Show your new toys Topic

[IntoxicatedPuma]

Just ordered a Creative X7 amp/DAC. It was about $310 USD with tax included on JD.com's 11/11 sales. I see they also have some Creative XM7 speakers for $110....I checked US price and it's $262 on Amazon. I don't have much need for speakers but wow, that's tempting.

 

[Phuncz]

It has been quite a while that Creative was known for it's audio quality, as they have been developing for "gamers" for a while now. Good to see they have refocused out of that market filled with competitors.

 

[3lfk1ng]

After a few pleasant weeks of extremely in-depth reading I asked myself, "What good is graphics without quality audio?"
I had a pair of 2012 Astro A40's that have treated me quite well over the years and decided to check out the new 2016 A50 wireless so that my dogs would stop getting caught in the 9' cable thus violently slamming my headphones on the floor (which they have withstood several times more than I care to admit).

Then, after a few more weeks of heavy reading, I decided that wireless wasn't ready for prime time and I care more about the quality of audio than some dangling cord.

Therefore, I acquired some goodies:
- Schitt Audio Magni 2 UBER Amplifier
- AKG K712 PRO

This made my ears are extremely happy.

I also purchased the new Roku 4 Ultra and it has permanently replaced my PS3 in the living room consuming just 6% the amount of power that my 3rd gen PS3 did with support for 802.11AC and 5.1 Dolby Digital + in apps like HBO Now.

This made my eyes and wallet are very happy.

 

[ignsvn]

... Therefore, I acquired some goodies:
- Schitt Audio Magni 2 UBER Amplifier
- AKG K712 PRO
...

That AKG K712 is rated 62 ohm. Just curious; in general why do people need amp for low impedance headphones?

Long ago I tried using an amp for my IEM (balanced armateur, I think d-Jays or Phonak Audeo.. forgot which one), and I couldn't hear any difference (granted, it's a generic low-end portable amp).

Finally, what are the differences between onboard audio chips like Realtek, compared to dedicated ones (like Creative Sound Blaster or Asus Xonar), in driving low impedance headphones, or their sound quality in general?

 

[3lfk1ng]

Even though they are 62 OHM, the K712 Pros require the additional power to be driven properly. People often refer to the K712 Pros as being "power hungry" and I was quite surprised by the difference between the listening experience at Low vs High gain. With the Magni 2 UBER, I couldn't get the k712 Pros loud enough with Low gain (stuck at 6/10 volume ceiling) so I run them at High and their is still little to no noise floor depending on the mastery of the audio. High is just perfect for gaming, which is my primary purpose.

Without the AMP, the sound coming directly from my ALC1150 sounded like it was being slightly hampered (usable but missing that "oomph"). The Astro Mixamp that I had helped a bit but it probably would have sounded even better if I had been using optical instead of USB... but I was far too quick to cast it aside in favor of a real AMP.

Overall, I would venture to guess that the clarity of the audio moving from the Astro A40's+MixAMP to the AKG 712's+Magni2 UBER was about a 30% gain. Comparing the cost, it wasn't really a purchase I would justify but at least it makes me feel better inside. Maybe one day when spatial audio improves beyond what's currently offered by FMOD and WWISE, it will provide me with a definitive gameplay advantage.

As for sound card delivery, it depends heavily on the quality of the built-in sound card and how the board manufacturer decide to compliment it. Some of the high-end ASRock boards can handle 600OHM headsets when the $400 Asus boards (my personal favorites) wouldn't be able to.

That being said, most of the enthusiast grade motherboards come equipped with the Realtek ALC1150 which delivers an already superb sound signal, in fact, most would even consider it overkill. The ALC892 is more than up to the task and people are extremely hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. When comparing Realtek Audio to the quality of a $200+ soundcard, the difference would be something like 5%.

I would say that the main advantage that dedicated sound cards provide would be the ability to change the OP Amps to match your preferred sound delivery (classical, acoustic, etc etc). This is a rather costly rabbit hole that can easily add $100-$200+ to the cost of the sound card (BursonAudio, SparkosLabs).

