Audio advice (Creative X-Fi Titanium Pro + Denon 2000)

[angel1980]

Hello,

Soon I will receive a pair of Denon AHD2000 headphones and Creative X-Fi Fatality Titanium Pro audio card. The headphone is pretty nice so I think I will be fine with it. However, I'm reluctant to use the Creative card to replace the onboard audio ALC892 by Realtek. The reason is I've had bad experiences with the driver and bloatware from Creative. So

1. What's your opinion of the Denon AHD2000?
2. Should I use the Creative card anyway? Why or why not?
3. If not, what card should I use? I'll prefer something with a headphone amplifier (which the Creative card doesn't seem to have). If possible, please give multiple suggestions based on different price brackets.

I'm currently running Win 7 x64 Pro. My other audio equipment: Logitech Z523 2.1 speakers. I rent a room inside someone else's house, so I will use the headphones a lot.

I watch movies (all kinds), listen to music (mostly rock, classical, and pop), and play games (mostly FPS and some turn-based strategy).

Thanks!

[Babrbarossa]

I can't speak to the headphones, and the fatality, but I would recommend it over the onboard.

The auzentech xonar essence is the card to have right now for headphone- built in amp as well. That card is designed for stero listening and headphone use. I have it, and surprisingly the Burr Brown DACs sound better than my $2500 pioneer elite receiver's Wolfson DACs- trust me, I switched back and forth hundreds of times on various settings- quite impressive.

[angel1980]

Hi Babrbarossa, thanks! But do you mean the Asus Xonar Essense or the Auzentech X-Fi Preclude?

[Jackquelegs]

Originally Posted by angel1980

Hi Babrbarossa, thanks! But do you mean the Asus Xonar Essense or the Auzentech X-Fi Preclude?

He means the Xonar Essence STX. It not only has a great DAC, but also a good set of OPamps