[sipter]

Hello there, I am total complete newbie at these stuff so please bear with me on this one.

I've been on a journey for a while now to find the "Headphone/Headset" that will last for a long time and suit me very well (3-4 years). I've read reviews of many headphones and headsets and came very far in my opinion. I went from thinking about getting the Logitech G36s -> Razer Tiamat 7.1 -> Sennheiser PC360 G4ME -> AKG Q701, and I don't even know if it is going to end yet (A few months). 

After doing 3-5 hours of straight research and reading I found out that the AKG Q701 needs amplification for it to work to its "True Potential". After a while I ran into something called DAC, using the glossary the forums provided I got a better understanding of it however still basic understanding. So here comes my questions.

What AMP do you recommend for the Q701's in the price range of about a $100-150? * I know there are many threads that answer this but I'm still not sure. No need for portability.

Types of music I listen to: I don't know how to explain on this one but these 3 songs pretty much covers up my whole playlist.

Gravity - John Mayer
You and your heart - Jack Johnson (I think I have a whole album of his songs in my playlist)
Marching on - One Republic

What I can conclude from this is soft music, ugh... maybe: Acoustic, Folk-rock, Rock, Jazz, Pop?
 
All of the music I am listening to, will be listened with FPS games as many reviews gave this headphone a thumbs up on FPS games.

For gods sake, I still dont even know how to connect and AMP to a PC. If someone could also help me with that, it would be REALLY AWESOME.
 
Now on to the DAC:

I don't think about buying any DAC because of the integrated sound chip I have on my motherboard (G1 series board). Its a creative sound blaster X-FI something.

Should I buy a DAC, or is the thing I have already okay?

I guess that concludes all my question, ANY HELP is REALLY MUCH appreciated. The journey has been painful and I really want it to end. (But if the AKG Q701's don't suit me, please feel free to continue the journey.)

 

[NamelessPFG]

Holy crap, you have one of those Gigabyte G1-series boards with the actual X-Fi EMU20k2 DSP on it? That's a very rare case of competent integrated audio...though I'm still skeptical about Gigabyte's implementation of the analog output quality. If you hear any hissing or buzzing when plugging headphones straight into the rear audio jacks, then you might want to consider a DAC with S/PDIF input.
 
Still, I'd appreciate a link to the exact motherboard model in question. There are quite a few G1-series models in Gigabyte's lineup.
 
For amps to pair with the Q701, the Objective2 and FiiO E9 are pretty well-regarded around here. I can't directly vouch for or against hardware I've never personally used, though.

 

[sipter]

Quote:

Holy crap, you have one of those Gigabyte G1-series boards with the actual X-Fi EMU20k2 DSP on it? That's a very rare case of competent integrated audio...though I'm still skeptical about Gigabyte's implementation of the analog output quality. If you hear any hissing or buzzing when plugging headphones straight into the rear audio jacks, then you might want to consider a DAC with S/PDIF input.
 
Still, I'd appreciate a link to the exact motherboard model in question. There are quite a few G1-series models in Gigabyte's lineup.
 
For amps to pair with the Q701, the Objective2 and FiiO E9 are pretty well-regarded around here. I can't directly vouch for or against hardware I've never personally used, though.

Heres the specification - http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Gigabyte-G1Sniper2-Review/

-1 x Creative CA20K2 chip
-Support for Dolby® Digital Live and DTS™ Connect
-Support for X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity® and EAX® Advanced HD™ 5.0 technologies
-High Definition Audio
-2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
-Support for S/PDIF Out

Thank you very much for your input! 
 
Edit: I think I'll go with the Objective 2 and use my computer's DAC. Do you agree with that decision? Thank you, in advance.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Heres the specification - http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Gigabyte-G1Sniper2-Review/
-1 x Creative CA20K2 chip
-Support for Dolby® Digital Live and DTS™ Connect
-Support for X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity® and EAX® Advanced HD™ 5.0 technologies
-High Definition Audio
-2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
-Support for S/PDIF Out
Thank you very much for your input! 
Edit: I think I'll go with the Objective 2 and use my computer's DAC. Do you agree with that decision? Thank you, in advance.

Plugging the O2 (Objective 2) headphone amplifier into the headphone output jack of the G1Sniper sounds like a good idea.
Usually motherboards come with low cost DACs,
Adding a USB DAC would bypass the built in sound card.
So if you do decide to add an external DAC, you should get one with a Toslink Optical input.
On eBay they sell the SMSL SD-793 ($65) DAC, uses the PCM1793 DAC chip.
The SMSL SD-1955 DAC sells for $100.

 

[obobskivich]

Holy crap, you have one of those Gigabyte G1-series boards with the actual X-Fi EMU20k2 DSP on it? That's a very rare case of competent integrated audio...though I'm still skeptical about Gigabyte's implementation of the analog output quality. If you hear any hissing or buzzing when plugging headphones straight into the rear audio jacks, then you might want to consider a DAC with S/PDIF input.

Still, I'd appreciate a link to the exact motherboard model in question. There are quite a few G1-series models in Gigabyte's lineup.

For amps to pair with the Q701, the Objective2 and FiiO E9 are pretty well-regarded around here. I can't directly vouch for or against hardware I've never personally used, though.

+1 to all of this. I also agree with using what's built into the PC unless you, as Nameless said, hear buzzing/hissing/noise. I'd take this whole line of thinking a step further (and here's where you might get to save some money) - try out something on the jack as-is (speakers, cheap headphones, whatever; I'm sure you can find something) and see if you hear any bad noise. If it's "clean" then go ahead with something like the E9 and the 701. If it's not clean, grab a soundcard with a built-in headphone amplifier like the Recon3D (and I know that someone will mindlessly say "Recon3D is bad" and when I ask for a defense I'm met with silence, so whatever) or TitaniumHD or one of the half-dozen other options from Asus, HT Omega, etc (basically estimate $100-$150 here)) and the 701s, and skip any other hardware.

 

[FoxSpirit]

Another vote for the O2.
 
Although it will be a bit before I get one, moving and money is tight. But as engineer and speaker nut, nwavguy has my full trust. The O2 is an exeption at it's price point.

 

[sipter]

Thank you very much, for all of the input!

I'll try the 701's alone first without any external amp, if the chip gives enough power then I'll live with it. But if not, I'll go with the O2 and connect it to the computer.