Just ordered a Xonar D1, headphones?

[jubei]

Hi guys,

Just ordered myself a xonar d1 to replace my onboard sound. Now i am in the market to replace either my speaker or my headphones, whichever is going to give me the best upgrade so would apprecaite some help.

Currently have creative instpire 5.1 digital 5700 speakers and a medusa 5.1 home headset.

As i never actually manage to spread my speakers i was thinking of possibly buying myself some of those aego 2.1 speakers to replace the creative ones but am not entirely sure how good the 5700s are and if they should be replaced?

On the other hand i have been thinking of getting some new headphones, primarily for gaming but i do listen to rock music too. Was thinking of possibly getting the HD555 or HD595, which would be the better purchase?

Thanks all

 

[jubei]

Infact i could even imagine myself waiting a month and stretching to the logitech z5500s on the offchance that i mite get 5.1 set up in the future, would this be a better option?

Could get some hd595 headphones for 89.99 if thats a good price? No idea on the 555s.

 

[bledd]

that is a good price for the 595's mine were about £99

 

[jubei]

that is a good price for the 595's mine were about £99

How are your 595s? Do you have some kind of amp for them? Keep seeing people talk about headphone amps but never seen one myself.

 

[-Ad-]

They are very very good headphones, or stretch even further and get the senn 600, even better, but more monies of course.

With headphones they need a few hundred hours of use before they sound like they are supposed to, so it's a good idea to get them first, and after a month or so think about a headphone amp to get that little bit more out of them. Amps can start off like a cheap mDIY millett starving student, or something readily available like a CMOY, and go up to ones costing thousands like the top Ray samuels B52 or singlepower amps.

Go for the best headphones you can afford as they will last you many years, and will easily outlive speakers.

 

[Margaret]

At first my 595's sounded quite poor to me, but I've had them for a few months now and they sound bloomin fantastic.

But I did used to use them on, onboard at first. 595's + Xonar = heaven.

 

[jubei]

Do i need an amp for them? Can someone link me the kind of amp they are talking about.

Also what would sound better, 595 headphones or some aego m speakers?

 

[bledd]

the 595's being the first set of expensive headphones i've had, they are awesome
headphone amps are ~£80-500 depending how much you want to spend, i'm not using one and they sound great to me..

 

[jubei]

Hmmm Z5500s, Aego Ms or the sennheiser 595 :|

 

[JBuk]

sennheiser 650's for the win


only because I have just ordered some along with a xonar d2x

 

[jubei]

Lol aint stretching that far matey

no idea what diff is between 555 and 595, always seems to be the 555 recommended...

Also what am i missing by getting d1 rather than the d2?

 

[jubei]

Okay guys could i just get some final input on the best set of headphones to pair with a xonar d1 card for majority of gaming (fps mostly) with a little bit of music/film use.

Sen HD555 / Goldring DR150 / Sen HD595

Also keep hearing about grados. Have been trawling right back through the threads on here expecting there to be a lot of 'which headphone' threads but couldnt get an answer. Whats generally considered the best headphone for around £90 max as thats what i have seen the 595 for.

 

[ro55o]

I'd go for the best you can afford, which here are the 595's. From what I've heard the bass is better on these than the 555's, so you shouldn't really need an amp. These with the xonar card your getting will be a perfect match.

I agree with the others, burn them in. I did this with my goldrings, even though they sounded good when I first got them, after a lot of music, movies and games they are so much better. I've got mine with my xonar dx, definitely won't be going back to cheap headphones and onboard sound I'll be saving my pennies for the 650's now.

 

[jubei]

I'd go for the best you can afford, which here are the 595's. From what I've heard the bass is better on these than the 555's, so you shouldn't really need an amp. These with the xonar card your getting will be a perfect match.

I agree with the others, burn them in. I did this with my goldrings, even though they sounded good when I first got them, after a lot of music, movies and games they are so much better. I've got mine with my xonar dx, definitely won't be going back to cheap headphones and onboard sound I'll be saving my pennies for the 650's now.

I mess myself up by reading too much into it. On some threads people are saying the dr150s are better than 595.

Nearly all other threads i read talk about headphone amps. If i have a xonar card, am i best to plug 595s directly into the soundcard or should i connect them through the inspires little box? :/

 

[jubei]

Well i just ordered some HD595 from a well known auction site. Auth reseller apparently so hoping that i am not getting a dodgy pair, says new n boxed for £89.99.

 

[bledd]

you'll be fine w/o an amp for now mate

all review sites tend to be made by audiophiles (which is a good thing), but compared to any normal set, these will blow you away without an amp anyway..

 

[jubei]

you'll be fine w/o an amp for now mate

all review sites tend to be made by audiophiles (which is a good thing), but compared to any normal set, these will blow you away without an amp anyway..

Thanks =]

So do i plug them direct to soundcard at back of computer or into my creative inspire box thing? I dont want to do something that will distort or hamper the sound and know nothing about how all the sound equipment works lol

 

[bledd]

back of the card would be best

on my gaming pc i only have my headphones for it, so mine are in 24/7

 

[Aod]

Thanks =]

So do i plug them direct to soundcard at back of computer or into my creative inspire box thing? I dont want to do something that will distort or hamper the sound and know nothing about how all the sound equipment works lol

wires travelling past the inside of your pc can pickup quite a lot of interference. for example, my onboard-audio front-panel jacks are unusable because the wire runs right next to the graphics card, so you can hear the data being transferred to the card across the PCIe bus.

i remember being able to tell what was going on on the screen without looking simply by listening to it

moral of the story = as few inter-connects and as little contact with other sources of EM interference as possible.

 

[Leporello]

Hmmm Z5500s, Aego Ms or the sennheiser 595 :|

Then you're a fool for wasting your money. Had you done a little research you would have known that the Sennheiser HD 650s have an impedeance of 300ohms and a headphone amplifier is an absolute necessity to get the best out these 'phones. If you have reaonable hearing, you could have bought some quality low impedance 'phones fot half the price you paid for the HD650s and enjoyed much better sound fro your system.