Help me in finding a new audio setup

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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Hey guys!
I’m soon getting a new PC and it’s finally time to get a proper audio setup.
My current “setup” is a MMX300 Gen2 plugged into my Sound Blaster Z Soundcard.

Please be gentle with me, this is the first time I try to dig deeper into
audio setups.

These are the components I intended to buy::
Headphones 300€~
Microphone 250€~
DAC/AMP 400€~
(I am located in Germany incase you want to count in shipping & tax)

I will mostly use my new setup for gaming, music & streaming:

Gaming: Nothing specific, I play all types of games.

Music: I listen to all sorts of music but I consider myself a hardcore head.
This means that those beats usually vary between 180-300 BPM.
The kicks can be quite heavy and always come with distortion.
This is most definatly not everyone’s cup of tea but if you need further
informations feel free to ask or do some research.

Streaming: I want to start streaming on Twitch soon (Just for fun, nothing serious)
but I don’t know if that’s an information you need.
I need a microphone with good & clean sound and maybe some background noise cancelling.

My first thought was to get a DT880 600Ohm, a proper DAC/AMP and the Rode NT-1-A.
But after reading through articles and threads I just got more and more questions:

Do I need a Audio Interface for my microphone or is pluggin it in via USB just fine?
Is the DT880 600Ohm / NT-1-A the best choice for my purpose & budget?
Should I get a DAC/AMP combo or stack?
What does “Balanced” & “Unbalanced” mean?
Which DAC / AMP should I get?

Please make smart use of my budget, if you think I should spend more or less on product X please tell me.

I hope you guys can help me in finding my new audio setup.
Feel free to ask questions :slight_smile:

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It depends the mic you go with, you can either grab a usb microphone like a samson q2u or audio techinca atr2100x usb (as those have usb built in and can just connect to your pc), or get something like a akg d5 or rode podmic with a motu m2 or focusrite scarlett solo for something higher quality (but you need a mic + interface to connect it to your pc). Regarding microphone, I would suggest going with something dynamic if you don’t have your room treated and it isn’t a quiet environment

If you go the route of nicer mic with interface, you can use the line output of the interface as your dac, and only need a separate amplifier imo. Ignoring that, a dac/amp combo typically will be smaller footprint and just more simple, but a dac amp stack can give better flexibility and can allow for easy changes and upgrades later on (personally I think dac amp stacks are the way to go here)

It refers to the type of signal, skipping the technical aspect, a balanced connector would be like an 3 pin xlr cable or 1/4 inch trs (for interconnects) and for headphones it would be termination into a 4 pin xlr, 4.4mm pentacon, or 2.5mm trrs cable, whereas an unbalanced connector would be an rca jack or 1/4 inch ts (for interconnects) and for headphones it typically is a 1/4 inch trs jack or a 3.5mm trs connector. For example the 880 600 ohm has a 1/4 inch trs unbalanced connection.

Where there are some benefits to balanced like being able to run longer cables or prevent against ground loops, from a sound quality perspective, imo balanced tends to add unneeded cost and complexity at the budget level and doesn’t really sound any better than a good unbalanced design (although if you end up buying a balanced amp you should make sure you actually have balanced headphones)

I think it really depends on the headphones you get and how you decide to set up your microphone

You mention a 880 600 ohm, which is a really nice neutral and accurate headphone, would share some similarities to your mmx 300, it would be on the leaner side of things when it comes to impact and body compared to the mmx 300, but it would offer more detail, clarity, spaciousness, and refinement imo if that sounds up your alley, they are pretty quick as well. Although if you want something that can really keep up with speed and is neutral toned, a hifiman sundara is a very good pick imo, although that might leak too much for streaming.

With an 880 600 ohm, the lake people g103s is a really good option for the price and drives those headphones really well, neutral with a touch of warmth which is nice. You could then grab something like the motu m2 and use it as your dac for the lake people and it would sound pretty great. I mentioned the podmic and the d5 since they are good dynamic microphones that reject good noise but still sound good, the d5 is more clean and clear sounding, where the podmic is more warmer and thicker sounding (more broadcast), although there are lots of other mic options there. You did mention the nt1 and while that is a really nice microphone, it wouldn’t be ideal since it will pick up everything and might sound bad in an untreated room that’s not a proper recording environment imo

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After M0N, there is usually not much to add.

So I am just going to throw a parts list here.

image
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Is missing a mic arm though, so another ~20€

Edit: Maybe I can add:
When using a mic arm attached to your desk, you NEED a shockmount. Else your keypresses and mouse movements will be heared in recordings.

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The DT880 is really good for gaming and sounds awesome in general, but I guess it has not enough bass quantity for your hardcore needs…
But if you should go for Dt880, check beyerdynamic B-Stock, got mine there for 124€

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Thanks for the help!

