If you're looking in the $100-200 range there are a lot of options. SMSL makes a few and I'd personally get their M8 model with the ES9018 which is a much much better DAC chip. The Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 is another good option, so are the DAC from JDS Labs.
Thanks! I went with a DacMagic 100! The extra input over the SMSL M8, as well as the power button, made the decision easier.
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
At $120, they're a really good deal if you already have a DAC for your PC and/or your PC has decent audio on its motherboard (they can be made to work with consoles, too, but need a dongle and possibly some amplification). They're pretty much the equivalent of Sennheiser 5XX headphones + a Mod Mic, which would be difficult to buy new for less than $170 combined.
The two pairs I ordered for myself and my ladyfriend just arrived today. Sound quality is pretty much baseline Sennheiser: solid but not overwhelming bass, extremely detailed midrange, relaxed treble. They're completely acceptable for listening to music in addition to gaming. Also, the mic is excellent. It's directional with really good noise cancelling, and it mutes automatically when you flip it up.
Their only potential downside is that they're open-backed and therefore don't provide much isolation. This means that you can hear stuff through them and that anyone in an otherwise quiet room with you can hear what they're playing. If you need lots of isolation, then avoid them.
I picked up a set of these as well. They're nice, though the audio quality for music is a notable downgrade from my AT A900 (as would be expected). Willing to give that up for lighter weight, built-in good mic, and reduced isolation, though.
I'm curious about anyone's impressions of the Dragonfly Red DAC, it seems like a handy tool to have for someone who often swaps music sources between a laptop, pc and phone. What might I expect from it in a general sense?
I have an old DragonFly that predates the Red and even version numbering on the Black. It's a big improvement over straight headphone out from my MacBook Pro and iOS devices. It's not as good as the (Asus) motherboard DAC/headphone amp on my PC. For mobile devices, you'll probably need to have them on AC power in order for them to be able to power a DragonFly over Lightning/USB.
I use it most with an ancient pair of Shure ear fuckers and also a pair of Fostex X00s. Both are pretty low impedance. It definitely doesn't have the grunt for my Senn 650s. Maybe the Red does, but I doubt it.
I love them and will never, ever build an AV system without them again. It's a massive QOL upgrade if you ever have to do anything behind the receiver.
a5ehren on
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Agreed. They're super nice. I'd go with them without a doubt, unless your budget is just reeeeeally strapped.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Maybe ive just looked in the wrong places for them
At stores ive seen them for like $5 - $6 each
To be fair, that's the area where any brick and mortar stores are going to basically try to recoup everything they can from you. Cables, connectors, etc. Buy that shit on Amazon or Monoprice, for sure.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Yeah, the Monoprice plugs work just fine. I don't usually put them on the speaker end, FWIW, just in the receiver. My speakers are out in the open and easy to access.
I ended up placing an order for some banana plugs on Amazon.ca
I went to some stores looking for a bunch of shit I needed for my setup and as should be no surprise was very disappointed in prices.
I bought speaker wire from a hardware store, seemed to be the same price as everywhere else, but stuff like a subwoofer cable, optical audio cable, banana plugs, all of it was highway robbery. And somehow I couldn't find speaker stands in any of the physical locations I went to. I ended up placing an order for some on Amazon as well, but I really would have liked to see them in person before buying. Oh well.
I ended up placing an order for some banana plugs on Amazon.ca
I went to some stores looking for a bunch of shit I needed for my setup and as should be no surprise was very disappointed in prices.
I bought speaker wire from a hardware store, seemed to be the same price as everywhere else, but stuff like a subwoofer cable, optical audio cable, banana plugs, all of it was highway robbery. And somehow I couldn't find speaker stands in any of the physical locations I went to. I ended up placing an order for some on Amazon as well, but I really would have liked to see them in person before buying. Oh well.
