[mega]

Im a bit disappointed. I know its not the headphones fault, so you don't have to remind me. I have a pair of A900's and im running it from my Pimeta amp with a santa cruz sound card. They sound very good with or without the amp..i can't really tell the difference. Even if i plug them into my soundcard straight up, they sound exactly the same as when i plug them into the amp to my ears. Regardless, they still sound very good. Now i just got these 600's from a great offer used from gbeard, and i eagerly plugged them into my soundcard first, so i can hear the difference as to when i plug them into my pimeta. Well, the sound wasn't so good when plugged into the soundcard...everything seems underpowered. So i plugged them into my pimeta, and i get the same sound. Great. I hear no difference whatsoever, and to get at least an above average volume, i have to crank the volume knob on the amp wayyyy up. I don't understand, i thought the amp would be able to power it sufficiently. My amp is the standard pimeta from headsave, it is not maxed out and has the 8620, 8610 op amps. I just want to get one thing straight. Are my fustrations all because of my soundcard? Is the santa cruz really that bad? If i got a soundcard like, oh lets say the TerraTec EWX 2496, will this make a drastic improvement? Or is my pimeta at fault here too? Sorry if the questions are kinda newbish, i just want to know for sure what my main problem is from you audiophiles. Is the Pimeta good enough with a better source? What source would you guys recommend? Thanks.

 

[sleepkyng]

i'm going from powerbook -> sonica (blackgate mod) -> pimeta ->oehlbach-> hd600's

and it is bangin!

i said AMEN! it sounds so good!

and then when i go to my cd setup i nearly soil myself, especially with the choral stuffs

have you tried a cdp?

 

[geek42]

I recently purchased the Chaintech AV-710 card for about 25 bucks and it dramatically improved the sound over my built-in system - i'm very happy with it. Seems like an easy way to test the waters of upgrading your source...

 

[mega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepkyng have you tried a cdp?

Well..i am a newbie to hi-fi, so i don't have any spectacular cdp's, just a crappy sony walkman cd player-and you know that won't make a difference.(I have tried it) Maybe one of those new toshiba players might help? I also want a soundcard though, as i have about 700 mp3's stored in my computer.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

With the amp running off the soundcard, how high are the volume sliders on the computer? If they aren't maxed out, or close to it, try that first. This amp should be able to output close to the full voltage of your incoming power, be it battery or wall wart. That should be more than enough to drive those 580s to some pretty insane levels.

Also, is the battery in the amp old or new? (If you sue a battery and not a wall wart.)

 

[sleepkyng]

700? i think i'm at 5000 now.

well i don't know much about your soundcard so i dunno.

i'd get that toshiba dvd-a player 4900 i think, it's like 60 bucks, so you can't go wrong, and if you don't like it, i'll buy it off yah.

i think you'll really be impressed

do you like the sound out of the hd600's as opposed to the a900s?

an amp really shouldn't add anything to the sound, it should just amplify the sound and keep it true to the source, so actually your headsave is doing it's job.

there's an old adage (well not that old)

crap in, crap out


in other words, if the signal sucks to begin with, it won't be peachy keen coming out.

can't shine crap my friend!

 

[pbirkett]

The Terratec will certainly help, but it is also possible you simply prefer the sound of the A900's...

 

[tortie]

Yes, your fustrations are definitely caused by your soundcard. A change to a better source would surely help. Either a better soundcard or a decent CDP will do.

 

[mega]

I was on the futuremark boards to get some different views...and this is what one member posted:



Re: Any sound gurus/audiophiles...come in here!

A different sound card would not make a difference. It may, it's circumstantial.

The reason you're not hearing a difference is because there isn't much of a difference to be heard. Contrary to what the folks at head-fi.com got you to believe, you don't necessarily need or would even want a headphone amplifier. And about the volume, the Pimeta isn't exactly all that powerful.

If the output voltage gain on the amplifier can be maxed with typical standard input voltage, a sound card with more powerful output would not give any improvement in power as the output of the amplifier has already been peaked.

However a sound card with lower output impedance would make a difference given the amplifier is not being used. It's also realistic to assume that the headphones may potentially get louder hooked up directly to the sound card if it has higher output current than the amplifier, which would be the result of a lower output impedance. In which case, your little ol headphone amplifier would be useless.

If you really need them to get louder, you will obviously need a more powerful amp.


Any comments?

 

[tortie]

I think I get what he's talking about.

All the things he said was concerning volume, not sound quality. Based on my personal experience, a change to a better souncard or CDP has made me appreciate my headphones more. Believe me, there is MUCH a difference to be heard.

 

[gpalmer]

I think Tortie hit it on the head, I think the poster doesn't appreciate the difference between sound volume and quality. I woud check the sliders in Windows though, something doesn't sound right here.

 

[mega]

Well, i did put the volume tab all the way up, and now its fine. the reason i had it half way was that the A900's were simply too loud if i put them up any higher. As for the sound, i find myself enjoying the sound of the A900's more..the sound is clearer and the senns sound a little dark.. but this is coming from my santa cruz sound card..so ill cut the 600's some slack. Im thinking about buying one of the toshiba players that are the hot commodity right now, then testing both the headphones out again.

 

[gpalmer]

Then again, you might just be a Grado man! It's OK, we're good people...

[size=xx-small]Although I admit to cheating with a bunch of other brands on a steady basis...

[/size]

 

[tortie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mega Im thinking about buying one of the toshiba players that are the hot commodity right now, then testing both the headphones out again.

That may do, or if you want a soundcard, check this thread...

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69993

Based on initial impressions, along with its price, this will surely be a hot product in headfi along with the toshiba CDP this coming months.

Edit: Keep in mind that I have NOT heard both products.

But a lot of people are happy with them though.

 

[mega]

Anyone try both the A900's and the 600's with some good sources? Are their differences big enough for me to keep both of them? Or should i just sell one of them off?