Corsair headset passthrough question

Ninjagizmo · 8 Dec 2014 at 19:47

Hey guys, first time poster, long time lurker here.

I have got the Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers and I am just about to get a new set of headphones. I was wondering if the headset pass through "is amped" or has an amp in it? I am using them with a Xonar D2X currently and was thinking about getting a pair of AKG Q701's if it is amped or HD598's if its not.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Marsman · 8 Dec 2014 at 22:05

The speakers won't have a proper headphone amp. Personally I wouldn't even connect 'easy to drive' headphones to them. The headphone output is possibly better than those found on many PC speakers, but they are only ever there as a convenience.

Might be useful to get some idea from other SP2500 users how good the headphone output is. No point spending £100+ on headphones, if the quality is not much cop.

I can understand why you might want to use the headphone out on the speakers though, as the D2X has no front audio connection, and with the speakers connected to the only stereo output, leaves nowhere to connect the headphones without using a switch unit.

Ninjagizmo · 9 Dec 2014 at 22:53

Marsman said:
I can understand why you might want to use the headphone out on the speakers though, as the D2X has no front audio connection, and with the speakers connected to the only stereo output, leaves nowhere to connect the headphones without using a switch unit.

Yeah that's exactly the problem im facing , the D2X has only 1 output and reaching behind my computer to swap them out is a pain, I find I use the speakers more often than not. Also i dont know if its a placebo but I feel I get a sore head when using the headphone passthrough. (the reason i thought it was amped as i can hear a little buzzing at louder volumes)
Is there such a thing as a 3.5mm switch unit? ive searched and searched to no avail.

Thanks for your help!!

Marsman · 9 Dec 2014 at 23:23

The buzzing at louder volumes indicates poor quality more than anything. Good quality headphone output should be silent even at higher volumes.

Can't say I am surprised though, as they (headphone outputs) are really only there as a convenience on speaker sets. Whatever components make up the headphone output really take a back seat, as the money is spend on what really matters; the speakers themselves.

Switch boxes are not uncommon, but for some reason those with 3.5mm connections are. RCA/phono ones are widely available. It's always puzzled me why there are not more choices with 3.5mm connections.

Not the most aesthetically pleasing of designs, but this will do the job.

Ninjagizmo · 9 Dec 2014 at 23:37

Ahhhh i understand, the speakers themselves are great, cant fault them at all.

Well that is exactly what i was hoping to find when i was looking for one, thanks Marsman.

1 other quick question, Ive got the Asus Rampage IVBE, it has decent audio on the board. Would i be gimping myself using the speakers through that and headphones through the soundcard? or is the switch the best idea.

Thanks again!!

PapaLazaru · 9 Dec 2014 at 23:54

Yeah the headphone socket on the SP2500's is not so good. I also, for a while at least, ran the speakers from my onboard (good audio chip), and my headphones through my soundcard, but I recently bit the bullet and got an all-in one solution, which is an external DAC with 3.5mm out, a built in headphone amp and RCA out, which now go to my SP2500's.

You get great audio, a nice little box to go on your desk and also (which makes a lot of difference), volume control.

Well worth a consideration as you are looking as some nice headphones.

Ninjagizmo · 10 Dec 2014 at 00:03

Hey Lazaru, im going to come across as very thick but your DAC and headphone amp there, will that negate the soundcard all together? Do you have your SP2500 connected to it via the RCA?
How does the D2X compare to such an external sound device?

PapaLazaru · 10 Dec 2014 at 11:26

Ninjagizmo said:
Hey Lazaru, im going to come across as very thick but your DAC and headphone amp there, will that negate the soundcard all together? Do you have your SP2500 connected to it via the RCA?
How does the D2X compare to such an external sound device?

Yes and yes and I expect it will be an improvement to your D2X.

There is a certain high street hi-fi chain that will let you buy one with a 30 day money back guarantee I you ask nicely. It is what I did.

Marsman · 10 Dec 2014 at 12:01

Ninjagizmo said:
Ahhhh i understand, the speakers themselves are great, cant fault them at all.

Well that is exactly what i was hoping to find when i was looking for one, thanks Marsman.

1 other quick question, Ive got the Asus Rampage IVBE, it has decent audio on the board. Would i be gimping myself using the speakers through that and headphones through the soundcard? or is the switch the best idea.

Thanks again!!

Most of the time, I'd suggest doing it the other way round, because headphones are more deserving of a sound card than speakers are really. Headphones are more sensitive, so you hear finer details. They need deceent amplification, but I don't necessarily mean a dedicated headphone amp, more that sound cards have better amplified output for headphones in general than many onboard audio codecs.

That's for the majority of onboard audio though, which is pretty average most of the time. Some are better than others, and according to your board specs it does have a dedicated headphone amp, so it might do a decent job of powering the headphones.

The D2X is a good card, but not really better for just speaker use only. A Soundblaster Z, would be a better choice with separate headphone and speaker outputs on the card itself.

You could have course get an external DAC/amp like the rPAC PapaLazaru has, or one similar.

Ninjagizmo · 11 Dec 2014 at 22:45

Thank you very much guys! I appreciate all your input, I quite fancy an external amp/dac now.
Onto another question/topic then:
How would games sound through an external dac? would it be worthwhile to play games on the d2x using the dsp for my headphones? Then swap back to a dac for music/movies?

Ive found the schiit modi/magni combo to be quite appealing, do you guys have any thoughts on them? Thanks again.