Hi All,
Quick question.
For years I've had an X-FI platinum with the 5 1/4" bay adapter. I have a pair of Grado SR-325 headphones I always used with it.
Recently I upgraded a few things on the computer and decided to take the X-FI out and use onboard sound. I'm using an EVGA P55 motherboard. I keep trying to get excess stuff out of the case to improve cooling as well as creatives drivers have sucked pretty bad for a long time.
I've been happy with the onboard sound until i decided to try and use the Grado headphones again. Whether I use the front panel jack or the rear jack the headphones just sound dead. thin, no bass, just overall POOR.
Am I imagining this, or does the X-FI's 5 1/4" bay adapter or the card it self actually have a pretty decent and beefy headphone amp in it?
With the X-FI it had excellent bass and highs, and was able to produce damaging volume levels without distorting.
The onboard sound is more like "yea.. its playing."
I want to make sure i'm not just imaging this before i crack the computer open again and throw the X-FI back in.
Quick question.
For years I've had an X-FI platinum with the 5 1/4" bay adapter. I have a pair of Grado SR-325 headphones I always used with it.
Recently I upgraded a few things on the computer and decided to take the X-FI out and use onboard sound. I'm using an EVGA P55 motherboard. I keep trying to get excess stuff out of the case to improve cooling as well as creatives drivers have sucked pretty bad for a long time.
I've been happy with the onboard sound until i decided to try and use the Grado headphones again. Whether I use the front panel jack or the rear jack the headphones just sound dead. thin, no bass, just overall POOR.
Am I imagining this, or does the X-FI's 5 1/4" bay adapter or the card it self actually have a pretty decent and beefy headphone amp in it?
With the X-FI it had excellent bass and highs, and was able to produce damaging volume levels without distorting.
The onboard sound is more like "yea.. its playing."
I want to make sure i'm not just imaging this before i crack the computer open again and throw the X-FI back in.
Since many headphone amps consist of just a simple low-power op-amp circuit, I'd say yes - the X-Fi has NJM4556 op-amps powering the speaker-out connector while the onboard has none.
But neither soundcards are designed to drive headphones directly, get a headphone amp.
But neither soundcards are designed to drive headphones directly, get a headphone amp.
wwenze : the X-fi's bay has a jack labeled "headphone" as well as a separate volume control and apparently opamp just for that jack. This is not designed to drive headphones? Whats it designed to drive? 🙂
I think you give them a bit much credit with "designed" to drive headphones - perhaps "implemented" to drive headphones is more accurate.
Anyway, there's a nice project in progress over on Head-Fi called "Carrie", which implements a PCM2706/PCM2707 USB DAC and a USB powered version of the Mini3 amplifier - all in the same little case as the original Mini3.
Anyway, there's a nice project in progress over on Head-Fi called "Carrie", which implements a PCM2706/PCM2707 USB DAC and a USB powered version of the Mini3 amplifier - all in the same little case as the original Mini3.
Ok so as I said before
the 5 1/4" bay has its own amplifier and jack for headphones. This is not a lineout or a speaker jack.
Why should I suspect any issues with this amp if its more then strong enough and was always quiet?
the 5 1/4" bay has its own amplifier and jack for headphones. This is not a lineout or a speaker jack.
Why should I suspect any issues with this amp if its more then strong enough and was always quiet?
Are you asking for opinions on whether the amp of your X-Fi is decent or just telling the world that you think so?
The sentence with the only question mark in the opening post now sounds like a rhetorical question to me, but that would come in conflict with whatever is in front of the first full stop.
The sentence with the only question mark in the opening post now sounds like a rhetorical question to me, but that would come in conflict with whatever is in front of the first full stop.
wwenze : no.. I never really asked on opinions on the amplifier on it. I asked if it made sense that it could be completely different then the motherboards onboard sound which is a Realtek alc889.
I have already reinstalled it and sure enough my grado's sound like I remembered them sounding. Its been almost a year since I had used them.
If I felt I needed a headphone amp i'd build one for $20.
I did want to know what kind of amplifier this X-FI has in the floppy bay adapter. But it seems no one even realized it had one separate from the card. This is one of the original X-FI's
I have already reinstalled it and sure enough my grado's sound like I remembered them sounding. Its been almost a year since I had used them.
If I felt I needed a headphone amp i'd build one for $20.
I did want to know what kind of amplifier this X-FI has in the floppy bay adapter. But it seems no one even realized it had one separate from the card. This is one of the original X-FI's
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The Grado's are a very low impedance headphone, so yes, it makes perfect sense that your onboard sound would struggle to drive them - they demand a lot of current.
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