[Holmgr3N-]

Hello!
I'm using my new Beyerdynamic DT880 with my computer. The soundcard is an Audigy2.
I mostly listen to music, play games once in a while. But music is my priority.
So I was wondering, will I notice a difference between A2 and a better music card? Witch card will be best? I listen to MP3's 320kbps

My rig is Audigy2 --- (Soon Rega Ear) --> DT880.

 

[Mr.Radar]

If you're not sure if you want to upgrade your soundcard try the Chaintech AV-710. As for which card is best it depends on your pricerange. For $24 you can get the AV-710 which is a great beginner card, and for a few dollars more you can replace the output caps for a "nice improvement in sound quality" according to Iron_Dreamer. For $100 you can get the EMU 0404 which will be better than the AV-710 in every way, for $200 ($165 if you ask for it at Guitar Center) you can get the EMU 1212m which is smoother, more detailed, and generally more refined than the 0404 (and it supports 192KHz while the 0404 only goes up to 96KHz). For ~$350 you can get the 1212m and mod it which makes it very fast and adds a lot of slam to the bass department. For $500 you could get the EMU 1820m, however I don't know what kind of improvements you see over the 1212m. For $600 you can get the RME HDSP 9632 which is considered to be the best soundcard right now. If you want to spend more than that you could mod an RME HDSP but you should seriously consider looking into external DACs like the Benchmark DAC1.

 

[skitlets]

you can run 2 soundcards, as many do around here. leave the a2 for games (eax), and grab a cheapy av-710 for music. its noticeably better than an audigy, but requires an amp as it only has a lineout when using the higher quality wolfson dac well, you're gonna need an amp anyways since you're using such power hungry cans. If you wanna spend more, there are the emu choices, such as the 0404 and 1212, but there have been reports of driver conflicts using creative cards and emu cards simultaneously. the av-710, otoh, runs fine with the a2.

 

[Holmgr3N-]

I only listen to music. I don't make.
Is it the A2 that is holding me back? Or is it because I don't have an amp yet?
I think the DT880 and A2 sounds good. But I know there is more too get!
So, EMU 0404 is really good for listen to music? -It's hard to find EMU cards in Norway.

 

[Mr.Radar]

The EMU 0404 is probably the second best value in sound (the AV-710 is better bang/buck but the 0404 has better bang any way you look at it). It's sound is less smooth and less refined than the 1212m but it's more aggressive on the dynamics. At the bottom of this page there is a list of online stores that ship EMU products internationally. The A2 is probably holding you back right now, but you should get an amp for the DT880's first because neither the A2 or the EMU 0404 will probably be able to drive them properly. If your Audigy 2 is a ZS edition then you should resample up to 96KHz and use 24-bit padded to 32-bit to bypass resampling and Windows kmixer.

 

[Holmgr3N-]

ok, no I don't have ZS edition. Just regular A2. Maybe I'd just wait for the amp.