Suggestions for amp?

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fatryan

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 19, 2004
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Let me preface this post by saying I'm a novice to computer audio (though I'm fairly well versed in car audio).

I was looking for a budget audio upgrade for the computer in my office. And by budget, I mean ideally sub $200 lol. So after doing a little research, I decided to purchase the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD (SB1240) DAC/Amp and some low end but decently rated ear buds (FSL AL13). The biggest concern with a setup is that I do not have (and cannot get) permissions to install third party software or drivers on my machine. I decided on the SB1240, because from what I've read the drivers and software aren't needed if only using it for 3.5mm or RCA out...and it supposedly has great DACs for the $$$.

I got the equipment setup, but the output on the new ear buds is screwy. Certain mid-high frequencies are very quiet (mostly the vocal part for some reason), and there's a very pronounced 'hallway' effect. I tried two other sets of headphones, and they worked properly. I tried a co-worker's Audioengine D1 with my ear buds and they work fine on it (they also work fine on my machines internal card). And lastly I tried the SB1240 & ear buds on my personal laptop with all Creative software and drivers installed...no dice, same issue. Despite the fact that the SB1240 is spec'd to handle drivers "up to 330 Ohm", I'm thinking that perhaps my 16 Ohm ear buds are too low resistance.

I'm planning to get new headphones, but from my testing it seems the SB1240 amp isn't going to be very powerful on higher resistance headphones. So I was wondering what you all might suggest as far as in-line amps and new headphones. I listen to a variety of genres, rap/hip-hop and house predominately but also metal and pop. I realize I'm starting with crap music files, but I can't help but use Google Music (at 320kbps). I don't want a stack of like a million CDs in my office to get stolen, and I can't load up my HDD with FLAC files. Also, much of my music was purchased on Google Music anyway, so I'm stuck with 320kbps MP3s for that music. I'm looking for something on the cheap, but a good bang-for-buck setup. What do you all think of the Monoprice 8323 DJ headphones? They're mad cheap but get great reviews. I've always had a great experience with Monoprice too.
 
fatryan said:
What do you all think of the Monoprice 8323 DJ headphones? They're mad cheap but get great reviews. I've always had a great experience with Monoprice too.
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I recently got a pair of those when my old headphones were flaking out. I think they're a little bit bass heavy, and I wish they were built for people with bigger ears, it's a little bit uncomfortable for me; but I'm happy enough to not get something else. A detachable cable is hard to find at this price point and very nice to have. To be fair, this pair is more expensive than the last two pairs I had.
 
toast0 said:
I recently got a pair of those when my old headphones were flaking out. I think they're a little bit bass heavy, and I wish they were built for people with bigger ears, it's a little bit uncomfortable for me; but I'm happy enough to not get something else. A detachable cable is hard to find at this price point and very nice to have. To be fair, this pair is more expensive than the last two pairs I had.
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What genres do you typically listen to?
 
I use these at work, I'm mostly listening to Vocal Trance, but sometimes Electro Swing (big band with electronic beats works surprisingly well), streaming 128 kbps aac.
 
Epos7 said:
As far as an amp goes, the Objective2 amp is my recommendation and should handle anything you throw at it. You can build one yourself, or buy one pre-assembled. It's also available with the ObjectiveDAC.

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/o2-headphone-amp.html
https://www.jdslabs.com/products/35/objective2-headphone-amplifier/
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I don't know about building it myself, but that looks like a decent amp. It seems to get good reviews. I'm kinda stuck with the Creative DAC as its not returnable, but would you say the ObjectiveDAC is better?
 
toast0 said:
I use these at work, I'm mostly listening to Vocal Trance, but sometimes Electro Swing (big band with electronic beats works surprisingly well), streaming 128 kbps aac.
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Considering their price, would you say they're a great value? How about not considering price - how to they fair against headphones in the $0-100 range? And is the bass too much or manageble? Muddy or clear? And would you say they sound hollow at all or are they full?
 
fatryan said:
I don't know about building it myself, but that looks like a decent amp. It seems to get good reviews. I'm kinda stuck with the Creative DAC as its not returnable, but would you say the ObjectiveDAC is better?
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I can't say definitively, but I would guess the ObjectiveDAC is objectively better, pun intended :D

You can always buy the ObjectiveDAC as a standalone unit should you decide to upgrade down the road. If you're interested in reading up on it, here is a post by its designer:

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/odac-released.html

Here are some measurements of a similar Creative DAC, which you can compare to those in the ObjectiveDAC link. Keep in mind the ODAC design is open source and NwAvGuy, the designer doesn't profit from its sales.

