Audio at pro level with PRECISION M6600?

Sorry for misunderstanding you. I call all headphones headphones. I just differentiate by calling them over the ear, on the ear, or in ear monitors.

Recommendation? Yes - this one is easy. Shure SRH840. They are the best $125 set of earphones that I have heard. They easily compete with headphones over $200. They also have high sensitivity and are easy to drive. They are very slightly balanced towards the warm end, so you will have good bass, but they still have great details. They are also closed back so that you can listen on a plane without disturbing your neighbors too much.

 

I haven't tried any Shure headphone, but i tried the older SE525 earphone and pretty satisfied with it. Compared to Senn IE8 which is too bassy, Shure has more balanced sound, so its headphone should sound that way too. However i never come across my mind to get Shure headphone because i doubt even if SRH940 can come close to HD600/650, not to mention HD800.

Anyway I will go to the shop one day and try the Shure headphone, the shop might have that in stock.

 

That is true. The HD600/HD650 with a proper headphone amp is tough to beat, but they are also $499 headphones.

The Shure SRH840 is only $125 and a lot of people actually compare them to the HD600/HD650 and the AKG K702. Google "srh840 hd650" and you will see what I mean.

While you can drive the HD600 with the M6600 and they will sound good, a proper external amp will do a much better job. The Shure SRH840 should sound better directly from the M6600 or your X-Fi card.

My whole point is that the headphone out on the M6600 is not bad. If you need club volume levels for a set of over the ear phones, you will have to have an amp. Otherwise, you can plug most headphones directly in the the M6600 and get good sound. No hiss, no noise, full range, well balanced.

 

wow, i google SRH940 and see someone compare it to HD800 lol... not even the "same class" T5p that i use dare to do that

This is interesting and worth a try. i stay too far from town and travelling 3 hours to the shop is not easy, unless there is some excited event that worth it.

Well my word of "poor" on Mx600 headphone out quality could now be irrelevant. To get the best out of it with good headphone, a quality Amp is really needed. However people looking for SPDIF might still rate Mx600 soundcard as "poor" for not offering that feature.

 

Just wanted to update this old thread with some new info.

I picked up a set of Shure SE425s. They sound very good with the M6600. You can easily hear the differences in how albums were recorded and what kind of post production work was applied to the them.

Tonal balance is great. Dynamics and volume are very good. Soundstage width is good. Soundstage depth is not as good as a high end headphone amp (an amp worth as much as the M6600).

Will put all of this info into my review.

 

Hey, I own a video production company and use a M4600 which has a similar audio card. First off the laptop is great with a custom install of Win7 HD editing works well. As for audio I would buy a pro break out card. I have both the X-Fi usb for 5.1 mixing and a M-Audio Fastrack pro for audio. (Both can be powered off usb. The Avid Mbox 3 is excellent also. I'd never do pro audio work on the built in card on any laptop only for emergencies.

 

Hi,

just wondering if anybody has tested the M6600 with i.e. GuitarRig or Amplitube.
What's the latency like on this card?

thanx
Ron