I just received my pair of AKG K240 and I realized that my on-board soundcard sucks so much that listening songs on my Zune player sounds better than my computer, and the volume is also pretty low.
The thing is I don’t know anything about soundcards. I do not have a 5.1 or 7.1 setup, and I don’t really need a midi input and that kind of thing. I’m just looking for more power and sound quality.
Any recommendations ?
I got myself one of these as a budget card for now, and to be perfectly honest im hearing very little difference from a Creative X-FI i just had that died.
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp
A shop i use over here in the UK for quick reference for you (overclockers)
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-012-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=
Not sure how much it will be near you or if you can get these but they are very good for the money on a budget.
TBH if you are using on board most dedicated sound cards will sound a lot better, without researching your headset though im not sure if you will require an amp or not to get the best out of them, i did for my Sennheiser headset which is why i went for this card, as it had a built in amp.
Also bear in mind that some if not most high end headsets need to be broken in aswell, Playing music through them all night as loud as you can will on most sets give you a noticable difference in the morning.
Thanks I’ll look for this one since it’s in my budget, even a bit lower than it but I won’t complain haha. In case I can’t get it, is there a company or stuff I should look out for or avoid when browsing?
By the way, what’s that about headphones “break-in”? I’ve read about that a while ago, but I’m not sure about the concept.
First of all, if you just want a stereo setup, I’d recommend the Fiio E10 (Amazon link).
It’s an external DAC/amp that sounds great, especially for the price.
The one on the right:
Then, concerning break-in or burn-in, I can assure you it is the most debated topic on audiophile boards.
Some people say that the headphones get better with use, as the drivers (supposedly) adapt to having music played through them.
Some people say that it’s just your ears growing accustomed to the sound signature of your new equipment.
I think it’s a bit of both, but the difference between new headphones and broken-in headphones is not nearly as dramatic as many people say.
If you want to try it, google “burn in pink noise” and you’ll get lots of links to speed up the process.
sorry, double posted.
Added the burn-in info to the first reply.
I was researching this a while back, and the cards I saw get recommended the most were the Asus Xonar DX, Creative X-Fi Titanium, and the Auzentech Forte. The Creative is probably the one most geared to games, and the Xonar is probably better for music, if I recall correctly. Don’t remember about the Auzentech. But if there’s one thing I learned researching audio upgrades, it’s that audio quality is extremely subjective. Audiophiles will debate endlessly about how to obtain the best audio quality, but for the average to somewhat discriminating consumer, any of those cards would probably satisfy.
I agree Orpheon, audio is very subjective, different music requires different setups, some people require more bass than others, its all a matter of you and your hearing. For most people they couldn’t tell the difference at all from one card to the next.
One thing i will say, is that the Breaking in i did with my headphones made a huge difference. So much so it woke me right up, and im not a morning person. The difference was staggering. I can understand the debate though as most users will sit there all day with them on and not really notice the difference as its happening while using them. Some may not even need that much, or its in tones that dont need it. All i know is mine made a huge difference from breaking in or burn-in as some call it. Some people have said that even after a month of using these particular headphones they are still noticing better sounds, personaly after that first night of playing music through them ive not noticed any difference, probably because im now using them all the time and im not noticing anything different. In any case im one of those people that probably couldnt tell the difference anyway, im deffinatly no audiophile.
As far as brands to avoid, pesonaly i couldn’t say, you may have brands over there that we don’t have here and vise versa. I know there have been graphics card brands in the past that have been talked about by Americans i’ve met playing games, and from reading articles that we just hav’nt had here in the UK, and we have had some that the Americans have never heard of. They would probably be the brands that are small companies using larger company brands just to resell with thier names, so they are probably the ones to stear clear of. If you stick with well known brands, “most” of the time you wont go wrong, thats my way of thinking about it anyway. Creative and Asus have always been one of my favourite brands for audio… so far anyway.
But is it just for headphones or would it make my speakers sounds better too?
Thanks, I’ll look for those.
I think I’ll try it. I don’t know it’ll make a huge difference for me, but anyways I got nothing to lose, right ?
Option B. It’s got line out and coaxial out.
Actually, you do, if you are careless.
The idea behind burn-in is stressing the drivers, so if you go on for too long or with the volume too loud, you might damage them. Slim chance of that happening - but be careful.
Basically what happened to me so you have an idea of where im coming from Imonfire.
I was running with some creative headphones and the X-FI. They both sounded great and wouldnt have replaced anything other than the Soundcard died. I decided that i wanted a new headset aswell as mine were getting uncomfortable to wear for long periods but my wife wanted to use them so i bought new headset and card at the same time.
I tried with just the on board realtek soundcard but it was so quiet and tinny that i couldnt really live with that
My guess is i wouldnt have noticed any difference if i had just replaced the sound card and used the old headphones. But i tried both out of the box new and the headphones sounded really bad, i was almost going to send them back. I did some reading and read about this burning in, used my old headset for the day then played music through the new ones all night, in the morning they sounded fantastic.
Now my headphones can take a lot more than the soundcard can give them which means i could use them on full without problems, i certainly wouldnt have plugged them into my stereo system to burn in i think it would have burnt them out tbh. But your system is on the on-board soundcard atm which is probably no where near capable of putting anything out that could dmg your headset. You may not even notice any difference at all after a night of playing music through them, they may not need it or your card may not be enough to move the parts enough to loosen them up enough i dont know, im not really sure how it all works. The only way you will see any significant increase is to get a dedicated soundcard i think. Maybe you will hear some slight difference but not all need it, but i doupt it will be enough if anything to make it good enough for listening to music through, especially if the on-board card is as bad as mine.
Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I think I’ll stay away from headphone break in for now (with my usual luck I’d just end up breaking them), and I just found this: https://www.headphonebar.com/fiio-e10/
The price is pretty good when compared to other sites like amazon (.ca doesn’t have them anyways), ebay or other places and they ship (only) to Canada for a pretty cheap price. I’ll probably order it next week and I’ll post my impressions when I get it.
Great. Make sure to post your impressions here!
So, did you get it?
I still havn’t ordered it because I have some other things that I need to pay before and money’s a little short, but I should be ok in a couple of weeks.
^did you finally get it?
Oh yes I did and I’m loving it so far. It really allows me to appreciate the true potential of my K240s, it even pushes them a bit too far sometimes but I just turn the bass off and lower the volume and it becomes ok again. I’ll post my complete setup once I get the chance to clean up my desk a bit haha
So, is buying a headphone bar better than buying a new sound card to improve your headphone sound quality? I was thinking of getting a pair of these for my PC. But I want to get the best possible sound and obviously with a integrated card I won’t.
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