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Copied and edited from the software/hardware forum: I need some advice on a headphone and speaker amp for my computer setup. I am not very knowledgeable about audio, but I like decent sound. I use a Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic card, Altec Lansing MX 5021 speakers, and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones. My current setup is that the speakers are plugged directly into the 3.5mm stereo output of the XtremeMusic card, and when I use headphones, they are plugged into the audio controller that controls volume, treble, and bass (the standard type of controller that comes with most computer speakers). One issue is that the headphone audio degrades when run through this controller; when plugged directly into the 3.5mm output of the sound card, the audio is noticeably cleaner. I'd like to upgrade my speakers to the Corsair SP2500 (or another similar 2.1 speaker system) and add an amplifier. This amplifier must accept a 3.5mm input from the sound card and be able to provide 3.5mm output for both the speakers and the headphones at the same time. Basically, it must have at least one 3.5mm input for the sound card and at least two 3.5mm outputs for the speakers and headphones, as well as a volume control knob for each. I also want this amplifier to do more than provide audio to multiple sources -- I primarily want it to make my music and games sound better. My budget is up to $300, but I'd also like to be reasonable in what I buy; an amp that costs $100 more but sounds 10% better is not worth it to me, even if it's within my budget. I don't know what these types of amps are called, and which ones simply split signals and which ones actually improve audio quality. Also, I realize that some amps have 1/4" holes instead of 1/8" ones, so as long as I can use an adapter, the holes can be any size that can accommodate or be transformed to accommodate a standard (green-colored) analog 3.5mm plug. Specifically, I am looking for an amp like this, but one that will make the audio sound cleaner, crisper, and better. As you can see, it has an 1/4" input for the sound card four 1/4" outputs for the headphones and speakers (I would only need two, though). Would this more expensive one work for my purposes? Also, does anyone have any other 2.1 computer speaker recommendation? Are the Corsair SP2500 good? Better than my Altec Lansing MX5021 speakers? Would I see any real difference between my X-Fi XtremeMusic and an ASUS Xonar ST or STX in case I decide to upgrade my sound card?
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Jun 21, 2012 14:49
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I'd like the speakers to stand on my desk, so floor standing will not do it. How are these Swan M200MkII speakers? What are active vs inactive speakers, in short? The stereo receiver that you posted -- I take it as that is an amp? Is there any other use for it beyond providing better sound? About wires -- I'm pretty clueless about them. Let's say I get the Swan M200MkII speakers and keep my XtremeMusic card. What wires do I plug in into the sound card? Those wires that come with the Swans -- will they fit into the soundcard's holes? What are those wires called and what do they look like? EDIT: According to the Swans' manual, the speakers use a regular 3.5mm connection to the soundcard. Is this typical for bookshelf speakers? There is still the issue of having the soundcard feed into two outputs at the same time -- the speakers and the headphones. How can I manage to do this? I'd also like my headphones' volume to be adjusted via a knob, and NOT have to go into Windows' volume panel every time. I don't think that there is a headphone jack on those Swan speakers. I've always thought that subwoofers are necessary for good sound. Are they simply for more bass, or do they have other functions? If I decide to get a subwoofer to go with those Swan speakers, is there a separate hole in my soundcard that accepts the subwoofer's connection? How do the speakers "communicate" with the subwoofer? Are there wires that must be run between the speakers and subwoofer as well? Would the Swan M200MkII speakers without a subwoofer blow my MX5021 speakers, with a subwoofer, out of the water? Does the standard 3.5mm connection provide lower quality audio than other connections? I noticed that the soundcard has a few holes for different types of connections. The Swans use a 3.5mm connector. Thanks for your help. I decided to go with bookshelf speakers instead, as stated earlier in this post. If you can help me with my additional questions, I'd really appreciate it. I will keep my DT770s, however, as I'm very happy with them. They work great, they feel great, and I feel like buying something else will be frivolous spending. small butter fucked around with this message at 19:05 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 18:28
