Soundstorm and headphones.....upgrade?

[Skiguy411]

I just bought Sennheier's HD-280 Pro headphones and went to try them on my A7N8X Deluxe with soundstorm. They sounded ok. I then went and tried them on my Onkyo 600 reciever and they sound alot a better. So my question is would I notice any difference if I were to upgrade to the Audigy 2? If so, which version would be best? I mostly use headphones for my computer, but also have 4.1 speakers for it.

 

[Skiguy411]

Ok so basically what I to know is which soundcard is soundstorm equal to?

 

[bigben]

I think a better solution would be to by a headphone amp. The problem is probably power, not the hardware decoding. Try headroom for good headphone amps, especially with such a nice set of headphones.

 

[Jeff7181]

A lot of people say it has better quality than the regular Audigy... but I've never owned an audigy so I don't know.

 

[Auric]

SoundStorm signal to noise ratio is poop (85 vs. 108dB of Audigy 2 ZS). In that regard it is equal to some old SoundBlaster 16's or just about every AC97 on-board solution. Perhaps you could output the PC audio to the receiver and plug the headphones into it (and thus avoid the SS's weak DAC).

 

[dejacky]

use the digital outputs of soundstorm feeding your headphones

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: dejacky
use the digital outputs of soundstorm feeding your headphones

Yeah, that's what I meant... use the SPDIF output to receiver.

 

[Lalakai]

i have the same board, and also prefer headphones (Beyer Dynamics DT250's); ran into the same issue until i ran them through a headphone amp. A good amp will cost as much as good cans, so you have to decide how high your desire for good sound is. For me, i've noticed much cleaner sound from both my computer, and my stereo, so for me, it was worth it. And if you're also a portable stereo person, the amp will give you great music through your headphones; let my wife and daughter listen to the difference, and now i may have to buy another amp just so i can get mine back.

 

[Skiguy411]

Originally posted by: Auric

Originally posted by: dejacky
use the digital outputs of soundstorm feeding your headphones

Yeah, that's what I meant... use the SPDIF output to receiver.

I would but my reciever is in a totally different room. How portable are headphone amps? Do they need a power source?

 

[bigben]

linky

check them out there. Some take batteries, some don't. They can be small or HUGE. That website should give you a good idea

 

[Skiguy411]

150 is the lowest price for an amp......a little over my budget. Any sites that have cheaper amps? What if I were to just get a new sound card (AUDIGY2 ZS maybe?) would I notice a difference?

 

[bigben]

I don't know about cheaper amps. I think a new sound card might help but I know that the sound quality will not improve as much as if you bought and amp. Sorry, I don't know any more than that

 

[lazybum131]

For portable headphones amps, a lot of ppl like to buy from DIY builders.

Info about amps and the popular MINT, META42, and PIMETA boards.

Some Builders:
JMT
Headsave

You might still look into getting that new soundcard, an Audigy 2 ZS or a M-Audio Revolution. I haven't tried the HD-280pro, but from what I've read at head-fi and headwize, they shouldn't have much of a problem being driven by a soundcard.

An amp will help the sound, but i'm not so sure you'd see much of an improvement if you use it with the onboard sound.

 

[0roo0roo]

cheaper and portable headphone amps http://www.headsave.com/

 

[yellowperil]

I've been using the HD-280 Pros for the past few weeks. Nice cans :beer:

For a headphone amp, if you've space for a rackmount size, look into the Behringer HA4700 Powerplay Pro ($100). It powers up to 12 cans and sounds pretty good.

 

[Skiguy411]

Well after doing some more research, I decided to throw in my old Sound Blaster Live Value. I noticed a big difference. With soundstorm the headphones seemed really bright (too bright to even keep the cans on at medium volume.) and had a lack of bass. I tried messing around with the soundstorm equilizer and got it to better, but still wasnt happy. Using the sound blaster live value card, I could adjust the bass and treble, which made them sound alot better. Is there a way to adjust the bass and treble on the Soundstorm?

 

[dejacky]

I found soundstorm to sound better than the Sound Blaster Live actually...just my opinion. more clear tone.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Skiguy411
Well after doing some more research, I decided to throw in my old Sound Blaster Live Value. I noticed a big difference. With soundstorm the headphones seemed really bright (too bright to even keep the cans on at medium volume.) and had a lack of bass. I tried messing around with the soundstorm equilizer and got it to better, but still wasnt happy. Using the sound blaster live value card, I could adjust the bass and treble, which made them sound alot better. Is there a way to adjust the bass and treble on the Soundstorm?

Your lack of bass is from your lack of power. Again, you need an Amp of some kind. What you could do is just buy an old crappy receiver(that works) and use that.

 

[Skiguy411]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: Skiguy411
Well after doing some more research, I decided to throw in my old Sound Blaster Live Value. I noticed a big difference. With soundstorm the headphones seemed really bright (too bright to even keep the cans on at medium volume.) and had a lack of bass. I tried messing around with the soundstorm equilizer and got it to better, but still wasnt happy. Using the sound blaster live value card, I could adjust the bass and treble, which made them sound alot better. Is there a way to adjust the bass and treble on the Soundstorm?

Your lack of bass is from your lack of power. Again, you need an Amp of some kind. What you could do is just buy an old crappy receiver(that works) and use that.

But I got alot better bass and treble from my old sound blaster live, not as good as the amp, but still better than the soundstorm. I think I might go and get a Audigy 2 ZS (card only).

 

[sandorski]

That's because you SB Live output more power than the Sounstorm.

 

[Skiguy411]

Originally posted by: sandorski
That's because you SB Live output more power than the Sounstorm.

So the SB Audigy 2 ZS should put out even more right? Im getting a Creative Nomad Zen Xtra as well. Would the zen xtra be able to power the headphones? (I appreciate your help sandorski)

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Skiguy411

Originally posted by: sandorski
That's because you SB Live output more power than the Sounstorm.

So the SB Audigy 2 ZS should put out even more right? Im aslo getting a Creative Nomad Zen Xtra as well. Would the zen xtra be able to power the headphones? (I appreciate your help sandorski)

Not necessarily. Soundcards used to output stronger signals, but as time passed and technology changed they decreased the amount of power. There is increased emphasis on Digital Output which require little power. Also, the standardization of Self-powered multi-media speaker systems have also lessened the need for soundcards to output strong signals. There have been some souncards, such as the TBSC(IIRC), that have a dedicated Headphone jack that has extra amplification. Generally though you need extra amplification for headphones.

That said, most if not all onboard sound has very little amplification compared to soundcards.

 

[Auric]

In days o' yore, soundcards sported tiny crappy amps. Combined with inherently noisy PC gutsies it just resulted in noisy output. With the Live!, Creative axed internal amps. Again, I don't think the lack of an amp is the problem but the relative SNR's or other quality differences as evidenced when compared the Live! The HD-280 should not require amplification, unlike most of Sennheiser's other models, and if you use a headphone amp with the SoundStorm I am afeared you may increase the power but not the clarity. Perhaps bring your receiver and PC together just temporarily for testing the SS and Live! output amplified and compare analog versus digital as well. That should reveal the source of the problem tout de suite before further expenditure.

 

[Skiguy411]

I will see if I can try putting my reciever with my computer, but it ant gonna be easy.

Also, I was looking at the Audigy 2 ZS and it says it has 6.1. However, there is no Coax output. How would you go about connecting the digital output to a reciever digitally.

 

[rbV5]

Is there a way to adjust the bass and treble on the Soundstorm?

Have you tried adjusting the settings in the NForce control panel at all (for the soundstorm)? btw, the digital output of Soundstorm is excellent.