Xonar D2X + Goldring DR150

[Deaco]

I have the above card/headphone combo and am looking to replace my PC, have tried searching and from what I can see, a few years ago it was still a good combo.

However, I'm just working out budgets and seeing if either ideally could do with replacing or if technology has come on leaps and bounds that onboard would be better.

Will mainly be used for gaming (use dolby headphone and never had issues), music and watching the odd film/programme.

The mobo in question that I'm looking to get (it's Ryzen based so waiting on specs/reviews etc.) is https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...ocket-am4-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-553-gi.html or https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...ocket-am4-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-69e-as.html


At present can not see the setup being used to drive anything but headphones - but may look at driving speakers in future (2 years or more time when possibly move).

Cheers

** EDIT **

Budget is not ridiculous but open to suggestions if a major improvement over current combo

 

[C64]

The ancient x-fi music is probably still better than any onboard audio, keep what you got.
It's come on leaps and bounds but not better than a dedicated good soundcard.
Upgrading the headphones you would notice more.

 

[Marsman]

Audio might be pretty decent on that board, as far as onboard audio goes. Whether it's as good as the sound card, well that's something only you can decide really. As with most audio, you can only really tell when you hear something for yourself. People can tell you all day long that one thing is better than other, but if your experience differs from others, as many people's do, what you hear and what your prefer is all that matters.

2x Realtek ALC1220 and support for Creative Soudblaster X-Fi MB5, which looks like a software overlay, similar to SupremeFX in the past. Uses Creative's SBX for positional sound. How well that works without an actual Creative chip, I have no idea. It's probably worth trying though and comparing, even if only to compare Dolby Headphone against SBX.

As for the headphones. I still have my DR150 as well; they are very good headphones and punched above their price tag back in the day, especially when they were at the bargain price of £30-£40. I don't use mine that much any more as I have Sennheiser HD600 and Denon D2000, which sound smoother and more refined. That's no surprise really, as those are/were 3-4 times the cost of the Goldring's. I don't use them for gaming though, only music. The DR150 are wonderful for guitar music though. Just had a listen to The Guitar Man by Bread, and they sounded awesome.

It depends what you'd be willing to spend on headphones, but I imagine at least for gaming, for something better you'd be looking at maybe AKG K702. The caveat is, that despite the blurb on the motherboard audio mentioning headphone amplifiers, most of the time they are not that powerful. I'd wouldn't be surprised if it couldn't drive the K702 properly, and the D2X certainly can't due to no dedicated headphone amp at all. You'd likely need something better to drive them, which in turn means more cost.

If you'd rather not have to buy another source, then easy to drive headphones will be a much better option. Maybe Beyerdynamic DT770 32 or 80 Ohm versions, Sennheiser HD598 or one of the newer variants they have out now. Of course, if the K702 do take your fancy, then without having to spend £130 on an Essence STX, you could connect an external DAC/amp to the D2X or motherboard and make use of Dolby Headphone or SBX. Needs to be a DAC with SPDIF though. Something like a SMSL M3; however that's still £70 though.