upgrade from asus u7?

pooley · 12 Nov 2016 at 23:07

hi peeps,

currently using the above with some hd518's to play games, fancied a change so got some k702's from the MM on the way as i read on here they are great for gaming with.
i have seen the sound blaster E5 going for 100 on the creative website and has me tempted

so chaps do you think it worth the outlay?

tia

Marsman · 13 Nov 2016 at 00:09

E5 should do the trick and the current £100 does look like a nice price. U7 hasn't got a beefy enough amp for AKG's insensitive K6/7** series headphones.

Can be used with a console as well, not just limited to PC unlike a sound card. Bluetooth too, so will make a decent portable DAC/amp for use a smartphone or something.

Plenty of good features for £100.

pooley · 13 Nov 2016 at 00:22

yeah the amp on this u7 has me wondering if it is up to driving the 702's, im not clued up on the technicalities of audio so thanks for you input

Marsman · 13 Nov 2016 at 01:13

U7 is fine for what is known as easy to drive headphones; HD518/558/598 to name just a few. Those K702's though despite being only 62 Ohm, need a beefier amp.

Some people have enquired as to how well the K701/2 and K612 would perform with a Soundblaster Z. I saw some comments from two people on another forum, that had a SB Z and found the AKG's lacked a bit. One guy described that the sound was like flat cola. He ended up buying an E5 and found the AKG's were vastly improved.

I'm not totally sure, but I think the E5 has the same amp as the ZxR, which is the same as used in the Xonar Essence. It's a more powerful amp than the one used in the Z and Zx.

With a decent DAC and amp and the feature it has, E5 looks like a good buy for 100 smackers

If you were looking at a sound card, then you'd be looking at spending more like £100-£150, unless it was something used.

Powercolor HDX has had some reliability issues, so isn't worth considering really. Essence STX has been discontinued I believe, so you'd need to get a used one if considering that. Not sure about the Strix Raid Soar/Pro how good the amp is on that. Deluxe is likely better, but more money. For a new card that's going to be a certain improvement, you're probably looking at £150 and more in the case of the Strix Deluxe, ZxR and STXII.