[fusedpro]

I bought it off someone from here if that matters for anything, so it isn't new. The previous owner said he owned it for about a year, not sure on the playtime though. My set-up is far from extraordinary, but I can't really blame it on that quite yet. Running some Sennheiser HD 280 Pros and a 16GB Zune HD -- I haven't hooked it up to computer quite yet since I'd have to tear through a jungle of cables, but inside that is a HT Omega Striker soundcard. The computer will be my main listening station, I just hooked it up to the Zune for convenience sake.
 
In any case, I plugged the headphones into the amp and the amp to my Zune. I turned the Zune volume all the way up and used the amp to control the volume. Sound came through, but I could hardly hear any of the vocals for any song (and things sounded slightly odd outside of that). Is this just the because of the Zune or is my amplifier faulty? I'll update this after I try it out from my computer.
 
UPDATE: Just tried running it from the sound card. No luck. It also had the bonus gift of killing ALL sound for my system on Windows for some reason. Things were normal on my Linux install for some reason, but Windows was pissed. Anyways, not sure what as happened, but that's fixed, so back to the amp. I am COMPLETELY new to this so I'm guessing I royally screwed something up. I'm thinking I don't have the right cables? Besides the power cable, the amp only came with some cable that is red and white on one end and uncoloured on the other (no idea what it is called). The red/white ends go into the back of the amp, I get that, and I tried plugging the other end into my Striker's 'Line In' since that's the only thing it would go into. I'm guessing that's my problem, I need 'Line Out', or no? There is a SPDIF Out but I'm not sure if that's what I want/need and if so, what cable I would need to connect all of this together. Help on this and the general amp question would be much appreciated.
 
Thank you.

 

[jamato8]

To feed the amp you need a line out. Any images of the set-up?

 

[PanamaRed]

I took a look at your soundcard on Newegg. I am willing to bet your amp works perfectly.
 
All of the line outs on your soundcard are for different 7.1 surround outputs.
 
What you want is a DAC (Digital Audio Converter) or another soundcard with a suitable output such as the Asus Xonar Eseence (See the Red / White rca connections)
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=29-132-010-TS&ISList=29-132-010-S01%2c29-132-010-S02%2c29-132-010-S03%2c29-132-010-S04%2c29-132-010-S05%2c29-132-010-S06&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16829132010&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=ASUS%20Xonar%20Essence%20STX%20Virtual%207.1%20Channels%20PCI%20Express%20x1%20Interface%20124%20dB%20SNR%20%2f%20Headphone%20AMP%20Card
 
Edit: Also, I looked up the Zune HD and it seems the output on it is pretty low. This can explain your volume issues

 

[zhunter]

You can make it work by plugging the RCA to mini ( the red/white cable) to your front out port which could be the green port, and should get a new appropriate DAC for the Asgard.

 

[PanamaRed]

Quote:

You can make it work by plugging the RCA to mini ( the red/white cable) to your front out port which could be the green port, and should get a new appropriate DAC for the Asgard.

 
Ahh yes, that would work. It did not even occur to me to plug it into the motherboard's audio out. Make sure you configure your computer to use your motherboard for sound.
 

 

[fusedpro]

Is configuring my computer to use the mobo sound w/ a DAC the only route I have? I would much prefer to keep my speaker system hooked up to everything (my soundcard) so I could use them without much hassle. I want to avoid the Xonar since I'm pretty sure it's a considerable step down in sound quality -- anything by HT Omega that would work?

 

[129207]

First, you don't need a DAC to enjoy your Schiit. Any source will work. A Zune or integrated soundcard won't sound as clean as a dedicated DAC though. Your Zune is fine and so is your soundcard. Second, there's probably nothing wrong with your amp. I think you're doing something wrong with your cabling.  Just use a RCA to 3.5mm (male) cable and plug the 3.5mm in your ZuneHD's headphone out or soundcard's line-out (there should be a dedicated stereo-out among the 7.1-outs) and the other end in your Schiit. Red is always right, where white/black/transparant is always left. Make sure you disable any EQ effects on your source. Third, why on earth did you buy an amplifier for your HD280pro? It's not going to make much of a difference on that headphone. You will get much better audio by upgrading your headphone instead of buying an amplifier. 

