Best system to listen to computer music with headphones

[tryingtimes]

Hi all
I currently work from home in a family environment so I listen to a lot of music through headphones (Beyerdynamic DT 531) plugged directly into my laptop's headphone socket.
It sounds pretty good actually as they are really smooth warm and open headphones, but as I spend about 8 hours a day listing to these, I think it's well worth an upgrade.

So - what is the best way to do this?
I have firewire, usb and a headphone socket and I will also consider the option of a separate audio streamer if it's the best route.

I guess my budget is around £2-300. So I can either keep the headphones and add other bits or just swap the headphones.

Cheers
tt

[DorKnight]

I suggest you take a look at the CORDA ARIA which has a built in DAC, so you can connect it to you PC via USB;

http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/

That will come in at around £270.

[tryingtimes]

Thanks for that - I've contacted them for information.
Also - the Ultrasone headphones on there took my fancy as they are low radiation - I was wondering about that as I use them so much.

[DorKnight]

Jan is very helpful, any questions you have for him don't hesitate to ask as he's a great bloke.

[D@vey]

If your spending that much on headphones it may be worth your while upgrading your laptop's sound card too if you're just using the onboard sound. The Creative X-Mod is supposed to be pretty good:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121164/rb/25634554127

[Reano]

Originally Posted by D@vey

If your spending that much on headphones it may be worth your while upgrading your laptop's sound card too if you're just using the onboard sound. The Creative X-Mod is supposed to be pretty good:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121164/rb/25634554127

EMU (which is Creative's professional arm) do even better stuff look here http://www.emu.com/welcome.asp

Or Terratec are good look here http://sounduk.terratec.net/

or m-audio look here: http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family look at the USB family of products

[tryingtimes]

I've found it really hard to get a listen to any of this stuff. There was an Ultrasone dealer in Manchester, but after I said which headphones I was interested in listening to, they never got back to me
I can listen to the M-Audio and Terratec stuff at the Sound Control in town, so might pop in there next week.
I'm pretty particular when it comes to 2-channel audio, so I think that hearing is probably the best thing. I've been reading lots on Headfi, but it's hard to know if people are hearing the same thing as you.

[Holden4th]

Your budget should cover this quite easily.

1st - get a dedicated sound card. Even Creative's basic entry model makes a huge difference but the audigy range is an even better start. This Page gives you a good idea.

2nd - buy a dedicated headphone amplifier and if you're going to do that then consider adaptability. I suggest that you purchase either the PA2V2 or the Go Vibe 5 both of which are portable and also significantly improve your listening experience.

Try http://www.electric-avenues.com/audio8.html

or http://www.go-vibe-headphoneamp.com/

The headphone upgrade is only your third option as it appears that you are very happy with the sound so why change?

Happy hunting

[tryingtimes]

Hi Holden
I guess they're cheap enough to take a punt at. But I find it hard to imagine that they'd beat the all-in-one CORDA ARIA.
Hmmm - more reading to do

[DorKnight]

The CORDA ARIA uses it's own DAC which has had great reviews, just whack it in the PC over USB and off you go and you bypass your soundcard all together.

[tryingtimes]

It sounds better for me - the thought of having 2 power supplies or batteries the other way puts me off.
I've added it to my "wish list" waiting for the next time I have spare cash.

[DorKnight]

I suppose the best bet would be to ask Head-Fi, at least you should get a few peoples opinions and not just me mentioning CORDA Amps in this thread.

[caramelsoul]

The Aria has good reviews. You could also go for the Headroom Micro Stack. I think it retails for $600 which is just slightly over your budget but again has had some good reviews for the price. If its for home use get the desktop module. I have the MicroDAC from the micro stack, but i paired it with the SR-71 amp. But that was more for my portable set up.

[pbirkett]

Not really a helpful comment, but i would like to say that my previous headphones were dt531 and they are brilliant cans for the money. It took a pair of HD650 matched to some pretty serious components to sound better than they did even with modest components.

They can improve nicely with a decent amp too - I recommend something with a bit of warmth and good bass to go with these.

[Holden4th]

Originally Posted by tryingtimes

Hi Holden
I guess they're cheap enough to take a punt at. But I find it hard to imagine that they'd beat the all-in-one CORDA ARIA.
Hmmm - more reading to do

No, they probably won't beat the Cordia Aria (which I've never heard) but have you considered the sound card option I proposed? If the initial amplified source of your sound is inferior it won't really matter what headphone amp you buy. It will just highlight the faults.