[UTF]

First, thanks for all buying suggestions that i got in this forum. Finally i bought HD590, mainly because the sale on Amazon. I think it's worthy for a try as my first shot on good phones.

I received my HD590. I really love it. I guess i will stay with it for a while, until i get more experience and more money.

My problem is i don't have good sources to drive out it full potential. I use it on a Sony portable CD player and laptops (IBM and Dell). It sounds loud enough on the CD player and even too loud on the Latitude at only half of the maximum volume. But I’d better to invest more money to get the sound quality. So my question is what I should invest for 590? I’d prefer an external sound card or a headphone amp within 100$. I would appreciate if you could include where to buy (espeically for the amp) with your comments.

Thanks.

 

[UTF]

How about Creative Live 5.1 or Audigy2 NX? Will they improve the sound quality a lot?

 

[DevilDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTF How about Creative Live 5.1 or Audigy2 NX? Will they improve the sound quality a lot?

No, neither of those will do you any good. I haven't heard the Chaintech AV-710 but for $25 it sounds like a great deal and everyone says it's a significant improvement over any creative card.
For $100 you can get an Emu 0404 card that is close to audiophile quality. You'd still need an amp. I can't really help you there. I don't know what works well with the HD590s.
But at any rate, steer clear of the Live and the Audigy2. Trust me on this. I have an Audigy 2 in my computer along with an Emu 1212m and the difference is night and day.

 

[catscratch]

First, upgrade your source, then, your amp, and lastly, the cable.

Steer the hell away from any Creative product. The sound quality out of my Audigy 1 is downright abysmal. The Chaintech AV-710 is a drastic improvement at 1/4 of the price. I'm probably going to go for an Emu 0404, which @ $100 is pretty close to audiophile quality.

As far as amps go, ask on the amplification forum. I'd recommend the Xin SuperMini, but apparently it's out of stock at the moment. Other choices might be the Headroom Total Airhead, Musical Fidelity X-can V3, or Emmeline SR-71 and XP-7 (a bit expensive, but very good).

Stefan Audioarts makes a cable for the 590's which should be the last step in your upgrade path. The cable makes a big difference, compensating for the 590's shortcomings in a major way. It won't make the 590 comprable to the 650, but it will put it on par with the 595, with substantially better bass than the latter model. The 590 is a pretty good basshead can, actually

Once you've done all that, you'll have a killer headphone rig.

P.S. Sorry about your wallet

[Edit: HeadRoom ( www.headphone.com ) makes an amp that doubles as an external USB soundcard. It's called the BitHead (and Total BitHead, which is an upgraded version), and even though I haven't heard it, it sounds like this might be just the ticket. I think Headroom has a return policy (don't quote me on that though, check it out for yourself), and you might consider getting one of these to try it out. They retail for $199 and $269, respectively.]

 

[UTF]

Thanks both of you. So i need to upgrade the source first. Any external sound card to remmcond? I was considering Creative products only because they are external, good to go with laptops. The other way is to add an amp for the portable CD. I am not sure whether that sony CD player is a acceptable source. Which way is better?

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTF I’d prefer an external sound card or a headphone amp within 100$. I would appreciate if you could include where to buy (espeically for the amp) with your comments. Thanks.

Possibly an M-Audio Transit and a Headsave Classic amp:
http://www.headsave.com/classic.html

This is going on recommendations seen before, as I have not heard either.

 

[J-Pak]

Good purchase

I picked up the HD-590 on sale at amazon as well and I'm looking forward to recieving them. I don't think theres any great external soundcard just yet, I definetly do not recommend the extigy or the AudigyNX. I tried them both on my Dell Inspiron 8200 for use with Klipsch 2.1 speakers and they were not really that great.

As for an amp people are recommending looking at HeadSave at the classic. I've email the guy and am awaiting a response.

