[FeiJai]

I am looking to spend no more than $500 for a closed headphone, no option for an open headphone. This will be paired with an Asus Essence STX. I listen to rock about 40% of the time, trance/techno 40% of the time, and R&B 20% of the time. My library consist of 80% Flac and 20% MP3's (old songs/songs that are hard to find on CD). Some artists I listen to are:
 
Alternative Rock - Coldplay, The Killers, Matchbox Twenty, The Fray, Panic! At The Disco, U2
Indie - Band of Horses, The Strokes, The Bravery, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand
Classics - The Beatles, The Queens, Nirvana, Pink Floyd
 
Trance/Techno - David Guetta, Deadmau5, Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Daft Punk, Roger Sanchez, Kaskade
 
R&B/Hip-Hop/Rap - Kanye West, Akon, Jay-Z, Usher, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Tupac
 
 
I have looked into two headphones, the Denon D5000 ($390 @ Amazon) and the Ultrasone PRO 900 ($399 @ Amazon). I do not know if these two headphones work for the music I listen to and if the Denon D5000's build quality (the screw problem) will be an issue. If I can get some feedback on these headphones and recommendations on other headphones that would be great. Thanks.

 

[TheBananaMan]

I would recommend spending at least $200 on an amp/DAC and then $300 on headphones. Just buying a $500 headphone and plugging it in straight from your computer is like buying a $1000 car and putting $5000 windsheild on it :/. After all, the sound quality is only as good as your weakest link in the setup.
 
Thats just my opinion though.

 

[olor1n]

Audio-GD NFB12 at its introductory price of $200 should be on your shortlist. Reviews should trickle in soon.

 

[FeiJai]

Quote:

I would recommend spending at least $200 on an amp/DAC and then $300 on headphones. Just buying a $500 headphone and plugging it in straight from your computer is like buying a $1000 car and putting $5000 windsheild on it :/. After all, the sound quality is only as good as your weakest link in the setup.
 
Thats just my opinion though.

I am planning to get the $200 Asus Essence STX soundcard. I do play games on my computer and figured a soundcard would provide more benefits than a dac.

 

[olor1n]

It's a shame you've ruled out open cans. My HD650 sounds great with the bands you've listed. I'm listening to Band of Horses' Infinite Arms album at the moment. So good.

 

[Elanzer]

You'll get far more for your money with an external unit like the NFB-12 or E7+E9 combo than you will with the STX. More versatility and better sound quality.
 
Soundcards haven't mattered for games for quite awhile, stuff like EAX has been more or less obsolete since windows vista, nothing really uses it anymore.

 

[FeiJai]

Quote:

You'll get far more for your money with an external unit like the NFB-12 or E7+E9 combo than you will with the STX. More versatility and better sound quality.
 
Soundcards haven't mattered for games for quite awhile, stuff like EAX has been more or less obsolete since windows vista, nothing really uses it anymore.

 
I decided to give dacs + headphone amps a closer look. I really don't care for the software effects of soundcards and I will only purchase a headphone and a 2.1 stereo speaker system. Can you recommend me 2 external units, under $250, that sound great and have a least a headphone amp and an analog output for speakers (like KRK RPG5/6).