Which Amp \ Dac for me ?

drex69

drex69

drex69

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Just need a bit of advice guys.

Looking to upgrade my headset, and I have pretty much chosen the Beyerdynamics MMX 300 headphones.

At the moment, I am using a Logitech G35 gaming headset via USB.

I know I can connect the MMX 300 into the onboard sound, but I would rather have something external, that I could control the volume, mute etc.

What sort of thing, should I be looking at ?

Thanks.
 
If you want to plug both the headphone and mic into something external then your options are limited.

If budget isn't a problem then the Creative Sound Blaster X7 is certainly worth a look. It has a powerful and versatile headphone amp, excellent DAC, high quality ADC (for the mic) and can even drive passive as well as active speakers. The downside is cost, as it weighs in at a hefty £289

The Creative Sound Blaster G5 boasts some excellent specs and is a much more reasonable £120. However, some people have complained that Creative have "messed up" the surround sound for gaming compared with sound cards such as the Sound Blaster Z and ZxR.

The Asus Xonar U7 is another well specced box of goodies that uses Dolby for it's virtual surround features rather than the SBX of the Creatives. Coming in at £80 it is something of a bargain and as long as the headphones don't provide a difficult load (the Beyers don't) then it is good to go.

Lastly, there's the new kid on the block, the Sennheiser GSX 1000, which boasts an in house, top of the line DSP for their surround features, which they claim are the best available. Superb build quality, highly respected brand name and user friendly interface plus it looks a LOT better than the competition. All this does come at a price though, it's currently on the rain forest for £200 but if you want the best, then this is probably it.

OcUK Sennheiser GSX 1000 discussion


If you don't need virtual surround and are happy with stereo, plus you don't mind plugging the mic into the motherboard, then the recommended "cheap Topping" would likely do the trick although there are many, many external DACs and headphone amps out there that would do that trick better, as long as you don't mind paying for them.
 
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Thanks Rids, for posting them recommendations.

I have pretty much dismissed the Xonar, as I don't really like the look of it much.

Just need to have a more in depth look at the other three.

Another question :

At the moment I run a 5.1 speaker system via optical from the motherboard into a home cinema receiver.

Would I still carry on using my 5.1 system this way, regardless of what external Amp \ Dac I purchase ?

Or is there a way to get these connected up to the Amp \ Dac as well ?

I presume I would need to be looking for a Amp \ Dac with an optical out ?
 
The X7 and G5 both have optical out but the Sennheiser apparently does not, so you could connect the first two to your 5.1 receiver and they would provide the same functionality as your motherboard.

Another option would be an internal sound card with an external control and connection box....

Creative Zx (£110)
Creative ZxR (£190)
Asus Strix RAID pro (£110)
Asus Strix RAID Deluxe (£165)

All of the above are very capable sound cards with high performance DACs, TOSLINK optical output and powerful headphone amps. They also have external boxes that control the volume and provide a convenient connection point for headphones / headsets.
 
As my PC is approx. 5 metres away from where I sit, I think the external devices will be better suited to my needs.

Its a shame that the GSX1000 doesn't have an optical out, as I quite like the idea that there is no software to install, apart from the drivers of course. And you can also select different options, even when your in game.

But there is better connectivity on the X7, plus it would drive higher impedance headphones, but it does also have software to install.

I think I am leaning towards the Sennheiser GSX1000, and I will propbably keep my 5.1 speakers setup, installed on the onboard sound.

I presume they won't conflict ?
 
Shouldn't be any conflict. They will appear in Windows sound options as two different devices, so you'd just set which one you want to use as default.
 
So is this device going to need a 5m USB cable?

If so, you may run into timing problems, as that is the maximum length for a full speed (USB 2.0) device. I've had problems when using over 96kHz sample rates from just a 2m cable, so you may need to reduce sample rates to get smooth operation.
 
You don't want to run a DAC on a 5 meter USB cable bro. No no. Much better off using a long headphone cable and using a 1.5 meter or less USB cable (such as a SUPRA) with your DAC.

Speaking of DAC/AMPS, I have had (as have many others), splendid and magical audio experiences using Schiit equipment. It's not Schitt at all, it's actually quite good. Get a Schiit Modi and a Schiit Magni. Don't buy their cables, they are crap. Get good cables.

I have no idea what the cost would be in the UK but the whole shabang in the USA would run you $198.98

BTW, these headphones you've chosen, you've actually listened to them right? If you haven't, you might be making a terrible mistake.
 
Sound quality wise I agree, I use a Modi/Magni 2 setup myself but it leaves the mic with nothing to plug into and I'm guessing that this would be an issue.
 
rids57 said:
So is this device going to need a 5m USB cable?
Click to expand...

Yes it would.

At the moment, I have all my other peripherals connected to a USB hub, which is approx. 5m away from the PC. But there is a repeater, between the PC and hub, and all my peripherals work fine.

I understand that this is not ideal for audio though.

So basically, my only option would be to have an internal sound card, and run the optical out to my receiver and plug my headphone's into it as well ?

This idea sounds fine, but I don't really want to keep disconnecting the headphone so that sound can go through to the receiver.

At the moment, I use "soundswitch" to switch between my USB headset and the onboard sound.

Would I be able to use this, to switch between different outputs on the internal sound card, or not ?

Thanks.
 
mistersprinkles said:
BTW, these headphones you've chosen, you've actually listened to them right? If you haven't, you might be making a terrible mistake.
Click to expand...

Never listened to them, read some reviews, and based my decision on that.

At the moment I have Logitech G35's and I am basically looking to better the audio and mic quality, for gaming.

What would you recommend ?

If you have any better suggestions, then i'm all ears. ;)

Thanks.
 
The MMX 300 are basically a Beyerdynamic DT770 with a microphone, so yes, the sound quality should be better.

As you are using a powered hub and a repeater you may be ok as long as you don't go above 96kHz (and there is really no reason to). So I would be inclined to get the device you really want and see if it works, if not, return it.
 
I wanted Grado headphones last summer, I went to a place in Toronto called Headphone shop where you can try any headphone they have. I went with Hifiman HE400is, which were a headphone I never would have considered until I listened to them.
 
True but places where you can audition headphones over here are few and far between.

I'd love a pair of 400is but they are a stupid price on this side of the pond. I can see them for $249 on the American rain forest but from the UK branch they are $410 and that's less than they have been recently.
 
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