The problem this has created is that most sound card manufacturers have cut back on quality because the marketing team does a better job selling the products than the sum of all parts. Then the problem is compounded because none of the sound card manufactures bother to include premium components because their competitors aren't.

Long story short, high-end built-in audio from Realtek is more than enough for most audiophiles.
When you find yourself paying over $1000 for 6' cables made of oxygen free braided silver with rhodium jacks to get that extra 5% improvement, maybe then could you justify the extra 5% gain with $400 in sound card mods, haha.

 

[Soul_Est]

Even though they are 62 OHM, the K712 Pros require the additional power to be driven properly. People often refer to the K712 Pros as being "power hungry" and I was quite surprised by the difference between the listening experience at Low vs High gain. With the Magni 2 UBER, I couldn't get the k712 Pros loud enough with Low gain (stuck at 6/10 volume ceiling) so I run them at High and their is still little to no noise floor depending on the mastery of the audio. High is just perfect for gaming, which is my primary purpose.

Without the AMP, the sound coming directly from my ALC1150 sounded like it was being slightly hampered (usable but missing "oomph". The Astro Mixamp that I had helped a little bit but it probably would have sounded better if I was using optical instead of USB but I was far too quick to cast it aside in favor of a real AMP.

Overall, I would venture to guess that the clarity of the audio moving from the Astro A40's+MixAMP to the AKG 712's+Magni2 UBER was about a 30% gain. Comparing the cost, it wasn't really a purchase I would justify but at least it makes me feel better inside. Maybe one day when spatial audio improves beyond what's currently offered by FMOD and WWISE, it will provide me with a definitive gameplay advantage.

As for sound card delivery, it depends heavily on the quality of the built-in sound card and how the board manufacturer decide to compliment it. Some of the high-end ASRock boards can handle 600OHM headsets when the $400 Asus boards (my personal favorites) wouldn't be able to.

That being said, most of the enthusiast grade motherboards come equipped with the Realtek ALC1150 which delivers an already superb sound signal, in fact, most would even consider it overkill. The ALC892 is more than up to the task and people are extremely hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. When comparing Realtek Audio to the quality of a $200+ soundcard, the difference would be something like 5%.

I would say that the main advantage that dedicated sound cards provide would be the ability to change the OP Amps to match your preferred sound delivery (classical, acoustic, etc etc). This is a rather costly rabbit hole that can easily add $100-$200+ to the cost of the sound card (BursonAudio, SparkosLabs).

The problem this has created is that most sound card manufacturers have cut back on quality because the marketing team does a better job selling the products than the sum of all parts. Then the problem is compounded because none of the sound card manufactures bother to include premium components.

Long story short, high-end built-in audio from Realtek is more than enough for most audiophiles.
When you find yourself paying over $1000 for 6' cables made of oxygen free braided silver with rhodium jacks to get that extra 5% improvement, maybe then could you justify extra 5% gain with $400 in sound card mods, haha.

Excellent response and better than I could have said. Will you be getting the Schiit Audio Modi MultiBit in the future?

 

[3lfk1ng]

hah, thanks.

Yeah, I definitely will. I decided to hold off on completing the Schitt-stack for a few months just so I could set aside those funds for some upcoming winter projects. I will likely return to complete the setup sometime next year by adding some Adam A5X speakers. I've lusted after a pair for far too long.

 

[ignsvn]

Even though they are 62 OHM, the K712 Pros require the additional power to be driven properly. People often refer to the K712 Pros as being "power hungry" and I was quite surprised by the difference between the listening experience at Low vs High gain. With the Magni 2 UBER, I couldn't get the k712 Pros loud enough with Low gain (stuck at 6/10 volume ceiling) so I run them at High and their is still little to no noise floor depending on the mastery of the audio. High is just perfect for gaming, which is my primary purpose.

Without the AMP, the sound coming directly from my ALC1150 sounded like it was being slightly hampered (usable but missing that "oomph"). The Astro Mixamp that I had helped a bit but it probably would have sounded even better if I had been using optical instead of USB... but I was far too quick to cast it aside in favor of a real AMP.

