Headphones/sound card

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Pivo504

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Well I currently own a zalman boom mic but everyone on the otehr end says it sounds crappy...? Is the antmod mic better or is something setup wrong on my end?
 
There's a handful of us that have/still using the zalman mic with no problems.

Either yours is faulty from use
Mic settings
3.5mm jack not inserted properly
Messed up drivers
Messed up sound card.
 
Sony MDRV6. I've tried many others (including both your choices) and always come back to them. They're a closed-ear design and leak virtually no sound, unlike the 558's. Their response curve is very neutral, if you're into overemphasized bass (hip-hop etc) better choices exist.
 
Yes Im going to be using them for everything from music to gaming. I just want a headphone set that is comfortable (currently using the monoprice & they get uncomfy esp without the extra padding I added. I dont care about loud bass but I would like good bass, something a bit better than these cheap 30 dollar monoprice!
 
A few specs for the three models:

Sennheiser HD 558
Weight: 270g
Freq. Response: 15-28kHz
Sensitivity: 112dB
Impedance: 50 Ohms

Audio-Technica ATH-M50
Weight: 284g
Freq, Response: 15-28kHz
Sensitivity: 98dB
Impedance: 38 Ohms

Sony MDR-V6
Weight: 230g
Freq, Response: 5-30kHz
Sensitivity: 106dB
Impedance: 63 Ohms

Studio monitors are designed to be worn for extended periods, the only and very few comfort complaints I've heard about the V6's in 25 years have been from people with truly gargantuan heads. In that case stick with the 558's :)
 
So it looks like the Sennheisers are the best bet for great SQ in games/music plus are very comfy for extends periods of time?
 
Pivo504 said:
So it looks like the Sennheisers are the best bet for great SQ in games/music plus are very comfy for extends periods of time?
Click to expand...
SQ is very good, but it's the sound stage that set the HD 558's apart from other headphones. Excellent for competitive FPS or other games that are highly dependent on directional-sound cues.

Super comfy. Like wearing little curled up kittens on your ears, but since they're open they breathe better than kittens and your ears stay cool over long periods. Well padded headband. Fairly light weight.

They also feature a single-sided removable cable. So you can easily slip the 558's off one-handed without strangling yourself, and if you run over the cable with a chair one too many times, it's an easy fix.
 
Yeah and they take the abuse too. I went through 3 pairs back in my days of competitive gaming.
 
thank god they have a removable cable! I killed 3 headphones bc it was attached!
 
BTW is it best to pair these headphones up with a really good sound card or can on board sound do just as good ?
 
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If you're going to spend over $150 on a sound card, you may as well buy a $150+ DAC with headphone output that will out-perform any consumer sound card on the market costing less, same or more.

Modern onboard sound processors are not the same it was back in 2008. Digital processing and DAC chips have come along away.
 
One of the primary benefits of an external DAC is that they can easily be powered by a dedicated electrical source, rather than your PC's PSU+Mobo that's dealing with 3.3v/5v/12v rails at highly variable load levels moment to moment.

External DAC+Amp is my preference these days.
 
Wasn't planning on spending 150...So today's on board audio is just as good as most sound cards. Would on board audio be better than an old audigy2 card? I have the Asus z97 A
 
Pivo504 said:
Wasn't planning on spending 150...So today's on board audio is just as good as most sound cards. Would on board audio be better than an old audigy2 card? I have the Asus z97 A
Click to expand...

Most onboard audio (Realtek HD) are about 8/10 of after-market sound cards. For the two points missing, gaming sound cards have more sound options such as EAX, THX, Crystalliser, CM3D Surround and such over onboard and the second point of advantage they have is a partial dedicated headphone amplifier output stage that are capable of driving up to 300ohm rated headphones, onboard is a bit lackluster. In terms of sound, that is a bit subjective as it varies with the user.

Some enthusiast branded boards like Asus ROG series or the ASrock Extreme 7/9/11 series have slightly better integrated DAC chips.

Assuming you can get an Audigy 2 working in the latest windows platforms due to EOL support for drivers it would still be a bit over onboard as stated for the reasons above.

Anyway I'm modding a Audigy 2 card atm and really shows what a few component swaps can do with a night and day improvement over stock.
 
so the audigy 2 will still perform better than the onboard sound? What about the newer asus xonar is that much better than an audgiy 2? I dont want to spend 100 bux so if nothing is better Ill stick with the audigy 2
 
To be honest that is something you're going to have to hear and compare yourself with your ears. I can't give you a conclusive answer to determine something for yourself that I hear by my own ears.

To me my Audigy 2 ZS is slightly bit better sounding then my Asus Rampage IV onboard Realtek but lacks optical out my Realtek has. It could be my brain and placebo. The Asus Xonar is pretty nice probably bit better so then Audigy 2.
 
If paying 100 for a new sound card will not be much different sounding from my current audigy 2 it's a waste of money..even slightly better isn't worth it
 
Pivo504 said:
I read the above has a Built-In Headphone AMP ...?
Click to expand...

I don't think that particular model does. Something I've noticed with the cards that have built in headphone maps, they have a power plug (either a floppy connector or 4pin molex).
 
Private_Ops said:
I don't think that particular model does. Something I've noticed with the cards that have built in headphone maps, they have a power plug (either a floppy connector or 4pin molex).
Click to expand...

The need for extra power connection would depend on whether the card can get the power it needs for the amp section through the motherboard connector used.
The 2 cards i have experience with did not require any extra power connections. Most of the headphone amps on sound cards are not high power amps to begin with.
 
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