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Do I need an Audigy ZS?

L

LivinLaVivaPollo

Senior member
I want a good PC audiophile setup, for use primarily with headphones. I have a set of Senn HD600s, but am currently using the TB Santa Cruz. The sound is loud enough without an amp, but I was wondering if I would get richer sound if I get the Audigy ZS. I primarily listen to music, but play occasional games. It worth it to blow my money on an Audigy ZS? Or should I stick with my TB?
 
The TBSC has a 96+ dB S/N ratio, while the Audigy 2 ZS has 108dB. This would be a noticeable improvement on your headphones, but an amp might be a better investment. You could always pick up the Audigy 2 ZS from Best Buy and return it if you don't find it does as much as you thought it would. One nice thing about the Audigy 2 ZS that you won't get anywhere else (yet) is its ability to play DVD Audio. You can get 192KHz/24-bit stereo out of it which would sound dreamy. 🙂 The Airhead amp from Headphone.com is $150 and may provide better overall sound, however.
 
I'm not that savvy on amps, but I'd say that amp isn't as good as the airhead. The one on ebay looks more like a splitter with individual gain controllers. Since you're the only one listening (you are, right?) a single output would be better. There are likely 4 amps within that box, all of which are probably lower quality than the Airhead.

You can build an amp for about 1/3 - 1/2 the price of the Airhead yourself if you're good with electronics. Headwize.com is a good place to start. They have forums about several different alternatives to the Airhead that can be built using parts bought from electronics shops and the internet. Headphone.com does have great customer service though and they're nice about returns. You'd probably only be out the shipping costs to and from if you didn't like it.
 
Originally posted by: beatle
The TBSC has a 96+ dB S/N ratio, while the Audigy 2 ZS has 108dB. This would be a noticeable improvement on your headphones
Click to expand...

I'm quite sure this is in 24bit mode, since I think its impossible to reach 108dB with only 16bit. So, do you have any 24bit audiofiles? Marketing hype as usual... 😉

 
The S/N ratio has nothing to do with the resolution of the source. It's basically how little noise is inherent in the output. The higher the ratio, the less noise, or hiss there will be in the output.

You can output standard mp3s in 24-bit mode if you want to by using the correct Winamp plugins. You won't really gain anything from this since mp3 is usually 16-bit. DTS, Dolby Digital, and DVD-Audio all provide 24-bit resolution. You can play DTS and DD with any soundcard and receive full 24-bit resolution if you use a digital output. The Audigy 2 (and I think the Audigy) can do it in analog. DVD-Audio is exclusive to the Audigy 2 ZS right now. There are other cards capable of the resolution and sampling rate, but nobody has a software player except Creative.
 
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