Are These Good Headphones and Sound Cards?

halodude23

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The new Sennheiser 558
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FEEY9A/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A1M0GZGHL8F7T8

and
ASUS Xonar Essence ST
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BZIZ04/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS

Please don't say that the Sennheiser 2k series is better e.t.c. I like what I chose, but if you can find something for the same price don't really know, maybe the AKG's then it's a deal, but I would prefer a non open air headphone. Seems hard to find a really good one for me. Thanks, and my maximum price for a soundcard+headphones=under 400$
 

anwaypasible

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there are always better pieces of hardware out there.
if people had a list of what is best - worst for each price category.. other companys would go out of business.

besides.. what is built for one thing isnt supposed to sound good while doing another thing.

headphones are easy to explain.
first you have to find some headphones that have clarity.
then you need to match the right headphones to the size of your ear hole.
they dont tell you what the ear hole size is because that sort of thing is reserved for custom headphones built for you and you only.

there are quite a few ways to see this.
you can purchase a pre-built computer or build one yourself piece by piece.
purchase a combo meal at some fast food chain or select items one by one.
get some wood flooring and do the floor with pre-made tongue and groove wood or get your own wood and cutout your own connection scheme.
buy a pre-built hometheater system that has speakers and receiver or buy the speakers seperately.
the local deli makes sandwiches already made or you can purchase the stuff and make it yourself.

there are reasons why something is made.. and that reason isnt always to compete with another product that does the same thing.
speakers might be made specifically for playing audio that has reverb applied.. and if you dont apply the reverb to the audio, the speakers wont sound as good.
 

halodude23

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I have already built my pc, it is an i7 920 with a GTX 460 1GB, 6 GB of ram e.t.c.
I am not aiming for a Logitech Z5500 home theater system, just headphones that I can use to travel with even though it's (Open Aire), I already have the Logitech X540 5.1.


 

anwaypasible

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really nobody should be telling you what headphones are good without knowing your ear canal's *resonant frequency*

there might be a situation where the headphones are capable of clarity and detail.. but those headphones on your ears might cause a rather annoying 'ring'

other times, a small part of the frequency range will seem to 'bleed' into your ears.
if you have ever heard cheap tweeters that screech.. you already know a piece of the puzzle.
it wouldnt be the treble that rings in your ears.. probably some chunk of the midrange that does it.

having headphones fit for your ear canal is about as unique as getting a mold for the roof of your mouth (a retainer)

when headphones bleed into your ears.. you either cant turn them up or you turn them up and take a chance on damaging your hearing.
the cheap headphones dont have such drastic differences.. but once you start hunting down some real quality.. those differences get bigger and bigger.

kinda like upgrading an engine one part at a time.
each piece has the potential of making the engine run stronger and stronger.
which usually leads to spending more and more money to get the upgraded results.

but..
since we are in a technological revolution, it wouldnt suprise me to hear about some headphones that sound good and continue to sound good no matter what ear hole compensation is applied to the sound.

i havent heard anything that has professional degrees of change.
most of the plugins i've heard are very small differences that i could hardly gather (sometimes hearing no difference at all)
otherwise i would at least tell you about an audio plugin that would improve your purchase, regardless of whatever you bought.
 

halodude23

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When you say "Real Quality", what do you mean? I'm pretty sure Sennheiser, Denon, and Akg's are good??? What else do I need, Customized 100k headphones????

 

anwaypasible

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i meant headphones that have a higher degree of compensation for the ear hole.

to say that there is a difference with the frequency.. also a difference in volume of that frequency.

i think if your headphones sound like they are worth 100k dollars.. the quality should be there.
its just a matter of getting a left handed mouse for your left hand.
or a baby spoon for a baby.

using a metal spoon can have its consequences.. ruining the enamel of the tooth making the tooth sensitive and causing pain before they fall out.

those companies wont necessarily tell you which ones fit your ear the best.
but that doesnt mean that their products are not capable of being a match for more than one size ear hole.

kinda like having all of their products lined up on a table and you go down the line trying each one to see which one sounds the best.

doing that from home would be a daunting task of buying and waiting for the shipment and sending 'em back if they were the wrong ones.
 

halodude23

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But, i'm still going to get the Sennheiser anyways ;P.