[winty]

Hi all,

I recently upgraded from a Soundblaster Live to an RME 9632 (yeah I know big leap). I'm using my headphones (HD600) straight out from the soundcard and to me it sounds pretty sweet. I'm wondering how good the built in headphone amp is in the 9632.

Does anyone have a 9632 AND a headphone amp, and find that the headphone amp makes much difference?

Cheers,

Winty.

 

[ayt999]

oh, cool.

another with the RME hammerfall DSP 9632.

I haven't compared the headphone out versus the headphone amp due to a lack of free time with all that I have going on recently (and forgot what happened when I did a small comparison a while back), but I would think that there is enough of a difference to warrant an amp especially with cans such as the senns you have.

also, I am using the optional XLR breakout cable if you are interested (has a neutrik locking headphone output on it too, along with balanced XLR variants of the input and output).

 

[winty]

I see from your profile that your headphone amp is quite an upmarket one, so the comparison is probably a no-brainer for your setup. I suppose I'm wondering how a $200 (plus the usual financial elasticity

) amp is going to compare with the built-in amp. As I say, it does sound pretty good to me (which may well mean I don't upgrade at all).

 

[cosmopragma]

I've borrowed a 9632 a few days ago in order to compare it to my 96/8 Pad.BTW, no big difference to my ears.I've just plugged my HD 600s into the soundcard jack and afterwards into my Corda Prehead.
You are right, the built in amplifier isn't that bad, better than most CDP jacks, but.........
A decent headamp really plays in another league.It's a huge difference.To me.I asked my girlfriend to perform this contest,too, and she didn't perceive a difference that would justify a 1000 bucks purchase.
I love her, nevertheless.

 

[winty]

Thanks for that information. It's sound a bit like perhaps a cheap headphone amp isn't going to offer much over the internal amp. Of course I could always start saving large amounts of money for a really nice headphone amp

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma I've borrowed a 9632 a few days ago in order to compare it to my 96/8 Pad.BTW, no big difference to my ears.

Could you please elaborate on this? What, if any, were the differences? I am asking for a friend who is looikng for the best soundcard possible, and decided to toss the HSAP into the mix.

 

[Edwood]

I guess we'll find out June 19th.

-Ed

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Could you please elaborate on this? What, if any, were the differences?

Well, HDSP 9632 has another DAC built- in, 192 kHz 24 bit(maximum).Since I have no files originally recorded at 192 kHz or even 96 kHz the only thing I could do for comparison is upsampling Redbook.My (unmodded) 96/8 Pad tends to be harsh in the treble, the newer DAC is a bit less harsh, but not as smooth as I would wish.