[Ramius]

I had a few questions about replacing the sound system for my PC. I've been lurking for a while, mainly reading Mad Lust Envy's gaming headphone guide and other similar threads, but wanted to made sure I got the right idea before I went ahead and ordered anything!
 
Currently I'm using the onboard sound from my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H), which uses a Realtek ALC1150. This goes straight to some speakers and cheap cans I got when my last headset broke. In terms of usage, I'm mostly playing FPS, with a bit of music through the headphones late at night so as not to disturb neighbours.
 
My thoughts at the moment were to go for the following:
* Creative Sound Blaster Z soundcard
* AKG 612 Pro
 
Will I need an external amp for this too, or will the sound-card be sufficient? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, apologies for being a newbie - I've only used plug and play stuff before. Thanks

 

[Snipie]

I had a few questions about replacing the sound system for my PC. I've been lurking for a while, mainly reading Mad Lust Envy's gaming headphone guide and other similar threads, but wanted to made sure I got the right idea before I went ahead and ordered anything!

Currently I'm using the onboard sound from my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H), which uses a Realtek ALC1150. This goes straight to some speakers and cheap cans I got when my last headset broke. In terms of usage, I'm mostly playing FPS, with a bit of music through the headphones late at night so as not to disturb neighbours.

My thoughts at the moment were to go for the following:
* Creative Sound Blaster Z soundcard
* AKG 612 Pro

Will I need an external amp for this too, or will the sound-card be sufficient? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, apologies for being a newbie - I've only used plug and play stuff before. Thanks

Hi,

To start the Soundblaster will drive any can up to 600ohms so the K612 Pro are 120ohms i think, you got that covered for sure.

Never tried the K612 Pro's but they are fine for gaming as i read trought reviews i think.

The card will cover your gaming needs, and the "power hungry" (kidding) K612 Pro, but all depends on the target use and budget at the end.

 

[DrSheep]

The Z are a waste of PCIe slot if you don't need 5.1 (most 5.1 "gaming" headphones are a scam anyway.)  I suggest you go for the CEntrance DACPort Slim or AudioQuest Dragonfly v1.2 for it's very clean audio for both music and games (directional finding.)  Also, I wouldn't go for the 612 but the try and true ATH-50x instead, which is much easier to drive and budget better.

 

[Snipie]

The Z are a waste of PCIe slot if you don't need 5.1 (most 5.1 "gaming" headphones are a scam anyway.)  I suggest you go for the CEntrance DACPort Slim or AudioQuest Dragonfly v1.2 for it's very clean audio for both music and games (directional finding.)  Also, I wouldn't go for the 612 but the try and true ATH-50x instead, which is much easier to drive and budget better.

And where do you fit virtual surround for games on a DAC? You don't, and the Blaster Z have an headphone output too with amp... For gaming you can't go wrong with that setup... My Essence STX II can beat the hell of some external setups out there with no noise, the only thing you can say about soundcards is portability and high quality samples and even so it can give 192/24 and the Blaster can do 96/24 on the Soundcore processor and on internal DAC with stereo output only 192/24...
I believe soundcard have change a lot in some years, to better IMHO..
And ATH-M50x are closed headphones for gaming you may need the quietness of that, but go for open headphones if you need better positional queues. The ATH-AD700x make a better choice for this.

If you need closed gor for the M40x over the M50x is the same drivers in reviews and you save money...

 

[DrSheep]

Just run Razer Surround.  It's free and better.  You want to buy a good DAC for DAC's sake, so getting a gaming soundcard is moot since everything is in the software.

 

[mindbomb]

the soundblaster z does have the voltage for 600 ohm beyers, it probably will work well with the k612. The high output impedance of the sound card won't hurt you since the headphone impedance is high (and this applies to the hd 600 and dt 880 pro too). 

 

[Ramius]

Cheers for replies. I would prefer open headphones - I live by myself so am not too worried about other noise around me. To that end I did look at the ATH-AD700x over the AKG 612 Pro, but I think it's a bit much for me at this point, was hoping to get a card + cans for about £160 total.
 
In terms of soundcards, I've also been looking at the Xonar DGX. Is it any better compared to the SoundBlaster, and will the amp on it be sufficient for the AKGs? Will have a look at Razer surround too. Is the 'Pro' version worth it?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Cheers for replies. I would prefer open headphones - I live by myself so am not too worried about other noise around me. To that end I did look at the ATH-AD700x over the AKG 612 Pro, but I think it's a bit much for me at this point, was hoping to get a card + cans for about £160 total.
 
In terms of sound cards, I've also been looking at the Xonar DGX. Is it any better compared to the Sound Blaster, and will the amp on it be sufficient for the AKGs? Will have a look at Razer surround too. Is the 'Pro' version worth it?

 
I'm guessing the Xonar DGX is not a good choice for driving the AKG K612 Pro.
The K612 Pros are rated at 120-Ohms, but can be a little more power demanding then 250-Ohm Beyer headphones.
 
Where as the SB-Z has a more powerful headphone amplifier, then the DGX.

 

[DangerClose]

 
In terms of soundcards, I've also been looking at the Xonar DGX. Is it any better compared to the SoundBlaster, and will the amp on it be sufficient for the AKGs? Will have a look at Razer surround too. Is the 'Pro' version worth it?

 
Plenty of people will disagree on the Z being enough for 600 ohms.  Some people complain about them when using 250 ohm.  I haven't seen official power ratings for them, but if memory serves their amplifier chip is rated the same in power as the one on the Xonar DG/DGX, around 125mW@32.  
 
I have a DG, and they make things like AKG 701 and DT990 250 plenty loud, but they sound unrefined, like a 128 mp3 vs. a 320 mp3.  It still probably sounds better than what most people listen to, but the fact is that's not enough power for headphones like those two to fulfill their potential.  From comments, the 612 may require even more power despite being a lower ohm.
 
That ALC1150 on your mobo is considered to be quite good for an onboard DAC, and often around equal to the DAC on the DG.
 
It looks like your mobo already has a "600 ohm" amp on it on the headphone output.  If so, the Z and DG/x probably aren't an upgrade much if at all. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
Plenty of people will disagree on the Z being enough for 600 ohms.  Some people complain about them when using 250 ohm.  I haven't seen official power ratings for them, but if memory serves their amplifier chip is rated the same in power as the one on the Xonar DG/DGX, around 125mW@32.  
 
I have a DG, and they make things like AKG 701 and DT990 250 plenty loud, but they sound unrefined, like a 128 mp3 vs. a 320 mp3.  It still probably sounds better than what most people listen to, but the fact is that's not enough power for headphones like those two to fulfill their potential.  From comments, the 612 may require even more power despite being a lower ohm.
 
That ALC1150 on your mobo is considered to be quite good for an on-board DAC, and often around equal to the DAC on the DG.
 
It looks like your mobo already has a "600 ohm" amp on it on the headphone output.  If so, the Z and DG/x probably aren't an upgrade much if at all. 

 
As someone who owns the Xonar DG & DGX and SB-Z.
The SB-Z's headphone amplifier will drive 600-Ohm headphones, but if your buying 600-Ohm headphones, it would be better to get something more powerful then the SB-Z to drive them.
250-Ohm headphones was fairly easy for the SB-Z to drive them.
Where as the Xonar DG/DGX is something that barely drives 250-Ohm headphones.
 
I do think the OP should just get his headphones first and see how well the on-board drives them, then decide if he needs to buy an add-on sound card or external DAC/amp.