Will my motherboard drive these headphones?

[Anthony_195]

Will my motherboard drive these headphones?

I have the MSI Z87 G45 motherboard. I purchased a pair of Massdrop sennheiser 6xx headphones. I believe they have an inpedance around 300 ohm. My motherboard says that it has better on board audio and can drive up to 600 ohms. Is this A reliable amp to drive these headphones? Also would I need to download any software or drivers to fully utilize the onboard audio? Also, what would be the most optimal aux port to plug into? There’s some on the front that are closer and more convenient, are these fine? and then there are “Gold plated” (why gold plated, I have no idea)in back. There’s a bunch of aux ports. I’m honestly not even sure which one to plug into. How can I get the most out of these headphones?

 

[True Buie]

Heyo Anthony_195

Nice to see you getting a good pair of headphones.
First off all. DON'T use the on-board. Then you'd be better off just buying some cheaper headphones. These will go best with an external AMP/DAC. Your motherboard might be able to get them loud enough, but the internal DAC will most likely crumble the poor headphones.
So... for a cheap AMP/DAC which will drive these. (used it on a pair of HD650's, which is essentially the same headphone.)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Olympus-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_1_mimg_1_ce_display_on_website?ie=UTF8&qid=1510643868&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+10k

This is the Fiio e10k. A small AMP/DAC combo which will make your experience with those headphones a WHOLE lot better. It will run off usb and no drivers are needed for this to operate.

Now that's covered. I should probably elaborate a little on the on-board options.
First off all. IF you want to still use the on-board. Use the AUX port on the back. Don't use the one in front, since that has a cable traveling through your case, and this will create noise on the line.
When they say it's gold plated it's just to say something fancy about the connector. This won't make it any better nor any worse. Just something nice to look at and maybe brag about.
Your motherboard manufacturer might have some sound drivers, however this is most likely just some virtual surround sound profile. You won't need this with these headphones. You wouldn't need them with any other for that matter, wince pretty much all of those 7.1 virtual surround sound just screw around with your sound and makes everything garbage.
Again IF you're using the your motherboard on-board. Use the green AUX port on the back. You most likely know, but saying it just in case.

And again. I wouldn't recommend you using your on-board audio for these headphones. They deserve better and you'd most likely notice a larger difference.

Cheers.

 

[Anthony_195]

I heard that the Realtek drivers “codec” or something of the sorts, is a poor driver. You’re saying for either on board or with a dac/amp, I’m better off just not downloading any drivers? Not even ones that have a neutral sound?I just thought Realtek was bad, didn’t know if there was an alternative . Also there is a green aux port in the back but then again there is a shiny gold one(ridiculous imo) I heard that the gold one is the one that is amplified . This stuff is very confusing to me. Furthermore, I actually had intended on purchasing an amp. I believe it is an amp,or a preamp,( don’t know the difference )called the “Magni” “2 “on Amazon for sale at $59. I had an issue ordering and it didn’t go through and now that amp is $99☹️. Is the amp/Dac you recommended comparable to the Magni 2? Also they have the Magni 3 for $99on schiit.com which I was also considering . I’m gonna go check out your link. Definitely heard Fio before. Exited to see. Also Is usb normal for a dac?Thanks for all your feedback too btw. Very informative!

 

[True Buie]

I heard that the Realtek drivers “codec” or something of the sorts, is a poor driver. You’re saying for either on board or with a dac/amp, I’m better off just not downloading any drivers? Not even ones that have a neutral sound?I just thought Realtek was bad, didn’t know if there was an alternative . Also there is a green aux port in the back but then again there is a shiny gold one(ridiculous imo) I heard that the gold one is the one that is amplified . This stuff is very confusing to me. Furthermore, I actually had intended on purchasing an amp. I believe it is an amp,or a preamp,( don’t know the difference )called the “Magni” “2 “on Amazon for sale at $59. I had an issue ordering and it didn’t go through and now that amp is $99☹️. Is the amp/Dac you recommended comparable to the Magni 2? Also they have the Magni 3 for $99on schiit.com which I was also considering . I’m gonna go check out your link. Definitely heard Fio before. Exited to see. Thanks for all your feedback too btw. Very informative!

First of all. Drivers is not always a bad thing. When using something like a 32-bit DSD amp, then drivers are "needed". I say needed with "" since 32-bit DSD is in fact better, but in reality you'd not notice any difference. Kinda the same story as with 320 kbp/s music files versus 6k kbp/s+ files. No real difference in the real life.

For the "gold aux connection" Is this shaped like a normal 3.5mm AUX or is this square-ish? If it's a normal 3.5mm I don't see a reason not to use, but then again not a particular reason to use it over the green one.
If it's somewhat square then it's SPDIF / optical input. No real difference in sound, however. This will NOT need any drivers. When if the 3.5mm is in use, there might be some drivers needed.

Schiit is a great company with awesome products and your choice is solid. Compared to the Fiio I recommended. There shouldn't be a whole lot of difference, but there will be some subtle ones. Maybe some clearer mids, but that's about it. There won't be a difference as if you were using a tube amplifier.
The Magni 2/3 has a 6.3mm connector instead of the usual 3.5mm. This won't make a difference for sound. Only for the security of the connection. There's is NO difference in the quality when comparing 3.5mm and 6.3mm. Only how secure the fit is.

Now for amp and preamp outs. To put it simple.
The "normal" amp part is for your headphones. You plug in your headphones in the front and the amp will do its job.
The preamp is for speaker monitors. You could hook up some speakers to it you'd like to. They'll need RCA's cables to connect, but this shouldn't be a headache.

And last.
If you're going for the Magni 2/3, you should go for the Modi 2 über aswell. This is the DAC you should pare the Magni with. They do a nice job of running pretty much all headphones, and they also look nice on the desk . This will get your DAC out from your PC. If you were to just buy the Magni, you' still be running of your internal motherboard DAC. You'd most likely not notice a whole lot of difference, but for the sake of it, I'd say go for the Modi aswell.

Cheers

EDIT:
Just noticed I didn't talk about the whole driver thing, whether you should download or not and the USB for DAC's.
I'd say steer away from drivers unless your AMP/DAC needs it.
Even if your motherboard manufacturer says it's "neutral" and won't change sound, I'd probably not download it.

It's quite normal for DAC's to use USB to connect to your PC. Since the DAC's job is to convert the digital input from your PC to a analog output your headphones can use. Hence why it's a called a Digital to Analog Converter.