[eazely]

Hi there folks.
 
I have been lurking a bit lately, and searched alot too, but i have not found a scenario which has answered my question good enough. Ive ordered the DT 990 32 ohm and i own the XtremeGamer. Im either looking for a 150-200$ amp or a good soundcard to serve the DT 990. I cant afford both. So here is the deal.
 
Which of the following setup would give me the best overall experience for music, gaming and movies? 
 
XtremeGamer --> amp --> DT 990 32 ohm or
Xonar essence STX --> DT 990 32 ohm?
 
For music i mostly listening to dubstep and DnB, so which one will give me the most punch? And wich will give me the best sound quality?
 
And is it possible to connect an amp to mini jack? Cause there isn't any other way to connect to the XtremeGamer.
 
Thx for you help.

 

[euphoracle]

The XtremeGamer has mediocre analogue out.  It also can't send a line-level signal and amps its own signal into utter distortion.  This annoys me greatly as I own it and there's no work around other than using its mini-toslink.  I can't advocate the section option but I can vouch that you will probably be disappointed using the Creative card as your dac.

 

[eazely]

Quote:

The XtremeGamer has mediocre analogue out.  It also can't send a line-level signal and amps its own signal into utter distortion.  This annoys me greatly as I own it and there's no work around other than using its mini-toslink.  I can't advocate the section option but I can vouch that you will probably be disappointed using the Creative card as your dac.

So there is only option left. Im just worried if its not enough to power up my DT 990. The headphones alone cost pretty much, and i dont want to spend too much money as im not an ultimate audiophile. Unless you have another solution?
 
Or do anyone else have an opinion about this? Thx.

 

[Mondo33]

For 200 dollars you can definitely find a DAC/amp combo. If i'm not mistaken the Nuforce UDAC is a DAC as well as an amp and I think the Maverick TubeMagic D1 also can serve as both a DAC and an amp. It seems this is your best bet. I could be wrong but it seems like a good idea to me. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

 

[eazely]

Quote:

For 200 dollars you can definitely find a DAC/amp combo. If i'm not mistaken the Nuforce UDAC is a DAC as well as an amp and I think the Maverick TubeMagic D1 also can serve as both a DAC and an amp. It seems this is your best bet. I could be wrong but it seems like a good idea to me. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

 
I have thought about that too. Especially the udac. But as im informed it is not possible to get surround sound or good positional audio in games with an external dac, is it? Therefore i mentioned the essence STX as my dac/amp. Please correct me if im wrong though.

 

[eazely]

Thx for the help so far.
 
But I came to another solution.
 
As i want surround sound in FPS games and movies i chose to put a mixamp into diskussion.
Now which of the following will give me the best sound quality right now? 
 
Mixamp--> DT 990 32 ohm
 
Or
 
Asus essence STX --> DT-990 32 ohm ?
 
Will the DAC in the STX be better than in, lets say an Astro mixamp? 
And which of the following setups will potentially get the most out of my headphone?
 
 
Mixamp--> FiiO E9 --> DT 990 32 ohm
 
Or
 
Asus essence DTX --> FiiO E9 --> DT-990 32 ohm ?
 
I appreciate everybody's opinion. Even if you'er not an expert. 

 

[iHasCake]

now that you have the mixamp in the discussion, you should probably read up or ask in this thread right here...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/534479/mad-lust-envy-aka-shin-cz-s-guide-to-headphone-gaming-particularly-with-dolby-headphone

 

[eazely]

Quote:

now that you have the mixamp in the discussion, you should probably read up or ask in this thread right here...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/534479/mad-lust-envy-aka-shin-cz-s-guide-to-headphone-gaming-particularly-with-dolby-headphone

What's the difference asking here or there? 

 Mad lust envy has no experience with pc soundcards, so i might aswell make my own topic, as ther will be more people viewing this. But thats doesn't matter now anyway. Im pretty sure the essence STX has a better DAC than astro mixamp. More convenient for PC use too cause of the features.

 

[Siyfion]

If it makes any difference, I'm pretty much in exactly the same boat as you... However I think I'm going to use the line-out from my sound card, to a headphone amp and then to my Goldring NS1000's. That way I get Dolby Headphone (or not if I turn it off), a bloody good DAC and a bloody good amp (which I can adjust physically / quickly). I've just got to decide which amp! I'm currently toying between the FiiO E9 and a Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. Might consider some others if anyone has any ideas for a cheap headphone amp (without a DAC).

