Do I need headphone amplifier for desktop?

[utorrent]

I am using Sennheiser HD598 with Creative Titanium. Do I need an ampliefier? How much difference in sound quality can I expect?

 

[smaaz]

NO that soundcard has a dac inside and is a good card, do you feel that you need an external amplifier ? is it not loud or cracking ??

 

[utorrent]

I don't need louder sound. But just want to extract as much juice as I can for extra crisp clear sounds.

 

[smaaz]

Don't think its needed with a dedicated soundcard, save and buy a better gpu

 

[mac007]

not needed, ur Titanium is good to go

 

[Nomad]

I am using Sennheiser HD598 with Creative Titanium. Do I need an ampliefier? How much difference in sound quality can I expect?

You don't NEED amplifier as HD598 are not very demanding. However, they do benefit from good AMP + DAC. Creative Titanium is a good sound card but doesn't have headphone amplifier. I think there will be some improvement if you get a good quality headphone amplifier. But will that improvement be worth the extra cost is entirely dependent on you.

 

[smaaz]

Even my small ipod classic csn go really loud even with headphones with 40mm drivers .. That i cant use full volume therefore I never felt need for an external amp.

 

[Thinker]

You are doing grave injustice to your HD598 by using them without an amp. You don't need to spend too much money for it, I have the ASUS Xonar DG which cost me only 5k and makes an incredible difference. I have the same headphones so trust me on this.

 

[mac007]

Aint ASUS Xonar DG an internal sound card??

 

[Nomad]

Aint ASUS Xonar DG an internal sound card??

Yes it is. But it has builtin headphone amplifier that Creative Titanium doesn't have.

 

[mac007]

Yes it is. But it has builtin headphone amplifier that Creative Titanium doesn't have.

so then his best option is to get his sound card changed and get one with headphone amp

 

[utorrent]

thank you for replies everyone. I will upgrade my soundcard to Xonar DX or maybe wait a bit and get a Xonar STX.

 

[Nomad]

thank you for replies everyone. I will upgrade my soundcard to Xonar DX or maybe wait a bit and get a Xonar STX.

It depends on your preferences. If you want virtual surround for gaming then getting a sound card with builtin amp or getting an amp with your current sound card is the way to go. However, if your preference is music then I would recommend taking a look at Fiio E10k as well.

 

[Thinker]

thank you for replies everyone. I will upgrade my soundcard to Xonar DX or maybe wait a bit and get a Xonar STX.

The Xonar DX does NOT have an amp so please make sure you confirm the presence of a headphone amp for your next sound card. Not every expensive soundcard will have an amp.

 

[Thinker]

The problem with USB DACs is that it's a real pita to switch from headphones to speakers. My sound card allows the headphone amp to function from the front audio ports of my case, I have a quality case so there is no sound degradation from using the front panel. So I have both my headphones and speakers connected at all times and can switch between them through software.

There are some sound cards I believe who come with dedicated headphone port at the back which is really the best solution from a wire management point of view.