[Lucenzo]

[size=12.800000190734863px]Hello everyone, [/size]
 
[size=12.800000190734863px]I'm pretty new to the mid-high end audio hardware, so please forgive me if I ask/say something obviously stupid. :')[/size]
 
 
Some background information:
 
My current headset is Sennheiser PC350 (plugged in to onboard), but I'm not really happy with it, so after A  LOT of research I'm planning on buying the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro's (not sure about 80 Ohm or 250 Ohm yet) together with the ASUS Xonar Essence STX soundcard.
I'm going to be using all of this mainly for listening to music (all kind of genres but mainly bassy dubstep~ish) and quite alot of games too.
 
My actual problem / question:
 
I have my speakers (Logitech Z623) plugged directly into my pc, and my headphones are plugged in to the right speaker so I can easily switch.
 
My worry is: If I buy this STX soundcard and plug my speakers in this soundcard, and then the headphones in the right speaker, will these headphones still get the full advantage from the soundcard if they are plugged into the speaker ? Or do the headphones have to be plugged directly in the STX soundcard with the build-in amp to get he volume boost (mainly for 250 Ohm version) and overal higher soundquality ?
 
Possible other solutions:
 
In case these cans actually have to be plugged directly in the STX soundcard, what would you guys suggest I could do without having to crawl all the way to the back of my pc to switch the jack cables ? 
 
I had the idea of plugging a 3.5 jack cablesplitter in the soundcard so I can plug in both. But then I read that if you split the signal you lose quality and volume.
 
So I came up with something else. Since I'm never using both at the same time, I could just buy a 3.5 jack extension cable and just let that lay on my desk, and just plug in the device that I want to use at that time. Would such an extension cable of 2 meters make you lose any audio signal and therefore result in a loss of quality or volume ? Or doesn't it really matter how much you're extending the signal as long as you're not splitting it ?
 
 
 
Cheers in advance guys,
 
Lucenzo

 

[chewy4]

I'm pretty sure that it would take away the benefit of the amp.
 
If your speakers don't use the red/white RCA cables and just a single 3.5 cable, get a 3.5 female to RCA male adapter and plug it into your soundcard's line out, and plug your speakers into the adapter. Then plug your headphones into the 6.3mm output. You can switch between them in the software interface.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I'm pretty sure that it would take away the benefit of the amp.
 
If your speakers don't use the red/white RCA cables and just a single 3.5 cable, get a 3.5 female to RCA male adapter and plug it into your soundcard's line out, and plug your speakers into the adapter. Then plug your headphones into the 6.3mm output. You can switch between them in the software interface.

+1

 

[ev13wt]

You need to plug your headphones into the back of the STX to use the cards amplifier. beyerdynamic sells a extension cord but you can buy another brand no problem. it won't alter the sound at all. (This is my personal opinion, i think cables don't make any difference at all in sound quality. There are big differences in construction quality though. Cheap will break. Take note that cable sound discussions are right up there with God threads and apple VS pc threads. Form your OWN opinion pls. Just my take on it.)
 
If you run the RCA to your desktop speakers and run your headphones from the speakers port, you will use the speakers amplifier. Most probably not as good as the sound cards amp. The RCA output op amps in the ST/STX are quite nice stock. If the logitechs amp is clean, it will still sound better than your onboard sound. (Expect something in the 4% range in sq improvement, and a big improvement in noise like hum, hiss, crackle from moving windows around etc. but bear in mind I don't know the quality of your onboard sound.) The improvements from using a headphone amp are hard to detect at first, but they are very much there. It is not really the max volume, more in the control of the headphones. You will notice it after a couple 100 hours of listening experience if you've never had a headphone amp before.
 
After listening to the 770s with the ST through the cards headphone output for a while, you can then plug it into the speacker port to compare.
 
You will need to use the sofware interface to switch the card between RCA output or headphone output. You cannot run both at the same time. You could run a connector cable and up to 5 feet (I am running 10 feet to my stereo you won't lose any sound quality. Matter of fact, in my experience the only thing you ever loose on really long runs 100 feet+) is some highs. They will be quieter but not altered. YMMV.
 
If you do run a connector cable, the headphone amp is worthless and you can buy a dg or similar card and save money. The ST and STX headphone amp is pretty nice though.
 
You should: Use the Xonar unified drivers. There is a thread on here on how to set up the card: http://www.head-fi.org/products/asus-xonar-essence-stx-virtual-7-1-channels-pci-express-interface-124-db-snr-headphone-amp-card#wiki
 
I also suggest you buy the 600 Ohm version.
 
