Help with new headphones/getting the best sound

[hurricane501]

So i bought a pair of Status Audio CB-1 Closed Back Studio Monitor Headphones from amazon and they sound good but im not sure if im getting the most out of them.

I have an Asus P8Z77-V Motherboard so its 5 year old, can i buy anything cheap to get better sound? Or tweak some stuff in windows?

Ive also noticed playing music through WMP, Groove Music and VLC all sound different, im testing with Two Steps From Hell songs and its weird how much changes, i think VLC sounds the best so far.

 

[UsandThem]

Well those headphones are studio monitor headphones, which means they should be neutral sounding, or flat. To make them sound better, you will need to tweak your EQ settings in the Realtek control panel (the speaker icon in your taskbar) to add/lower treble, mids, and bass. Make sure you plug them into the back of your PC, instead of your 3.5mm front audio connector, which lowers their sound quality. You could also buy a DAC or amplifier (like Fiio) as well.

 

[Billb2]

Equalizer APO

https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/

 

[hurricane501]

Well those headphones are studio monitor headphones, which means they should be neutral sounding, or flat. To make them sound better, you will need to tweak your EQ settings in the Realtek control panel (the speaker icon in your taskbar) to add/lower treble, mids, and bass. Make sure you plug them into the back of your PC, instead of your 3.5mm front audio connector, which lowers their sound quality. You could also buy a DAC or amplifier (like Fiio) as well.

Thanks for the reply.

My PC is not showing anything to do with Realtek? Ive added bass through the sound properties and it has made things sound so much better but the Realtek control panel is probably better? Ive also plugged them in the back of my mobo now so they dont lose any quality.

I dont want to start downloading things for the motherboard if it will break things, its 5 year old and has a custom bios already for overclocking, hasnt been any problems over 5 years, only thing i changed was the graphics card. Is it worth downloading the Realtek drivers or should i download a 3rd party one?

 

[UsandThem]

You should have a Realtek control panel if you are using the Realtek audio driver from the Asus support site. But if you are using the generic Windows audio driver (in the control panel it should say something like HD audio device), then you won't have the Realtek control panel. I haven't had any issue using the Realtek audio drivers for many years, so it will be unlikely it would cause you any issues.

The last driver release for audio that Asus has listed for your motherboard is from August 4, 2016 (Windows 10 64 bit):

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P8Z77V/HelpDesk_Download/

 

[hurricane501]

You should have a Realtek control panel if you are using the Realtek audio driver from the Asus support site. But if you are using the generic Windows audio driver (in the control panel it should say something like HD audio device), then you won't have the Realtek control panel. I haven't had any issue using the Realtek audio drivers for many years, so it will be unlikely it would cause you any issues.

The last driver release for audio that Asus has listed for your motherboard is from August 4, 2016 (Windows 10 64 bit):

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P8Z77V/HelpDesk_Download/

Thanks, i thought it came in a chipset bundle not just a sound driver.

Ive installed it and its totally changed my sound, everything is different lol, ive lost my bass too and it doesnt seem to have the option to add it in like the windows default did?

 

[hurricane501]

Okay i found it but its just more complex, suppose ill need to play about with this, the default windows bass was amazing for just 2 buttons not sure if i like all these options or not since im a noob at it.

 

[UsandThem]

There should be a speaker icon down in your notification area in the lower right area of your taskbar (it might be hidden, mine is), and if you right click on it, you should be able to EQ your sound settings withing the Realtek control panel.

 

[hurricane501]

There should be a speaker icon down in your notification area in the lower right area of your taskbar (it might be hidden, mine is), and if you right click on it, you should be able to EQ your sound settings withing the Realtek control panel.

Yeah ive got it now i just need get use to what the EQ settings do, i have a pretty nice bass setting now, thanks for help and the link, i knew i wasnt get the most out of the headphones, im gonna look in to DAC see if it makes it sound even better.

 

[UsandThem]

Okay i found it but its just more complex, suppose ill need to play about with this, the default windows bass was amazing for just 2 buttons not sure if i like all these options or not since im a noob at it.

You can just use the presets until you get more familiar with changing them individually. They should have a couple presets that sound good overall.

You can read through articles like this to learn about manually configuring the EQ:

https://www.addictivetips.com/windo...quencies-settings-on-music-players-explained/

https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/eq-for-beginners-part-1-what-you-need-to-know--cms-25827

 

[vinaychandel1234]

I compared the Grado PS1000 vs the sennheiser HD 800 Although the grado's cost 200$ more

1. Grado

Response Bandwidth 5 - 50000 Hz

Sensitivity 98 dB/mW

Impedance 32 Ohm

2. sennheiser:

Response Bandwidth 8 - 50000 Hz

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) 0.02 %

Sensitivity 102 dB

Impedance 300 Ohm

 

[MrSquished]

Yeah ive got it now i just need get use to what the EQ settings do, i have a pretty nice bass setting now, thanks for help and the link, i knew i wasnt get the most out of the headphones, im gonna look in to DAC see if it makes it sound even better.

a DAC will indeed be your friend vs playing directly from pretty much any motherboard's sound and of course depending on the cans you have. Schiit audio makes some great stuff - I ended up with one of their pieces after getting some nice cans and doing some research http://www.schiit.com/home

The Magni and Modi option is their entry level amp and dac setup.

 

[JerYnkFan]

I am using Schiit Fulla 2...great product


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