FYI, if you want studio grade speaker cables, custom cut to length, with your choice of plugs at a reasonable price, then you should check out Blue Jeans Cable. In addition to speaker wire, they sell a lot of other audiophile/nerd staples, too (HDMI and ethernet cables, all sorts of adapters, etc.). They pick their cable types from broadcasting stock and have actually tested all the cables they sell for conductivity. They also ultrasonically weld the connectors onto their cables so the connection is super durable.
Their webpage also has a great series of articles explaining some of the more esoteric details of cabling, and their CEO has a delightful history of mocking and shaming audiophile prestige brands and their ridiculous prices.
I have been using a pair of ATH-PRO5MK2s since sometime around 2011 and I love them immensely so I'm considering getting a pair of Audio Technica BT studio headphones, specifically the ATH-SR5BTBK. Anyone here used these?
Steam Profile | My Art | NID: DarkMecha (SW-4787-9571-8977) | PSN: DarkMecha
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Sennheiser is now making closed-back HD800s ... and to make sure you can still see the "legendary Sennheiser Ring Radiator transducers", the cover is made of glass. (which they claim they're taking into account when designing the rest of the headphone, because glass isn't usually known for its acoustic properties)
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
holy balls.
Though, my hot take is that I prefer the sound signature and comfort factor of the HD700s way more than the HD800s.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
I love my HD700's, especially for gaming. They're a very un-Sennheiser sounding headphone thus making rather divise. They've been superseded by Focal Elears but I still really like my HD700's when a particular kind of music or game is suited to them.
The Elears are likely to be the last open headphone I every buy because anything else is really just a sidegrade. Doesn't keep me from wanting something closed though, and I'll likely (someday) get a pair of Mr. Speaker ÆON's or something from Beyer-Dynamic.
Someone's offering a Fiio E10k for ~$65 shipped on Reddit. I need some quick opinions on where this falls with regards to use as a desktop gaming/stream watching amp.
Conversely, there's a NuForce uDAC 3 and a O2 at Massdrop that are both at reasonable prices and will arrive on or around when my HD 6XX arrive.
The Massdrop O2 is good -- I have one of those and it's done the trick; it'll more than easily drive HD600s. (caveat: I haven't compared it to other amps, just to un-amped baseline). That said, if you're just putting the output of motherboard audio into it, you'll only see a certain amount of improvement until you get a DAC or something else to send into the amp.
I'm leaning more toward the NuForce at the moment. It's less expensive and seems to do what I'm asking. Also I'm confused by the O2 listing because at one point they show only the amp, and then later they have a pic with what I think is a DAC. And I'm not sure what will actually show up in the box when it arrives.
There's an O2 amp and an O2 DAC, both designed by the same guy a while ago -- they're theoretically "reference" designs, so they introduce as little distortion as possible. (which is not necessarily the subjectively best-sounding result, but it's objectively testable, at least).
Massdrop has licensed the designs and is making them (when they feel like making them); if you buy both products from Massdrop, they come in matching cases, same sort of idea as with the Schitt dac/amp pair. That's why one of the pictures shows them both, but you'll only get one or the other when you buy.
I don't have the budget of some of you guys, but I just "upgraded" (the price point is very close) from my K240s to the Philips SHP-9500S. Honestly the sound is pretty close, better soundstage on the 9500S but I don't like how treble-forward they are and had to EQ them down a bit for music. I also like the look of the K240s much more. But the comfort... holy shitballs, it's like night and day.
My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
Anyone have any recommendations for a Bluetooth enabled record player? Starting to look for something for my Girlfriend's birthday to go with the Bluetooth headphones I got her for Christmas. Even just good brands to look for would be a good starting place.
I know this isn't really a troubleshooting kind of thread, especially for something this mundane, or annoying, but I might as well ask: has anyone running Windows 10 and your typical Realtek onboard sound found that their Audio Service is broken every damn time they turn on the PC? Fixing it is easy enough, the troubleshooter "toggles" it back on immediately, as does unplugging and plugging in the actual input, but until you do that you can't control volume, and it's damn annoying to have to do it every time. Quoting myself....