Overall, I would venture to guess that the clarity of the audio moving from the Astro A40's+MixAMP to the AKG 712's+Magni2 UBER was about a 30% gain. Comparing the cost, it wasn't really a purchase I would justify but at least it makes me feel better inside. Maybe one day when spatial audio improves beyond what's currently offered by FMOD and WWISE, it will provide me with a definitive gameplay advantage.

As for sound card delivery, it depends heavily on the quality of the built-in sound card and how the board manufacturer decide to compliment it. Some of the high-end ASRock boards can handle 600OHM headsets when the $400 Asus boards (my personal favorites) wouldn't be able to.

That being said, most of the enthusiast grade motherboards come equipped with the Realtek ALC1150 which delivers an already superb sound signal, in fact, most would even consider it overkill. The ALC892 is more than up to the task and people are extremely hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. When comparing Realtek Audio to the quality of a $200+ soundcard, the difference would be something like 5%.

I would say that the main advantage that dedicated sound cards provide would be the ability to change the OP Amps to match your preferred sound delivery (classical, acoustic, etc etc). This is a rather costly rabbit hole that can easily add $100-$200+ to the cost of the sound card (BursonAudio, SparkosLabs).

The problem this has created is that most sound card manufacturers have cut back on quality because the marketing team does a better job selling the products than the sum of all parts. Then the problem is compounded because none of the sound card manufactures bother to include premium components because their competitors aren't.

Long story short, high-end built-in audio from Realtek is more than enough for most audiophiles.
When you find yourself paying over $1000 for 6' cables made of oxygen free braided silver with rhodium jacks to get that extra 5% improvement, maybe then could you justify the extra 5% gain with $400 in sound card mods, haha.

Thanks for the information, appreciate it.

As much as audio is subjective, I guess I have to try / own a higher impedance headphone + amp in order to actually experience this myself. Maybe one day.. (or not.. Still happy with my current can ).

LOL I'll never use that $1000 6' oxygen free cables, but I remember similar fiasco a while back.. was it Monster cable? (Again, as it's subjective matter, I guess there will be some who want to get that extra 5% improvement like you said).

 

[3lfk1ng]

No problem.

I'm not sure of your location but some of the nicer Guitar Centers have a lot of these cans available to try out in-store before making any hefty purchasing decision. I would highly recommend it.

Monster cables are arguably the most affordable of all the CONpanies. There are conpanies out their pushing $40,000 strings of copper.
It's a pretty absurd market.

 

[EdZ]

I'll stick with my HiFi coat-hangers. They're good for S/PDIF too!

 

[Phuncz]

I used to buy the "premium" Belkin cables at work for about the same price as their cheap versions. Otherwise I'm more inclined to go with the physical properties of a cable, like flexibility, anti-kink, mantle thickness, etc. and the connector build quality.

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

Got a Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 last week for 600rmb on Singles Day. Today AQI was over 300 but my bedroom is staying around 40. Money well spent!

 

[Phuncz]

Got a Xiaomi Air Purifier 2

Interesting product, it seems to be an innovative design. I need an air filter in my bedroom or I basically have a cold, every day.

 

[EdZ]

Imported to the UK the price is comparable to domestic models, but the styling is certainly much better. Can't find much information in English on its PM10 filtering capability though so I might be better off with a more 'basic' model (dust is my main issue).

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

The styling is supposedly ripped off of a Japanese brand, but i think the Japanese one is much much more expensive.

 

[iFreilicht]

The styling is supposedly ripped off of a Japanese brand, but i think the Japanese one is much much more expensive.

A Chinese company copying a design and selling it for much cheaper? Scandalous!

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

The scandalous thing is when they sell a product with same performance and reliability at cheaper prices.

 

[EdZ]

Or pull something really impressive out of the bag.

 

[BirdofPrey]

You're such a tease.
I was enamored after the second picture, but that's absolutely no good to me

 

[danielbatmanj]

just installed my new gpu, msi rx 460 2gb oc https://us.msi.com/Graphics-card/Radeon-RX-460-2G-OC.html