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powderific posted:I totally feel your paint on having a separate knob for the headphones. This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC2-Digital-Audio-Converter/dp/B003Y5FRNS I only turn up the bass about half-way, and sometimes even lower it. I just want the bass to be there, but I don't care for it to be "chest-thumping." My sound card does not actually have a front-port connector (at least I don't think it does), though my HAF 932 case has a front port. I would not use the front port anyway because a lot of people report static via front port connections. Would something like this cheaper Behringer HA400 4-Channel Stereo Headphone Amp serve a similar purpose? I'm thinking that I can plug the amp directly into the card, then run my headphones and my speakers into the separate outputs on the amp. There is a knob for each output, as you can see. My concern is whether the signal would somehow be degraded with either the speakers or the headphones, or whether the amp in the speakers would somehow interfere with the Behringer amp that I would use to split the signal. When you say that "The subwoofer just needs to get the same sound as the speakers," you're referring to the source, in this case the sound card? The other reason I'd like an amp is for my headphones. If I choose the right one, would it necessarily make them sound better? Also -- would you recommend an ASUS Xonar Essence ST/STX to replace my X-Fi XtremeMusic? I don't care for EAX effects, just high quality sound. It's all within my budget, but if it doesn't sound much better, or only 10% better, it's just not something that I'd like to spend on. Is it much of an upgrade? I know that the ST/STX comes with a built-in amp that most reviewers say is great, which is important for my headphones. Would this sound card amp work if it is run into the Behringer amp to split the signal and feed it into the headphones? If so, I can just forget the more expensive amp, get the Behringer, and get the ST/STX for its headphone amp and better overall sound quality. small butter fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 19:17
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powderific posted:Most subwoofers can take either output from a sound card/receiver, OR you can pass the cable that connects the speaker with the amplifier to the speaker without through a separate set of terminals on the back. Not sure what connectors the Swan has, but it'd probably be easier to come off the sound card. Can I use any subwoofer with those Swans if I can run it through the sound card independent of the speakers? I'm looking at the Polk Audio PSW Series PSW10, but I'm not exactly sure where it would plug into, and with what cable. Would it be one output on the sound card for the speakers and another output on the sound card for the subwoofer? Looking at this image of the back of the subwoofer, I don't know how I'd run the connections. The second page of the Swan manual shows two RCA connectors going into the main speaker that connect to the sound card via a 3.5mm hole (or the L/R holes with an additional connector that transforms the 3.5mm connector into an RCA connector). Two other RCA cables connect the main speaker to the subsidiary speaker. Also, I will probably hold off on the subwoofer until I hear how those speakers sound. If I'm content, there is no reason for me to drop $100 more. I will consider the NuForce uDAC2 some more. It's just that, at this point, I'm spending $130 that can go towards a new card with its own high quality built-in amp; the only thing I'd be lacking is the volume knob control, which I may be able to get with the $22 amp I mentioned previously. Hob_Gadling posted:You may find this thread useful with the basics. Thanks for the link and information. Factory Factory posted:Since you seem to have missed my SH/SC follow up, reposting: I just saw the other post -- thanks. About the Xonar DX vs STX -- do you have a link? Googling STX vs DX, I get most people saying that the STX sounds quite a bit better. (Granted, I don't exactly know people's setups, so they may have $1000 speakers for all I know). It's 99.9% the same even with the STX's headphone amp that the DX lacks, if I'm using my DT770s? small butter fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jun 21, 2012 |
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Jun 21, 2012 21:44
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Factory Factory posted:I checked, and the STX's headphone amp can actually output sufficient power for your headphones, but now you're getting into cost/benefit issues - an $80 difference for that headphone amp, assuming the sound quality is similar. Do those charts take the amp into account? I'm not too sure what I'm looking at when I read the charts, or whether or not they are a perfect comparison given that they were done by two different reviewers with different hardware configurations. This is why I'm more inclined to listen to people who heard both cards and can vouch for one's quality over the other's. I'm fairly frugal, and so an extra $80 for nothing is unacceptable to me, even if my budget is decent. But one