While typing this I am listening to Melody Gardot my Beyerdynamic MMX 300 - 600 Ohm 2012 edition manufaktur all black (very close to a DT-770 with a mic) through my Asus ST. Nice, clean and beatiful sound.
 
Skrillex and Deadmaus etc sound really fun with these cans.
 
Warning: ST/STX amp and those headphones can damage your hearing easy. Don't over do it pls.

 

[Lucenzo]

Wow, Thanks everyone for the very fast and helpful posts, I think I might actually do just that ! (use RCA - 3.5 jack converter for speakers and 6.3 for headphones)
 
But there's one thing I don't quite understand..
Quote:

Originally Posted by ev13wt /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
You could run a connector cable and up to 5 feet (I am running 10 feet to my stereo you won't lose any sound quality. Matter of fact, in my experience the only thing you ever loose on really long runs 100 feet+) is some highs. They will be quieter but not altered. YMMV.
 
If you do run a connector cable, the headphone amp is worthless and you can buy a dg or similar card and save money. The ST and STX headphone amp is pretty nice though.

 
As I understand it.. First you say that using a 3.5mm extension cable (and switching between cans and speakers with the cable laying on the desk) is just fine because I won't lose any quality..
But right after that you say that, if I do use that exact same 3.5mm extension cable, the headphone amp in the soundcard is worthless and I need to buy a cheaper card.
 
It's probably just me interpreting you the wrong way, so could you please elaborate this a little bit please ?

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would say to get the Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro 250-Ohm, the 600-Ohm does sound a little better, but to me it's not worth the price difference (for new) over the Pro 250-Ohm.
If you can find used DT880 600-Ohm for $200 or less, then that's something to go for.
 
The Creative Labs Zx sound card can sometimes sell for as low as $120, which makes it a good value compared to the STX & ST.

 

[ev13wt]

Quote:

Wow, Thanks everyone for the very fast and helpful posts, I think I might actually do just that ! (use RCA - 3.5 jack converter for speakers and 6.3 for headphones)
 
But there's one thing I don't quite understand..
 
As I understand it.. First you say that using a 3.5mm extension cable (and switching between cans and speakers with the cable laying on the desk) is just fine because I won't lose any quality..
But right after that you say that, if I do use that exact same 3.5mm extension cable, the headphone amp in the soundcard is worthless and I need to buy a cheaper card.
 
It's probably just me interpreting you the wrong way, so could you please elaborate this a little bit please ?

 
You misunderstood me or I wasn't quite clear in explaining.
 
The ASUS ST/STX basically has 2 amps. One for RCA out (line out) and one headphone amp.
 
You have various possibilities: 
 
Variant A: Headphone with extension cable in headphone out and the Logitech connected to the RCA (line out) This is the best possible solution for sound quality using the ST/STX features. (Switch speakers OR headphones with ASUS software)
Variant B: Logitech connected to RCA line out and headphone connected to Logitech headphone out. (Sound quality of headphones will depend on Logitech headphone amp quality. Not the best solution. Keep ASUS software on 2 Speakers setting)
Variant C: Extension cable from RCA line out to desk, plug in either headphones or speakers. (This will result in good sound to Logitech, but the volume to the headphone will be very quiet (600 Ohm or 350 Ohm headphones). It is a LINE OUT, not a HEADPHONE out. I think sound quality will suffer.)
Variant D: The Variant C but using the headphone output. (This is also not optimal, because a headphone output is not a LINE OUT.)
 
So I am not sure if C and D would be a problem, but it is certainly not the correct way to do it.
In variant A and D you are using the ASUS headphone amplifier.
In variant B and C you are using only the LINE OUT of the ASUS, making the headphone amp worthless. You could buy a cheaper card without INTERNAL headphone amp. With these variants you could plug a separate EXTERNAL headphone amplifier into the RCA output.
 
Variant E: Soundcard WITHOUT headphone amp: If the EXTERNAL headphone amp has a line out, you could plug your logitech into the headphone amp AND plug your headphones into the external amp. (note: the shown headphone amp O2 has NO line out! It is just for example)
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Lucenzo]

Wow. You are simply amazing dude, thank you so much for your help ! I think I'll be going for the option A.

 

[ev13wt]

Quote:

Wow. You are simply amazing dude, thank you so much for your help ! I think I'll be going for the option A.

 
No problem.