Help! Looking for speakers and AMP/DAC.

[BOBABALLS]

HI, I'm new to this forum. I am currently looking in the market for great 2.0 speakers that would go with my system.

What I'm looking for: Great Sound, Runs Cool, Immersive for gaming, Would Last

Budget: $150.00
Using it for: Gaming, non-professional music editing, music, movies

Currently looking at:
Behringer MS40 (http/www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/behringer-ms40-powered-studio-monitor-pair)
Audix PH5-VS-W (http/www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/audix-ph5-vs-w-powered-speaker-pair?rNtt=audix%20ph5&index=2)
Mackie CR4 (http/www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/mackie-cr4-4-creative-reference-multimedia-monitors--pair)
M-Audio AV42 (http/www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/m-audio-av42-studio-monitor-pair)
Cerwin Vega XD4 (http/www.musiciansfriend.com/home-audio/cerwin-vega-xd4-4-2-way-powered-desktop-speakers)

I am also looking for a USB DAC/AMP that can drive at least 200 Ohm of headphones and would significantly improve my sound for the speakers

Budget: $70.00

Using for: Speakers, Headset, Headphones

Currently looking at:
Creative SoundBlaster Omni Sorround (http/www.amazon.com/Creative-Performance-Headphone-Integrated-Microphone/dp/B00EZT7RE4)
Sewell Direct Soundbox Pro (http/www.amazon.com/Sewell-Direct-Soundbox-External-SW-30415/dp/B00K1OOGRI/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1439764269&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=sewell+sounbox+pro)

Please do suggest if there are others that would meet my requirements for the price or choose which is the best on my list. I am planning to buy it by the end of this month. Thank you.

 

[ssddx]

while this might not answer all of your questions there are a few things i can comment on...

you may want to list what headphones you are planning on powering as impedance is NOT the only thing which affects how easy/hard headphones are to drive.

you might want to at least think about passive speakers (non-powered) combined with an amplifier. it would give you more options. pioneer bs22, mica mb42, klipsch b-10, etcetera. you might need to spend a bit more to get a half decent amplifier but it could very well be worthwhile.

why external soundcards/dac over internal? what features do you need from it? (virtual surround? 5.1 analog outputs? or just quality improvement and ability to power headphones?

 

[BOBABALLS]

while this might not answer all of your questions there are a few things i can comment on...

you may want to list what headphones you are planning on powering as impedance is NOT the only thing which affects how easy/hard headphones are to drive.

you might want to at least think about passive speakers (non-powered) combined with an amplifier. it would give you more options. pioneer bs22, mica mb42, klipsch b-10, etcetera. you might need to spend a bit more to get a half decent amplifier but it could very well be worthwhile.

why external soundcards/dac over internal? what features do you need from it? (virtual surround? 5.1 analog outputs? or just quality improvement and ability to power headphones?

Headphones: I currently have Takstar Hi2050, AKG M220, ATH M50X, MSR7, Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro (kinda like collecting headphones)

Active speakers are generally cheaper, only down side i had on them is the heat on the back (had a Mackie CR3, sold it to a friend) Also I am going to put a Sub-Woofer on it ASAP (maybe 2 months TOPS).

I chose DAC for convenience, looks, and quality (internal still have a chance to get interfered by EMI) If possible I would like to use the speaker/Sub, Mic, and Headphones jacks on the DAC/AMP. yeah I have a crappy On-Board I can't even hear the bass on my Custom One Pro (80 Ohms).

that I didn't know. My friend uses his Omni while both the HeadPhones (Beats (Ewww)) and Speakers JBL (forgot the exact model, a 2.0 CH 5" speakers) at the same time, all he does is change the output in Windows. If he wants to listen through the headphones just switch it (vice versa for speakers). Was thinking of doing the same thing, but I would also include a Mic since I have a ModMic 4.0. Gonna Buy a USB (or maybe XLR) Mic soon tho. Is it better to get Stacks then (separate AMP and DAC)? I was thinking for Schiit Modi and Magni but it's a bit expensive, are there any cheap ones, that has good quality?

Me and my friends do some music for fun. and with this system/equipment i'm tryna upgrade my game on it.

Thanks for the response.

 

[ssddx]

the distortion comes from double-amping. two amps, one connecting to another magnifies the distortion that all amps produce (cheaper amps often have higher distortion than higher quality amps as well).

this is not to say that you cannot use a soundcard with a strong headphone jack connected up to active monitors - you can, although you may want to have the volume level on the soundcard turned down low to minimize any distortion. also, its not going to be a "horrible" vs "good" scenario - there will be a difference but you might not even notice depending on how perceptive to such things you are.

--

most of those headphones are drivable by pretty much any decent soundcard. the omni would work although if you ever intend to get some heavier cans like dt990's you may have a bit of trouble with that solution. if you plan to keep to headphones similar to what you have now it would be fine.

dac+amp stack vs soundcard? the soundcard offers virtual 5.1 as well as an input for mic. a stack does not offer virtual or mic input but often the amps are much stronger and you have access to aux-out (line-out) jacks. neither is really better - each is suited for different purposes. given that your current list of headphones isnt that demanding a soundcard would work for you however if your plans change and you start getting into harder to drive cans that may change.

if you end up going xlr mic (look at the at2020 or at2035) you would have a usb mixer anyways which means soundcard input for mic is not required as xlr isnt supported by normal soundcards anyways. you could always hook your modmic up to the same mixer you use for the desktop mic if you went that route which takes pressure off of needing mic input on your soundcard if you absolutely know this is going to be your plan - otherwise a soundcard with mic input would be more ideal than a stack.

modi-magni is a good combo. expensive yes but it can power most headphones including dt990's just fine. fiio makes some decent budget amps and dacs worth looking at and adds a warm overtone which makes cool headphones less harsh. the audioengine d1 isnt bad either although its much less powerfull than the magni.

you may want to think about a low-pass filter when hooking up a subwoofer in the manner you would need to with actives to filter out the treble.