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/x-fi-usb-dac.html
 
Epos7 said:
I can't say definitively, but I would guess the ObjectiveDAC is objectively better, pun intended :D

You can always buy the ObjectiveDAC as a standalone unit should you decide to upgrade down the road. If you're interested in reading up on it, here is a post by its designer:

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/odac-released.html

Here are some measurements of a similar Creative DAC, which you can compare to those in the ObjectiveDAC link. Keep in mind the ODAC design is open source and NwAvGuy, the designer doesn't profit from its sales.

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/x-fi-usb-dac.html
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I was looking at the guy's site, which has the amp listed at $129 (its $139 on Amazon BTW). But that's the base price. Given the options, I'd definitly want 1/4" jack, which is freakin' $30 more! So I think that alone puts this thing out of my price range. The $130 base price was already pushing it :-/
 
fatryan said:
Considering their price, would you say they're a great value? How about not considering price - how to they fair against headphones in the $0-100 range? And is the bass too much or manageble? Muddy or clear? And would you say they sound hollow at all or are they full?
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Considering their price, they're a great value. Not considering price, I might get something else a little bit more expensive from another vendor with bigger ears. I've gotten used to the bass, it seemed a bit too much at first though, but it's OK now. I'd say it's clear and not hollow.
 
fatryan said:
I was looking at the guy's site, which has the amp listed at $129 (its $139 on Amazon BTW). But that's the base price. Given the options, I'd definitly want 1/4" jack, which is freakin' $30 more! So I think that alone puts this thing out of my price range. The $130 base price was already pushing it :-/
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Mayflower Electronics also produces the Objective2. Their desktop version with 1/4" jack is a little cheaper.

https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/headphone-amplifiers/desktop-objective2/
 
toast0 said:
Considering their price, they're a great value. Not considering price, I might get something else a little bit more expensive from another vendor with bigger ears. I've gotten used to the bass, it seemed a bit too much at first though, but it's OK now. I'd say it's clear and not hollow.
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Thanks for the input
 
fatryan said:
I got the equipment setup, but the output on the new ear buds is screwy. Certain mid-high frequencies are very quiet (mostly the vocal part for some reason), and there's a very pronounced 'hallway' effect. <snip> Despite the fact that the SB1240 is spec'd to handle drivers "up to 330 Ohm", I'm thinking that perhaps my 16 Ohm ear buds are too low resistance.
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While I'm not familiar with your equipment, this problem sure sounds like impedance interaction causing frequency-response modifications. Do the FSLs use balanced armatures? More than 1 each side, with a crossover? If so, I'd bet a week's pay on this diagnosis.
 
HammerSandwich said:
While I'm not familiar with your equipment, this problem sure sounds like impedance interaction causing frequency-response modifications. Do the FSLs use balanced armatures? More than 1 each side, with a crossover? If so, I'd bet a week's pay on this diagnosis.
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Given their price, I can't imagine they do.

http://www.futuresoundlab.co.uk/product-detail/fsl-al13/

As you can see on their website, they don't list specs. However, there were specs in the Amazon listing. An Amazon question on specs also provides frequency range. But anyways, looks like a single 9.2mm driver. They're $14 after all...
 
Also worth noting: They claim "These noise isolating earbuds are compatible with any electronic device that uses a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. This means all versions of the iPod and iPhone, all Android phones, all tablets, laptops, PCs, portable gaming systems and CD or DVD players."

Riiiiight
 
fatryan said:
My SB1240 has RCA out and optical out. So if I'm outputting RCA, I would definitely prefer going RCA in on the amp instead of using an 3.5mm adapter. So that puts me at $150 still. I'm going to have to think about this.
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Good luck!
 
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