Sound quality on PC very poor compared to iPods and other computers

[GingerSloth]

So basically, I purchased some extremely good headphones known as ATH-M50s. I first tested them on my iPod touch 5th gen and the sound quality was phenomenal, like nothing I had ever heard before. However, when I use them on my PC, the quality is a bit dissapointing. It's okay with acoustics (Still not as good as ipod, though) but it cannot handle any base at all. Now i know it's the computer not the headphones but does anyone have any ideas why this could be happening? I use an Asus(i think) on board soundcard and have the latest drivers from Realtek.

 

[photonboy]

You should buy a sound card.

This is the cheapest one I recommend, but should be noticeably better than onboard audio:
http://products.ncix.com/detail/asus-xonar-dgx-headphone-amp-32-73088.htm#CustomerReviews

There are PCI versions as well if that's more suitable. The newer PCIe versions fit it any PCIe slot from x1 up to x16.

 

[i7Baby]

Newer mobos have better sound.

 

[ssddx]

generally the m50s dont hae an issue being powered by most devices (including my smartphone, ipod classic or laptop) but in some cases a device might not output enough juice to make full use of them. this appears to be the case here.

you have a few possible fixes:

-buy a soundcard with a decent amped heaphone jack
-buy an external dac+amp (highest cost but highest sound quality solution)
-buy just a headphone amp and use your onboard audio for the dac (not as good as the prior)

i've had my m50s for years and for the price its hard to beat them.

Newer mobos have better sound.

not necessarily. some boards ship with fairly decent onboard (like the asus maximus series) while others ship with fairly mediocre realtek sets (most low or mid tier boards). actual performance can vary quite a bit across the board between models. as far as comparing new motherboards to old motherboards i doubt a low end mobo will beat my $350 rampage iii for onboard sound. even an old higher end onboard soundcard is going to trump a low end solution thrown on a budget board. quality is important too not just how new something is.

 

[GingerSloth]

Well i'm getting a new PC in two weeks and I was considering the Xonar. It's not too expensive, and reviews are good. Think i'll wait and see if the Mobo gives better sound than this one as this one is 3 years old haha. Thanks for the answers.

 

[GingerSloth]

generally the m50s dont hae an issue being powered by most devices (including my smartphone, ipod classic or laptop) but in some cases a device might not output enough juice to make full use of them. this appears to be the case here.

you have a few possible fixes:

-buy a soundcard with a decent amped heaphone jack
-buy an external dac+amp (highest cost but highest sound quality solution)
-buy just a headphone amp and use your onboard audio for the dac (not as good as the prior)

i've had my m50s for years and for the price its hard to beat them.

Well i had some Sennheiser 700 HDs before and they were amazing, but these ATH M50s are far better in my opinion, especially considering they're £280 cheaper. You mention not enough output juice, and that is exactly what it feels like. It's just quite dull. Thanks for the answer

 

[ssddx]

what motherboard?

 

[GingerSloth]

what motherboard?

Motherboard : Gigabyte H81M-S2PV
It's not ideal but it's what comes with the computer I can afford. Since the shop i'm buying it from has a sale on, it is cheaper than building myself.

 

[ssddx]

hard to say if it will be an improvement or not. it doesnt look like it has a decently high end onboard so its a 50/50 chance of it being good enough or not.

however you can always throw in a soundcard (good solution) or use an external dac+amp (best solution) which is going to be better for the audio experience anyways.

 

[ssddx]

what budget is the pc? have you looked at builds from on here?

 

[GingerSloth]

Or would it be worth swapping an I7 4770 for an I5 4760k and this motherboard?

Gigabyte Z87X-SLI ATI Crossfire X & Nvidia SLI Dual Card Support

 

[ssddx]

if you want we can discuss your build a bit?

please join me for a bit here

https://webchat.freenode.net/

channel name is "#ssddx" (without quotations)