Which Op-Amps would you definitely recommend for any of the Sound Blaster &amp; XONAR sound cards for accurate warm music playback, if any?
1671444
if you are talking about using LME49720NA on board. I have never done that. Although I can perform component level repair I never thought I had to up grade the fx card. Sorry I cant help, either you have high criteria for sound quality or you are like I used to be loved messing with electronics. you must be thinking maybe they are mono.be ware the total design of the card. good luck. I FOUND THIS IN WEB. There are 4 sockets that require no de-soldering/soldering. Two of them are single DIP LME49710's, which is what I replaced. The dual DIP NJM2411D's are pretty good, and shouldn't need to be upgraded. Creative made them customizable for the Titanium HD. I was able to pry them off with my fingers, but if you don't have strong fingers, just use a flathead and pry them loose. http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=85621
1453097
I have Fosgate's headphone amp, can't recommend it enough. I know Jim, been to his lab when he was developing it--you cannot believe the brain power and time that went into this amp. He used the Sennheisers extensively during the development. It is truly a bargain for what it does. The base enhancement switch is not a common bass boost, far better and more subtle than that. And you will not believe what the surround switch does to enhance the sense of realism. I am a high end fanatic with a system biased towards analog. I prefer to listen to my speakers, but this Sennheiser/Fosgate combo is truly magic. I have Fosgate's headphone amp, can't recommend it enough. I know Jim, been to his lab when he was developing it--you cannot believe the brain power and time that went into this amp. He used the Sennheisers extensively during the development. It is truly a bargain for what it does. The base enhancement switch is not a common bass boost, far better and more subtle than that. And you will not believe what the surround switch does to enhance the sense of realism. I am a high end fanatic with a system biased towards analog. I prefer to listen to my speakers, but this Sennheiser/Fosgate combo is... » Read More I have Fosgate's headphone amp, can't recommend it enough. I know Jim, been to his lab when he was developing it--you cannot believe the brain power and time that went into this amp. He used the Sennheisers extensively during the development. It is truly a bargain for what it does. The base enhancement switch is not a common bass boost, far better and more subtle than that. And you will not believe what the surround switch does to enhance the sense of realism. I am a high end fanatic with a system biased towards analog. I prefer to listen to my speakers, but this Sennheiser/Fosgate combo is truly magic. « Show Less
2161788
remember noise from amp. buy the best you can afford and be rewarded. Filo7\V good combination
260381
I am running a Yamaha RXV-871 (similar to your Onkyo), a UPA-200,and UPA-500. I am also running large floor standing polk audio rti-a7's similar to yours. What I can tell you is that while my yamaha on its own was doing the job it was working vary hard to do so. The large speakers are vary demanding. The Emotiva amps are easily achieving that level of performance and more with little to no effort. As for weather or not it will rock your room; I haven't had the nerve to push it that far. Although I suspect the speakers will give up before the amps do!!!
1118534
Yes the ad825 opamps are very good chips and deliver very clear audio ,you will notice a crisp bass punch very much like what you would hear in a studio through monitors...
1744148
Only 5.1. Might try looking at HT Omega. Much better cards, better sound and real customer support. I returned this sound blaster card because my onboard sound was superior.
2066458
I'm also going to buy a pair for gaming but I will use a headphone amp to drive them. I'm going with a valve amp, (Little Dot mark II, or Bravo Audio V3 that has an equalizer) but any sort of headphone/portable amp should do the trick. A lot of people mention that these headphones only "come to live" with an headphone amp.
133370
The manufacturer drivers are indeed bad on basically all of Asus' sound cards as far as I know, but this can be avoided by installing the Uni-Xonar drivers. These have worked great for me on my Xonar STX and they are quite simple to install. Honestly, if it weren't for the Uni-Xonar drivers, I don't know if I would recommend this card, but thankfully this option exists. My recommendation: Get the STX, install the Uni-Xonar drivers, then enjoy some amazing sound!
2075046
For flat and accurate sound it's up with the best. It's not the most ideal for bassy music but it will hit all the notes. The Xonar is good, these are only 32 ohm and can be powered by most sources.
213041
I looked at the Dimension 3000, and like some others say, as long as you have a free PCI slot, it will work. I can't say whether it's quiet or not, I'm using headphones with the Amp that's built in and it's almost too loud, and I'm losing my hearing a bit so take that into consideration.
2063460
I am using a 250ohm DT770Pro right now using only onboard audio from my desktop and the sound is incredible. I can not vouch for its effectiveness with mobile devices or sources with lower power than my desktop.
1990258
The quality of a sound card you may want will depend on the quality of the onboard sound your computer has. Recent and/or high end MOBOs have pretty decent onboard sound now and you would have to spend at least $150-$200 on a sound card to see any improvement. I got an ASUS Xonar Essence STX to power my SP2500 and the improvement over the onboard sound on my P9X79 WS MOBO, which had pretty good sound already, while nothing to sneeze at, still wasn't huge.
1505846
get a music app (like poweramp) that has a really solid equalizer and tone controller
1834796
The Sound Blaster Z and the Xonar Essence are aimed at two different things. The Sound Blaster card is meant more for gaming, and the Xonar Essence is geared more towards music. I personally own the Sound Blaster Z card because I'm a gamer and this card paired with this sound system is a juggernaut. The loudest I've ever been able to put it to was about 35% total power because it is just SO loud. I didn't get the Xonar Essence card because I heard that it had some issues running with SLI setup's which is what I'm using but I am very happy with the SP-2500 paired with the SBZ sound card. You will be VERY happy. The Sound Blaster Z and the Xonar Essence are aimed at two different things. The Sound Blaster card is meant more for gaming, and the Xonar Essence is geared more towards music. I personally own the Sound Blaster Z card because I'm a gamer and this card paired with this sound system is a juggernaut. The loudest I've ever been able to put it to was about 35% total power because it is just SO loud. I didn't get the Xonar Essence card because I heard that it had some issues running with SLI setup's which is what I'm using but I am very happy with the SP-2500 paired with the SBZ sound card. You... » Read More The Sound Blaster Z and the Xonar Essence are aimed at two different things. The Sound Blaster card is meant more for gaming, and the Xonar Essence is geared more towards music. I personally own the Sound Blaster Z card because I'm a gamer and this card paired with this sound system is a juggernaut. The loudest I've ever been able to put it to was about 35% total power because it is just SO loud. I didn't get the Xonar Essence card because I heard that it had some issues running with SLI setup's which is what I'm using but I am very happy with the SP-2500 paired with the SBZ sound card. You will be VERY happy. « Show Less
1990260
Try Creative or Asus they have a range of prices. I will recommend a card starting at 40 or 50 dollars to get a decent quality sound.
226206
I am unfamiliar with the equipment you refer to. But I can tell you that I mounted the card in a mobo that has good on-board sound and the card makes a big improvement. Very pleased with it.
795606
I have the hifonic 1000w amp, and you cant do 2 so I got stuck with the 4. Ive had them for a while now and they still wang!!! Best bang for your buck, I got them for $32 each so I cant complain but now I want something more.