TheGeek February 25, 2009 Share TheGeek Member February 25, 2009 I'm looking to buy a good pair of headphones. I'm 90% sure I'll be getting the sennheiser HD595 headphones. Everybody said that they have a good range of sound. But they also said that I could get better sound if you get an amplifier. My question to you guys is, what's a good sound card to get that also acts like an amplifier? I do have a stereo with a 200 watt amp powering 2 speakers, but its over 15 years old and its tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie February 25, 2009 Share mookie GC Alumni February 25, 2009 Please tell me you're not thinking about hooking up headphones to a 200W amp. I would think 4W per ear would already be a lot of power. I use a pair of HD280 plugged right into my sound card (SB Live! 5.1). Master volume at 50%, WAVE at 7%, then beyond that play CSS at .2, WinAmp -20 dB, and VLC usually at 25-62% depending on how loud the source audio is. Basically what I'm saying is that with nothing but my 5-year-old sound card, I have things turned down to about 1% of "max" volume. I don't know how much of an amp is on this card, but my guess is that it's nothing special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGeek February 26, 2009 Author Share TheGeek Member February 26, 2009 The amp is really a stereo. the 200 watts go to two subs and two speakers. so the amp wont blow my eardrums out. the reason i think i'll need an amp is because i looked at sound comparisons of audio coming from the speaker with both amped and non-amped streams. the audio quality is better because of the high 50 ohm resistance. i wont be using the sound card or amp for volume. i just want the best setup for sound quality. which everywhere i look it says the quality is better with an amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo February 26, 2009 Share anonymo Member February 26, 2009 There aren't soundcards with built in amps (you wouldn't want them anyways, they would be huge and would heat your system like two 4870's couldn't dream of). Anyways, you'll be hard pressed to find an amp that actually tells you the impedance on the headphone jack. Even then the impedance on headphones is nominal, which really just means that it's a general level that the product is known to withstand. I'm of the school of thought that the older and heavier an amp, the better the sound. Most newer amplifiers sacrifice power for functionality or just aren't that great compared to their predecessors. You can find headphone amps but they're generally geared towards guitarists and live sound recordists which means they're expensive (or designed to take high distortion, which you don't want). I would just have a look at 2 channel amps from companies like Pioneer or you can try out these or if you're feeling crazy (read: rich) you can try something from these guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGeek February 26, 2009 Author Share TheGeek Member February 26, 2009 I guess a good sound card could would be the best for me. Do you have any reccomendations for a good sound card under $100? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo February 26, 2009 Share anonymo Member February 26, 2009 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829102024 If gaming isn't a concern and you might use it for making music http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829121120 but you'll need an amp with that as it has no headphone output Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered February 27, 2009 Share Bewildered Member February 27, 2009 This sound card is horrible for gaming, so don't buy it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829271001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGeek February 27, 2009 Author Share TheGeek Member February 27, 2009 i'm looking for a sound card for music and gaming. the only thing thats going to be plugged into it will be my headphones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo February 27, 2009 Share anonymo Member February 27, 2009 Then get the M-Audio 2496, best $120 I've ever spent and it's not even that much now! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829121120 but you'll need an amp/mixer to hear anything (over headphones at least). You could get this or you could try these as they are powered (what I have, not same model though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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