And for cable I think the Equinox is supposed to be good but its pretty expensive ($110 last I checked)

 

[UTF]

How about Audiotrak Optoplay and how does it compare to M-audio transit? Are both of them able to drive 590 and present a great improvement?

 

[UTF]

I am expecting some more suggestions. After reading and searching, i am a kind of leaning to get a M-Audio transit for my notebook set-up. Anyone has experience with the transit? Appreciate.

 

[Asmo]

Wow, so many new users here posting about how great the 590s are... please look around, use the search feature, many many users who have plenty of experience with the 590s and other headphones will normally recommend another headphone.

Choosing headphones, amps, and sources, should not be based on a 'great deal' found on amazon on a old headphone, do some research, audition or buy a few pairs to try out, the 590s will not satisify you for long.

 

[lindrone]

Well, from personal experience.. HD590 doesn't improve from amping all that much. It's even a more slight improvement than say... The Audio Technica A900 gets from an amp.

HD590 benefits nicely from getting a better source, but then again.. so does everything. In my personal experience though, HD590 improves the most with a headphone cable replacement. Yes, the margin of improvement is much greater than getting a better amp.

However, the question is whether or not it's worth it to invest in a better cable, Stefan AudioArt made an aftermarket cable for HD590 that really improves its sound quality.

http://stefanaudioart.com/EquinoxHD590.html

The problem is that most people didn't really want to spend another extra $120~$150 for the cable upgrade, since the HD590 itself is already about that price. At the same time, if the same amount of money was spent on HD580 and HD600... it might yield a better result (yet again, HD580/600 will need a better amp as well, as opposed to HD590 which will probably not need an amp to show the improvements).

 

[UTF]

My major concern is my source. I am new here and have no listening experience on other high-end phones. To HD590, i really enjoy its sound with pop from either portable CD player or laptop, but it does not sound like what i expected when it plays classical. I think i should start from the source, basically to get a good external sound card added to the notebook. I really don't have enough listening experience, so it's better to move on step, steer away from large investment. I am wondering how much the sound card could improve on HD590. Any other suggestions are also welcome and apprecaited.

 

[juneamour]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTF My major concern is my source. I am new here and have no listening experience on other high-end phones. To HD590, i really enjoy its sound with pop from either portable CD player or laptop, but it does not sound like what i expected when it plays classical. I think i should start from the source, basically to get a good external sound card added to the notebook. I really don't have enough listening experience, so it's better to move on step, steer away from large investment. I am wondering how much the sound card could improve on HD590. Any other suggestions are also welcome and apprecaited.

My HD590 hasn't arrived yet. But with my Alessandro MS-1, I would say that a Sony Diskman is not enough. MS-1 can be driven quite loudly, but the quality sounds not ideal. I guess HD590 should be quite similar.
When I plug my MS-1 into Kenwood Receiver, everything is just fine.

 

[juni0r]

The bass on the HD 590 improves in thump with an amp

I listen at what most here would consider unacceptable volumes, though.

 

[cozmo5050]

i own the creative extigy, which i have hooked up to my desktop computer.

Although it is a significant improvement over my ECS onboard soundcard, for the price of the extigy, i would not recommend it. I also notice that sometimes Creative exaggerates their specs on sound cards... (extigy is suppose to be 24-bit but it actually is 16-bit)

i havent heard the chaintech AV- card either... curious to know.

--- I love my HD590's. but like most audiophiles/gear junkies, i constantly strive to further improve my gear. My next 'upgrade' can may possibly be the Beyerdynamic DT880's, as ive stated before.

personally, aftermarket cables just dont seem to be worth it to me. lRegarding the HD590's, u can improve the the cable from your source (amp, ipod, whatever), which then connects to the left earphone. YET the internal wiring running on the inside of the 590's headband will still be OEM stock wires... so how much of a differnce does this real make? in theory, probably. as far as my humble assumption? no difference really. "snake oil."

---headphone amp experience?. im pure noob in that department.

just my 2 cents. hope this helps.