[doobu]

I have a Soundblaster Audigy and I've read on the forums that there's a hiss on the Audigy but I really want to have 3d audio in the latest games. I know people will say to get a Turtle Beach and maybe that's an option in the future but right now I want to stick with the Audigy. I'm going to buy the MG Head amp and Sennheiser HD-600 headphones so is that all I need to get up and running or do I need to buy any interconnects? So I just connect the amp to the line out jack on the audigy and connect the headphone to the amp and will that do it? Is there any way to eliminate the hiss by buying other components like a DAC? And if so what do you guys suggest and are DACs costly?

 

[Mic]

3D audio is a character of most modern day sound cards, including the Audigy. An amp will NOT eliminate the hiss on the Audigy. If anything, it'll probably eccentuate the defects of the card. What it will do, however, is to not produce as much hiss if you have a habit of turning your volume up really high on the computer as this results in distortion from the cheap internal op amp. You will need interconnects, most likely 1/8' to RCA to use the card with an amp. Lastly, you cannot just buy any 'ole DAC because the only digital outputs that the Audigy have are the Creative Labs digital and SPDIF out. To my knowledge, there's no worthwhile options for those as far as DACs are concerned. I hope this helps.

 

[doobu]

Thanks for the information... it did help. So let me get this straight though having my hd-600 and my amp is enough to get good sound as long as i get a better soundcard correct?

 

[Mic]

Computers in general are a bad source due to the number, amount, and the complexity of the circuitry involved. You would be better served getting a headphone (w/o amp) that is "not as good", meaning that it will mask the deficiencies of the computer and make your experience much more enjoyable.

 

[doobu]

Uh oh. Too late. I already ordered the Sennheiser 600 but it's okay because I'll also listen to other sources besides computer. Now I just need to know if there exists a DAC that can use the digital din jack on the Audigy and does a good job of eliminating the noise from the Audigy.

 

[markjia]

There are other problems with the Audigy in addition to the hiss. The audigy resamples all signals to 48 KHz, and since CDs, vast majority of MP3s, and most games use 44.1 KHz, significant amounts of distortion can result. So even if you do find a DAC that will work with the audigy, and eliminate the hiss, there will still be a lot of distortion. Your best bet is to get another sound card. The turtle beach also resamples the sound, but does a lot better job than the audigy. better yet, get the audiophile 2496 (~$150). This is an entry level professional sound card that provides exceptional output (and does not resample the sound). I've found that the difference is incredibly significant, esp. with something like the HD 600. Unfortunately, this card does not work well with games. But, you can use both cards simultaniously. Then, either use an external switch to change inputs, or feed the sound from the audigy into the 2496, and then to the headphones. I'd say that you'd get better sound out of the 2496 w/o an external DAC than with the Audigy w/ DAC. Plus, the 2496 w/ DAC is also an option that you could add later.

 

[dparrish]

Markjia,

Have you compared the Audigy to the 2496 in your own system?
I have in mine. Perhaps there is a significant difference on CD/game playback (I haven't listened to CD/games with the cards). But on DVD playback of dolby digital (I've been listening using the dolby headphone function of my PowerDVD software), I don't hear much difference. In my opinion, BOTH soundcards are bad. The 2496 is more detailed and SLIGHTLY better on DVD playback, but not enough to merit the $150.

Mind you, I'm talking about listening through the analog outputs to my Cosmic amp/HD600s (not the digital outs). My guess is that both sound bad due to the lack of shielding of the DAC--perhaps I'm hearing jitter. I'm planning to take back the 2496 and get something better--although I'm a little unsure of WHAT to get that would be significantly better. I SURE would like to get a high quality sound with the dolby headphone out playing through my Cosmic/HD600 setup. Any ideas?

 

[Mic]

Several things to address:
1) I would not hook out an Audigy into 2496 because a) the Audigy is going to resample anyway and b) any extra connections will add more noise.
2) Does you really need such good sound out of your computer? After all, you said you're using it for games. First, the recording quality for the game is in all likelihood not great to begin with. Secondly, I don't know about you, but I tend to pay more attention to the game itself than the sound. The sound adds to the game, but is not the point of my focus.
3) I'm not positive about this, but I think using the "Dolby Headpohne" option is really optimized only if you have a Dolby ceritified headphone.
4) Given what you're looking for, I don't think that you really have any better options than TBSC or the Audigy.

Goodluck!

 

[markjia]

I haven't used the Audigy, just the Live, and I felt a huge difference (using my DIY morgan jones amp, which by the way is not even really working properly and I could still tell the difference). From what I've heard, the audigy is not much better than the Live in terms of sound quality. Do you listen to CD on your computer? I would think that differences in music would be more noticable. But, if there isn't much difference on your system, then I guess it not worth it.
I also have a Art DI/O, and I found that it does not improve the sound as much as the 2496 did over the Live.

Mic,
I mentioned pluging the audigy into the 2496 in order for it to still work with games. I realize the degredation in sound quality, but I can't think of any other way to have both the Audigy's compatibility as well as the 2496's sound quality when listening to music or DVDs (with the exception of using an external switch, or an amp with multiple inputs).

 

[doobu]

I do listen to CD on computer but I listen more to mp3. But really I wanted to use my Sennheiser 600/MG Head combo for games and also be able to use on CD from a different source. Maybe here's a better question. Will my Sennheiser 600/MG Head combo sound better on my computer that has an Audigy than a cheaper headphone/amp combo? Or will the Audigy's deficiencies mask any of the gains from using a higher end setup? Also, is the amp going to help on my computer even though I'm using the Audigy?

 

[markjia]

I think you would see a big improvement. A good amp makes a huges difference with the sennheisers. An MG Head should also should better than a cheaper sound card. While the audigy is not an excellent source, it is also not excessively poor, and would benefit from a good amp.

As for being able to use different sources, the MG Head only takes one input. You could try to find some switch, or if your other source takes aux inputs, you could loop the audigy through there (but of course that would also mean lower sound quality).

 

[doobu]

You sure it only has one input because on headphone.com's site which is where I ordered the MG Head DT it says there are RCA inputs and a 1/8" mic jack input. Also the MG Head DT headphone.com sells, is that OTL too because on the product description it says "a front panel switch allows you to listen in either transformer coupled or output transformer-less (OTL) mode"

 

[markjia]

Sorry, i guess it does. I think it is the OTL version.

 

[r4z0r]

I don't think anyone has commented on the sound quality coming from the digital coxial out plug on the external box of the Audigy Platinum EX.

Although I haven't tried it myself, I know for a fact that the Audigy Platinum EX lets you select output sampling rates between 44.1/48/96khz. If we set the sampling rate to 44.1 and then hook up an Art DI/O to the Audigy, under similar circumstances, would the sound quality be comparable to that of an entry level pro. card, say, the Midiman Audiophile 2496?

Right now, I have this 2 year old el cheapo Live! value card bundled together with a daughter board that has coxial output. I was hoping to hook up an ART DI/O to the Live! via the daughter board's coxial out. I think the resulting sound quality will be similar to the results produced from the scenario mentioned above. Can anyone comment on my speculations?

 

[Audio-Me]

Anything Creative makes is ****.
I think the source should be the first thing to upgrade after you get the headphones that you want. However, with the HD600, for someone just starting out, the MG Head makes a more dramatic impact on the sound.

Going from a pos sb live or audigy to say m-audio audiophile 2496 should yield a noticable improvement if not overwhelming.