[Spork]

I've decided to finally upgrade my home headphone setup to something better. I currently use Sennheiser HD555s with a Creative X-Fi Platinum. I've more or less settled on the Beyerdynamic DT880s.

After searching on these forums I've discovered that the X-Fi Platinum is a pretty rubbish card for listening to music. My question is, if I were to get a better card like the Asus Xonar ST would I also need a head phone amp to properly drive the 880s? Would X-Fi > Little Dot MkIII > DT 880 be better than Xonar ST > DT 880? If I have to buy a new source and get an amp to warrant purchasing new head phones I'm going to have to wait a little while longer. I can afford the headphones plus another 200+ for an amp or sound card right now, but not all three.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Spork]

Can anyone give some insight into how a hot rodded X-Fi compares to a good external DAC?

 

[revolink24]

Some say they're comparable. I say that's rubbish. A good external DAC beats the pants off a hot rodded X-Fi, from my experience. I would get a DAC with an integrated amp, like the E-MU 0404 (Great DAC, okay amp) Zero DAC (decent DAC, decent amp) or stretch your budget (rather a lot, actually) and get the Audio-GD Compass. I'm of a source-first mentality, so I would say get the 0404 over the Zero DAC (better customer service and build quality too.)

 

[Spork]

Thanks for the input! A DAC/amp looks like the perfect solution. I think I'm going to go with the E-MU 0404 and get a good tube amp a few months down the road. The only thing I need to know is if the 0404 has enough power to properly drive the 600 ohm version of the 880s. It sounds like the 600 ohm version is the way to go if you have a good amp, which I will get in the future. I could settle with the 250 ohm for now if the 600 ohm version is going to sound bad with the 0404.

 

[Wsh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by revolink24 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some say they're comparable. I say that's rubbish. A good external DAC beats the pants off a hot rodded X-Fi, from my experience. I would get a DAC with an integrated amp, like the E-MU 0404 (Great DAC, okay amp) Zero DAC (decent DAC, decent amp) or stretch your budget (rather a lot, actually) and get the Audio-GD Compass. I'm of a source-first mentality, so I would say get the 0404 over the Zero DAC (better customer service and build quality too.)

+1 DAC/AMP all the way

 

[definitionz]

I just bought the E-MU 0404 and it is awesome! stick with that choice

 

[MomijiTMO]

Make sure to post your impressions

 

[ford2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spork /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the input! A DAC/amp looks like the perfect solution. I think I'm going to go with the E-MU 0404 and get a good tube amp a few months down the road. The only thing I need to know is if the 0404 has enough power to properly drive the 600 ohm version of the 880s. It sounds like the 600 ohm version is the way to go if you have a good amp, which I will get in the future. I could settle with the 250 ohm for now if the 600 ohm version is going to sound bad with the 0404.

Dac/Amp is the only way to go,it future proofs you with drivers to worry about.
I just had to retire my RME Digi to another room as I switched to Win 7 64 bit.