[tangsta]

Im 13 and im brand new to the whole audiophile thing. i dont know why but i went from a steel sound 5h to a Sennheiser HD650. i have an xtreme music soundcard from creative and i need to figure out how to optimize everything for listening. i would like some recommendations on how my setup should be and what products i should use.

thanks for helping out a noob =]

 

[soloz2]

well, those hd650's are decently hard to drive and will probably sound crappy straight out your x-fi jack. You should look for an amp. do you have a budget to work with?

 

[Konig]

These phones are not very worth buying for listening to mp3s. Get some flac files then we start talking. Because u sound like what i was 3 months ago.

 

[luckybaer]

Great set of cans!

I don't think they will be done justice by the X-Fi soundcard - even my headphones didn't sound that great out of the X-Fi, and they aren't anywhere near as good as yours!

However, there are somethings that you can do to make it sound better:

1. Turn off all the CMSS and other 3D sound type things. They might be great for gaming, but they are not good for music.
2. Play with the set up and see whether 2.1 speakers or headphone sounds best for you.
3. Try a variety of players and see which one sounds best for you - WinAmp, Foobar, WMP, etc. For example, people trash WMP, but it actually plays HDCD CDs and uses the extra bits. My HDCDs sound good through WMP.

Now, if you want to start spending some money, here is something you could do:

1. Buy an external DAC and a headphone amp (or a headphone amp with integrated DAC - I think the Corda Aria has an integrated amp?). The DAC will enable you to bypass your soundcard and will feed your amp with a pretty clean signal. The amp will provide the necessary power to push your headphones to their potential. If you can spend around $500-$600 you should be able to find a good solution. If you can spend more, I guess you could do that, too. I don't plan on spending much more than $600 for my DAC/Amp/Interconnects combo.

I wouldn't recommmend buying just an amp and feeding it with the signal from your X-Fi. I think all you'd be doing then is amping the same signal - for better or worse, and I've been led to believe "worse."

 

[Audiophiliac]

You have a nice new set of headphones, and I hope you're pleased with how they sound so far. They will last for years, therefore I don't think that it is urgent that you immediately $pend more. Unless you have a bunch of cash laying around, take your time and get to know them.
Having said that, they will improve a lot, should you eventually decide to invest in better gear to run them.
Regarding x-fi settings, try this:
Audio creation mode, set the master sampling rate to 44.1, bit matched, 2 speakers. Muting the inputs is probably a good idea, too.
I find this, combined with foobar using kernel streaming output, gives me the most 'honest' sound of what the x-fi can do. There are others who prefer other modes/settings, and you should try them all, to see what you like best. That's what counts.
Regarding upgrades, I think you'll have to provide a budget with your question, or you'll see pandemonium ensue. Just be sure to remember to upgrade the cable for your Sennheiser's, too. I did that with mine before external dac/amp, and the difference I got from my x-fi was huge. The cable that they send stock is ridiculous considering how they sound with a better one.
Welcome to Head-Fi, and happy listening!

 

[tangsta]

ok. i tested a bunch of settings thanks for the help. now i just need to set a budget =]

 

[tangsta]

Thanks guys. im looking to spend around $700. which cable upgrade for the sennheiser hd650 would you recommend? which dac and amp also. thanks

 

[geforcewong]

I wish I had $700 to freely spend when I was 13.

 

[tangsta]

i had to work for it =P i want to make my own audiophile heaven

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangsta Thanks guys. im looking to spend around $700. which cable upgrade for the sennheiser hd650 would you recommend? which dac and amp also. thanks

Amp? Given your rather high budget, you may want to check out a WooAudio 3. Like the one linked to in my sig for example. Dac? A Zhalou 2.0. Cable? Grace Five Two.

 

[tangsta]

where can i get everything for the lowest prices? any other recommendations for like value buys?

thanks

 

[soloz2]

take a look at headroom's micro DAC and micro AMP. they'll cost about $600 and complement each other nicely. Then just get a digital cable to go from the digital out on your x-fi. mono mini to coax or get the digital i/o breakout box from creative and use a regular digital coax/optical cable to the DAC

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangsta where can i get everything for the lowest prices? any other recommendations for like value buys? thanks

Well the cheapest price to get a WooAudio 3 is from me, AND it comes with an upgraded power tube, spare drive tubes, and dampers for the drive tubes.

For a value DAC, look at the Zhalou 2.0. You may or may not need an upgraded cable, I am a little skeptical about them, I say try first with stock, if you dont like get, get a Grace Five two, and see if you can tell any difference. If you can't, sell it.

 

[saturnine]

With a $700 budget, I'd recommend purchasing a headphone cable upgrade later on.

For an amp, the absolute best I've heard with the HD-650 in your pricerange is a PPA with diamond buffers, STEPS and AD8610 opamps. I recently sold mine after upgrading for $350, and a new one purchased from a builder is around $450-700+ depending on options. I've also heard that the Headamp GS-1 is great, and it's fully discrete class A.

As for a DAC, the cheap Zhalou is getting rave reviews here. I've never heard the Zhalou, but I thought the analog out from a EMU 0404 soundcard was extremely nice

An upgraded interconnect will also be a good decision

 

[Audiophiliac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saturnine With a $700 budget, I'd recommend purchasing a headphone cable upgrade later on.

No offense intended, saturnine, but I have to disagree with that. I find that, considering what the cable does for my sound, it is an excellent buy. Mine is the Cardas, fwiw. With $700, there is room for any of the cables and still a noticable improvement with amp and dac.
tangsta, I recently got the zhaolu dac with discreet amp, and I can definately recommend that. I would love to find out if any dac/amp, combined unit or not, for under $600 (double what mine cost) can better it.
I dunno where you live, but you might want to check out the meetings/get togethers thread to see if there will be a meet at some point in your area. That would give you the opportunity to try a bunch of stuff out for yourself. Even if you would have to wait for months until the next one, I would say wait, if you want to get the best stuff you can for $700 and then keep it for a long time. Otherwise, if you don't mind the buying/trying/selling cycle, I guess there's not as much point waiting until a meet happens, only that you won't have much 'compared to what?' to go on at this point in your estimation of any particular unit's value.
The best advice I can give you now is research. Look up reviews, specs and opinions on everything anyone suggests to you before you buy anything. For $700 you can get a great sounding system going, but you could also end up thinking you may as well have just stuck to your x-fi!