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Sound Card or Headphone Amplifier

B

blackcatak

Member
I'm planing on getting a nice set of Sennheiser headphones. I was wondering if I should get a headphone amplifier or a sound card. Just curious to hear peoples opinions on the matter.
 
Well, what's your current sound card, and what headphones are you planning on buying? Some headphones need an amplifier to sound good, others are OK straight out of a gutless source.
 
Which model of Senn? Which sound card? Which amp? An amp will anything sound better, or worse, depending on the source.
 
Remember the rule, garbage in, garbage out. Start with a decent soundcard. The chaintech will do if budget is really tight. Otherwise, the EMU is recommended by a lot of people.

Then choose the Headphone amp depending on the Senn model (or any headphone for that matter). As the others mentioned, some cans are easily driven and sometimes do not even need an amp. Some, like the 600, 580, 650 need a good amp for you to enjoy them fully. Some models that i would consider are Gilmore lite, Rega Ear and Headsave classic.

Go to Headfi.org and do a lot of research.

 
Sorry I guess I left out a few details. I was looking at the HD 580's or HD 595's. I am using my Onboard Audio which is a Abit AN7 board with NVidia sound. I was planing on upgrading to a sound card but wasn't sure if I needed the Amp or if there was a sound card that would do the same or better. I was looking at the Headroom "BitHead" amp, but really just started looking at Amp-Sound Card options. This is just going to be used at my desk with no need to travel.
 
I didn't want to spend more then 250 after buying the Headphones. But I realize that I may need to spend a bit more to get something quality.
 
Headroom sells some great headphone amps. Check out their Bithead models which you can plug into a usb port.

Headroom.com

Also, if you're just listening to stuff through your computer you may want to consider the Sennheiser HD 555 headphones instead as a less expensive alternative that will still perform almost as well.

I personally have a Total Airhead and a pair of HD 555's and I think they sound great!
 
An HD580, EMU0404 and an amp would work well. Go to Head-Fi for info about this. I am considering getting a Waveterminal U24 because it is said to have good output and a reasonable internal amp too.
 
Headroom's not the only place that sells products at MSRP and charges a leg for shipping, while justifying it by saying the packing peanuts are expensive. heh. Like others have suggested, go to head-fi.org and read up on all the headphones and amps, and make your decision later. For $250, you can get a kick ass amp, not make of plastic, and sounds twice as nice.


/me thinks airhead is overpriced and overhyped, but that's my opinion, you don't have to take it personally if you own an airhead.
 
Thank You allfor your opinions. I guess I have alot to think about. I need to get updated on current sound cards. As for the headphones, well I was looking at the HD 555 and was leaning towards them but the 595's caught my eye. I might compromise on the 580's (or 590's I think they changed the model a bit). As far as Amps well....I admit that I'm lost completely, I have just started reading up on them. Hell I just learned that I would need one with a High End set of headphones. I actually looked at the Cmoy amps on EBay. They looked cool in various "Tins" and what not but are the parts quality? I may be tempted to get the headphones that I want and just start with a cheap amp and work my way up. PLEASE tell me if this is a bad idea, All input is greatly appriciated.
 
If you're thinking about MINT (cmoy), for the price, you might as well start on a good foot and get a Go-Vibe from Norm at Headsave.com, sounds A LOT better than your run of mill low end MINT. $67. The Home-Vibe uses the same parts, but with an aluminum case and AC power.
 
Yeah I like the AC power option. It's going to be a wired 24/7 to my computer anyhow. I like the Upgrade options that Norm offers.
 
Well, a MINT and a CMoy are kind of separate. People often refer to CMoys as MINTs because of what they're usually in, but I just call 'em CMoys to avoid confusion with tangent's semi-popular MINT amp.

Anyway, yeah, if you don't want to DIY then Norm's amps offer great bang for the buck and excellent build quality. If I were to buy a headphone amp, I'd probably go for a Headsave piece.

Oh, and I tend to agree with Baked about the Airhead. Each to their own, of course, it just seems awfully expensive for what it is to me.
 
If i were you, i'd probably get the 580 and go with the Rega Ear (around $180). 've read and heard good stuff about it specially when paired with the 580 or 600..

Dont get the cheap amp. You wont be happy with it and you know you'll end up buying the good stuff anyway. Save you money and buy when you can afford to buy a decent amp.
 
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