Teac AMP, DT990-250, SB 'Zx' Question, Please advise.

Quicken · 20 Feb 2013 at 16:08

Please can someone advise me which is the best option. Thanks.

Long story short. My 20 year old amp died, Got a cheap Teac AG-D200 amp to replace it, Really happy with it for £100!.

The following month my G930 gaming headset decided to pack in aswell!, So after researching A LOT, My DT 990 pro - 250 arrived this morning, Very happy aswell as they are much better than my old grado SR80i's.

So right now i'm using onboard Realtek ALC898 to amp to headset. Sounds awesome!.

However the upgrade bug was infectious. Last night i bought the new Creative Sound Blaster Zx. Thinking this would be the cherry on top.
It will be here Friday.
Was i wrong to do this, Will i notice a big diff again from the onboard?.
I was thinking soundcard to amp by optical, Because i want the hdmi to go directly into the TV(Not Amp), To be sure that i am getting the soundcard signal and not my 580's audio, As i heard this is better.

Sorry its long and slightly complicated, Hope it makes sense.

Any advice would be welcome.

Cheers

Marsman · 20 Feb 2013 at 18:55

Using optical to the amp is fine, just don't use your DT990 headphones connected to the amp. Three of reasons why not.

1. Budget AV receivers don't have great headphone output. Yes it will work, but it's there for convenience. There are many components that make up an AV receiver, far more than a stereo amp. More components, less can be spend on each one. AV receivers are made for speakers, so the headphone output is far down the list when it comes to priority. More expensive AV receivers will have a considerably better headphone out.

2. SPDIF, or optical if you like, sends digital data, not actual sound. The sound card is just acting as a data transport. The DAC and other components in the AV receiver convert that digital data into sound. In short, if the settings are the same, there is no difference in sound quality terms between using a motherboard optical, one on a £100 sound card and HDMI from a graphics card.

3. The Z series sound cards have headphone amps, which will not be used if you connect the headphones to the AV receiver.

Quicken · 20 Feb 2013 at 19:52

Thanks for the well informed answer, I was thinking along the same lines, After some reading today. DT990's straight into Zx Soundcard or add-on to get the full benefit of the card.

But i still have to run the SPDIF to the amp to use the normal speakers, For when me and the misses watch something to bypass the hdmi(580 audio) and use the card(Zx).

Big diff between ALC898 and Zx?

Cheers

Marsman · 20 Feb 2013 at 22:11

I'd be very surprised if you don't find a noticeable difference using the DT990. ALC898 is one of the better onboard audio offerings, but no onboard audio is as good as a decent sound card.

Using SPDIF to connect to the AV receiver is fine, as long as you are making the most of what the sound card is capable by using analogue connection; which you will be doing with the headphones. It would only be a waste if you were only using SPDIF.

Quicken · 21 Feb 2013 at 00:17

Thanks again!

Quicken · 21 Feb 2013 at 18:35

Well the 'Zx' arrived and installed with no problems at all. Win 8 64Bit

You were right, Much better sound!, Well happy.

Also there is an option in cinematic called DTS Connect. I now get that icon on the amp.
Onboard was good before but this is so much better and tweakable.
The DT 990's are coming into their own, Good choices all round.
Happy Bunny. :-)

Marsman · 21 Feb 2013 at 21:13

Nice one. Sounds like a good setup.

And · 22 Feb 2013 at 10:16

I'm using the same mobo as you, just switched from the onboard to a Soundblaster Z. I thought the onboard was very good out of the box, but the Soundblaster has needed a bit of tweaking (not that I mind that) as I found it quite flat. Only had it a couple of days so still bedding in but initial impressions are that after tweaking it's an improvement over the onboard.

I had to put the Soundblaster in the bottom PCIe slot thought (it's a 4x one iirc) as the 1x slots are just too close to the graphics card for comfort.

Quicken said:
Well the 'Zx' arrived and installed with no problems at all. Win 8 64Bit

You were right, Much better sound!, Well happy.

Also there is an option in cinematic called DTS Connect. I now get that icon on the amp.
Onboard was good before but this is so much better and tweakable.
The DT 990's are coming into their own, Good choices all round.
Happy Bunny.

Quicken · 22 Feb 2013 at 14:06

I have SLI so put mine in the top, Not as tight as i first thought, also the sheild helps.

Yes i have tweaked as well, I guess we all have slightly diff tastes.

Love the volume control, Glad i paid the extra for the 'Zx', as the lead comes out of that now on the desk, I think my coiled lead on the 990's would have been awkward and tighter plugged straight into the card.