Amp or sound card for Headphones on my pc

Audio Hardware & Software Sound Cards & DACs & Other Hardware
1

Post obsolete.
I found some headphones. I'm now looking for an amp/sound card.
Jump to 2nd post.

Ok. I have read so many reviews, forum posts with different opinions on so many different headphones or headsets, that i'm now really confused and know less that when i started looking.
So i'm here for your opinion.

I broke my Tt esport shock one headset (60€). And i found it was, lets say.... Ok. Not really good.
Now i need a new one. And i have some money now, since i'm not a student anymore.
So i want something much better.
I do prefer wireless over cable, because i riped out the cable from my pc 1000times to the extend that all 4 front usb ports are now broken on my case. The wire always wound around my chair. And than i moved the chair.
Also i want high build quality. They should not break easily. There have to be rage quit proof.

Also i want good sound and if wireless good battery life.
Also i'm on Linux, Windows, Android, PS3. So they should work on all systems.

I don't care about the mic. I want one i can talk with on ts3 or discord. But i don't wanna do recordings or something like that.

use cases:
Gaming
Entertainment (Music (mostly flac) and Video (e.g 16 GB mkv with good sound also 5.1 and 7.1)
TS3/discord/Skype etc.

And i would use them every single day over multiple hours.

Following questions:
1. is wireless really noticeable worse?
2. Is surround sound on "gaming headsets" really a thing? Also real and virtual. Ahhh
3. Does it really matter if i use open or closed headphones? I guess i would prefer closed because of my brother next door. Also open + mic a problem?
4. Do i really need an sound cards, amplifiers..?

And i guess i really like bass, but i also want good mid/highs. On cheap headphones there are usually so flat.

So far i found the SteelSeries Siberia 840 that look solid, crossplatform, wireless etc...
I don't know if the sound is that good and if it is a good value.
Also is that box it comes only a "wireless controll box" or also a basic amplifier?

Also please don't start with mixers and amplifiers, sound cards. My head will explode.
Do i really need one in the 100-400 € price range.

2

Ok. After reading dozens of post telling to buy non gaming advertised headphones and a dedicated mic, i visited allot of special shops and even one audio studio to try headphones.
In my budget i found the Beyerdynamic Custom Studio to be one of the best headphones. It uses the same audio driver than the DT 770 pro. And i think i will be happy with it. Even my phone can handle the 80 Ohm impedance quiet well. Awesome.
As for the mic i don't know yet. I will go for something like a modmic or snowball. But nothing more expensive.

But now i have a new question:
The headphone+mic will work with my PC out of the box, but maybe not in the best possible way.
My mainboard is the GA-Z77x-D3H. I guess the audio chip/controller whatever is not that bad but also not quite that good.
So what do you recommend? A sound card? An Amp? external vs. internal? Which one? I have no idea in that audio segment, but i try to get into the whole audiophilia thing. Well kinda. Not so crazy like some other guys.
Whats about audio mixing? And selecting the output? It would be really cool to physically switch between headphone and speakers on one device on my desk. Also is there a way to get multiple inputs. Even from Bluetooth sources like my phone, so i can mix PC(cable)+Phone(wireless).

Also do i need something for my mic to reduce this electronic static noise.

I will try to answer these questions by myself over the holiday time. But maybe you have some suggestions.
And thanks in advance.

3

I found the 80Ohm DT 770s were powered quite easily by onboard audio. If there isn't any static from the headphone out and you are satisfied with the sound, I don't think upgrading to a dedicated dac/amp would be worth it. I could not really tell a difference between my onboard audio and my dedicated dac/amp(a DACport Slim, although I have a DACport HD now too).

The audio chipset is a VIA VT2021, which I am unfortunately not familiar with since every board nowadays pretty much uses realtek.

4

Hi: If you get decent audio from your motherboard, that should be fine for gaming. If you want higher audio output, you might want to go with a DAC/Amp. Some of them (USB) have an auto switch feature, so when you plug the headphone in, it switches off the speakers. The DAC/Amp will usually sound much better, but is it work the money?...

Unless you plan on using muli-channel output (5.1) I prefer the USB DAC/Amp option.

You could check out the Samson Meteor mic. It's pretty good as a podcast/gaming mic. Also, works as a portable mic and seems tough. You shouldn't get EMI noise if you use a decent USB mic.

What do you mean by multiple inputs? Your phone probably can't handle more that one audio input device at a time. Some audio devices, like headphones, can handle being paired with multiple devices, but they don't allow mixing. A host machine can do concurrent BT inputs, depending on the chipset and BT stack. Its mostly a software thing.

5

Have you checked out the VMODA BoomPro? It fits the Custom One Pros and will keep cable clutter down.

That depends. If your headphones and mic sound fine off of your onboard audio I say save some money and don't bother with an amp or DAC. Having said that, an amp and DAC will make your headphones sound nicer. External will be less likely to be influenced by electrical noise coming from the computer.

You'd probably be looking at something like desktop audio mixers. They have multiple inputs and outputs that you can adjust and tinker. I'm not super certain on if that's exactly what you want, but it's close.

6

In my case, I would recommend getting a dac/amp combo, such as a objective 02 + odac. I find that there is a improved sound over using the motherboard audiojack on my asus a-z170. And get yourself a headphone-mic splitter to route your mic up to the motherboard ( if it happens that the mics that you got is using the same cable as your headphone like in the case of the vmoda boom pro).