I have no idea if this is a Windows issue, but has anyone been countering that in the last week or two, if you turn on your PC from a few hours downtime, your audio services are disable (complete with an error message)--until you run the troubleshooting, or fiddle around with your volume settings, upon which it comes back? Audio even works during that, though you can't operate fully.
I'm thinking this is more update weirdness. I ran into the same issue after witching my basic 2.1 speaker system to my monitor rather than my motherboard sound input, which was surprising. It could be my Creative speakers, though that seems unlikely. It'd be nice to use this an excuse to buy a reasonable $38 PCIe sound card from Amazon.com for a very modest improvement in sound quality, though it'd be maddening if the issue persisted.
Maybe someone else has encountered this. I've reinstalled the drivers more than ten times, both from Asus (my motherboard manufacturer) and Realtek themselves, I've tried a different 3.5mm audio output (headphones), I even tried routing audio to my monitor and using the audio out on the back of that....and it's the same every damn time.
I know this isn't really a troubleshooting kind of thread, especially for something this mundane, or annoying, but I might as well ask: has anyone running Windows 10 and your typical Realtek onboard sound found that their Audio Service is broken every damn time they turn on the PC? Fixing it is easy enough, the troubleshooter "toggles" it back on immediately, as does unplugging and plugging in the actual input, but until you do that you can't control volume, and it's damn annoying to have to do it every time. Quoting myself....
I have no idea if this is a Windows issue, but has anyone been countering that in the last week or two, if you turn on your PC from a few hours downtime, your audio services are disable (complete with an error message)--until you run the troubleshooting, or fiddle around with your volume settings, upon which it comes back? Audio even works during that, though you can't operate fully.
I'm thinking this is more update weirdness. I ran into the same issue after witching my basic 2.1 speaker system to my monitor rather than my motherboard sound input, which was surprising. It could be my Creative speakers, though that seems unlikely. It'd be nice to use this an excuse to buy a reasonable $38 PCIe sound card from Amazon.com for a very modest improvement in sound quality, though it'd be maddening if the issue persisted.
Maybe someone else has encountered this. I've reinstalled the drivers more than ten times, both from Asus (my motherboard manufacturer) and Realtek themselves, I've tried a different 3.5mm audio output (headphones), I even tried routing audio to my monitor and using the audio out on the back of that....and it's the same every damn time.
It could potentially be on the cusp of failure. My Realtek audio had a continuous, audible hum in it from any of the analog ports so I bought a DAC to fix it.
Probably easier to buy the soundcard and disable the built in audio chip in the BIOS than to do anything else really. I would probably get this one, because it includes an optical port.
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
I know this isn't really a troubleshooting kind of thread, especially for something this mundane, or annoying, but I might as well ask: has anyone running Windows 10 and your typical Realtek onboard sound found that their Audio Service is broken every damn time they turn on the PC? Fixing it is easy enough, the troubleshooter "toggles" it back on immediately, as does unplugging and plugging in the actual input, but until you do that you can't control volume, and it's damn annoying to have to do it every time. Quoting myself....
I have no idea if this is a Windows issue, but has anyone been countering that in the last week or two, if you turn on your PC from a few hours downtime, your audio services are disable (complete with an error message)--until you run the troubleshooting, or fiddle around with your volume settings, upon which it comes back? Audio even works during that, though you can't operate fully.
I'm thinking this is more update weirdness. I ran into the same issue after witching my basic 2.1 speaker system to my monitor rather than my motherboard sound input, which was surprising. It could be my Creative speakers, though that seems unlikely. It'd be nice to use this an excuse to buy a reasonable $38 PCIe sound card from Amazon.com for a very modest improvement in sound quality, though it'd be maddening if the issue persisted.
Maybe someone else has encountered this. I've reinstalled the drivers more than ten times, both from Asus (my motherboard manufacturer) and Realtek themselves, I've tried a different 3.5mm audio output (headphones), I even tried routing audio to my monitor and using the audio out on the back of that....and it's the same every damn time.
It could potentially be on the cusp of failure. My Realtek audio had a continuous, audible hum in it from any of the analog ports so I bought a DAC to fix it.