thing that I keep hearing from people is that if one uses headphones (and most of the time I do), the STX is better than the DX. Is it twice as good to cost twice as much? I'm not really sure. The other question is whether an amp is necessary if I want higher quality sound from my DT 770s. Most people would say yes, I think, unless someone here can convince me otherwise (I'm not sure of the answer myself). In that case, a separate quality amp would cost me $100+ dollars, which exceeds the extra cost of the STX that has an amp already built-in. powderific posted:The NuForce does have a decent amp built in for the headphones, and has the knob. It's its own sound card--you don't need anything else. Would the NuForce, as its own card and amp, be comparable to a Xonar DX, without an amp? I also don't think that the NuForce has all of the audio effects that a Xonar has, which leads me to think that the $22 amp for volume control plus the Xonar DX is probably better than the $130 NuForce. What is the sound card's output for the sub called? Does it go by a specific name and color coding? Thanks for your input about the cards. Xonar STX with a quality built-in amp vs Xonar DX without an amp specifically for my headphones -- you're saying that the audio difference will be negligible? I should research this some more before I decide what to get. I plan on buying sometime in mid to late July, anyway, so I have plenty of time. EDIT: I just remembered that my SteelSeries Merc keyboard has a volume control option at the very top of the keyboard. It works when I'm on the desktop, but not when I'm in-game. I will look into it some more to see if I can just use my keyboard to control the volume. It would also be easier than reaching for the amp's volume control knob. small butter fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Jun 22, 2012 |
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Jun 22, 2012 00:13
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powderific posted:Do you know which version of the DT770's you have? There are a bunch of different ones and how much difference an amp makes will really depend on that. In general people seem to think that they're a headphone that's well suited to amplification. You should really check the headphone thread to see which one people are recommending right now--maybe the ones you're looking at will work, but I've never seen them recommended. I have the DT 770 Pro 250 OHM headphones. I've read that 250-300 OHM headphones are ideal for the Xonar STX's built-in amp. This is why I think that it may make a significant difference over no amp. In fact, I keep reading that this 250 OHM version needs an amp to sound its best. At this time, I honestly don't think that I'd be going for the subwoofer. Those Swan M200MkII speakers are almost as big as my Altec Lansing MX5021 subwoofer, and since I keep the bass at half or less, I think that it will have enough bass. If I power on the speakers and they don't, I will exchange them for something else, or exchange the whole sound card/speaker combo and look for a compatible subwoofer, speaker, sound card, and amp configuration. I figured out that most games actually accept my keyboard's volume control buttons, but some, like Witcher 2, do not. I found this thread online that details how to map volume controls in more ways, which I will take a closer look at later. If I come by a game that doesn't let me change the volume via my keyboard, I will just suck it up and do it in the volume panel. I've also noticed that my headphones plugged directly into my X-Fi XtremeMusic are way too loud, so I would probably not need any more power than the 100% setting that Windows allows via the regular volume panel; I would in fact need to turn it down. This way, I will also avoid any possible audio degradation by having additional equipment plugged into my card, and my headphones plugged into there. I also read that the Xonar STX (probably the DX as well) lets you select "headphones" or "speakers" and disables the output that is not selected. This will let me use one source at a time, and since I use the same source for an extended period, changing it once in a while should probably not bother me (I change the settings in the same way now for my Creative card via its own software suite whenever I switch from headphones to speakers). I think that I have settled on the Asus Xonar Essence STX to power my Swan M200MkII speakers. No subwoofer, at least for now (don't think that I will need it). The STX's amp will also power my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250 OHM headphones and the speakers will plug into the other outputs. Headphone volume will usually be controlled via the keyboard with its built-in or customized shortcuts. Should cost around $430 if the prices don't drop from here until the end of July. Thanks for all of your advice. small butter fucked around with this message at 12:40 on Jun 22, 2012 |
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Jun 22, 2012 03:53
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