Please help a noob step into the light of Hi Fi

[admin_exported]

Hello everybody and thank you for taking a look at my problem.

I will begin with what hardware i have right now:

PC sound card: Asus Phoebus (currently in my PC) & Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion (my old card that i am trying to sell)

Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO, 250 Ohms

PC Speakers: Logitech Z5500 (needs no intro)

I have recetly bought the Asus sound card and the headphones for 40% music, 35% gaming and 25% movies use.

The DT990 are cool, i like the sound but i don't find a great upgrade in sound quality with FLAC files from the old X-Fi card. The volume is lower than other headphones i used and whem i opt for "Extra High Gain (12bD for > 150 ohms) the cans start to distort base very ugly.

On the Z5500 Asus sounds the same also for my ears. I am not an audiophile (yet) and i enjoy all kinds of music, mostly rap, pop, r&b.

The reason i opted for the Phoebus is the 5.1 analog connection for the Z5500 and also Asus says it can drive headphones up to 600 ohms so i thought that's all i need.

Now i am having second thoughts and i decided to go for music quality vs gaming audio.

These are the changes i decided to make:

- return the Asus Phoebus and replace it with Xonar Essence STX

- sell the Z5500 and buy Monitor Audio BX2 + Yamaha A-S500

- keep the DT 990 pro's hoping that yamaha can drive them better than the Phoebus.

So the question is: doing what i mentioned above will i get a better music / sound experience than the current setup i have ?

The problem is i live in Romania and i can't go listed to any speakers because i have no stores around me so i have to go after the reviews and other people who have experience with these products. I only used videos like this one to compare the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXk3I8LxOz8

Sorry for my English and i am waiting for your imput. Thanks !

 

[Overdose]

You could consider THESE or THESE with THIS.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

There's also the little Genelecs which have a big sound for their size.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello, none of those can be found on the website that i can order from in Romania: http://www.avstore.ro/en/

I can spare around 600 pounds on speakers and amp.

One thing i noticed using DT990 PRO and Asus Phoebus after riping an audio cd with dBpowerAMP at FLAC Lossless uncompressed and then at MP3 VBR 240kbps is that i can't hear any diffrence in sound quality, they both sound the same to me.

Is this going to be the case with 2 speakers and amp ?

 

[Overdose]

Hello, none of those can be found on the website that i can order from in Romania: http://www.avstore.ro/en/

I can spare around 600 pounds on speakers and amp.

One thing i noticed using DT990 PRO and Asus Phoebus after riping an audio cd with dBpowerAMP at FLAC Lossless uncompressed and then at MP3 VBR 240kbps is that i can't hear any diffrence in sound quality, they both sound the same to me.

Is this going to be the case with 2 speakers and amp ?

Those were example recomendations really, but you should be able to find similar at a pro audio outlet.

Re. the sound quality, you are unlikely to hear any differences, as at 240 Kbps, you are above the level that audible artifacts will become apparent. Some may claim that they hear a difference, but I use 192 Kbps VBR AAC files and they are fine.

 

[Anonymous]

Are these any good ? http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B3031A.aspx

 

[altruistic.lemon]

The Dalis are pretty good speakers, and their Zensor range is are excellent value for money. Team them with the NAD 316BEE or 356BEE and you'll have a good system.

 

[Overdose]

Are these any good ? http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B3031A.aspx

They have good reviews. I've not heard them though. If you combine them with an audio interface, you'll also have a competent headphone amplifier.

A used UA-25EX would be good. They are now discontinued, which is a great shame, but there are other suitable alternatives.

 

[Anonymous]

Monitor Audio BX2 + NAD C316BEE is it a good combo ? Will the amp fully drive the BX2 ? Or i should pair them up with NAD C326BEE ?