 

[razvitm]

I don't know if this is offtopic but i currently managed to install two x-fi cards simultaneously on the same computer in xp, one is an elite pro and one is an xtreme gamer, low profile. I have run rmaa with the following settings: playback xtreme gamer line out - recording elite pro line-in. Before now, i used to test the xtreme gamer using it's own input, which has a 102dB dynamic range adc, but the elite pro has a 116dB dynamic range adc, so this test really measures the output performance of the xtreme gamer. And here's the pic:
 

 
the -2dB in frequency response is due to the series capacitor i have placed between the line-out and line in, and it cuts off the bass , but hights go straight up to the end of the graph, it would score better without the cap, i know, but it's preventive...

 

[Siyfion]

Talk about off-topic!! What does this have to do with anything we are discussing!?

 

[eazely]

Quote:

If it makes any difference, I'm pretty much in exactly the same boat as you... However I think I'm going to use the line-out from my sound card, to a headphone amp and then to my Goldring NS1000's. That way I get Dolby Headphone (or not if I turn it off), a bloody good DAC and a bloody good amp (which I can adjust physically / quickly). I've just got to decide which amp! I'm currently toying between the FiiO E9 and a Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. Might consider some others if anyone has any ideas for a cheap headphone amp (without a DAC).

Well ive heard good things about FiiO E9. As i remember, it is powerful, and it does not color the sound of the headphones. So if you like the sound of the goldring, then it might be a good choice. But thats only what i have read so far. And i dont know so much about the Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. 
 
So you own the essence STX? Is the dac good?
 
 
razvitm 
 
I have no idea what i could use that for I dont know anything about that stuff.

 

[razvitm]

Well i tried to show him that the xtreme gamer is a good card to listen to music with, having 109dB signal to noise ratio and verry low distortion, the audio cd has a theoretical ! signal to noise ratio of 96dB, so the xtreme gamer is more than enough to enjoy any cd or flac at 16bit 44.1KHz, provided he amplifies the line-out to accomodate low impedance headphones, because with an external amp the current will rise from approx 30mA which is the max, output current of the xtreme gamer, to over 100mA which will be more than satisfying.

 

[Siyfion]

Quote:

Quote:

If it makes any difference, I'm pretty much in exactly the same boat as you... However I think I'm going to use the line-out from my sound card, to a headphone amp and then to my Goldring NS1000's. That way I get Dolby Headphone (or not if I turn it off), a bloody good DAC and a bloody good amp (which I can adjust physically / quickly). I've just got to decide which amp! I'm currently toying between the FiiO E9 and a Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. Might consider some others if anyone has any ideas for a cheap headphone amp (without a DAC).

Well ive heard good things about FiiO E9. As i remember, it is powerful, and it does not color the sound of the headphones. So if you like the sound of the goldring, then it might be a good choice. But thats only what i have read so far. And i dont know so much about the Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. 
 
So you own the essence STX? Is the dac good?
 
 
razvitm 
 
I have no idea what i could use that for I dont know anything about that stuff.

Yeah the E9 is meant to be good, hence why it's on my list of contenders... Just still not quite sure enough to buy it! The Goldring NS1000's are amazing, compared to my current gaming headset (Razer Carcharias) they blow them out of the water. I've been making a guide/blog about my quest for an audiophile gaming setup, take a look if you like: http://www.siyfion.com

 

[eazely]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

If it makes any difference, I'm pretty much in exactly the same boat as you... However I think I'm going to use the line-out from my sound card, to a headphone amp and then to my Goldring NS1000's. That way I get Dolby Headphone (or not if I turn it off), a bloody good DAC and a bloody good amp (which I can adjust physically / quickly). I've just got to decide which amp! I'm currently toying between the FiiO E9 and a Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. Might consider some others if anyone has any ideas for a cheap headphone amp (without a DAC).

Well ive heard good things about FiiO E9. As i remember, it is powerful, and it does not color the sound of the headphones. So if you like the sound of the goldring, then it might be a good choice. But thats only what i have read so far. And i dont know so much about the Pro-Ject Head Box Mk II. 
 
So you own the essence STX? Is the dac good?
 
 
razvitm 
 
I have no idea what i could use that for I dont know anything about that stuff.

Yeah the E9 is meant to be good, hence why it's on my list of contenders... Just still not quite sure enough to buy it! The Goldring NS1000's are amazing, compared to my current gaming headset (Razer Carcharias) they blow them out of the water. I've been making a guide/blog about my quest for an audiophile gaming setup, take a look if you like: http://www.siyfion.com

 
Very nice blog. I have red all three parts now. Enjoyable to read. Are you going to cover more stuff or are you all done? Although its very imformative, im still on a quest for an good and cheap amp. The blog is mostly covering headsets and headphones..