Probably easier to buy the soundcard and disable the built in audio chip in the BIOS than to do anything else really. I would probably get this one, because it includes an optical port.
Thank you. I won't lie, I was looking at a slightly cheaper, slightly better reviewed ASUS model that was very similar, but without any optical port. This is probably a more capable alternative, though I'm still trying to figure out how the onboard sound module on a motherboard could cause the same errors on audio over DisplayPort to an LG monitor. :?
Last night, my Boot Manager shit the bed, though, and after barely recovering via System Restore, I ended up doing a Repair Installation--and the issue went away. Maybe. We'll see.
Anyone have any recommendations for a Bluetooth enabled record player? Starting to look for something for my Girlfriend's birthday to go with the Bluetooth headphones I got her for Christmas. Even just good brands to look for would be a good starting place.
I have to admit that I'm surprised this exists. I'll be polite and not express my general opinion on vinyl's comeback, but Audio Technica is a good brand.
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BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
I know this isn't really a troubleshooting kind of thread, especially for something this mundane, or annoying, but I might as well ask: has anyone running Windows 10 and your typical Realtek onboard sound found that their Audio Service is broken every damn time they turn on the PC? Fixing it is easy enough, the troubleshooter "toggles" it back on immediately, as does unplugging and plugging in the actual input, but until you do that you can't control volume, and it's damn annoying to have to do it every time. Quoting myself....
I have no idea if this is a Windows issue, but has anyone been countering that in the last week or two, if you turn on your PC from a few hours downtime, your audio services are disable (complete with an error message)--until you run the troubleshooting, or fiddle around with your volume settings, upon which it comes back? Audio even works during that, though you can't operate fully.
I'm thinking this is more update weirdness. I ran into the same issue after witching my basic 2.1 speaker system to my monitor rather than my motherboard sound input, which was surprising. It could be my Creative speakers, though that seems unlikely. It'd be nice to use this an excuse to buy a reasonable $38 PCIe sound card from Amazon.com for a very modest improvement in sound quality, though it'd be maddening if the issue persisted.
Maybe someone else has encountered this. I've reinstalled the drivers more than ten times, both from Asus (my motherboard manufacturer) and Realtek themselves, I've tried a different 3.5mm audio output (headphones), I even tried routing audio to my monitor and using the audio out on the back of that....and it's the same every damn time.
It could potentially be on the cusp of failure. My Realtek audio had a continuous, audible hum in it from any of the analog ports so I bought a DAC to fix it.
Probably easier to buy the soundcard and disable the built in audio chip in the BIOS than to do anything else really. I would probably get this one, because it includes an optical port.
Thank you. I won't lie, I was looking at a slightly cheaper, slightly better reviewed ASUS model that was very similar, but without any optical port. This is probably a more capable alternative, though I'm still trying to figure out how the onboard sound module on a motherboard could cause the same errors on audio over DisplayPort to an LG monitor. :?
Last night, my Boot Manager shit the bed, though, and after barely recovering via System Restore, I ended up doing a Repair Installation--and the issue went away. Maybe. We'll see.
If the ASUS you were looking at was a Xonar, I'd recommend it. For just a straight sound card without any screwed up emulated Dolby soundscapes and easy to use software, the Xonar DX and Xonar DG are pretty nice.
I can't speak for their newer STRIX or ROG branded soundcards, but the Xonar line is great.
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
I know this isn't really a troubleshooting kind of thread, especially for something this mundane, or annoying, but I might as well ask: has anyone running Windows 10 and your typical Realtek onboard sound found that their Audio Service is broken every damn time they turn on the PC? Fixing it is easy enough, the troubleshooter "toggles" it back on immediately, as does unplugging and plugging in the actual input, but until you do that you can't control volume, and it's damn annoying to have to do it every time. Quoting myself....
I have no idea if this is a Windows issue, but has anyone been countering that in the last week or two, if you turn on your PC from a few hours downtime, your audio services are disable (complete with an error message)--until you run the troubleshooting, or fiddle around with your volume settings, upon which it comes back? Audio even works during that, though you can't operate fully.
