[JeanLucD]

So currently I've got DT990s (2005 250ohm I think - got them shipped by mistake instead of DT880s in a DT880 box and couldn't be bothered messing about with it so just kept them but that's besides the point

) and I've only got onboard sound (Realtek AC97) with no amp or anything. I'm liking the sound so far, but it definitely feels a bit muffled or something - I guess due to the fact that my crappy onboard sound isn't good enough, so I want to upgrade and get myself something that will improve the sound. I've also just recently connected up a TV-tuner card but didn't realise that I needed a sound card for it to work properly (either that or I'm so useless I can't get it to work with the onboard sound

, I'm not very handy)

I'm running XP and do about 60% gaming and listen to music the other 40% of the time - I basically never watch movies and only watch podcasts so surround sound is not really a priority to say the least. Whilst I do more gaming than music listening it's mainly Oblivion and occasionally COD4 so I don't feel like all this EAX5.0 stuff that I've read about will be a problem for me and I mainly want something that will give me quality sound, but at the same time be able to manage gaming well. I'm sure almost anything will give an improvement in FPS compared to what I have currently.

I don't want to spend too much, like 400NZD (~270USD) is my max, which would be fine if that was purely for the components, but shipping tends to be super super expensive to New Zealand so I'm trying to find stuff that's already available over here but then it's all much more expensive anyway. After much reading through these forums, especially the sound card consensus thread which I had to read over about 3 times to understand it all and otherwise lurking; it seems like I've come down to tossing up between either:
-Asus Xonar D2 (299NZD)
-Auzentech X-FI Prelude (also 299NZD)
-Asus Xonar DX (169NZD) + an Amp or DAC/amp eg a Zero? they seem ok

I'm leaning towards buying the DX now and then maybe waiting a little while and getting an amp or an amp with a DAC but since I live in NZ and with my budget it pretty much limits me to the cheapest amps/DACs, and since I'm bloody useless at anything DIY and I wouldn't have a clue how to solder or do anything like that I don't think that a DIY amp would be an option.

This makes me wonder whether it would be better to just get a slightly higher quality soundcard like a prelude or the D2, and maybe just get one of those cheap FIIO amps from China which would cost me the same as it would cost you guys - $8.50US. Although it seems like from what I've read that the DX is really awesome value for money considering I don't really need any extra features like cool flashy lights at the back a la D2.

I've thought about the Prelude mainly because it seems to be the go to card when it comes to gaming and it also has good quality sound. Although I wonder if this is more for hardcore gamers that play a lot of online games and such which is not really what I play and so would the advantages not really be relevant for me?

Do you guys have any suggestions or advice? And if I should get the DX what a good and cheap amp I could get?

Thanks in advance.

 

[user123456]

Asus Xonar DX is the way to go, almost the same performance as D2.

D2 is like 5-10% better than DX.

About your headphone, doesn't it count as stolen if you didn't purchase that item? I'm not good in the field of law but if you get something you didn't buy in some countries you have to return it or it'll be theft but I think you should keep it tho I would.

 

[JeanLucD]

Ya thanks I thought DX was the way to go. I perhaps wasn't quite clear in what I typed, which happens quite a lot since I seem to write in a stream of conciousness kind of way.... I ordered a set of DT880s, but what came was DT990s in the leather case but they were inside a carboard DT880 box. So to the guys in the store it looked like I was getting what I asked for but I wasn't. I gave them an email and they apologised and I said it was ok and I wasn't really too fussed. It turns out that the sound signature that they have is probably what I would have preferred anyway cos I listen to quite a bit of electronic music and I like my bass.

Now that I've been convinced to go for the DX (ya I know didn't really take much convincing). What would be the best way to go in terms of an amp or amp/dac? I'm wondering if I should maybe get that Zero DAC? Its pretty cheap and whilst its not strictly an amp the amp bit supposedly is good enough to run 'phones of a similar impedance to mine. Or would the DAC on the DX probably be good enough that I only really need to look for an amp without DAC. In which case I wouldn't really know what to look for.

From other threads I've read, other people who've said this seem to get the response that they should try out the Fiio amp and because it's so dirt cheap that if it isn't really good enough or isn't what they're looking for it doesn't matter, but if they're satisfied then it's a cheap solution. I've been thinking about doing that but are there any other decent options out there? I don't really need the amp to be portable since it's all from my computer.

I also feel like I need to say that I'm not just looking for an amp to make the headphones louder; I do want to buy something that will allow me to enjoy my phones to the fullest, cos I don't feel like they're quite reaching their potential in terms of sound quality.

Any suggestions for a low cost amp that would still be cheap by the time I get it shipped to NZ? It seems like there are plenty of bargains on ebay, but rarely are they are bargain for me unless there's free international shipping (and that's almost never)

.

 

[user123456]

I'll leave amp for someone else to answer but the DX is identical to D2 and is the best bang for the buck price-wise, if D2 is rated 10/10 then DX rated 9/10 and Prelude being 8/10.

So D2 is the best, but by not far and cost more.

 

[JeanLucD]

Cool thanks, that's what I thought I gleaned from some of the reviews I read. Anyone else have any thoughts?

I might order the DX tomorrow morning then. Until then maybe I'll gain some insight in my sleep (or from you guys in the different time zone

).

 

[HeadLover]

I have the D2X, so far so good

 

[JackeShan]

I got the D2X and it's really good. Best I've heard from a soundcard. It should be very similar to DX. Also it has EAX 5.0with the latest drivers. However, games sound very good!

I'm not sure about the amp/dac. You would probably only need an amp and use the DAC from the Xonar. The Xonar's Dac is really good considering it's on a sound card. It is equal to a $500 DAC according to many people on this forum, meaning you would need to pay more than $500 to get a decent DAC that sounds better than the DAC in the Xonar.

So my suggestion is that you use the DAC from the Xonar and buy a good AMP instead. That's how I do and I am loving it!

I am not sure about what amp you should have with DT990's but I've heard the Darkvoice 332 is really good with high impedance headphones like the DT990's. However DO NOT get the X-Can V8 amp because it doesn't suit high impedance headphones. The X-can sounds best with low impedance headphones such as Denon.

The sound will change dramatically after your purchase! Onboard sucks

 

[Gurck]

I have the DX and I like it fine. All of my phones are 64ohm or less, and I've read that the card outputs more power than most cards. Its volume is more than enough, though I know amps address more than volume. Should I look into an amp for it or wait until I have some higher end cans (I may get hd600s at some point)?