[gorgak]

I have an issue here.

I have an X-Fi Extreme Gamer in my desktop. When I listen to music I change the output to bit-matched audio playback. There was very little noise when used with Senn HD555.

I just moved to a new home and got some Grado SR80s. Now, when I listen to music through the SR80s from the sound card, it's very noisy, like the on board audio coming out of my crappy work laptop noisy.

What's going on here? Should I just use a USB sound card for music and the X-fi for gaming?

More to the point, why is the output so noisy all of a sudden?

 

[infinitesymphony]

Perhaps the Grados allow you to hear more of the noise. Does it occur all the time, only when something is playing, or in any other specific instance?