I'm thinking this is more update weirdness. I ran into the same issue after witching my basic 2.1 speaker system to my monitor rather than my motherboard sound input, which was surprising. It could be my Creative speakers, though that seems unlikely. It'd be nice to use this an excuse to buy a reasonable $38 PCIe sound card from Amazon.com for a very modest improvement in sound quality, though it'd be maddening if the issue persisted.
Maybe someone else has encountered this. I've reinstalled the drivers more than ten times, both from Asus (my motherboard manufacturer) and Realtek themselves, I've tried a different 3.5mm audio output (headphones), I even tried routing audio to my monitor and using the audio out on the back of that....and it's the same every damn time.
It could potentially be on the cusp of failure. My Realtek audio had a continuous, audible hum in it from any of the analog ports so I bought a DAC to fix it.
Probably easier to buy the soundcard and disable the built in audio chip in the BIOS than to do anything else really. I would probably get this one, because it includes an optical port.
Thank you. I won't lie, I was looking at a slightly cheaper, slightly better reviewed ASUS model that was very similar, but without any optical port. This is probably a more capable alternative, though I'm still trying to figure out how the onboard sound module on a motherboard could cause the same errors on audio over DisplayPort to an LG monitor. :?
Last night, my Boot Manager shit the bed, though, and after barely recovering via System Restore, I ended up doing a Repair Installation--and the issue went away. Maybe. We'll see.
If the ASUS you were looking at was a Xonar, I'd recommend it. For just a straight sound card without any screwed up emulated Dolby soundscapes and easy to use software, the Xonar DX and Xonar DG are pretty nice.
I can't speak for their newer STRIX or ROG branded soundcards, but the Xonar line is great.
I'll keep that in mind. Since the repair installation, the issue occasionally appears when restarting (though not when booting up in the morning), so it's not problematic (on the other hand, it use to never happen, a reminder that computers do not, in fact, last forever even if you take care of them).
This seems to suggest a hardware issue...one that wasn't solved by switching to a BT speaker set unfortunately (and any sort of wireless speaker option invariable introduces more issues if you plan to use it as your sole speaker system). So a PCIe sound card, a cheap one, could be the answer. I guess it was a Xonar with the optical out, and I was mistaken about that. Whenever I'm "serious" about sound, I break out my Wireless Corsair Dolby headset (which should demonstrate how unserious I am), my 2.1 speakers just need to always work, not cause weird Windows 10 service issues, and sound the way 2.1 speakers should basically sound.
I think the headphones I use for my piano ase dying. Yesterday I was getting a really effect where it would sound muffled, sometimes alternating the muffling between left and right. Not sure what the deal is. They're cheapish noise canceling ones i got for my 5th anniversary at my job. I don't actually use the noise canceling, but maybe it's activating itself cause it's on the fritz.
I think the headphones I use for my piano ase dying. Yesterday I was getting a really effect where it would sound muffled, sometimes alternating the muffling between left and right. Not sure what the deal is. They're cheapish noise canceling ones i got for my 5th anniversary at my job. I don't actually use the noise canceling, but maybe it's activating itself cause it's on the fritz.
Anyway. Any suggestions for a replacement?
How much do you want to spend? Do you want quiet ones (closed back) or ones that leak sound (open)?
Neutral, bassy or highs? Chocolate or vanilla?
I want something that sounds good. It'll be used just for my piano so it doesn't need crazy thumping bass, neutral I guess. Quiet is probably better.
Vanilla every time. Some people say it isn't a flavor, but they're wrong. It's the best flavor.
As for budget, I don't need to go crazy, but I've got a $25 Amazon gift card, so I can apply that for a discount. The current ones are just some JVC ones that if they weren't free would have run about $50. Other than the fact that they're now probably, hopefully* dying, they've been mostly fine. So lets say, I dunno, not more than $100ish?
*As the alternative is the output or something on my piano, which is going to be a much harder fix.
