Hi, I bought some DT 1990 headphones and I’ve been loving them so far. Unfortunately today I have started noticing some “grain” or static in their sound. Not all frequencies seem to be affected but it can be tell in songs like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB_tNDjdhl8 (second 0:03 to 0:04), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFqE8Ny-HOo (from second 0:13 onwards it can be heard) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXKipiBYlRI (the sound of the track is fine but if I turn up or down the volume really fast I can hear a lot of static). Skype calls also get affected and I tried reversing the channels (both channels sound the same). I would really appreciate it If someone could help me identify if this is normal or not.
Are you using an amp? And what device is this on
Also skype calls are mono, so reversing the channels wouldn’t do anything.
I think you might just be noticing the higher quality sound lol (but the volume thing is strange, is that digital volume or analog volume?)
Lol I hope that’s the case.
I’m using my computer and the amp is the one that came with my motherboard
(TI® NE5532 Premium Headset Amplifier for Front Panel Audio Connector (Supports up to 600 Ohm headsets) <— copy paste from its website.
I think digital? It’s just the youtube player’s volume lol
Yeah, my guess is that you are just hearing the lower quality of youtube (as the 1990 is very revealing), and the amp you are using might not be the best. Sometimes windows volume can cause some noise, so that’s normal
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What website? (What mainboard?)
Maybe it is as simple as setting the sample rate in windows (most onboard DACs can handle 24 bit, 96kHz)
asrock x370 gaming k4 https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20X370%20Gaming%20K4/index.asp#Specification
and thanks, I’ll try that.
Could be, but imo I think it is more the fact that it’s not the best amp to drive the 1990
Hey! I got the same board!
It is okay for on-board.
EDIT:
In the (hopefully) installed realtek sound manager thing, make sure it is set to stereo and you have have the full range box checked.
Else the stupid thing will mess with things…
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It’s probably fine, but it might sound a bit harsh on it is my guess
Mobo audio is just not good. I vote that the headphone is revealing how noisy your onboard sound is.
Honestly boards past ryzen 1 isn’t bad and mostly serviceable. These days many Mobo manufacturers love show off their home gher quality caps and DAC chips. And I would say many higher enboards end up sounding fairly close to some budget DAC amps or soundcards. Only issue I find with them is they have some high output impedance. These days many people just make the mistake of plugging it to the case and not the mother board itself and the ports on the case are not shielded well so it will pick up noise
Which port are you using the one on your case or directly off your Mobo?
None of that matters when they’re not properly shielded from all the other EMI in the computer. Breaking out into an external device of any kind is the only way to escape EMI.
I’m not saying all of them are perfect but they are often clean enough for most use cases where you wouldn’t hear any emi as long as you have good grounding. Would be pretty happy to just use myo o if I had to buy I don’t have anything on the level OP does and if I spent that much on a headphone you better believe I would have dropped another $200 on a DAC and an liquid spark or a atom
Out of EMI hell, into EMF hell. Near a computer/network setup, there is no escape from electric noise.
While the onboard audio transmits coil whine under high CPU loads, the isolation on the PCB is good in that regard.
THIS
It’s not necessarily that it’s not clean, it’s just that it may be either lacking in power or finesse for some higher end headphones imo
The described symptoms in the OP are not noise, but something else.
So why are we having the “throw money at the problem”-talk?
To me it either sounds like AcquiredTrack7 isn’t used to the detail and is figuring out that some of the tracks he enjoys on YouTube don’t sound that great (on YouTube), or a better amp could help the sound. The 1990 is going to be better with an actual amp and dac, and while he should be fine using the mobo audio for now, in the future to get the most out of his investment it’s worthwhile to get an amp imo. I’m not advocating to go spend like 500 bucks on an amp/dac, but a good bang for buck amp or amp/dac, as imo it will be worthwhile to do so
Mon is 100% right. While most motherboards today does adequate sound, they cater for a different market. I own the 1990’s and they are amazing. I also used to swear by internal sound cards such as the Asus Xonar STX that, still today, gives a SIGNIFICANT improvement over standard onboard sound. Yet they don’t even compare to quality DAC/AMPs.
Not saying go throw money at the problem. Just saying the problem is onboard sound and youtube as a source. You can spend money wisely on an affordable DAC/AMP that will transform that headphone. (FiiO/SMSL).
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I was mostly agreeing with you guys I also believe he needs better source gear and something better than youtube. I was just defending on board as a whole as for most people it’s honestly good enough and spending more is honestly not at all worth it. OP is not most people though