[SOLVED] Good audio interface for Fidelio X2HR?

[Flame1]

I was wondering if it would be worth it for me to get some audio interface to plug into my pc and run headphones off of it, something that allows me to plug in 2 pairs of headphones preferably so that when my friend comes around we can both wear headphones and listen to audio from the same PC.

Also a side question, should I uninstall Realtek?

I'm a noob to audio stuff so I'd be grateful for some expert advise.

Thank you!

 

[hang-the-9]

I was wondering if it would be worth it for me to get some audio interface to plug into my pc and run headphones off of it, something that allows me to plug in 2 pairs of headphones preferably so that when my friend comes around we can both wear headphones and listen to audio from the same PC.

Also a side question, should I uninstall Realtek?

I'm a noob to audio stuff so I'd be grateful for some expert advise.

Thank you!

First, why do you think you should uninstall anything Realtek? That is probably your audio drivers, if you remove that you won't have any sound.

You may get better sound with an external dac/amp for the headphones, but if you think it will be worth it would be up to you to decide. Without comparing it you are only going by opinions of others about the sound, which won't work very well for something that is all personal opinion.

Your onboard audio should be good enough without any additional equipment.

For a headphone splitter, there are some powered one but cheaper ones may add noise like this https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-4-Cha...ocphy=9001809&hvtargid=pla-493156802625&psc=1

The good ones are pretty expensive, the Mackie Big Knob is good for that.

 

[Flame1]

First, why do you think you should uninstall anything Realtek? That is probably your audio drivers, if you remove that you won't have any sound.

You may get better sound with an external dac/amp for the headphones, but if you think it will be worth it would be up to you to decide. Without comparing it you are only going by opinions of others about the sound, which won't work very well for something that is all personal opinion.

Your onboard audio should be good enough without any additional equipment.

For a headphone splitter, there are some powered one but cheaper ones may add noise like this https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-4-Cha...ocphy=9001809&hvtargid=pla-493156802625&psc=1

The good ones are pretty expensive, the Mackie Big Knob is good for that.

I thought about that because I've seen some threads about people uninstalling Realtek because apparently it was causing issues. A friend of mine apparently doesn't have it installed at all and his audio is working just fine.
I've tried to find the one you linked in the UK but its not available anywhere, I found this instead I hope its the same thing:
Behringer HA400 Microamp 4 Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier: AmazonSmile: Musical Instruments

I've also looked at the Mackie Big Knob that you mentioned, specifically this one: MACKIE Big Knob Passive 2X2 Studio Monitor Controller: AmazonSmile: Musical Instruments
I noticed that it has like 8 audio jacks on the back, does it matter which ones I use to plug in my headphones?

Thank you.

 

[hang-the-9]

I thought about that because I've seen some threads about people uninstalling Realtek because apparently it was causing issues. A friend of mine apparently doesn't have it installed at all and his audio is working just fine.
I've tried to find the one you linked in the UK but its not available anywhere, I found this instead I hope its the same thing:
Behringer HA400 Microamp 4 Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier: AmazonSmile: Musical Instruments

I've also looked at the Mackie Big Knob that you mentioned, specifically this one: MACKIE Big Knob Passive 2X2 Studio Monitor Controller: AmazonSmile: Musical Instruments
I noticed that it has like 8 audio jacks on the back, does it matter which ones I use to plug in my headphones?

Thank you.

Realtek is not the only sound card vendor out there, and they may have several programs installed outside of the drivers. The issue is that you can't just say "uninstall Realtek", there is no context there. First what issues are you having that you want to uninstall it? Second, what exactly are you going to be uninstalling? Without having a clear idea as to why you should do something it has as much chance of making things worse as better or having no change.

The jacks on the Mackie should be marked for what they are used for, not all of those are for headphones. In fact that passive one I am not sure how well it would work to split audio to headphones. The Behringer you found should be fine.

 

[Flame1]

Realtek is not the only sound card vendor out there, and they may have several programs installed outside of the drivers. The issue is that you can't just say "uninstall Realtek", there is no context there. First what issues are you having that you want to uninstall it? Second, what exactly are you going to be uninstalling? Without having a clear idea as to why you should do something it has as much chance of making things worse as better or having no change.

The jacks on the Mackie should be marked for what they are used for, not all of those are for headphones. In fact that passive one I am not sure how well it would work to split audio to headphones. The Behringer you found should be fine.

Well theres this weird issue I started having where when for example someone is talking on discord and they pause for a second I hear a dim but audible pop sound in my right earphone, I tested the headphones on my phone and couldnt hear that weird pop. I've been running the same setup for months and I either somehow only recently started noticing it, or it started happening. Thats the main reason why I've looked at the realtek thing. I dont have any audio enhancements turned on and even reducing quality to 16bit 44100 doesnt change anything, Ive bought a new cable for my headset but that didnt help. It seems like overtime as I have my pc on the pop sound seems to go away, but its still really annoying to hear when I restart my pc, even though it is really quiet. I was kind of hoping that an amp or audio interface or something like that would prevent that from happening at all and at the same time I really wanna see how these things work as I never had experience with them. For now Im gonna buy the Behringer so that I can use more headphones simultaneously, maybe it will also solve that weird pop issue as a bonus.

 

[hang-the-9]

Well theres this weird issue I started having where when for example someone is talking on discord and they pause for a second I hear a dim but audible pop sound in my right earphone, I tested the headphones on my phone and couldnt hear that weird pop. I've been running the same setup for months and I either somehow only recently started noticing it, or it started happening. Thats the main reason why I've looked at the realtek thing. I dont have any audio enhancements turned on and even reducing quality to 16bit 44100 doesnt change anything, Ive bought a new cable for my headset but that didnt help. It seems like overtime as I have my pc on the pop sound seems to go away, but its still really annoying to hear when I restart my pc, even though it is really quiet. I was kind of hoping that an amp or audio interface or something like that would prevent that from happening at all and at the same time I really wanna see how these things work as I never had experience with them. For now Im gonna buy the Behringer so that I can use more headphones simultaneously, maybe it will also solve that weird pop issue as a bonus.

