This soundcard has it's own separately controllable analog amp! Setting this up properly makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE in the world as far as your experience with the card.
Many soundcards use windows volume alone to adjust volume which results in extremely sub-optimal performance if that's how you work with the Nu. If you are using headphones here's what you need to do:

To the right of "Master Volume" in EVGA's software is "Headphone" with a smaller dial. By default it is set low to accommodate cheap cans with low impedance. You want to turn this up at least to 50% but ideally 75%, whatever you can achieve that is not too loud with the "master volume" set between 10-20%.
Running the headphone amp as your primary volume control will result in much fuller, dynamic sound with notably improved soundstage and separation between voices / instruments / sound effects etc.

I have beyerdynamic custom one pro, do you think this audio card is a good match? I am using the one from my motherboard which is not that bad but sure both are very different.

Thanks for the handy tip.

cmaranhao
I have beyerdynamic custom one pro, do you think this audio card is a good match? I am using the one from my motherboard which is not that bad but sure both are very different.

Well the Nu Audio card allows you to swap opamps to alternate options if you find the default doesn't pair well with your particular set of cans (tweaking the EQ is where you'd want to start though). I personally run Sennheiser HD 700s and they match well enough out of the box with just a little bass EQ tweak. Motherboard audio is usually realtek or a rebrand of realtek's chips and those are all incapable of driving high impedance headphones well (I've tried to make it work) however your headphones only require 16 ohms which is something that realtek chips and even cell phones can drive just fine. Ultimately I'd recommend that your first purchase be a set of higher impedance headphones (50 ohm minimum) before considering a $200 soundcard so that you can actually utilize the available amplifier power and receive the benefit of the high SNR.

ChaobSiroc

cmaranhao
I have beyerdynamic custom one pro, do you think this audio card is a good match? I am using the one from my motherboard which is not that bad but sure both are very different.

Well the Nu Audio card allows you to swap opamps to alternate options if you find the default doesn't pair well with your particular set of cans (tweaking the EQ is where you'd want to start though). I personally run Sennheiser HD 700s and they match well enough out of the box with just a little bass EQ tweak. Motherboard audio is usually realtek or a rebrand of realtek's chips and those are all incapable of driving high impedance headphones well (I've tried to make it work) however your headphones only require 16 ohms which is something that realtek chips and even cell phones can drive just fine. Ultimately I'd recommend that your first purchase be a set of higher impedance headphones (50 ohm minimum) before considering a $200 soundcard so that you can actually utilize the available amplifier power and receive the benefit of the high SNR.

thanks for your reply, never thought of the headphone impedance would make a difference. do you think that by pushing more from the card it will make better sound? I like good audio but this matter is a bit empty space for me at this stage.

Most importantly, you should always follow the result that gives you the best performance and experience.
 
For the record, however, from our engineers and Audio Note's engineers, when using the Headphone out it's recommended to actually set the Windows/Main volume to 100%, and then raise the Headphone volume slider from 0% until the audio level is sufficient for your headphones.  When the main volume is at 100%, that's the default volume level for the Software side before being passed to the audio card.  Therefore, lowering the volume is simply making the original signal quieter, which may or may not reduce the dynamic range of the source, and will occur before the DAC processes the audio.  When using the Headphone amp, you're adding power to the headphones to drive the signal properly, but if Windows/Main volume is lower, then you're amping an artificially quieter signal and giving more power than the headphone actually needs.  This can also have the added side-effect of adding more noise to the source because the amp is now working harder to bring the signal level back up to the original level.  Because of these interactions, it's possible that the final outcome may result in a signal that does not actually match the source audio (although we're really only talking about a slight difference).
 
Generally, the last volume control in your signal chain should be what you use to increase/decrease the volume.  Everything that comes before (in this case, just Windows/Main volume) should be set to 100% (or very close to 100%; some opinions vary, so just stating that for the record). 
 