For neutral headphones around that price, I quite like the Brainwavz HM5s and Shure SRH440s. They're both closed back, over the ear cans that have a flat frequency response. I prefer the former for sound, but apparently they don't fit well on people with small heads.
I think that the internet has been for years on the path to creating what is essentially an electronic Necronomicon: A collection of blasphemous unrealities so perverse that to even glimpse at its contents, if but for a moment, is to irrevocably forfeit a portion of your sanity.
Xbox - PearlBlueS0ul, Steam
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
Minor update: I missed the window to pick up the NuForce DAC/Amp via Massdrop, so I used some Christmas GCs to grab a Fiio E10k from Amazon. I'm enjoying it so far, but it hasn't been particularly groundbreaking for sound; just yet. Granted, I just use it for light gaming and stream watching atm.
I'm planning to play the Wolfenstein 2 series, and then Hellblade shortly after; which I know are highly rated for their sound (Hellblade more than Wolfenstein). I'm not expecting my ears to explode with orgasmic beauty, but I'm hoping to get a bit more fleshed-out sound than I'm used to from games.
For neutral headphones around that price, I quite like the Brainwavz HM5s and Shure SRH440s. They're both closed back, over the ear cans that have a flat frequency response. I prefer the former for sound, but apparently they don't fit well on people with small heads.
Did they stop making the HM5s or something? The only Amazon result for it is like $320 which is like 2.5x msrp from the reviews i looked at.
There's a few Google shopping results ranging from $82 to $220.
I think that the internet has been for years on the path to creating what is essentially an electronic Necronomicon: A collection of blasphemous unrealities so perverse that to even glimpse at its contents, if but for a moment, is to irrevocably forfeit a portion of your sanity.
Xbox - PearlBlueS0ul, Steam
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
Posts
Thanks! I went with a DacMagic 100! The extra input over the SMSL M8, as well as the power button, made the decision easier.
I picked up a set of these as well. They're nice, though the audio quality for music is a notable downgrade from my AT A900 (as would be expected). Willing to give that up for lighter weight, built-in good mic, and reduced isolation, though.
I have an old DragonFly that predates the Red and even version numbering on the Black. It's a big improvement over straight headphone out from my MacBook Pro and iOS devices. It's not as good as the (Asus) motherboard DAC/headphone amp on my PC. For mobile devices, you'll probably need to have them on AC power in order for them to be able to power a DragonFly over Lightning/USB.
I use it most with an ancient pair of Shure ear fuckers and also a pair of Fostex X00s. Both are pretty low impedance. It definitely doesn't have the grunt for my Senn 650s. Maybe the Red does, but I doubt it.
I'm leaning towards waste and I don't wanna buy them. Am I making a mistake
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=9437&AID=11552490&PID=5513721
Super nice to work with when you have them.
At stores ive seen them for like $5 - $6 each
To be fair, that's the area where any brick and mortar stores are going to basically try to recoup everything they can from you. Cables, connectors, etc. Buy that shit on Amazon or Monoprice, for sure.
I went to some stores looking for a bunch of shit I needed for my setup and as should be no surprise was very disappointed in prices.
I bought speaker wire from a hardware store, seemed to be the same price as everywhere else, but stuff like a subwoofer cable, optical audio cable, banana plugs, all of it was highway robbery. And somehow I couldn't find speaker stands in any of the physical locations I went to. I ended up placing an order for some on Amazon as well, but I really would have liked to see them in person before buying. Oh well.
(please ignore my terrible cable management!)
FYI, if you want studio grade speaker cables, custom cut to length, with your choice of plugs at a reasonable price, then you should check out Blue Jeans Cable. In addition to speaker wire, they sell a lot of other audiophile/nerd staples, too (HDMI and ethernet cables, all sorts of adapters, etc.). They pick their cable types from broadcasting stock and have actually tested all the cables they sell for conductivity. They also ultrasonically weld the connectors onto their cables so the connection is super durable.
Their webpage also has a great series of articles explaining some of the more esoteric details of cabling, and their CEO has a delightful history of mocking and shaming audiophile prestige brands and their ridiculous prices.
