New sound card and head phones time

[Stonerboy779]

On the razor headset, i'd be very concerned about comfort. My razor headset physically hurt my ears after a short while of wearing purely because they made it so damn heavy and it doesn't go around your ears. I personally wouldn't give on to my enemies.

From this group I'd pick the ATH-AD700, overall good highend, lacking in bass as they are open cans, but their quality is great.

Like you say you listen to dance/club music, I wouldn't take anything but the 380 pro. I would save up a bit more, the 380's are worth it.

 

Ok, the 280 pros are also very good with bass, not as good, but very good few come close to it. If you know of others in the same price range please feel free to post the frequency graphs.

But as i have it for the money there's no headset open or closed that will come close to the 380's. The reason why I can compare the headsets high end with each other is purely because headsets do not offer great high end, even at crazy prices the high end is still lacking.

All headphones have serious issues with high frequencies, some are better than others, but still very flawed.

Beyerdynamic dt770 I would lump in with the senns 380 pros they can be picked up around the same price and are very comparable in low end sound and overall reproduction with the dt770s lifting up a little more with high end while the 380s fade away more. The 770s have a higher range of 5Hz-30kHz while the 380s range from 8Hz to 27kHz ultimately between these two I would go the cheaper or senns if they are the same call it personal preference if you will.

 

Archived 380 pro and the dt770 and what i use at work love my cx300-II on to my second pair killed my first ones after two years of earth when i discharged a static shock through one speaker. Now I make sure not to use them while wearing boardies.

 

 

But as for dance/club music you really need to add a sub to your set up, headphones can only go so far which for me isn't enough. So running dual simultaneous outputs to your headphones and a sub, is the way to go imo. So you can listen to it crystal clear while feeling all the base beats.

[NoSnipeLimit]

So are these the ones you are talking about?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-380-Pro-Collapsible-Professional/dp/B001UE6I0G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1317709012&sr=1-1

 

And how are the 280 Pro's compared to my other choices(ATH-AD700's). I might just have to go with the cheaper set and then get the more expensive set in a few months when I can stomach it. I am also in the middle of a whole new system build : / lol

 

http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=187614&st=12&gopid=1960161entry1960161

 

What do yall think of the second sound card I posted? Its in that upper price range? Is there a better one I should be looking at? I hear the Dolby Headphone tech is the best for virtual surround out there right now..... My only question on it is the lack of a built-in headphone amp I am not sure if that will hurt me or if it really wont affect me at all.....

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

 

Yes those are the 380's I am talking about.

 

They compare like this:

Headphone Compare

 

There you can see the 280's have more bass extension, and from around 12khz takes a dive(555 follows similar pattern). But as you can see the high end on both aren't very linear, but it really depends on your hearing sensitivity also. I do recommend auditioning first. That is how i knew i wanted the 380's.

 

I'm currently running the 380's on my onboard(some intel chipset)(at work). Even on the lowest main volume setting in windows is loud enough for me, and it's capable of really going loud when i want it to. However I do want to get a decent DAC for it.

[NoSnipeLimit]

Archived 380 pro and the dt770 and what i use at work love my cx300-II on to my second pair killed my first ones after two years of earth when i discharged a static shock through one speaker. Now I make sure not to use them while wearing boardies.

 

Those DT770s look nice as well. Haven't listened to them, but the ~8db bump at 100hz might be a bit much?

[iskout]

On the razor headset, i'd be very concerned about comfort. My razor headset physically hurt my ears after a short while of wearing purely because they made it so damn heavy and it doesn't go around your ears. I personally wouldn't give on to my enemies.

From this group I'd pick the ATH-AD700, overall good highend, lacking in bass as they are open cans, but their quality is great.

Like you say you listen to dance/club music, I wouldn't take anything but the 380 pro. I would save up a bit more, the 380's are worth it.

 

 

 

Ok, the 280 pros are also very good with bass, not as good, but very good few come close to it. If you know of others in the same price range please feel free to post the frequency graphs.

But as i have it for the money there's no headset open or closed that will come close to the 380's. The reason why I can compare the headsets high end with each other is purely because headsets do not offer great high end, even at crazy prices the high end is still lacking.

All headphones have serious issues with high frequencies, some are better than others, but still very flawed.

It really surprises me that you say that your Razers hurt your ears. What headset do you have?

