PDA

View Full Version : Headphone + Soundcard advice



Ch@pS
10-22-2009, 12:22 PM
Hi there

Seemed like the right place to ask this sort of question so here goes. :)

Some background info before I get started:

I have a Panasonic SA-HT70 plugged into my onboard sound. The system remains stock except for the sub, which has been replaced with 2 x Rockford Fosgate Series 1 12 inch car subs from the mid 90s. Not perfect but much better than the weak little sub that comes with the system as stock. This serves as my PC sound(will be upgraded by Christmas so look forward to another thread asking for advice then :P). However, at night I'm restricted to headphones(neighbours like to sleep for some reason :D). So I have my Sennheiser HD415s plugged into the SA-HT70 after 9pm at night. I'm usually up until 1am so I need a new set of headphones that sound great, and will remain comfy for about 4 hours of use.

I need the headphones for gaming, movies and most importantly music! I'm a classic/modern rock lover, by also have the occasional jazz/house/classical track on, the headphones need to handle all of these things well.

Here in South Africa we're limited in our choice of high end brands, so I'm stuck with Sennheiser for now(not a bad thing mind you).

I've currently got a pair of HD415s and love them to bits, but I'm looking at upgrading to either the HD485s, HD515s or the HD555s. The price difference between the 485s and 515s is $19, and between the 515s and 555s is like $28 which isn't much, is the little extra worth it? The HD595s look really good but are a little steep for my budget.

Then I'm looking at getting a sound card for to pair with my new headphones, my current onboard sound on a Gigabyte EP45T-EXTREME leaves me wanting more.

Any suggestions? And will I be better off running my headphones directly off the sound card, or through the SA-HT70 which runs off the soun dcard? At the moment the headphones sound better through the SA-HT70 with the mode set to clear.

Any advice will be apprciated. :D

EniGmA1987
10-22-2009, 01:02 PM
The cheapest good card for headphones would be the Auzentech Forte:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829156010&Tpk=forte

Both for quality and for being able to drive any headphones you plug in to it.

momomo6789
10-22-2009, 01:21 PM
hd595s unless you want to mod the 555 -> 595s there would be no need to do forte -> amp

Ch@pS
10-22-2009, 01:31 PM
The cheapest good card for headphones would be the Auzentech Forte:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829156010&Tpk=forte

Both for quality and for being able to drive any headphones you plug in to it.

Not sure if I can get that in this country, damn limited hardware availability. :/ Will have a look at importing though, it's a good price. Will I lose any quality if I run the headphones through the SD-HT70? Its nice having the volume control within reach, and that way I can run the main system most of the time without having to switch jacks. Good idea or not so much?


hd595s unless you want to mod the 555 -> 595s there would be no need to do forte -> amp

You can mod the 555s to the 595s? :O The 595s are just out of my budget, a man has to draw the line somewhere and unfortunately they're on the wrong side of it. :( What about th eabove scanario using the amp, worth it?

Thx for the advice so far guys. :D

momomo6789
10-23-2009, 09:45 AM
go search on head-fi.com there will be a never ending amount of info you can gain there about dacs/headphones

Ch@pS
10-23-2009, 12:11 PM
Thanks for the link, will check it out. :)

[XC] Oj101
11-19-2009, 07:34 AM
The Auzentech Forte isn't available in SA, had you mentioned it a week ago I could've added another to my order :D