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Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Headphone with soundcard or receiver?
- Thread starter Rinthe
- Start date
I have the A900's and they work fine in my X-Fi fata1ity. The A700's I would imagine take less to drive them than the A900's so a soundcard would be enough to get the best out of your cans. Going the receiver route may be more expensive, but is a worthy investment as well.
My problem is that my A900's are falling apart and I want to send them in to get repaired, however I am not sure if they are repairable. I am going to pick up a replacement gaming headset until I get my baby back from the repair shop. Maybe the Razer Carcharias.
My problem is that my A900's are falling apart and I want to send them in to get repaired, however I am not sure if they are repairable. I am going to pick up a replacement gaming headset until I get my baby back from the repair shop. Maybe the Razer Carcharias.
Receivers seldomly have good headphone output circuitry, their main job is to drive speakers. However, some budget audiophiles have connected a resistor bridge to the speaker level outputs of receivers and then connected headphones to them... you have to be very careful, else you can easily blow your headphones that way.
So if you're only going to use headphones and don't ever intend to use the receiver with speakers, I'd advise against the receiver just because it's so large and will generate a lot of heat powering the amps you won't be using.
Just try out your headphones with your existing built in sound card first, and if you think they're good enough then you don't need to buy a sound card.
Just to toss in my own $0.02, my AD700's are currently powered by my onboard sound. The quality is lacking due to it being on board sound, but they are getting plenty of power. I'd imagine going with the aformentioned Xonar would be even better...still, it doesn't take much to push them...a decent sound card is all you need.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
All you guys keep saying that they sound fine without an amp, until the day that you do add an amp, you'll never take them off the amp again. You'll fight for that amp like it's the last piece of food and you are a gorilla on a deserted sand dune.
legcramp
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
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Receiver's headphone jack sounds like crap 95% of the time.
Just plug them into your soundcard or get a headphone amp.
Just plug them into your soundcard or get a headphone amp.
While I wouldn't say it's quite THAT dramatic, amps offer real benefits to pretty much every set of cans out there. Once you get into harder to drive cans, though, the differences become much more apparent. My D630, for example, couldn't push my old Ultrasone HFI-2000s to anywhere near my top listening volume, much less ear bleed. Suffice to say, they benefited greatly from an amp. Unlike, say, the JVC RX700s.
Once the end of your audio stream is set, we can get into better DACs and then focus on the source.
But that's a discussion much more suited to Head-Fi than H.
More suited to HeadFi more than [H]?
Well bring it back here and let some people give their honest, informed opinions. Choice of sound playback is a VERY personal thing and the more feedback we get will help us in our choice of items to review: whether it be sound cards, speakers, headphones, or DACs and headphones.
Well bring it back here and let some people give their honest, informed opinions. Choice of sound playback is a VERY personal thing and the more feedback we get will help us in our choice of items to review: whether it be sound cards, speakers, headphones, or DACs and headphones.
I say that not discounting our opinion on audio, but rather, in that our goal (as it were) isn't the pursuit of audio perfection.
Ask Kyle--this is primarily a website for gamers. Spending a ton of money on a high end audio rig isn't usually the best use of funds for a gamer, nor does it really benefit him. I game with Stax on, though, so take that with a pound of salt
And I'm not against discussing it here by any means. There are just more people into the audio aspect over at Head-Fi than at [H]. It's the reason I wouldn't bring up a thread about video cards or overclocking over there--its the wrong crowd.
However, to throw something out there...from what I've read, the Audio GD Sparrow is a great value leader in getting a good dac and amp combo. They range $125 - $235 (plus shipping) direct from Audio GD.
I can't comment on it first hand, since I don't own any full sized dynamic cans anymore, but A-GD makes quality products (and has hilarious Engrish skills). It should have more than enough power to drive the 701s.
No, not really. I have a PPA, with high end components that I built (cerafine caps, 637 opamps, 4 buffers per channel) and with the 700s, there really isn't any difference between that and the Audigy 2's output. They are just very easy to drive.
That's not to say an amp never makes a difference, I have some Shure SE420s and those really lack in the bass coming directly off of my laptop. The PPA fixes that right up. Then again, my Denon 3808 sounds nearly as good on it's headphone output.
For many headphones, amps are just not a big deal. You also have to remember that it isn't as though many devices don't have a headphone amp. They aren't just feeding line level sound out. They just don't have an extremely high end one. However a high end amp isn't always needed or useful. Depends on the headphone design to a large degree.
However for most people it is very silly to spend more on an amp than on headphones. To the extent they hear a difference, it will mostly be in their head (you spend enough on something, you'll convince yourself you hear it).
The ATH series are great headphones for just plugging in to your soundcard. They give satisfying sound that way.
I'm a high end audio guy, but I am sure not going to say that is for everyone. It is silly to try and say that everyone needs high quality phones, a high end amp and so on. You get a pair of 700s and plug them in to a sound card, that'll do nicely for most people.
I understand very well and respectfully what this website is for. I do know that once ANY user has a good sound card, and later, a good set of cans on his ears, he does realize what he has been missing. I am hoping to bring that here to gamers that wont be fooled any more to something marketed to "the ULTIMATE GAMER PRIMED AND READY TO KILL"
The Audio-Technica headphones we reviewed here show that you can have great positional audio in games and damn good playback in music and movies.
Bring your choices and why you choose them.
respectfully
The Audio-Technica headphones we reviewed here show that you can have great positional audio in games and damn good playback in music and movies.
