[NamelessPFG]

What are you using that sound card for?
 
If it involves PC gaming with DirectSound3D or OpenAL, the hard reality is that you're gonna have to keep it in there or take a quality downgrade (no hardware acceleration, let alone EAX effects, and no CMSS-3D Headphone).

 

[Picard]

@PurpleAngel
 
I'm using the A900X from Audio Technica.  That is a great deal too, darn.  I just spend 600 on a new GPU and SSD, no money for the receiver for a few weeks.
 
@NamelesPFG
 
Yeah, the Titanium HD might have to be kept for gaming.
 
 
@proton007
 
What would you recommend for a DAC and Amp?
 
Would something like the FiiO E9K and FiiO17 be good?
 
 
 
 
I listen to music, play games, and watch movies and all that a lot, so I thought this was the best route to take.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

@PurpleAngel
I'm using the A900X from Audio Technica.  That is a great deal too, darn.  I just spend 600 on a new GPU and SSD, no money for the receiver for a few weeks.
@NamelesPFG
Yeah, the Titanium HD might have to be kept for gaming.
@proton007
What would you recommend for a DAC and Amp?
Would something like the FiiO E9K and FiiO17 be good?
I listen to music, play games, and watch movies and all that a lot, so I thought this was the best route to take.

Impedance is resistance, measured in Ohms
My ATH-A900X (40-Ohm) works with my RX-V671, but not as well as I would like (high impedance headphone jack).
I would say to add a low impedance headphone amplifier to the RCA outputs on the Titanium HD
The ATX-A900Xs are 40-Ohms, which means you would want an amplifier that is 5-Ohms or less, the Titanium HD is 35-Ohms
The Fiio E9(K) has a 10-Ohm impedance, the Fiio E17 impedance is like 1-Ohm.
The E17 provides zero surround sound for movies or gaming.
The Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier (1-Ohm) with an extra battery (BL-5B) and a simple ac battery recharger should cost you under $70.
Maybe get a second spare battery.
The O2 (Objective 2) portable headphone amplifier ($155), very low impedance (1-Ohm?), can work like a normal desktop amplifier, just leave the AC plugged in.

 

[proton007]

Quote:

@PurpleAngel
 
I'm using the A900X from Audio Technica.  That is a great deal too, darn.  I just spend 600 on a new GPU and SSD, no money for the receiver for a few weeks.
 
@NamelesPFG
 
Yeah, the Titanium HD might have to be kept for gaming.
 
 
@proton007
 
What would you recommend for a DAC and Amp?
 
Would something like the FiiO E9K and FiiO17 be good?
 
 
 
 
I listen to music, play games, and watch movies and all that a lot, so I thought this was the best route to take.

 
You're planning to go for 7.1, right? Your receiver already has all the dolby and surround you'll need.
So you've got 80% of the needs covered.
 
Yamaha probably uses their own DAC, so you may want to experiment with an external one. I call it experiment because you'll have to find out how much of a change there is compared to that, and your Titanium HD.
A Fiio E17 is a cheaper option, but it needs charging if I'm not wrong, and cannot be charged when in use.
The O2 + ODAC is a slightly more expensive but better option, it uses a wall supply.

 

[Picard]

Quote:

 
You're planning to go for 7.1, right? Your receiver already has all the dolby and surround you'll need.
So you've got 80% of the needs covered.
 
Yamaha probably uses their own DAC, so you may want to experiment with an external one. I call it experiment because you'll have to find out how much of a change there is compared to that, and your Titanium HD.
A Fiio E17 is a cheaper option, but it needs charging if I'm not wrong, and cannot be charged when in use.
The O2 + ODAC is a slightly more expensive but better option, it uses a wall supply.

 
The Titanium HD does have a good DAC though still doesn't it? And I thought the A900X  didn't really need an AMP?

 

[proton007]

Quote:

 
The Titanium HD does have a good DAC though still doesn't it? And I thought the A900X  didn't really need an AMP?

 
The A900x doesn't, but if you use a DAC then you have to use an amp. All sources have an amp. The headphone out you see on most cd players etc is also amped inside. A DAC itself is just line out voltage, and needs to be plugged into an amp.
 
You're probably right in saying that the Titanium HD is good enough. Just use the line out into the receiver. I'm pretty sure the receiver also has a headphone out.

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

A Fiio E17 is a cheaper option, but it needs charging if I'm not wrong, and cannot be charged when in use.

 
I think mine charges when in use. But I use the USB connection for playback.