[Joo52]

Hello there. I'm glad my account wasn't deactivated after about 9 years of inactivity. Go Head-Fi!
 
Anywho, my question concerns a new set of Audio Technica M50s that I got today. In my standard input setup that I've been using, I'm experiencing pronounced noise with no audio playing. I do not hear any noise with my other cheapo mic'd cans that I use for gaming.
 
What is my "standard input setup" you may ask? I know you're all going to hate me for this (this is an audiophile forum), but I've been plugging my headphones into the output jack of a cheap set of logitech computer speakers because I found I wasn't getting the volume I needed without some sort of amplifier. Now, I did plug the headphones straight into my computer's audio out and I do not get the same noise that I'm complaining about. I figure the solution to this problem is to get a decent headphone amplifier, however, I'm still very confused as to why my new $150 headphones are noisy when plugged into the headphone jack of a crappy set of speakers, while my $20 dollar cans do not have that problem.
 
Can anyone explain why I'm getting this noise and also if a proper headphone amp would be the solution?
 
Thanky

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hello there. I'm glad my account wasn't deactivated after about 9 years of inactivity. Go Head-Fi!
 
Anywho, my question concerns a new set of Audio Technica M50s that I got today. In my standard input setup that I've been using for a cheap set of mic'd headphones that I use for games, I'm experiencing pronounced noise with no audio playing. I do not hear any noise with my other cans. 
 
What is my "standard input setup" you may ask? I know you're all going to hate me for this (this is an audiophile forum), but I've been plugging my headphones into the output jack of a cheap set of Logitech computer speakers because I found I wasn't getting the volume I needed without some sort of amplifier. Now, I did plug the headphones straight into my computer's audio out and I do not get the same noise that I'm complaining about. I figure the solution to this problem is to get a decent headphone amplifier, however, I'm still very confused as to why my new $150 headphones are noisy when plugged into the headphone jack of a crappy set of speakers, while my $20 dollar cans do not have that problem.
 
Can anyone explain why I'm getting this noise and also if a proper headphone amp would be the solution?

Low cost cans may hid problems in the audio signal, guess you could say the cheap cans where too "blind", where as the ATH-M50s can see the details.
 
Anyway, get an Asus Xonar DG (PCI) sound card off Amazon, the card is around $27 and there is a $10 mail in rebate this month.
Plug the ATH-M50s into the DG back panel or the front of case headphone jack.

 

[Joo52]

  Low cost cans may hid problems in the audio signal, guess you could say the cheap cans where too "blind", where as the ATH-M50s can see the details.
 
Anyway, get an Asus Xonar DG (PCI) sound card off Amazon, the card is around $27 and there is a $10 mail in rebate this month.
Plug the ATH-M50s into the DG back panel or the front of case headphone jack.

 
Keeping in mind that I don't get the noise issue when plugged straight into the motherboard, would a new soundcard actually make the audio any louder? The reason I'm using the speakers as an amp for my headphones is that the onboard sound doesn't even get close to loud enough. With my headphones plugged into the speakers, about 1/4-1/3 of the volume on the speaker's volume knob is equivalent to full blast when plugged straight into the motherboard. My onboard sound is realtek HD audio btw.

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
Keeping in mind that I don't get the noise issue when plugged straight into the motherboard, would a new sound card actually make the audio any louder? The reason I'm using the speakers as an amp for my headphones is that the on-board sound doesn't even get close to loud enough. With my headphones plugged into the speakers, about 1/4-1/3 of the volume on the speaker's volume knob is equivalent to full blast when plugged straight into the motherboard. My onboard sound is realtek HD audio btw.

Chances are the Xonar DG's CS4245 DAC chip is better then whatever the motherboard is using.
The DG comes with a headphone amplifier rated for headphones up to 150-Ohms,
the ATH-M50s are only 50-Ohm.
So the Xonar DG should improve your headphones audio quality.

 

[Joo52]

Great, thanks for that clear explanation.