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New sound card or AD700 headphones?

post #1 of 9
4/9/10 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking for some help deciding what to buy next to improve my audio setup.

I'm primarily a gamer but enjoy good quality audio when playing and listening to movies and music with good quality.

My current setup is pretty crappy, but I only have about $100-$150 to spend every 6 months or so on new gear. So, I have to buy this stuff one at a time. I'm wondering which item would improve my sound setup the most for this round of purchases.

Here's my current setup:
On Board Realtek ALC1200 (aka crap)
Goldring DR100 headphones
Victor SU-DH1 (Japanese model with DC adapter)

What I'm thinking of buying over time:
Audio Technica ATH-AD700
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Refurbished
Asus Xonar card (not sure which?)
Astrogaming Mixamp (to replace the SU-DH1 for console gaming, which I'll probably sell after)
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post #2 of 9
4/9/10 at 11:56pm
AD700 seems to have a great reputation among the gamers here, although it may not be your best choice if you want a lot of bass impact. Inexpensive sound cards mostly just add fancy game sound effect, a good pair of headphone will also let you enjoy music more. Your decision depends on your priority.
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post #3 of 9
4/10/10 at 12:06am
I'd actually recommend a budget based refurb sound card over the phones at the moment. The old Realtek chipsets are really bad...
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post #4 of 9
4/10/10 at 12:49am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the responses!

I was thinking of doing the boom mic mod for the AD700, but I suppose I can also do it for other headphones. I was also looking at the Sennheiser 555s which a lot of people have, but I can do some searches here to find comparisons. Currently the AD700's are cheaper on Amazon, which is a plus, but the 555s still fit into my price range.

My priority is gaming, music and movies is secondary. But my computer is also my media center and primary workstation, so I'm in front of it with my headphones on all day since I do freelance work.

Sounds like a good soundcard is the best step up. With a budget of $100-$150 what's the one to get for a gamer who wants a bit more than gaming sound quality and dolby headphone support? If all else fails I'll grab the cheap refurb, but since I've got more in my budget I can explore other options.
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post #5 of 9
4/10/10 at 1:25am
I am worried that upgrading your sound card may not give you the best experience and might end up being frustrating. It will improve the SNR and therefore remove a bit of background noise, give you better details with a lower distortion, but in the end the usual sound delivered by the goldring will remain almost the same, just a bit cleaner.

Buying a AD700 which is a very headset will give you a noticeable and more "touchable" improvement, so I would recommend you to go rather in this direction. Used to your AD700 which will be already a nice step, you will more in the long run appreciate the upgrade of your sound-card when you can afford it.
For gaming, if you want more Bass, you might want to consider more bassy cans like the excellent ATH-M50 which I also warmly recommend.
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post #6 of 9
4/10/10 at 1:59am
What kind of games are you playing? What kind of advantages are you looking for? Are you competing?

I play Counter-Strike exclusively with a pair of Pro 750 for gaming... 3D placement of people is INSANE. Who needs wall hacks when you can hear everything!

A good soundcard is crucial though... things that are easily mixed up or lost, are very clean and detectable with a good soundcard.

With the soundcard, go big or go home. Get a Xonar STX or Xonar ST and then later choose on a pair of headphones would be my advice. AD700 suffer from compression I have heard ... IE the transducer takes to long to spit out frequencies so they get mushed together.

I would advise against Sennheiser headphones for gaming... I have been playing CS competitively for 4 years, and I always have issues with the HD600... they sound nice and spacious, but they smear sounds together and it is hard to know exactly where someone is.

Were I you, I would get the Xonar STX/ST then save up for a pair of Ultrasone Pro 750 (ebay)/ ATH AD900/700. That way you are being progressive... STX/ST comes with a great amp too!
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post #7 of 9
4/10/10 at 2:13am
here's my advice, and no this isnt a joke...

Step 1: round up everything you own that you dont want and sell it on ebay
Step 2: put together a list of what you really want instead of what you can afford
Step 3: search head-fi and other audiophile sites, and ebay for used versions of the gear you really want. On a good day, and with a little patience, youll find most everything you can think of for as low as half price on these sites especially if youre willing to buy used
Step 4: get over that nag that you need to get everything new (everyone has it) and enjoy all the great used gear that is way better than you thought you could afford

:-) good luck
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post #8 of 9
4/10/10 at 3:36am
Thread Starter 
Thanks again everyone for your help.

Br777 put things in a bit of context. I'd probably end up replacing the cheaper stuff later, costing more money in the long run, and the high end parts I can keep with me for a while.

I'm buying an old X-Fi card from a friend for cheap, just to fix my sound issues with onboard sound since it will hiss and get a nasty garbled tone when my computer is at high load. But, then I'll look into a good high end setup.

I remember back when I had an Aureal 3D card and cheap headphones, playing the original CS and pinpointing people through walls by the sound positioning, best money I spent on audio. Nowadays I mainly play single player games with a heavy emphasis on environment and atmosphere, stuff like Bioshock 1&2, STALKER, Batman:AA, Dead Space, etc... so a good sound setup and positional sound is important. When I play those games I want to get really immersed, and sound is a big part of that to me, just as much as graphics.

The Xonar Essence STX looks like the card to get along with some $200-$300 range headphones like the Pro 750s Sokolov mentioned.

I'm still on a budget though, but this just means my purchases will happen a little less frequently, but have more of an effect. Sadly, I don't have much to sell, especially since the stuff I can sell are the very games I want to experience with a future high end audio setup.
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post #9 of 9
4/10/10 at 5:35am
/cough
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=39737&...Bundle%20Deals
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