Though, my hot take is that I prefer the sound signature and comfort factor of the HD700s way more than the HD800s.
The Elears are likely to be the last open headphone I every buy because anything else is really just a sidegrade. Doesn't keep me from wanting something closed though, and I'll likely (someday) get a pair of Mr. Speaker ÆON's or something from Beyer-Dynamic.
Conversely, there's a NuForce uDAC 3 and a O2 at Massdrop that are both at reasonable prices and will arrive on or around when my HD 6XX arrive.
None of these amps will ever leave the desk.
Massdrop has licensed the designs and is making them (when they feel like making them); if you buy both products from Massdrop, they come in matching cases, same sort of idea as with the Schitt dac/amp pair. That's why one of the pictures shows them both, but you'll only get one or the other when you buy.
Maybe someone else has encountered this. I've reinstalled the drivers more than ten times, both from Asus (my motherboard manufacturer) and Realtek themselves, I've tried a different 3.5mm audio output (headphones), I even tried routing audio to my monitor and using the audio out on the back of that....and it's the same every damn time.
It could potentially be on the cusp of failure. My Realtek audio had a continuous, audible hum in it from any of the analog ports so I bought a DAC to fix it.
Probably easier to buy the soundcard and disable the built in audio chip in the BIOS than to do anything else really. I would probably get this one, because it includes an optical port.
Thank you. I won't lie, I was looking at a slightly cheaper, slightly better reviewed ASUS model that was very similar, but without any optical port. This is probably a more capable alternative, though I'm still trying to figure out how the onboard sound module on a motherboard could cause the same errors on audio over DisplayPort to an LG monitor. :?
Last night, my Boot Manager shit the bed, though, and after barely recovering via System Restore, I ended up doing a Repair Installation--and the issue went away. Maybe. We'll see.
I have to admit that I'm surprised this exists. I'll be polite and not express my general opinion on vinyl's comeback, but Audio Technica is a good brand.
I can't speak for their newer STRIX or ROG branded soundcards, but the Xonar line is great.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
I'll keep that in mind. Since the repair installation, the issue occasionally appears when restarting (though not when booting up in the morning), so it's not problematic (on the other hand, it use to never happen, a reminder that computers do not, in fact, last forever even if you take care of them).
This seems to suggest a hardware issue...one that wasn't solved by switching to a BT speaker set unfortunately (and any sort of wireless speaker option invariable introduces more issues if you plan to use it as your sole speaker system). So a PCIe sound card, a cheap one, could be the answer. I guess it was a Xonar with the optical out, and I was mistaken about that. Whenever I'm "serious" about sound, I break out my Wireless Corsair Dolby headset (which should demonstrate how unserious I am), my 2.1 speakers just need to always work, not cause weird Windows 10 service issues, and sound the way 2.1 speakers should basically sound.
Anyway. Any suggestions for a replacement?
How much do you want to spend? Do you want quiet ones (closed back) or ones that leak sound (open)?
Neutral, bassy or highs? Chocolate or vanilla?
Vanilla every time. Some people say it isn't a flavor, but they're wrong. It's the best flavor.
As for budget, I don't need to go crazy, but I've got a $25 Amazon gift card, so I can apply that for a discount. The current ones are just some JVC ones that if they weren't free would have run about $50. Other than the fact that they're now probably, hopefully* dying, they've been mostly fine. So lets say, I dunno, not more than $100ish?
*As the alternative is the output or something on my piano, which is going to be a much harder fix.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
I'm planning to play the Wolfenstein 2 series, and then Hellblade shortly after; which I know are highly rated for their sound (Hellblade more than Wolfenstein). I'm not expecting my ears to explode with orgasmic beauty, but I'm hoping to get a bit more fleshed-out sound than I'm used to from games.
HD6XX get here in 6-8 weeks
Did they stop making the HM5s or something? The only Amazon result for it is like $320 which is like 2.5x msrp from the reviews i looked at.
There's a few Google shopping results ranging from $82 to $220.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.