[ghendi]

Hello Forum!
 
I am new but I have been lurking for years, trying to absorb much of your knowledge. If I picked up a tiny fraction of it, I am thankful.
 
I just purchased the K712 Pro and have been using the ASUS Xonar Xense One sound card (the one that came bundled with the Sennheiser PC350). It has the option of setting it to Extra High Gain 300-600 impedance headphones, but based off of what I was reading, there might not be enough power to drive the K712 fully? If so, what kind of amp do you recommend to connect to the sound card? I'm guessing a preference would be one with a SPDIF/digital input?
 
Thank you!!!
 
-ghendi

 

[cel4145]

If you are connecting to the SPDIF on your sound card, then you need more than a headphone amp. You also need a DAC to convert the digital to analog. Instead, you could get an amp and hook it to the left/right outputs on the back of the card. If you want more power than the STX puts out, a Schiit Magni 2 would provide plenty for the K712.

 

[ghendi]

hello cel,
 
thank you very much for your prompt reply. so you are recommending the standard magni 2, and not their uber version? is that right? would it benefit me more to get the uber version?
 
thanks!
 
-gendi

 

[cel4145]

The main advantage of the Uber version is that it has pre-outs for hooking up powered speakers or speaker amp so you can use the same volume control on the unit to control the speakers. Otherwise, the difference the headphone amp part of the Uber is negligible compared to the regular Magni 2. If you need that or think you might want it in the future, then it make sense. My first external amp, I didn't get one with pre-amp outs, and later wished I had (and so I upgraded).

Also, are you using any of the virtual surround features of the STX? If not, you could sell it and get the Schiit Modi 2 DAC.

 

[ghendi]

alright the reason i asked is because i was checking out their site and saw that the uber had more rms per channel.
i do use the virtual surround for fps gaming. although, i was thinking of getting the dac and using that for music and movies while not gaming.
 
i also was measuring the dimensions. i was thinking of mounting it into the 5.25" bay drives on my pc. the bay is 1.625" high and deep enough to have more than enough room for the magni 2. have you by any chance heard of someone doing this? is there a adapter/bracket of some kind you could recommend?
 
 
 
thanks again
 
-ghendi

 

[cel4145]

If you just want Dolby Headphone, you could sell your STX and get a Xonar DG and use it's optical out.

I wouldn't mount a headphone amp inside my computer case for cooling/heating reasons, and also because I'd be concerned that the EMI inside of a computer might interfere with the headphone amp that was not designed to be inside a computer case.

But if you want one that would easily fit in a drive bay, the JDS Labs Objective 2 might be an easier fit.

 

[ghendi]

thank you very much for your help cel
 
i'll stick with the magni and won't mount it inside the pc.
 
-ghendi

 

[ghendi]

I was wondering... If I want to take the headphones with me when I travel and use my laptop as one of the sources of media while working, could I connect my fiio e10k to the laptop for the DAC and then the Magni 2 as the amp and the k712 to that? Is that series all right?

Thanks.

 

[ghendi]

Or perhaps you could recommend a portable rechargeable amp that can push the K712s? And would it be fine to connect it in series after the fiio e10k?

 

[cel4145]

I was wondering... If I want to take the headphones with me when I travel and use my laptop as one of the sources of media while working, could I connect my fiio e10k to the laptop for the DAC and then the Magni 2 as the amp and the k712 to that? Is that series all right?

Thanks.

Yes. You could use the E10K's line out to hook to a Magni 2

Or perhaps you could recommend a portable rechargeable amp that can push the K712s? And would it be fine to connect it in series after the fiio e10k?

Not sure. But I think the Fiio E12 should be able to do a decent job of driving them. And yes. The E10K's line out is for hooking up other amplifiers (speakers or headphone).