Examples of some common scenarios.  For simplicity's sake, assume I'm referring to an integrated amp here, and we'll leave the pre-amp/amp discussion for another day:

• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> NU Audio Card Headphone Amp (Control Volume Here) -> Headphone Out -> Headphones
• Windows/Main (Control Volume Here) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out  -> RCA to 3.5mm / 6.3mm adapter -> Headphones
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out  -> RCA to 3.5mm / 6.3mm adapter / RCA cables -> Amp (Control Volume Here) -> Headphones
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out -> Powered Speakers (Control Volume Here)
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out -> Receiver/Amp (Control Volume Here) -> Passive Speakers 
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> S/PDIF Out -> Powered Speakers / Sound Bar (Control Volume Here) 

• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> S/PDIF Out -> TV / Receiver (Control Volume Here) -> Passive Speakers 

Yes, I'm going to take a pass on S/PDIF to TVs with sound bars, since there are too many combinations and TV/sound bar interactions for this sort of post, lol.
 
Now, bear in mind that there's currently no way to change the Headphone volume in the NU Audio Software without Alt-Tabbing out of a program or manually moving it up or down in the NU Audio software, so I can understand that people might want to have some flexibility to raise and lower the Windows volume using hotkeys or through the actual program.  That may require a bit of testing to find the right balance (e.g. set Windows/Main volume between 75-90% and find a good balance with the Headphone volume).  
 
Ultimately, the OP's suggestion and my post here both recommend essentially the same tactic, but from different ends.  Whichever way you find better for your own listening, start by setting one to a fixed value and work on the other to adjust the volume level, and then stick with that process so that your listening experience remains consistent.  

ChaobSiroc

cmaranhao
I have beyerdynamic custom one pro, do you think this audio card is a good match? I am using the one from my motherboard which is not that bad but sure both are very different.

Well the Nu Audio card allows you to swap opamps to alternate options if you find the default doesn't pair well with your particular set of cans (tweaking the EQ is where you'd want to start though). I personally run Sennheiser HD 700s and they match well enough out of the box with just a little bass EQ tweak. Motherboard audio is usually realtek or a rebrand of realtek's chips and those are all incapable of driving high impedance headphones well (I've tried to make it work) however your headphones only require 16 ohms which is something that realtek chips and even cell phones can drive just fine. Ultimately I'd recommend that your first purchase be a set of higher impedance headphones (50 ohm minimum) before considering a $200 soundcard so that you can actually utilize the available amplifier power and receive the benefit of the high SNR.

How comfortable are those Sennheiser HD 700s? I find the HyperX Clouds super comfortable. I just bought a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 Cs and they sound horrible and worse yet hurt my head after 15 minutes.

I"m trying to find a reasonably priced, extremely comfortable pair of headphones to pair with the NU Sound card before it arrives. 

CyberbrainPC

ChaobSiroc

cmaranhao
I have beyerdynamic custom one pro, do you think this audio card is a good match? I am using the one from my motherboard which is not that bad but sure both are very different.

Well the Nu Audio card allows you to swap opamps to alternate options if you find the default doesn't pair well with your particular set of cans (tweaking the EQ is where you'd want to start though). I personally run Sennheiser HD 700s and they match well enough out of the box with just a little bass EQ tweak. Motherboard audio is usually realtek or a rebrand of realtek's chips and those are all incapable of driving high impedance headphones well (I've tried to make it work) however your headphones only require 16 ohms which is something that realtek chips and even cell phones can drive just fine. Ultimately I'd recommend that your first purchase be a set of higher impedance headphones (50 ohm minimum) before considering a $200 soundcard so that you can actually utilize the available amplifier power and receive the benefit of the high SNR.

How comfortable are those Sennheiser HD 700s? I find the HyperX Clouds super comfortable. I just bought a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 Cs and they sound horrible and worse yet hurt my head after 15 minutes.

I"m trying to find a reasonably priced, extremely comfortable pair of headphones to pair with the NU Sound card before it arrives. 

I've heard the Sennheiser HD700's are EXTREMELY comfortable. However, I have been eyeing the HD 660 S's. They seem to be the driver of the 700's while being more similar to the 650's. From what I'm reading, its got a bit more warmth, and bass than the 700's which are a bit more focused on mids and highs.
 
I've been trying to replace my 630VB's as they are a bit heavy for when I game all day. They start to hurt my head.
 
-Jacob B.

EVGATech_LeeM
Most importantly, you should always follow the result that gives you the best performance and experience.
 
