Sennheiser HD555's

ARMEDTERRORIST · Sep 3, 2007, 06:28 AM

Hey.

I picked these "audiophile" headphones up for around $180 AUD delivered.

I'm equipping them with an Audigy 4 soundcard so you know, you should really expect brilliant sound.

At first, I wasn't exactly that impressed with their sound quality.

I listen to range of music genres, more specifically trance/electronica, mainly the harder stuff - So I tend to have high expectations and desires.

I'm really just wondering what I need to do to get the best sounding quality I can possibly get from these headphones and the card..

One issue i'm having with the soundcard is that whenever you try to select if you're using 2.1, 5.1 speakers or headphones, the drop down menu is completely greyed out. Wtf?

Additionally to that, where you enable the audio effects in the EAX console.. these settings are gone? You can't select any environmental settings or genre specific equalization settings..

The only way I foudn to fix this is to re-install the drivers provided with the CD.. But that is very tedious and annoying.

Could anyone provide some advice on configuring this soundcard perfectly? Or atleast better then I have.. I've seen random pieces of information like unticking syncronization with windows control panel and other stuff, but I don't really know what to trust..

So thats why i've came here..

Thanks guys, i'll check back soon.

**dj_stick** · Sep 3, 2007, 08:53 AM

depending on the headphones, you might need a dedicated headphone amp, or at least a device with a decent quality headphone output - as there's most likely an impedence mis-match between the line level outs and your headphones, that can affect audio quality significantly at times

the dropdown menu is probably greyed out because you need to make sure the windows "Sounds and Audio Devices" control panel is set to 5.1 or higher

btw you seem to have similiar music interests to myself

Necrosis · Sep 3, 2007, 09:34 AM

I'm really surprised no one has made a true pci add-on w/ a built in audiphile quality headphone amp.

**dj_stick** · Sep 3, 2007, 09:45 AM

no true audiophile would buy one though - to much EMI inside a pc case

Necrosis · Sep 3, 2007, 09:57 AM

Just shield it problem solved.

Arklon · Sep 3, 2007, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrosis

Just shield it problem solved.

No, because then any EMI emitted by the PCI card will get bounced back into it, exposing the op amps to more EMI.

**dj_stick** · Sep 4, 2007, 02:59 AM

that would be the case in any external unit aswell - i was referring to interference transmitted through the pci bus connection itself, especially the voltage lines, in addition to radiated EMI - an external headphone amp with a dedicated regulated power supply is the way to go

Necrosis · Sep 4, 2007, 03:21 AM

I see what you mean. It could be done but the convience of it would be made irrelevant because of the cost. Why spend more to have a mediocre internal amp?

Sep 3, 2007, 06:28 AM	#1
ARMEDTERRORIST DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Sennheiser HD555's Hey. I picked these "audiophile" headphones up for around $180 AUD delivered. I'm equipping them with an Audigy 4 soundcard so you know, you should really expect brilliant sound. At first, I wasn't exactly that impressed with their sound quality. I listen to range of music genres, more specifically trance/electronica, mainly the harder stuff - So I tend to have high expectations and desires. I'm really just wondering what I need to do to get the best sounding quality I can possibly get from these headphones and the card.. One issue i'm having with the soundcard is that whenever you try to select if you're using 2.1, 5.1 speakers or headphones, the drop down menu is completely greyed out. Wtf? Additionally to that, where you enable the audio effects in the EAX console.. these settings are gone? You can't select any environmental settings or genre specific equalization settings.. The only way I foudn to fix this is to re-install the drivers provided with the CD.. But that is very tedious and annoying. Could anyone provide some advice on configuring this soundcard perfectly? Or atleast better then I have.. I've seen random pieces of information like unticking syncronization with windows control panel and other stuff, but I don't really know what to trust.. So thats why i've came here.. Thanks guys, i'll check back soon.

Sep 3, 2007, 09:34 AM	#3
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I'm really surprised no one has made a true pci add-on w/ a built in audiphile quality headphone amp.

Sep 3, 2007, 09:57 AM	#5
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Just shield it problem solved.

Sep 4, 2007, 03:21 AM	#8
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I see what you mean. It could be done but the convience of it would be made irrelevant because of the cost. Why spend more to have a mediocre internal amp?