 

My Carcharias' have been fine as far as comfort goes, and I wear them whenever I'm on my computer (basically all the time, as it's my TV/Gaming/Music source).

[ekiM]

I have the DX and HD 555's, I'll never go back...

[Mombo]

So from what I can read from those charts is that the Ath-ad700's have better highs then the 280 pro but the 280 pro has better bass and the 380 has good bass and highs. It also appears that the dt770's compare closely to the 380's so it could come down to comfort there. I have worn the 555's before and I know they are comfy do the 380's feel similar or better? How about the dt770's? Anyone know how the Ath-ad700's feel compared to the 555's?

 

And Stonerboy I see you mention running a sub quite often. I have a older logitech z-5300 setup that I hardly use it was a 5.1 setup. Would there be a way for me to use the sub that I have with that with my headphones? How do you set something like that up?

 

I guess as of now depending on my money situation at the end of the month I might try and spring for the 380 pro's. I will likely have to pass on the sound card for now and get it later if I do that.

 

If I decide to go with a different setup though I think I might try out the Asus Xonar DX 7.1 I linked earlier with either the 280 Pro's or the Ath-ad700's. What do yall think is more important for gaming though a better quality bass or better quality highs? Music comes second for me always because I listen to it so rarely. So really it comes down to what is going to be best for gaming. I am sure whichever I choose will sound just fine for me with music.....seeing as I use a 30 dollar pair of headphones right now and the music sounds fine....I do wish they worked better in my games though.

 

Thats one reason why I am thinking of trying one of those Xonar cards. I think the vitual 5.1 will help with immersion when playing Skyrim or SWTOR and help with hearing people coming from behind/sides on BF3

 

But WOW reading reviews on these sound cards is depressing. Almost as bad as the MSI GPU I was looking at. It seems nowadays there are so many people getting DOA stuff. When I did my last build like 4 years ago I swear I never had any of these troubles....

 

Heh Amazon has some of the 380 pro refurbished for less then 100 bucks....to bad I have no idea who or what that company is selling them lol.

 

Edit: That company that sells them refurbished has a pretty decent amount of good reviews. I guess refurbished items from sennheiser get a 90 day warranty. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Just noticed the 380 pro's have one of those coiled cables is it quite long before it starts springing around? Doesnt that drive you crazy? It seems like that would pull on the side of the headphones as you play.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Mombo

[NoSnipeLimit]

It really surprises me that you say that your Razers hurt your ears. What headset do you have?

 

The barracuda 5.1, i would sy it's the weight of the whole thing.

 

So from what I can read from those charts is that the Ath-ad700's have better highs then the 280 pro but the 280 pro has better bass and the 380 has good bass and highs. It also appears that the dt770's compare closely to the 380's so it could come down to comfort there. I have worn the 555's before and I know they are comfy do the 380's feel similar or better? How about the dt770's? Anyone know how the Ath-ad700's feel compared to the 555's?

 

The 595 to me felt much lighter than the 380. Still very comfortable though.

 

I guess as of now depending on my money situation at the end of the month I might try and spring for the 380 pro's. I will likely have to pass on the sound card for now and get it later if I do that.

 

I vote for this option.

 

If I decide to go with a different setup though I think I might try out the Asus Xonar DX 7.1 I linked earlier with either the 280 Pro's or the Ath-ad700's. What do yall think is more important for gaming though a better quality bass or better quality highs? Music comes second for me always because I listen to it so rarely. So really it comes down to what is going to be best for gaming. I am sure whichever I choose will sound just fine for me with music.....seeing as I use a 30 dollar pair of headphones right now and the music sounds fine....I do wish they worked better in my games though.

Games i would say lower-mid to higher-mid is probably going to be the region your looking at. The high end and low end will just complete the experience.

 

Just noticed the 380 pro's have one of those coiled cables is it quite long before it starts springing around? Doesnt that drive you crazy? It seems like that would pull on the side of the headphones as you play.

 

This can indeed be a bit of a hindrance if your connection point is making the coil stretch very long, however the headphones sit firmly on your head, very little chance of it moving around on your head. The cable unstretched is about 1.5m or so.

[Stonerboy779]

Through either spliter cables or preferably software.

 

Most often you plug in the input for your sub and your headphones and most programs will recognize things as 2.1 so it will work perfectly.

