Yes. The Gigabyte z87x-ud3h is a motherboard for the i7-4770k Intel haswell, its well known as the best budget motherboard for Haswell. Its basically the same as the ALC1150, which are improvements over the ALC892.
Headphones are 558s, though i just ordered the DT990 250ohm pro so I can A/B them and return the loser.
I'd be up for buying a soundcard or whatever, for under $50 if it makes a significant difference. I'm under the impression that the difference wouldnt be noticeable though.
Yes. The Gigabyte z87x-ud3h is a motherboard for the i7-4770k Intel haswell, its well known as the best budget motherboard for Haswell. Its basically the same as the ALC1150, which are improvements over the ALC892.
Headphones are 558s, though i just ordered the DT990 250ohm pro so I can A/B them and return the loser.
I'd be up for buying a soundcard or whatever, for under $50 if it makes a significant difference. I'm under the impression that the difference wouldnt be noticeable though.
It's widely known that onboard sound chips are rarely of great quality. You don't necessarily need a brutishly powerful amp for those cans but you would without doubt get a noticeable improvement in sound quality from an external DAC and amp over that onboard sound. The fact that you can't tell the difference between flac and poor quality compressed YouTube clips is evident that your present setup is not revealing enough. Headphones such as yours deserve a little better than onboard sound. A Fiio E17 would be a good start. You could probably get a used one at a good price at the moment.
I'm aware that sound chips are normally held in low regard, but onboard sound chips have, as I understand, dramatically improved the last few years. There's also an added headphone amp on my 'enthusiast' board.
Now I dont believe it's anything special, motherboard quality and costs are focused on the VRM and DRAM tracing, but it's not a dell or some foxxconn either.
Is an amp better than a sound card, or should I be getting like a $30 card too? What about those surround sound stuff, or is that with the amp?
All the fiio e17s I see are $100+. Thats way over budget. Are you telling me an E17 + $30 headphones like a Superlux 681 Evo or Monoprice 8323 + E17 will sound significantly better than the same $130 going to 558s or dt990s? Paying $100+ for a barely noticeable change doesnt sound that appealing.
I mean is it night and day, or only noticeable side by side? And is there not a sub$50 solution? Im sure its a great recommendation but you know recommendations are... people always recommend to spend more when its not their money...
How about some Math Rock/Jazz? Mouse On The Keys. These guys are from Japan.
They can really play. ESPECIALLY THE DRUMS
I was taken aback by the immediacy/impact of the drummer. How they managed to blend the drums with the piano like that, I can't fathom. Surely those with better gear than mine would find it even more amazing.
Allison Krauss - A Hundred Miles or More - Jacob's Dream
Allison Krauss - A Hundred Miles or More - Down To The River To Pray
Allison Krauss - A Hundred Miles or More - Whiskey Lullaby
Anne Akiko Meyers - The Four Seasons - Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "L'inverno" (Winter): III. Allegro
Anynomous 4 - Gloryland - Where We'll Never Grow Old
Méav - The Calling - Wayfaring Stranger
A couple of tracks I've really enjoyed this evening:
1) Awesome live recording of "Molly and Tenbrooks" (the song that arguably gave rise to bluegrass as a genre) - featuring Sam Bush, Sierra Hull, Bobby Hicks and Alison Brown. I would kill to get my hands on a lossless copy of this.
And on a very different page - 2) the Great Big World / Christina Aguilara collaboration - Say Something, also definitely worth a listen.
Michael Jacksons Thriller and Billie Jean. The first time I heard thriller (24/96) on my headphones I just sat there. Even after it finished. I just never realized half those instruments were in it. So yeah, those two.
Michael Jacksons Thriller and Billie Jean. The first time I heard thriller (24/96) on my headphones I just sat there. Even after it finished. I just never realized half those instruments were in it. So yeah, those two.
I agree, except because of exactly that, I don't like Thriller as much now. I didn't notice it before, but at about 1:30 in, this funky synth kicks in and it just sounds really dated. Don't get me wrong, I love Thriller, it just like scratches a nerve everytime I listen to it now.
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