4 réponses à ce sujet

[Fidite Nemini]

I'm looking to expand my expertise base (i.e.: start one) for all things audio related when it comes to hardware, particularily soundcards, speakers and headphones/headsets.

 

I have next to no knowledge on the details for those subjects and I'd like to remedy that fact. So if there's any audiophiles here that might make me one of you (one of you), share your expertise.

 

For starters, I'm interested in what are the defining variables for sound quality like what frequency ranges are useful (a good number of headphones for example have a wider frequency range than the human ear can process, what's up with that?), signal to noise ratio, what exactly does that mean, nominal impedence, etc. pp. ...

 

I would also be grateful if anyone can point me to websites/communities I could browse myself to read up on stuff.

 

Thanks

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

http://www.talkclassical.com/

 

People there might help you. They know a lot about headphones at least.

[bmwcrazy]

The best place to learn is Head-Fi and its forums.

Basically, when you have a pair of highend headphones, you'll want to pair it with an amp that's most suitable for them.

Personally, I just have a very basic setup. I'm currently using a TubeMagic D1 Plus DAC amp with a pair of Sennheiser HD650 headphones. It is connected to my computer's SoundBlaster Z sound card via an optical cable. It's completely passthrough so when I use my headphones, the sound card's processor is actually not doing anything. It is just there to run my 5.1 speakers when I'm not using headphones.

My setup is very good for vocals in music, anime, and movies but if you want your headphones more "bassy," you might want to spend more money on planar magnetic headphones such as the Hifiman HE-400i. It is kind of difficult to buy highend headphones that match your needs, are comfortable to wear for a long period of time, and won't break your wallet. So go to Head-Fi and do your research.

[Fidite Nemini]

Am currently using an Astro A40 (2013 edition) headset paired with the Astro MixAmp Pro, no dedicated soundcard, so it's optical to the MOBO's onboard sound chip.

 

The best place to learn is Head-Fi and its forums.

Basically, when you have a pair of highend headphones, you'll want to pair it with an amp that's most suitable for them.

Personally, I just have a very basic setup. I'm currently using a TubeMagic D1 Plus DAC amp with a pair of Sennheiser HD650 headphones. It is connected to my computer's SoundBlaster Z sound card via an optical cable. It's completely passthrough so when I use my headphones, the sound card's processor is actually not doing anything. It is just there to run my 5.1 speakers when I'm not using headphones.

My setup is very good for vocals in music, anime, and movies but if you want your headphones more "bassy," you might want to spend more money on planar magnetic headphones such as the Hifiman HE-400i. It is kind of difficult to buy highend headphones that match your needs, are comfortable to wear for a long period of time, and won't break your wallet. So go to Head-Fi and do your research.

 

Wouldn't that mean that you don't use your dedicated soundcard at all for the headphones, basically running on the onboard chip? And doesn't the SB Z come with a headphone/set amp that you would use if you plugged your headphones directly into the soundcard?

 

Is there a specific reason you use that setup, or am I mistaking how the entire thing works?

 

 

 

See, that's how little I know about the whole thing, hence why I need help. I'm planning to build an entirely new PC sometime soon™ with all the fancy-schmancy and audio is pretty much the only part of the equation that I have little clue about.

 

 

And thanks for the links, will read up in those when I've got time!

[bmwcrazy]

Wouldn't that mean that you don't use your dedicated soundcard at all for the headphones, basically running on the onboard chip? And doesn't the SB Z come with a headphone/set amp that you would use if you plugged your headphones directly into the soundcard?
 
Is there a specific reason you use that setup, or am I mistaking how the entire thing works?

No, my onboard chip is actually disabled. The SPDIF port on my Soundblaster Z (TOSLINK/optical) is passthrough without any post processing from the sound card. The reason I went with this setup is because I wanted to completely remove audio noises between the sound card and the amp. The best way to do it was using digital and leave the decoding to the DAC on the amp.

The amp on my Soundblaster Z is actually pretty good but it is no where close to the clarity that I get with the TubeMagic D1 Plus. I also don't really like the audio enhancements on the Soundblaster Z, so I really have no use for the sound card other than powering my 5.1 speakers through analog connections.