For the record, however, from our engineers and Audio Note's engineers, when using the Headphone out it's recommended to actually set the Windows/Main volume to 100%, and then raise the Headphone volume slider from 0% until the audio level is sufficient for your headphones.  When the main volume is at 100%, that's the default volume level for the Software side before being passed to the audio card.  Therefore, lowering the volume is simply making the original signal quieter, which may or may not reduce the dynamic range of the source, and will occur before the DAC processes the audio.  When using the Headphone amp, you're adding power to the headphones to drive the signal properly, but if Windows/Main volume is lower, then you're amping an artificially quieter signal and giving more power than the headphone actually needs.  This can also have the added side-effect of adding more noise to the source because the amp is now working harder to bring the signal level back up to the original level.  Because of these interactions, it's possible that the final outcome may result in a signal that does not actually match the source audio (although we're really only talking about a slight difference).
 
Generally, the last volume control in your signal chain should be what you use to increase/decrease the volume.  Everything that comes before (in this case, just Windows/Main volume) should be set to 100% (or very close to 100%; some opinions vary, so just stating that for the record). 
 
Examples of some common scenarios.  For simplicity's sake, assume I'm referring to an integrated amp here, and we'll leave the pre-amp/amp discussion for another day:

• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> NU Audio Card Headphone Amp (Control Volume Here) -> Headphone Out -> Headphones
• Windows/Main (Control Volume Here) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out  -> RCA to 3.5mm / 6.3mm adapter -> Headphones
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out  -> RCA to 3.5mm / 6.3mm adapter / RCA cables -> Amp (Control Volume Here) -> Headphones
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out -> Powered Speakers (Control Volume Here)
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> Line Out -> Receiver/Amp (Control Volume Here) -> Passive Speakers 
• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> S/PDIF Out -> Powered Speakers / Sound Bar (Control Volume Here) 

• Windows/Main (100%) -> NU Audio Card -> (DAC) -> S/PDIF Out -> TV / Receiver (Control Volume Here) -> Passive Speakers 

Yes, I'm going to take a pass on S/PDIF to TVs with sound bars, since there are too many combinations and TV/sound bar interactions for this sort of post, lol.
 
Now, bear in mind that there's currently no way to change the Headphone volume in the NU Audio Software without Alt-Tabbing out of a program or manually moving it up or down in the NU Audio software, so I can understand that people might want to have some flexibility to raise and lower the Windows volume using hotkeys or through the actual program.  That may require a bit of testing to find the right balance (e.g. set Windows/Main volume between 75-90% and find a good balance with the Headphone volume).  
 
Ultimately, the OP's suggestion and my post here both recommend essentially the same tactic, but from different ends.  Whichever way you find better for your own listening, start by setting one to a fixed value and work on the other to adjust the volume level, and then stick with that process so that your listening experience remains consistent.  

 
this page is bookmarked for future reference, thanks for your explanation!

cmaranhao
 
thanks for your reply, never thought of the headphone impedance would make a difference. do you think that by pushing more from the card it will make better sound? I like good audio but this matter is a bit empty space for me at this stage.

Well, low impedance headphones like yours are designed specifically to reach high volumes with minimal amplification that any portable device can run. High end and audiophile headphones on the other hand have much higher impedance as they expect you to be investing in a quality amp as well. 

EVGATech_JacobB
 
I've heard the Sennheiser HD700's are EXTREMELY comfortable. However, I have been eyeing the HD 660 S's. They seem to be the driver of the 700's while being more similar to the 650's. From what I'm reading, its got a bit more warmth, and bass than the 700's which are a bit more focused on mids and highs.
 
I've been trying to replace my 630VB's as they are a bit heavy for when I game all day. They start to hurt my head.
 
-Jacob B.

Yeah, the shape of the ear cup on the HD 700 is the best I've found, all day comfort for my non-glasses use. I started out with the HD595 before I upgraded to the HD700 then later I demoed the HD598 and even the HD800 but quickly went back to the 700 in both cases. On my 6th year with them and I see no reason to change. The 700's do have weaker bass, for my personal taste I EQ -5 on the 32 band and +5 on 64 to correct them.