MetaChat - Help me get a clue with audio stuff,

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10 December 2005

Help me get a clue with audio stuff, part 2. So I listen to a lot of music on my PC...→[More:] and I'm looking to upgrade sound quality.

* I'm looking at getting some nice headphones, these or better. If I get headphones like this, do I need some kind of amplifier? Do they make amplifiers for the PC? Is it part of the soundcard, or does it go between the headphones and the computer?

* I've got a Chaintech CT-AV710 sound card. Should I upgrade this, or will it put out a high enough quality signal to utilize the nice headphones?

Thanks for your attention in this matter.

post by: agropyron at: 14:09 | 5 comments

From the chaintech site:

4 Line outs & Digital Optical output

Buy a decent normal stereo amp then hook the amp to the soundcard outputs using male-jack to male-phono leads, or an optical cable if the amp supports it.

You can then plug the headphones into the amp.

posted by urbanwhaleshark 10 December | 14:32

Excellent.

posted by agropyron 10 December | 16:12

I have the HD-570s, which I bought five years ago. They are easily the best headphones I've ever owned, but in many cases they need a headphone amp. Any portable device doesn't have the power to drive them properly. I don't know if those HD-550s would be the same. I'd seriously consider getting one of these, especially a portable model, rather than a regular stereo amp.

posted by kmellis 10 December | 16:49

That Chaintech board is very popular for quality at it's price point. I didn't see the specs on the Senns, but anything in the 'tens' (eg, 32)of ohms won't need an amp, and anything in the 'hundreds' (eg 600) will want an amp. The folks over at head-fi.org can comment further. For any 'phone, a decent op-amp based amp is easy to DIY - look for the Cmoy & Mint designs.

posted by Triode 10 December | 20:12

Thanks, uws, kmellis, and triode. I'm slightly more clueful now.

posted by agropyron 11 December | 05:40

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