[weez82]

  Ok, thanks for the replies, should i upgrade from my onboard realtek alc892 or just look elsewhere to spend my money?
EDIT:  No, I don't hear hissing, etc, I'm just looking to improve the sound to get the best out of my headphones.  Thanks again.

Do you hear any hissing, crackling, pops, or hums using onboard? Or do you feel like your gaming experience is lacking?

 

[jackstack10]

  Do you hear any hissing, crackling, pops, or hums using onboard? Or do you feel like your gaming experience is lacking?

There is a bit of crackle when listening to songs such as Kid A and sometimes other places as well, the bass is a bit lacking of control like I hear just a little bit of distortion in the lower ranges though.  It's not a huge thing but I wish I had a better source to compare the headphones with.

 

[cel4145]

My experience has been: with low ohm headphones, power doesnt make a difference.

Yes. But the low impedance output of a headphone amp does. I'm not sure about his motherboard, but most internal sound cards don't have optimal low impedance output for 32 ohm headphones.

 

[jackstack10]

I'm torn right now.  

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

You might find this info useful.
 
http://stephan.win31.de/music.htm#onboard
 
As you might of guessed I'm in the 'enjoy your new headphones for a bit then work out what you need, if anything, later' camp.

 

[jackstack10]

You might find this info useful.

http://stephan.win31.de/music.htm#onboard

As you might of guessed I'm in the 'enjoy your new headphones for a bit then work out what you need, if anything, later' camp.

Still don't know if it will be a big upgrade for a amp/dac combo over realtek alc892.