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Is this the ultimate audio setup for pc headphones?

post #1 of 24
4/28/12 at 11:17am
Thread Starter 
just spoke to a mate whos pretty much an expert on these things and he advises this will pretty much be like hearing God whisper in your ears lol
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=16789 with http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Little-Dot-MK-III-MKIII-Tube-Headphone-Amplifier-/150754919093?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2319b182b5
with http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=116_1220&products_id=18704
apparently the souncard doesnt really matter because of the tubes. I'm shakin just thinkin how sweet this will sound smile.gif
total cost is like $700AU/US with shipping but will never need or want another amp or headset in a computer till they die which wont happen in a hurry thumb.gif
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post #2 of 24
4/28/12 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vilifried View Post

just spoke to a mate whos pretty much an expert on these things and he advises this will pretty much be like hearing God whisper in your ears lol
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=16789 with http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Little-Dot-MK-III-MKIII-Tube-Headphone-Amplifier-/150754919093?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2319b182b5
with http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=116_1220&products_id=18704
apparently the souncard doesnt really matter because of the tubes. I'm shakin just thinkin how sweet this will sound smile.gif
total cost is like $700AU/US with shipping but will never need or want another amp or headset in a computer till they die which wont happen in a hurry thumb.gif

Do you actually want tubes? They will distort the sound into something not faithful to the original recording. Some people like it, others prefer accuracy. The sound card CERTAINLY matters, what he is saying about the tubes nullifying its usefulness it just plain wrong.

The Q701s are indeed very nice headphones, and I agree with that portion of the recommendation.
Were it me, though, I would go for an HRT Music Streamer + an Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier. That setup will be far more accurate. The O2 blows the Little Dot out of the water when it comes to transparency and overall accuracy and the HRT is far above the D1 as a D/A converter. Plus, this setup won't take up any slots in your computer, and just go off of USB.

Check out this comparison of how the O2 stacks up to much more expensive amps out there
Edited by pangolinman - 4/28/12 at 11:28am
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post #3 of 24
4/28/12 at 11:36am
I have the E9, I rather like it for when I don't have my stereo receiver around. I use it with the E7 amp/DAC

If I was him, I would have had you get an HT| Omega sound card instead. Those things are amazing sound cards if you need one. I personally just use HDMI 1.4 out on my video card straight into a receiver to do all the decoding.

They use the C-Media chipset which IMO, is one of the best.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=-1&isNodeId=1&Description=ht+omega&x=0&y=0
Edited by SpykeZ - 4/28/12 at 11:40am
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post #4 of 24
4/28/12 at 11:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pangolinman View Post

Do you actually want tubes? They will distort the sound into something not faithful to the original recording. Some people like it, others prefer accuracy. The sound card CERTAINLY matters, what he is saying about the tubes nullifying its usefulness it just plain wrong.
The Q701s are indeed very nice headphones, and I agree with that portion of the recommendation.
Were it me, though, I would go for an HRT Music Streamer + an Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier. That setup will be far more accurate. The O2 blows the Little Dot out of the water when it comes to transparency and overall accuracy and the HRT is far above the D1 as a D/A converter. Plus, this setup won't take up any slots in your computer, and just go off of USB.
Check out this comparison of how the O2 stacks up to much more expensive amps out there
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpykeZ View Post

I have the E9, I rather like it for when I don't have my stereo receiver around. I use it with the E7 amp/DAC
If I was him, I would have had you get an HT| Omega sound card instead. Those things are amazing sound cards if you need one. I personally just use HDMI 1.4 out on my video card straight into a receiver to do all the decoding.
They use the C-Media chipset which IMO, is one of the best.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=-1&isNodeId=1&Description=ht+omega&x=0&y=0

so am I safe to say then that tubes will give you a distortion similar to vinyl for instance? Its a shame really I was looking forward to creating a heatproof box in the 51/4 drive bay area of my lvl10gt and showcasing it with a red cathode reflecting off the tubes smile.gif
that being said though would this be pretty much what I'm after for true reproduction sound?

HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier

Audio Chipset: C-Media CMI8788
Sample Rate: 192KHz
Digital Audio: 24-bit
Line In: Yes
Model #: Claro Halo XT
and a set of:
AKG Q701 Reference Headphones Quincy Jones Signature Line

makes sense and about the same cost just like the idea of the tube install mod (would look extremely unique and cool) biggrin.gif
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post #5 of 24
4/28/12 at 11:53am
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just to clarify do either of you guys see a major difference between the halo and the halo XT?
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post #6 of 24
4/28/12 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vilifried View Post

just to clarify do either of you guys see a major difference between the halo and the halo XT?

Why do you want the Halo?
Do you plan on running 7.1 surround?
If you want two channel sound, i.e headphones or 2.1 speakers, go with a 2 channel DAC.
Also, if you are getting an external amp, i.e the O2, there is no reason to buy a card with an amp already in it, like the halo.

You'll get basically the same, if not greater signal fidelity from the HRT, for $100 less, and the O2's amplifier will be much more capable at handling more difficult to drive headphones, with a much cleaner signal. Do whatever feels right to you, of course, but this method would net you considerably better performance.
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post #7 of 24
4/28/12 at 4:44pm
No, there is always more ultimate.
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post #8 of 24
4/28/12 at 5:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pangolinman View Post

Why do you want the Halo?
Do you plan on running 7.1 surround?
If you want two channel sound, i.e headphones or 2.1 speakers, go with a 2 channel DAC.
Also, if you are getting an external amp, i.e the O2, there is no reason to buy a card with an amp already in it, like the halo.
You'll get basically the same, if not greater signal fidelity from the HRT, for $100 less, and the O2's amplifier will be much more capable at handling more difficult to drive headphones, with a much cleaner signal. Do whatever feels right to you, of course, but this method would net you considerably better performance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrallite View Post

No, there is always more ultimate.

Fair call by both of you! smile.gif
so
Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier.
AKG Q701 Reference Headphones Quincy Jones Signature Line

are sensible choices so great but I would prefer a PCI-E soundcard over a usb one and I am purely interested in getting this resolved so what would pair well with them and not be partly redundant ie. amp, 7.1 surround etc?
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post #9 of 24
4/28/12 at 5:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vilifried View Post

Fair call by both of you! smile.gif
so
Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier.
AKG Q701 Reference Headphones Quincy Jones Signature Line
are sensible choices so great but I would prefer a PCI-E soundcard over a usb one and I am purely interested in getting this resolved so what would pair well with them and not be partly redundant ie. amp, 7.1 surround etc?

The DAC in the Asus Xonar STX is rather excellent, and you can pick it up for ~$130 used. The headphone amp isn't all that stellar, but it has RCA outs that would feed into the O2.

It is a stereo DAC.

OCN user TheWolfe has one up for $130, actually.

The amp is redundant, yes, but the DAC more than makes up for it.
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post #10 of 24
4/28/12 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pangolinman View Post

The DAC in the Asus Xonar STX is rather excellent, and you can pick it up for ~$130 used. The headphone amp isn't all that stellar, but it has RCA outs that would feed into the O2.
It is a stereo DAC.
OCN user TheWolfe has one up for $130, actually.
The amp is redundant, yes, but the DAC more than makes up for it.

Sweet just found one new for $195. ( I prefer to by all my electronics new it just feels right that way. lol)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=10940
with:
Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier.
AKG Q701 Reference Headphones Quincy Jones Signature Line
sounds frickin awesome thumb.gif
can I put a stamp on that guys or is there anything else I'm not realizing?
smile.gif
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