[ks12]

I have a Titanium HD sound card in my computer and every time I want to change headphones I have to plug them directly into the sound card at the back of the computer which is a pain.  I was wondering if a stereo extension(something like this) would affect the quality of the sound?  Also I am currently using Audio Technica M50's but I have HD 600's coming(ordered yesterday) and I was wondering if a headphone amp would a) give me an easy convenient way to plug in my headphones b) improve the quality of my music and c) I like the idea of having a physical volume knob instead of controlling the volume in windows.  If an amp would help any ideas on which models to start looking for?

 

[proton007]

a) yes
b) maybe
c) yes
 
Whats your budget? You can look at soundcards as well.

 

[ks12]

Would a Schiit Valhalla work with my setup?  Budget would be $300-$400.

 

[proton007]

If the purpose is just to have the audio jack close to the front then I don't see the extension cable having any problems.
I'm not sure if your soundcard has a dedicated headphone amp. If it does, then no point spending on a separate amp.
If it doesn't, you can use an amp, with the soundcard acting as the DAC.
Which amp to get depends on what you want. I currently use the O2, pretty decent for the price (150) if you don't mind using the adapter for desktop use.

 

[obobskivich]

Try this toy:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HZR-62-Stereo-Volume-Control/dp/B000H0K8VY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342439310&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+hzr62

Extension, dual-mono volume control, cheap. Less money in a fire. etc.

Otherwise, I'd get one of those Hosa shielded extensions (or the Grado extension, the Hosa is about half the price though).

 

[PurpleAngel]

I think the TiHD's auto sences the headphone jack, so as long as something is plugged into it, it stuck in "headphone" mode.
But I'm not a Creative user, so might want to double check on that.
For around $50, you can get a Muse single tube headphone amplifier, you would plug it into the TiHD's RCA jacks.
Should do a better job of driving those 300-Ohm Senn HD600.
And the TiHD can process headphone surround sound thru the RCA jacks.

 

[ks12]

Well I think I would like to try a headphone amp or 2. I might buy an Asgard or/and a NuForce HDP. I want to see how they will sound with my hd 600's and titanium hd. I know I can only use one at a time but I'm curious to hear the differences. Do you guys think one is a lot better than the other? Is it stupid to even buy an amp?

 

[proton007]

Quote:

Well I think I would like to try a headphone amp or 2. I might buy an Asgard or/and a NuForce HDP. I want to see how they will sound with my hd 600's and titanium hd. I know I can only use one at a time but I'm curious to hear the differences. Do you guys think one is a lot better than the other? Is it stupid to even buy an amp?

 
With HD600 if your soundcard cannot drive it loud enough you may need an amp.

 

[obobskivich]

Well I think I would like to try a headphone amp or 2. I might buy an Asgard or/and a NuForce HDP. I want to see how they will sound with my hd 600's and titanium hd. I know I can only use one at a time but I'm curious to hear the differences. Do you guys think one is a lot better than the other? Is it stupid to even buy an amp?

I don't think you'll hear anything but what you want to hear, unless the TiHD can't push the HD 600s to a high enough level (and in that case, I'm guessing you've already got hearing damage, so what's it matter).