New sound card and headset combination - Advice

wordy00 · 18 May 2013 at 00:48

Hello,

I am looking for a new headset and a sound card to go along with it. At the moment I have a Logitech G35 the sound quality is not fantastic. I have also never had a stand alone sound card so have very little experience with them.

I cant specify a budget yet so any suggestions are welcome.

Cheers!

Sin_Chase · 18 May 2013 at 00:50

No budget?

I'll be bias then

Asus Xonar STX + Sennheiser HD650.

wordy00 · 18 May 2013 at 00:54

Sin_Chase said:
No budget?

I'll be bias then

Asus Xonar STX + Sennheiser HD650.

Oh you....

melmac · 18 May 2013 at 14:42

lol, are you just using it for music? or do you need gaming as well?

wordy00 · 18 May 2013 at 23:17

Music and gaming. A bit of everything really.

melmac · 19 May 2013 at 00:37

And sorry last question, does it matter if they leak sound or do you want good isolation so other people in the room can't hear what you are listening to?

wordy00 · 19 May 2013 at 00:54

melmac said:
And sorry last question, does it matter if they leak sound or do you want good isolation so other people in the room can't hear what you are listening to?

Doesn't matter so long as the quality is good

melmac · 19 May 2013 at 18:39

well, if you are focusing more on music than gaming then you can't go wrong with Sin_Chase's recommendation. Though I would go for the Sennheiser Hd600's myself

If you are looking for a soundcard/headphone combination for a bit of everything, then I would go for the creative Z (the oem version if you don't need a mic)

For headphones, well, here are rough ideas.

less than a £100
Creative Aurvana live
JVC HA-RX900's (can be modded)

£100 to £200
Sennheiser HD598's
Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro's
Beyerdynamic DT770's (if you love bass)

Now if I was you I would just get the creative z and the Sennheiser 598's, it's the "safe" option. But I don't think you would be disappointed with any of the three headphones listed, especially if you are coming from a headset.

Oh, I should add, that if you are a bit of a DIY person you can make modifications to a few of the headphones to make them better. Two notable ones are the JVC RX900's that I listed already, and the Fostex T50RP. I own the JVC Rx900's and the mod is very simple to do and it's pretty easy to make them sound the way you like. But If I was buying headphones now I would buy the Fostex T50RP's and mod them.