 

Plug and play. Also it would be best to use some sort of room correction to set up levels right so that your not deafening yourself with your headphones just to get your sub to play or vice versa

 

Edit: if you opt for this rout with sub running at the same time I would say go for the ad700s the open ear design will let the sounds of the sub blend in an it will provide the best soundstage although not the greatest unaided base. The sealed cups of the 380pro are noise canceling to a degree and would not work as well with an addition of a sub but would be the far better option for portable use.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Stonerboy779

[Mombo]

Bleh so right now im just experimenting. I am using my on board audio card. I plugged my headphones into green and the subwoofer into orange.

 

My main problem is if I am playing just some random mp3 file or a youtube video there is no sub audio comes out on through the headphones.

 

I have a couple songs in FLAC that are 5.1 tracks and those play music through the headphones and subwoofer.

 

I assume the computer is just not taking the low frequencies and shooting them to the sub automatically. What do you use to make it do this?

 

ALSO huge note. LOL this drives room mates crazy by the way. The past hour my room has just been doing buuump....bump bump bump.....BUUUUUMP and it pierces all the walls and floors so that could be a problem with this setup lol!!! But it is fun to drive people crazy so I would like to get it working....Gaming at 3 in the mourning would be annoying as hell.

 

 

So what does everyone think about getting refurb'd Senn 380 Pro's. 90 day warranty think its worth the risk? I would assume anything thats going to go wrong will go wrong in that period. Any tips on checking headphones out to look for defects?

 

If I go with the refurb's I will be able to grab the 380 pro's and the Asus Xonar DX which I think would be a killer combo.

 

The springy cable does put me off a bit. But I am thinking of one easy solution. I could get one of those 3.5mm extender cables I would only need about a 2ft one if its about 4 1/2 ft while its coiled and that would make it so it would not be pulling at all. I think if the cable is 6ft long that would give me the room I like to run the cable behind my desk and get it to my head without going over the middle of my desk what not.

Edited October 5, 2011 by Mombo

[Stonerboy779]

You need to select the option speaker fill. I have no idea what utility was provided along with your motherboard. But there will be an option that will force mono and stereo tracks to play through all speakers.

[Mombo]

Hmmm I guess windows had something called Channel Phantoming selected by default which was preventing me from getting it to work. Once I turned the phatoming off then it started working just fine.....Even though my room mates would kill me if I kept it like that..... LOL but none the less my subwoofer plays while wearing my headphones now.

 

I noticed Amazon had a sale on the Asus Xonar DX today dropping it to 50 and still allowing the rebate so after rebate ill be getting at 30 bucks not bad if I say so myself.

 

Now I just have to decide between 2 different headphones. Either the Senn 380 Pro's Refurbished or the Ath-AD700's new. For those with the 380's build quality wise do they seem like they should last a while? My friend has the 555's and he said he is noticing some minor cracks in the plastic near the ear pieces. If I go with a refurb'd one I just want to know what to look for I guess to make sure I get a solid set.

 

Also has anyone tried or thought to try the 3.5mm extender to make it so the coiled cable doesn't pull on the headphones? Using an extra cable like that should hurt the audio quality would it?

[Stonerboy779]

Hmmm I guess windows had something called Channel Phantoming selected by default which was preventing me from getting it to work. Once I turned the phatoming off then it started working just fine.....Even though my room mates would kill me if I kept it like that..... LOL but none the less my subwoofer plays while wearing my headphones now.

 

I noticed Amazon had a sale on the Asus Xonar DX today dropping it to 50 and still allowing the rebate so after rebate ill be getting at 30 bucks not bad if I say so myself.

 

Now I just have to decide between 2 different headphones. Either the Senn 380 Pro's Refurbished or the Ath-AD700's new. For those with the 380's build quality wise do they seem like they should last a while? My friend has the 555's and he said he is noticing some minor cracks in the plastic near the ear pieces. If I go with a refurb'd one I just want to know what to look for I guess to make sure I get a solid set.

 

Also has anyone tried or thought to try the 3.5mm extender to make it so the coiled cable doesn't pull on the headphones? Using an extra cable like that should hurt the audio quality would it?

You could even buy some 2-core shielded mic wire and rewire the headphones. For some really cool looks you could even sleeve the cable once installed and not only will it perform but it will look a million bucks.

 

Rewire will possibly even improve audio quality if you get a decent jack and quality wire. However you need to be sure of your abilities before trying this.