Bring your choices and why you choose them.
respectfully
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I bet you think there really isn't much of a difference between Netburst and Nehalem too.
ahh you guys missed the part where i said i'm getting k 701 instead!
new thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1529433
new thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1529433
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
There's a real difference between a technical difference and a practical one. I am fully aware of the technical difference between my PPA and a normal headphone out, that's why I built it. It it linear from DC-1.5MHz, can supply an amazing amount of current, can go up to 24 volts of output, enough to destroy any headphone I'm aware of, and has an ultra-low output impedance (meaning lots of feedback and hence driver control).
However, that doesn't mean that all that is useful for many headphones. It was useful for HD580s, because the things were low efficiency, high impedance. They needed high voltage (in a relative sense) to drive them, the PPA could provide that. However the ATH-A700s are fine. They sound good on normal HP outputs.
How it sounds is really all that matters. Frothing at the mouth about technical specs isn't useful, especially when you are talking far, far exceeding the useful audio range as my PPA does. The question is always "How does it sound?" In the case of the 700s, the answer is "They sound fine on the soundcard's output."
In terms of your processor analogy I would say it would more be like the difference between a quad core and a multi-processor 16-core system for a gamer. Technically, the multi-core system has way more power. However it is power in such a way that is not useful to games. So the gamer sees no speedup, and certainly not a 4x speedup.
Some headphones need high quality amps, some don't. Also depends on the sound card, some have a pretty good headphone stage.
The ATH-A700 seems to be find right on the output of most soundcards.
Because I disagree. They don't sound good without an amp. If you are only using them games, movies, or classical music then yes they are very "doable" without the amp.
But I never said anything concerning gamers or "everyone" needing amps. I said as a whole once you get an amp you'll never want to listen to them without the amp again. And that's the simple truth. To say that one would disagree with this is like saying they like their cake without frosting, or even sugar for that matter. For the few that wouldn't care about good sound or tasty treats then what are they doing buying these headphones anyway? Send them over to the JVC department. When someone takes an interest in quality cans they are making a statement that they do care.
I've had these cans hooked up to all kinds of cards internal and external and when it comes to music they sound weak and dull without an amp. The clarity is still fantastic without, but that's it. It's as if listening to only the front speakers in your car stereo.
You're trying to make a logical addition and I get that, I'm not trying to offend, but to say that you think there is no difference between your high end dac amp and a creative sound card output is just ludacris. And you should know that.
Headfi aside, even the guys that wrote the review on this board said they sounded like crap without a good source.
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No, not at all in fact. Read the review, he listened to them using an Asus Xonar soundcard, without a dedicated amp. I realize that is has a "dedicated headphone amp" by which they mean something like a TPA6130A chip. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing special. Most sound cards, including the Creative ones, have headphone amplification circuitry on their headphone out line. It is a current buffer, and possibly an opamp that can provide higher voltage.
I'm sorry if I'm not hearing what I'm "supposed" to hear according to you, but I don't. I find that the A700s sound about the same on everything. They do not seem to be challenging to drive. The only thing I've found they don't sound good on is the integrated IDT soundcard on the motherboard. They sound fine on a Creative soundcard, they sound fine on a Denon receiver headphone jack, they sound fine on a PPA, they sound fine on a FiiO E7. I do not hear a night and day difference using them with my PPA, and I'm not going to lie and say I do.
Speaking of Head-fi, that is part of the reason I got them. They were recommended there as phones that don't need an amp. The recommendations I got on the 500s and 700s said they are real easy to drive, and sound good without a dedicated amp. I liked the look of the support system and since the 700s were only a bit more than the 500s I got them.
I leave open the possibility there are things I can't hear, I do not claim to have the world's best hearing, though most that know me regard me as rather fussy when it comes to sound. However when I report on things I will only go with what I hear and I'm not going to try and fool myself in to thinking I hear a change when I don't.
I'm sorry if I'm not hearing what I'm "supposed" to hear according to you, but I don't. I find that the A700s sound about the same on everything. They do not seem to be challenging to drive. The only thing I've found they don't sound good on is the integrated IDT soundcard on the motherboard. They sound fine on a Creative soundcard, they sound fine on a Denon receiver headphone jack, they sound fine on a PPA, they sound fine on a FiiO E7. I do not hear a night and day difference using them with my PPA, and I'm not going to lie and say I do.
Speaking of Head-fi, that is part of the reason I got them. They were recommended there as phones that don't need an amp. The recommendations I got on the 500s and 700s said they are real easy to drive, and sound good without a dedicated amp. I liked the look of the support system and since the 700s were only a bit more than the 500s I got them.
I leave open the possibility there are things I can't hear, I do not claim to have the world's best hearing, though most that know me regard me as rather fussy when it comes to sound. However when I report on things I will only go with what I hear and I'm not going to try and fool myself in to thinking I hear a change when I don't.
i have similar opinion on the ad700's. they sound same out of my mixamp, x-fi and HK receiver. there is a noticeable knock on quality if i plug them into onboard audio, otherwise same experience. i don't doubt a nice standalone amp may make them sound a little cleaner, but i also would recommend investing in an amp to drive a set of headphones that were probably purchased as a budget decision (85.00). to each his own i suppose.
I've got both a creative x-fi here and a xonar essence stx right in front of me, I find the difference to be a great deal when using the xonar's high gain, and extra high gain settings. The sound has a great deal more impact, fullness, and is much more alive on the xonar card.
If the same person is testing these two cards together and they didn't know which was which, I would put my money the majority of people would choose the Asus card without a second thought.
To each their own, everyone is entitled to their opinion I am just stating mine.
If the same person is testing these two cards together and they didn't know which was which, I would put my money the majority of people would choose the Asus card without a second thought.
To each their own, everyone is entitled to their opinion I am just stating mine.
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