I will probably get everything from the list MazeFrame provided but with the Rode Podmic, mic arm and shockmount.
I think a warmer and thicker sound fits my deep voice more.
With such a beefy DAC & AMP I’m hopefully set up for a lot of years :smiley:

I also considered getting new speakers / monitors.
Could I implement them in this setup or would I need other stuff for that?
Feel free to also suggest me speakers / monitors (Budget 300€~)

And thanks again :slight_smile:

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Should be very nice overall :+1:

Hmmmm you could but it might complicate things volume control wise. You would want to pick up a monitor controller like this one and run it balanced form the motu 1/4 inch out (reason being is since you are using the motu as a dac line out you would end up having to max the lake people to control volume at the motu, and even then you wouldn’t have a good way to mute the speakers)

And some 1/4 inch trs cables, along with xlr cables for the speakers (assuming you go powered monitors here)

It would depend on what size you can fit on your desk, and what type of sound you are after

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Oof ok, I think I will skip new speakers / monitors for now.

I still have a Teufel CE 400 SW with a decoder station here.
If I ever feel in need to chill without headphones on I will just connect it via S/PDIF to my motherboard.

I ended up with this:

Thomann
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The arm might be a bit overpriced but I rather have a high quality one. Also @MazeFrame suggest getting a shockmount but there is none for the Podmic. Let’s hope it won’t be to big of a problem, else I send it back :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks again for all the help, If I ever need informations regarding Hifi I know where to go <3

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You don’t really need a shockmount with the way the podmic is designed, so you should be fine there imo

Curious to hear your thoughts when it arrives :+1:

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I also highly suggest searching the used markets. Hifishark and headfi have robust used listings. Even if youre like me (i like new for headphones bc its physically on you) then you can still find people who bought and didnt use, or barely even unwrapped their equipment.

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Hey guys!

I finally got time to set everything up. (New PC is running)
Will do further testing the next few days :slight_smile:

I am happy with the Mic so far, had to use RTX Voice to get rid of the loud noise my mechanical keyboard is making but now it works great.

Not sure how to feel about the DT880 Pro.
I am slightly disappointed because I feel like my old setup (MMX 300 + Soundblaster Soundcard) did a better job overall than the DT880 Pro + Lake People G103-S.
This might be due to the fact that I am used to have closed headphones but idk
I was very very happy with the MMX300 and it did a pretty good job at the music genres I am listening to - Maybe I can find smth slightly better than the MMX300?

If you guys have more suggestions for a closed headphone which could suit my needs feel free to suggest them. Thank you :slight_smile:
(Budget: 400€)

Is there a specific range of Ohm I should be looking for if I pair it with my current setup?

Thanks again for all the help, I appreciate it!

(My current setup persists of the list “MazeFrame” posted expect that I am using the Rode Podmic instead of the AKG D5)

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So far how long have you had the 880 + lake people? And so far what aspects about that combo do you think the mmx did better? (To get a feel on what parts to focus on)

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I’ve been using the 880 + Lake People for only 2 days, but I immedatly realised something is missing.
It’s hard to describe what the mmx did better, because I have no clue how to describe Timbre, lol.

I have to explain it pretty casually, I’m sorry :smiley: So the mmx soundcard combo definatly had more bass, I currently feel like I switched a little bass boost off. Listening to the hardcore music genre was way more pleasent with the mmx combo, the transitions between those fast beats sounded smoother, with the 880 the transitions sound a bit harsh. (could be a side effect of having less bass, idk)

Tbh I can’t think of a good way to describe it.

Here you have described the differences between those two, excluding the other hardware ofc.So maybe I need headphones which share more similarities, if not all, with the MMX 300 but adds more to it?

I feel a bit bad for being such a noob at this, but that’s why I am here :smile:
I will try my best to help you guys.

EDIT:
Also idk if I missed a setting or something because I thought with the new setup I could also ramp up the volumne a bit. Currently I have the M2, the G103 and my windows settings on 100% to hear at the same volumne as with the old setup.

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Bump - (Is that allowed? :smiley: )

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I can tell you from German forums that the Mmx and the Dt 770 have the same drivers.
And that the 32 ohm one is “slightly” better than the 300-600 ohm ones.

As for the Dt 880 and the Dt990, they are half open.
Apparently the differences between the two are also slightly different.

That explains in the end although they are called Dt 770,Dt880,dt990 all three are not the same.
The Dt 770 is closed and is often criticised for being too peaky, which is why the Dt880 was created as a “further development” from the series, and the Dt 990 was created from the criticism of the Dt880.
However, the Dt770 is still by far the most popular.

If you’re so fond of the Mmx, then the Dt770 would actually be the right one.
Or something completely different in a different direction.

It would be better to have a look at @Falketor’s post, though. he’s the better guy for it when it comes to gaming.
But purely from the setup, everything is OK.
Do you have an onboard or external sound card?

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I have a onboard soundcard but my M2 is hooked up via USB.