New to audio, need a bit of help
May 11, 2014 at 6:55 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

Pyregeth

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So I currently bought the Sennheiser HD 380 pros, and noticed they didn't sound all that great on my pc (Asus Xonar DSX Sound Card) but sound amazing on my phone (Galaxy S5)
 
Would a headphone amp fix this issue? Was thinking about buying this https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/digital-to-analog-converters/objective2-odac-combo-with-rear-power/
 
Any help is appreciated.  I'd like to eventually take out my sound card for better airflow to my GFX cards as it's right in between both of them and constricting airflow to one of the cards.
 
(Sorry I'm really new to this ;-; )
 
May 12, 2014 at 1:18 AM Post #3 of 11
it might sound better....take a chance...if u have the cash...give it a shot...u know u WANT TO ? ! :p
 
May 12, 2014 at 1:28 AM Post #5 of 11
It could be that the DSX has a high output impedance that is causing bloating and a lack of detail and cohesion. An amp could certainly remedy this situation. Also, if you remove your sound card, you won't be able to use its virtual 7.1 processing for gaming.
I'm about to go play some CSGO myself.
 
May 12, 2014 at 1:31 AM Post #6 of 11
to my understanding my card is designed more for a media PC (home thetre setup) and doesn't even have a headphone amp. not like the DGX Card.

and I personally don't care (for now at least) about surround sound as the only surround sound headset I like is the Logitech g35s or else the razer tiamat analog 7.1 headset :p
 
May 12, 2014 at 1:43 AM Post #7 of 11
  So I currently bought the Sennheiser HD 380 pros, and noticed they didn't sound all that great on my pc (Asus Xonar DSX Sound Card) but sound amazing on my phone (Galaxy S5)
 
Would a headphone amp fix this issue? Was thinking about buying this https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/digital-to-analog-converters/objective2-odac-combo-with-rear-power/
 
Any help is appreciated.  I'd like to eventually take out my sound card for better airflow to my GFX cards as it's right in between both of them and constricting airflow to one of the cards.
 
(Sorry I'm really new to this ;-; )

 
Hopefully you disable the motherboard's on-board audio? in the BIOS, when you added the DSX.
 
The Xonar DSX's headphone/front speaker output jack is more like a line-output (for speakers), that pretends to also function as a headphone output.
I'm guessing the Xonar DSX gives the HD380 Pros a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass.
And chances are your Galaxy 5 headphone output is really designed more for headphone use.
 
I'm assuming your a gamer (dual graphics cards), so you would want to be able to take advantage of any audio features.
Schiit Modi optical DAC ($99) and Schiit Magni headphone amplifier ($99).
The optical Modi can connect to your current sound card (DSX) and if you remove the DSX, you can connect the Modi to the motherboard's optical connection (using the motherboard's built in sound card).
Using optical will allow you to be able to still use sound card features, where as USB bypasses sound card features.
 
May 12, 2014 at 12:30 PM Post #9 of 11
soooooo...optical > usb? :D


No. Not better in sound quality than USB. But USB DACs completely bypass the sound card in a computer. Opticals plug into the sound card, and so can make use of their digital processing, such as your EQ or if you had virtual surround. But if you don't need that, USB or optical connection will be pretty much the same.
 
May 12, 2014 at 12:39 PM Post #10 of 11
I just use the in-game headphones options since it does fine for me.  If I need surround sound I'd go back to using g35s or something else.  :p  Had a mic issue with my last few headsets so ended up getting a blue yeti mic.
 
May 12, 2014 at 1:16 PM Post #11 of 11
Then you could definitely go for optical or USB for a DAC and get rid of your sound card. If you want to EQ the sound for music, some music players are better than others.

I like the ODAC/O2 you are considering (I have the ODAC). But arguably, the Schiit Modi/Magni is comparable in quality for less money.

But there are also better headphones for surround sound than the ones you described that are just regular audio headphones. But to get the virtual surround effect those gaming headphones have, you'd need a sound card that has that feature.
 

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