Sound Card Question

[sarge1022]

So, I am currently thinking of buying a pair if Astro A50 headsets but I noticed that they require a sound car that supports Dolby Digital Live and has S/PDIF Out in order to utilize the surround sound. My mobo is a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H with an on-board sound card that supposedly supports 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound with S/PDIF Output and uses the VIA VT2021 codec, but no where does it mention anything about Dolby Digital Live. So if anyone on here knows if this card will be able to to utilize the surround sound of the A50's, an answer would be greatly appreciated.

[*Aqua*]

300 $ on that one? Are you sure?

With that money you can get a hi-fi stereo headphone which will stomp the A50 into the ground. Wifi headphones are nice but also heavy and need to be recharged. A good old one with a cable is much more comfortable. An what will you do of some device interferes with the wireless connection?

And who needs a virtual 7.1 headphone? You only have two ears right next to two speakers inside the headphone. So it's only stereo sound. Don't let the marketing trick you!

IMO there are only about three good headphone manufactures: AKG, beyerdynamic and Sennheiser. These will also provide replacement parts for at least 30 years. (Yes, their headphones can easily be used that long!)

Good headphones with prices between 100 - 300 $ are:

Sennheiser HD600 (neutral sound) (wow, the price went up by 100$!) or HD650 (allrounder, neutral sound, some people say it sounds boring)

AKG K601 (neutral sound) or K701 (allrounder, neutral sound)

beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (slightly more bass, excellent for movies and games) or DT880 (allrounder, less bass)

I use a beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 80 ohms with a Asus Xonar DG (because of the amplifier). Total costs were about 150€ (~200$) when I bought them.

[sarge1022]

Alright, thanks for the response. I'll definitely have to do some more research before I make my purchase. Also, if I choose to go with a stereo headset will I still benefit from a nice sound card or will my mobo's on board one suffice?

[steve_v]

The main benefit from a 'nice' sound card is usally SNR - i.e. moving the analogue electronics away from all the noisy circutry on the motherboard. With good headphones you won't benefit from fancy surround sound but you might just hear the noise from a cheap sound chip.

Some flash cards even have a socketed opamp for 'upgrades' - just try not to get sucked into the audiophile hype... 'magic' cables and such nonsense

Even so, as long as the DAC isn't complete rubbish, most onboard chipsets actually sound quite reasonable.

+1 on the Sennheiser rec, though I've got a Pioneer studio set from the late '70s that sound almost as good... at 6 times the weight

Also +1 on the Xonar, 'tis what I have hooked up to my DIY HiFi power amp... also because of the nice onboard pre / headphone amp.

Edited November 30, 2014 by steve_v

[LordFerret]

I have over-the-ear Sony headphones (MDR-ZX100, they were a gift). Work fine for me, comfy, except the jack is "L" shaped and I'm forever getting tangled in the cord and end up ripping it out of the computer. lol

*Edit*

The laptop has Bang & Olufsen 'ICE Power' sound built in. Sounds great.

Edited November 30, 2014 by LordFerret

[*Aqua*]

Also, if I choose to go with a stereo headset will I still benefit from a nice sound card or will my mobo's on board one suffice?

It depends. If you used a 15 bucks headphone until now you'll definitly hear an improvement and if your ears are still in good enough shape you may hear the noise.

If there's noise then you'll have to switch to an external soundcard to get rid of it. I heard the FiiO Olympus E10 is a good one but it's a bit pricey.

'magic' cables and such nonsense

Even so, as long as the DAC isn't complete rubbish, most onboard chipsets actually sound quite reasonable.

You mean those overpriced cables?

And it's true, common onboard chips aren't bad... if there's no noise.

I have over-the-ear Sony headphones (MDR-ZX100, they were a gift).

[...]

The laptop has Bang & Olufsen 'ICE Power' sound built in. Sounds great.

The Sony headphone only costs about 15€ or 20$. In my experience cheap headphones sound cheap and break after one or two years of use.

'Sounds great'? Did you try some real hi-fi equipment? After that you won't be able to bear laptop sound anymore.

[rodion]

personally i don't even like simulated surround sound systems for headphones. i've tried dolby's virtual 7.1 for more than one pair of headphones and it always just sounds muddy and bad, like you were listening to music in a big old hall reflecting everything back and forth all the time. there's also some band around 500-1,000Hz that's way over-represented and for me it's too big of a hassle to EQ it out for good. for me no mixing simulation technique is better than just playing the sound through the channels it was intended for - headphones are physically stereo by design, so stereo is what they do best.

also i agree with aqua, for $300 you could get say, AKG K701s, or even get two pairs of audio technica M50s and give the other pair away as a christmas present. you could be doing way better with the resources you have at hand.

[steve_v]

You mean those overpriced cables?

I do indeed. Awesome examples here.

People do, unfortunately, still get suckered by this kind of thing. I make my own interconnects, from decent quality reasonably priced cable. No magic rocks or 'electron straighteners' involved

An understanding of the non-magical nature of electricity helps.

[lajoswinkler]

1996 called, it wants its sound card back!

Who buys sound cards anymore?!

[*Aqua*]

Try a 250 ohms headphone. If you can get it loud enough without using an amplifier, tell me.

[sarge1022]

Alright, well I definitely have some things to think about regarding some new headphones. Thanks for all the advice posted on this thread.

[LordFerret]

The Sony headphone only costs about 15€ or 20$. In my experience cheap headphones sound cheap and break after one or two years of use.

'Sounds great'? Did you try some real hi-fi equipment? After that you won't be able to bear laptop sound anymore.

Yes, that's about what they cost. I have tried/listened to 'real' hi-fi equipment in my time, I found the difference negligible... despite my audiophile maniac friend insisting my ears were tin and that I was nuts. And yes, pretty much to my experience, nearly all computer accessories/components break after a year or two. But that seems to be the way of things these days - planned obsolescence. Every 6 months or so the latest greatest thing comes out making all your other stuff old news. I'm quite impressed with the sound on my laptop, pumped out to my JBL speakers it sounds pretty good... and in the Sony headphones I have too. To each his own I guess.