Ok, for the pop, this happens all the time not just on Discord? Have you tried updating the sound card drivers for the motherboard?

An external sound card can often help, the one I use and my favorite for the price is the FX Audio DAC 6. It's probably the cheapest one I would get that is considered of good quality and has great features like being able to run some speakers at the same time as headphones.

 

[Flame1]

Ok, for the pop, this happens all the time not just on Discord? Have you tried updating the sound card drivers for the motherboard?

An external sound card can often help, the one I use and my favorite for the price is the FX Audio DAC 6. It's probably the cheapest one I would get that is considered of good quality and has great features like being able to run some speakers at the same time as headphones.

Yeah it actually happens all the time. I left my pc on over night, then got back on to join my zoom lesson and as people were talking I kept on hearing that annoying pop on the right earphone, its not just discord it seems to be everything that doesn't have a constant sound, like for example if I play really quiet music through spotify while being on a zoom call, I don't hear that pop. I played zombie army dead war earlier and I didnt hear that pop, it's extremely noticeable when I'm doing nothing but talking to someone through discord or zoom, when there are a lot of pauses in sound.
All my motherboard drivers and realtek drivers are up to date, I actually updated the Realtek drivers yesterday but I still hear that annoying pop.
I couldn't find the dac you suggested in the UK but I did find the mk2 version FX-Audio DAC-X6 MKII Bluetooth 5.0 Digital Audio D on OnBuy

 

[hang-the-9]

Yeah it actually happens all the time. I left my pc on over night, then got back on to join my zoom lesson and as people were talking I kept on hearing that annoying pop on the right earphone, its not just discord it seems to be everything that doesn't have a constant sound, like for example if I play really quiet music through spotify while being on a zoom call, I don't hear that pop. I played zombie army dead war earlier and I didnt hear that pop, it's extremely noticeable when I'm doing nothing but talking to someone through discord or zoom, when there are a lot of pauses in sound.
All my motherboard drivers and realtek drivers are up to date, I actually updated the Realtek drivers yesterday but I still hear that annoying pop.
I couldn't find the dac you suggested in the UK but I did find the mk2 version FX-Audio DAC-X6 MKII Bluetooth 5.0 Digital Audio D on OnBuy

That one has bluetooth, which you may not care about but will add extra cost. FiiO K3 is on Amazon UK, Fosi Audio also sells a version of the FX-Audio unit Fosi Audio DAC-Q5

 

[Flame1]

That one has bluetooth, which you may not care about but will add extra cost. FiiO K3 is on Amazon UK, Fosi Audio also sells a version of the FX-Audio unit Fosi Audio DAC-Q5

Okay I'm not gonna lie, I just received that Behringer device and I cant figure out how to plug it into my PC, it only came with a power plug that I plugged in to an extension lead. I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[hang-the-9]

Okay I'm not gonna lie, I just received that Behringer device and I cant figure out how to plug it into my PC, it only came with a power plug that I plugged in to an extension lead. I have no idea what I'm doing.

Audio out goes to the audio in on the headphone amp, you may need an adapter cable from 3.5mm to the the one they use which looks to be a 1/4 inch one. That thing is nothing fancy, just connecting it too the system and the headphones. For the headphones you will need to get 1/4 to 3.5 mm adapters like these https://www.amazon.com/6-35mm-Femal...t=&hvlocphy=9001834&hvtargid=pla-827055601667

 

[Flame1]

Audio out goes to the audio in on the headphone amp, you may need an adapter cable from 3.5mm to the the one they use which looks to be a 1/4 inch one. That thing is nothing fancy, just connecting it too the system and the headphones. For the headphones you will need to get 1/4 to 3.5 mm adapters like these https://www.amazon.com/6-35mm-Femal...t=&hvlocphy=9001834&hvtargid=pla-827055601667

ohh so I need to order 2 of those and another 3.5mm cable to so that I can connect the amp from the input port to the Audio out port on my mobo. Gonna give an update tomorrow when those things arrive.
Thanks for taking your time helping me with setting this up.

Edit: Actually need to order 3 of those adapters, forgot I need one for the 2nd pair of headphones too.

 

[Flame1]

Audio out goes to the audio in on the headphone amp, you may need an adapter cable from 3.5mm to the the one they use which looks to be a 1/4 inch one. That thing is nothing fancy, just connecting it too the system and the headphones. For the headphones you will need to get 1/4 to 3.5 mm adapters like these https://www.amazon.com/6-35mm-Femal...t=&hvlocphy=9001834&hvtargid=pla-827055601667

Alright I got it all set up, theres a big issue though, when I plug in the second pair of headphones to the Behringer, they sound really awful and I know its not the headphones because when I plug them directly into my pc they sound just fine. When I go to the sound settings I dont see the hyperx headphones there, I can unplug the Behringer from the motherboard and just plug in the HyperX headphones but they are recognised as the same thing as the other headphones so I cant adjust them without effecting the other headphones.

 

[Flame1]

I managed to fix the issue with behringer ha400 making my second pair of headphones sound awful, I did so by pulling the audio cable a little bit back, when it was pushed all the way in the audio sounded bad.

 

[hang-the-9]

I managed to fix the issue with behringer ha400 making my second pair of headphones sound awful, I did so by pulling the audio cable a little bit back, when it was pushed all the way in the audio sounded bad.

Sounds like it's a faulty connection, I would swap it out or at least test with another adapter or jack. There are 4 of them on the thing.