 

[zhunter]

Even a ibud when being amped by a decent one will sound better than un-amped, or a 'so so' amp, just my 2cents.

 

[129207]

Quote:

Even a ibud when being amped by a decent one will sound better than un-amped, or a 'so so' amp, just my 2cents.

Wrong. You won't notice the difference between a $100 amp and a $1000 amp on something like an iBud, that is efficient enough to be perfectely driven from an iPod. You must agree with me that it makes more sense to buy a $250  headphone as an upgrade from that iBud than a $250 amplifier? 

 

[zhunter]

I dont try to argue with you about how to spend $250 on a phone or purchasing a $250 amp for an ibud. My point is, it's just even better when your phone is amped with a decent one, even a cheap one will just sound better, at least to my ears, it did. I actually saw a comment somewhere in headfi, he said that he was amazed by how a cheap ibud could sound when being pair with Grace m902. Yep, he did it just for fun, and curiousity. And in this thread, spending $250 on a Asgard for a hd280 is totally not a waste.

 

[129207]

Looking at the cable you're using to connect your LCD-2 to your Lyr I think I understand why you say the Asgard isn't wasted on the HD280. 

 
Anyway, looking forward to hearing if Fusedpro had any luck so far with his rig. 

 

[fusedpro]

 
I first want to say that I haven't had a chance to play around with anything yet because I was out of town all day yesterday and have to head in to work here soon, but I'll give things another go when I get back tonight.
 
I couldn't really get a good screenshot that showed all the inputs for my soundcard, so here's a link to the product page on newegg where you can zoom in sufficiently:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001&Tpk.

 
As far as I know, everything about my cabling was correct -- kind of hard to screw up coloured cabling. Like I said, I'll give it another shot later tonight. About the soundcard vs. DAC -- will a DAC be better than a soundcard like mine? I could see it on an integrated soundcard from the motherboard, but not a thirdparty like this (although I could and mostly will be wrong). I know there's the whole adage of a $100 tool that does multiple things probably won't be as good as a $100 tool that specializes in one thing, but I figured the multipurpose tool would be plenty more than adequate. I have nothing against buying a cheaper DAC, but as mentioned in a previous post, I would still like to go through my soundcard for when I want to use my speakers. I think switching to the integrated motherboard sound for headphones and then back to the soundcard for speakers will be a huge hassle given that there is a pretty even split for use between the two. Still really hoping the Zune is the issue...
 
About the HD 280 Pros -- I didn't buy the amp FOR them, I just happen to have them lying around. They are the best I have at the moment, but I bought the amp specifically for some Sennheiser HD598s, I just haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. I want to get all these kinks figured out first. I know an amp really isn't needed for these phones either, but I can't really see it hurting and this is something I have always wanted to play around with.
 
Thanks for the replies so far, I'll update this later tonight when I have the time.

 

[129207]

Quote:

 
About the HD 280 Pros -- I didn't buy the amp FOR them, I just happen to have them lying around. They are the best I have at the moment, but I bought the amp specifically for some Sennheiser HD598s, I just haven't gotten around to ordering them yet.

The Asgard + HD598 is gonna put a smile on your face for sure.  
 

 

[fusedpro]

Quote:

The Asgard + HD598 is gonna put a smile on your face for sure.  
 

That's what I am hoping. I read a ton of great things about the two products used separately, and a bunch about them combined, so I'm hoping for some awesome assuming I can get everything working properly.
 
On the DAC and soundcard thing, could I possibly use the SPDIF OUT on my card and run that to a DAC, alleviating the problem I mentioned previously? If so, any DAC recommendations that would pair well with my proposed set-up for ~$150?
 
I also forgot to mention this in the previous post, but my speakers are Logitech Z-5500s. Nothing fancy or anything like that, but I like them.
 

 

[129207]

Quote:

On the DAC and soundcard thing, could I possibly use the SPDIF OUT on my card and run that to a DAC, alleviating the problem I mentioned previously? If so, any DAC recommendations that would pair well with my proposed set-up for ~$150?
 
 

http://www.pacificvalve.us/MusilandMonitor02.html
 
Check the reviews. It's cheaper on Ebay too. Seems like a great piece of kit. Run the spdif from your card into this baby and hook the Asgard to it's line-out.