skit75 said:
hey ksham.... Your last paragraph reads weird. It sounds like you are suggesting that he buys a high end discreet card but then you wrote,"buy a low-tiered one."
Good catch. Sorry @Anti-grandbean for the confusion. I fixed the typo. I really meant to say "A high-end sound card will
not give you a better experience with those headphones." I was trying to finish my sentence so I can go eat dinner.
Anti-grandbean said:
I am beginning to wonder what you constitutes as a higher end pair of headphones Ksham. . . Cause I read a lot of articles before choosing my headphones. A lot of audiophiles loved them, as did I when I tried them in the store. Hence why I purchased them. Also, higher end, meaning that they are quality headphones not the best of the best. I know for certain there are very few who can drop $600 plus on a set of cans- such as Beyerdynamic Tesla T5p's or Denon AH-D7100's. These ARE quality cans, they ARE adored for being affordable and for producing quality sound.
Agreed, but a price/performance does not directly translate to high-end. People review headphones based on its price range. So while I agree they are great for the price (and I have stated so), they are not going to give you a lot of depth. And if you were to ask for suggestions for headphones under $200, then they will list out the ones they think are good within that price range. I didn't intend to sound so negative about the headphones. They're good for the price and MOST people are more than happy with them. But some audiophiles are more picky than others. Everyone has their perks.
Anti-grandbean said:
My music genre tends to be Classical, Nu Folk, Indie pop/rock, and Classic Rock with a plethora of sub-genre's within those. They do sound a lot more flat, less vivid and defiantly not as bright on the highs compared. If I need just a quality portable amp, then I would prefer to buy that over an expensive sound card because a Fiio E12 would be a lot more useful as it is portable. If a sound card will do nothing other than make a nice 5.1/7.1 sound system sound better, if it really has no effect on headphones then say so. As your last statement confuses me, I am not sure rather to skip it or buy a high-end sound card.
Hmm... "Nu Folk" is new to me. What is that? Have an example?
Yes; again, I so sincerely apologize. That was misleading. I was trying to finish that sentence in a rush. Yes; a quality sound card will not do those headphones much. I still have my Harman Kardon CL and while I like it for certain types of music like mild Trance, I don't play anything else on it. I have on hand a VMODA M100 and a Shure SRH1540 for everything else. The Shure is a bit more comfortable, bass isn't as good as M100 but on music where the bass is weak or non-existent, it has better sound signature than the M100. At least to me, I really like the SRH1540's sound signature. It may not be for everyone. It's definitely also expensive. I think I paid like $410 for mine when there was a (small) discount on it.
Anti-grandbean said:
Before I get comments stating that I should be more polite when asking for advice please note that I am just stating my opinions. To most a pair of $199-$299 dollar headphones is out of the question. You shouldn't knock them down with unsupported facts when the reality is that most people adore these headphones. More so the Grado's and Sennheisers than that of the Harman/Kardon's but still, all in all they are some of the best headphones in this price-range. My opinion obviously differs from that of Ksham, who knows maybe our preferences are just too varied.
I didn't knock the headphones down. I was trying to explain why a good sound card would not help. I may have failed in that attempt, but I was not saying they are bad headphones. There are better ones; yes. They are more expensive; yes. But depending on the user's expectation, they may or may not be satisfactory. Someone may have high expectations that no sub-$200 headphones can dish out. I was just speaking in terms of what the headphones lack.
As for suggestions, the Harman Kardon CL won't benefit at all from it. I don't know how well a sound card works on Grado but based on my trial on it, I don't think its sound signature will improve with a sound card. The Sennheiser may be worth a sound card if you are able to up the bass on it (but not too much).