lopezjm
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2014
- Posts
- 2
- Likes
- 0
Hi,
This calls for a bit of history and introduction.
My first foray into the world of headphones was way back in 2002. Being a PC gamer, I was looking for better sounding headphones for my PC and ended up purchasing the Sennheiser HD-477 (which I still have till now). After which I discovered how much a difference it makes in terms of sonic quality a good pair of cans can make.
Being the poor fellow I was then and for many succeeding years, the next headphone I bought came around 8 yrs. after. Even though I still was mainly using the cans for gaming, I decided get a pair of Grado SR60s. At this point nothing was still "amped" but I experienced my first "Wow" these sound great!".
Then the personal research into the world of Hi-Fi begun to see what else is out there. This led me to my first serious audiophile level purchase. I got myself a pair of Grado GS1000is. I picked the GS1000i because it was a very efficient headphone and didn't really need external amplification. For awhile, I was relying on the on-board electronics of a PC motherboard to power the phones.
All seemed well, I was happy with the quality, and then I discovered the Asus Xonar being sold at my local PC shop. I always knew that amplification improves audio to some degree so I was debating with myself if I should get it or not. Seeing that it was not really expensive and I had $1k USD cans, I said to myself "Why the hell not?" Ended up buying the sound card, installing it on my PC, and then plugging the Grados in.... Then I experienced my second "Wow". "I think I've been missing out". For so long, hi-end audio gear was always out of my reach and today I'm getting a small taste of what was and what is possible.
Given the ease of access to decent sound tracks via iTunes and the recent growth of Spotify, I treated myself to a pair of Audeze LCD-3 cans a few days ago. My research into which headphones to get improved bass response which I thought my GS1000is lacked led me to the Audeze brand, here today. My third "Wow" happened. "Damn now this is bass!". Hahaha
On to my questions:
I just recently ordered a Burson Conductor amp since I suspect the Xonar's amp isn't quite up to the task of powering the LCD-3. Was looking at tube amps but I don't really want to get tempted to roll tubes nor I wanted to maintain tubes (bad for the wallet
) Haha.
Wondering if I made the right choice with the Burson? I'm 90% from all the reviews I did. Wanted to solicit some comments and/or insights in my decision.
My personal goal is to build a Hi-Fi stereo system for video and audio. Not into home theater setups. Too much equipment needed... I liked the fact that the Conductor can act as a pre-amp giving me the ability to just plug in another amp to power tower speakers. The end setup should give me a neat and tidy rack of audio equipment.
This calls for a bit of history and introduction.
My first foray into the world of headphones was way back in 2002. Being a PC gamer, I was looking for better sounding headphones for my PC and ended up purchasing the Sennheiser HD-477 (which I still have till now). After which I discovered how much a difference it makes in terms of sonic quality a good pair of cans can make.
Being the poor fellow I was then and for many succeeding years, the next headphone I bought came around 8 yrs. after. Even though I still was mainly using the cans for gaming, I decided get a pair of Grado SR60s. At this point nothing was still "amped" but I experienced my first "Wow" these sound great!".
Then the personal research into the world of Hi-Fi begun to see what else is out there. This led me to my first serious audiophile level purchase. I got myself a pair of Grado GS1000is. I picked the GS1000i because it was a very efficient headphone and didn't really need external amplification. For awhile, I was relying on the on-board electronics of a PC motherboard to power the phones.
All seemed well, I was happy with the quality, and then I discovered the Asus Xonar being sold at my local PC shop. I always knew that amplification improves audio to some degree so I was debating with myself if I should get it or not. Seeing that it was not really expensive and I had $1k USD cans, I said to myself "Why the hell not?" Ended up buying the sound card, installing it on my PC, and then plugging the Grados in.... Then I experienced my second "Wow". "I think I've been missing out". For so long, hi-end audio gear was always out of my reach and today I'm getting a small taste of what was and what is possible.
Given the ease of access to decent sound tracks via iTunes and the recent growth of Spotify, I treated myself to a pair of Audeze LCD-3 cans a few days ago. My research into which headphones to get improved bass response which I thought my GS1000is lacked led me to the Audeze brand, here today. My third "Wow" happened. "Damn now this is bass!". Hahaha
On to my questions:
- I have this inkling that Xonar Essence STX doesn't have enough power to drive these phones. Tried to look up the power output but couldn't seem to find it documented anywhere. Forgive my ignorance of audiophile terminology, but I just felt something is lacking when listening to music through the Xonars. The bass is there but I can't seem to put my head around whats missing. Is it the lack of warmth? Lack of cohesion of all the sounds? I think I hear very annoying treble thats causing a bit of fatigue... Was hoping to get input from people with similar pairing i.e. Audeze + Asus Xonar. Is the headphone amp to weak to power the Audeze line of headphones?
I just recently ordered a Burson Conductor amp since I suspect the Xonar's amp isn't quite up to the task of powering the LCD-3. Was looking at tube amps but I don't really want to get tempted to roll tubes nor I wanted to maintain tubes (bad for the wallet
Wondering if I made the right choice with the Burson? I'm 90% from all the reviews I did. Wanted to solicit some comments and/or insights in my decision.
My personal goal is to build a Hi-Fi stereo system for video and audio. Not into home theater setups. Too much equipment needed... I liked the fact that the Conductor can act as a pre-amp giving me the ability to just plug in another amp to power tower speakers. The end setup should give me a neat and tidy rack of audio equipment.
