benbenkr said:

   
Yes and it doesn't work because the U3 needs drivers to operate.

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Isn't it supposed to work as a usb hid device?

Hello! I was pointed to this thread to ask some questions I have. I am, very surprised at the headphone ratings I have seen here... I used to have Astro A40's with Creative X-Fi Titanium and they were nowhere near as good as Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's, which have much better specs, but most importantly they sound much better with my ASUS Xonar DGX (UNi drivers & 7.1 Shifter Profile), at least in my honest opinion. Is the final provided rating based on overall ratings from many people or just one person's opinion?
 
Anyway, below are my PC's audio components & their impedance:
Realtek ALC892 Onboard sound @ 2ohms
ASUS Xonar DGX  @ 10ohms w/ UNi drivers & updated Dolby Headphone 7.1 Shifter profile
Sennheiser HD-280 Pro Monitoring headphones @ 64ohms
Logitech Z-680 505W DD/DTS 5.1 speakers @ 8ohms 
 
I'm a PC gamer who enjoys Dolby Headphone positional/surround audio/sound, but I am not an audiophile with a good sense of hearing who can easily differentiate between good & bad sound quality. I can, however, tell when positional audio is not accurate in terms of sound direction and sound distance. The main and the only audio/sound complaint I have is that Dolby Headphone technology has this reverberation / echo with any settings I try, but at the same time it makes the spatial/positional sound cues more differentiated/accurate to my ears than some other technologies I have tried, like CMSS-3D. I can always tell where the sound is coming from and how far away it is with Dolby Headphone. All this led me to try out something else I liked and found not only comparable, but also superior to Dolby Headphone - Creative's SBX Pro @ 30%. SBX Pro seems to produce the cleanest positional audio out of all available technologies/methods/licenses I have tried, like Dolby Headphone, CMSS-3D, Razer Kraken 7.1 Virtual Surround Engine, etc.
 
There are several questions I would like someone to answer or just provide some feedback before I make a decision to buy Sound Blaster Z, which supports SBX Pro:
- If anyone noticed, SBX Pro offers exactly the same features as THX TruStudio Pro did a few years back. The web page dedicated to SBX Pro has an identical address to the one that used to be dedicated to THX TruStudio Pro. Some say that SBX Pro is simply a re-branded THX TruStudio Pro. Is that true? My Realtek ALC892 onboard sound supports a freely available THX TruStudio Pro package & utilities at http://www.station-drivers.com/. If it sounds exactly or very close to SBX Pro, then I will not need to upgrade to Sound Blaster Z! In fact, I could even get rid of my ASUS Xonar DGX. The most important factors for me are the positional accuracy and the clarity of the sound itself. That is what makes up "sound quality" in my mind.
 
- What about other technologies such as Dolby Digital Plus Advanced Audio (latest version), Dolby Home Theatre v4, and DTS Surround Sound Sensation? They all feature downmixing 5.7/7.1 multi-channel audio to 2.0 stereo for headphone output. There are other technologies/licenses that may do the same with Realtek ALC892 and here is the list:
+Dolby SRS TruSurround HD
+SRS Premium Sound 
+Fortemedia SAM 
+Synopsys Sonic Focus
+DTS Surround Sensation | UltraPC 
+DTS Connect
I know that some of the above technologies, like DTS Connect are used to send 5.1 compressed sound over SPDIF, just like Dolby Digital Live, and they cannot be used for virtual surround sound in headphones. This is why I came here to inquire further. At first, I thought that all of these were just gimmicks, but then I learned that many people thought SBX Pro was the best, while others thought SBX Pro may have been nothing new and nothing more than THX TruStudio Pro, which I can get any time I want.
 
I know onboard sound can suck at times, but the only real difference between all these soundcards when it comes to sound processing are the licenses that were applied to them. I am sure that just about any decent soundcard like ASUS Xonar DGX could support almost ALL of the features I listed, given they get licensed for them and supporting driver & software are provided. Take a look at Realtek ALC1150 - on some motherboards it supports basic Realtek-support audio technologies,, but on others that had their makers buy the right license, ALC1150 supports SBX Pro!!! Onboard sound has a higher chance of producing crackling sounds, noises, having all kinds of small distortions, but the issue is not with the chip itself or the processing. The issue is how the chip was integrated. Many new motherboards today isolate the sound chip to prevent crackling and distortions from occurring and doing so worked! My motherboard is rather old - ASUS P8Z77-V Pro, but I have no crackling sounds or noises or any issues with it, which is why I would rather use it with THX TruStudio Pro instead of buying Sound Blaster Z. 
 
Impedance is another aspect that may benefit me more if I stick to my onboard Realtek ALC892 sound chip. ALC892 is rated @ 2 ohms, which would perfectly match my Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's with 64ohms and would be a better match for my Logitech Z-680 505W DD/DTS 5.1 8ohms speakers. ASUS Xonar DGX is a 10ohms soundcard, which creates a slight mismatch with my 64ohms headphones, and a huge mismatch with my 8ohms speakers. Sound Blaster Z has even a higher impedance of 22ohms! I know impedance mismatch is not a big deal and my Sennheiser HD-280 Pro 64ohms headphone could handle it with distortions so mild that I'd never even know, but my speakers would probably sound crappy, wouldn't they?
 
Anyway, I just need to know whether SBX Pro = THX TruStudio Pro by those who actually experienced both and whether there are other technologies superior or comparable to SBX Pro that are supported by my onboard chip. Only then I can decide if upgrading to Sound Blaster Z is worth it or not.
 
Sorry for the long post! I will appreciate any feedback you can provide.
 
Thank you!

yethal said:

  Isn't it supposed to work as a usb hid device?

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I guess Asus does not make software drivers that allow the PS4 operating system to communicate with the Xonar U3.
Sony might require a payment or fee to be paid to themselves for each type of device designed to work with the PS4 and Asus may not be willing to pay it.

monarchx said:

   
 
Anyway, I just need to know whether SBX Pro = THX TruStudio Pro by those who actually experienced both and whether there are other technologies superior or comparable to SBX Pro that are supported by my onboard chip. Only then I can decide if upgrading to Sound Blaster Z is worth it or not.
 
Sorry for the long post! I will appreciate any feedback you can provide.
 
Thank you!

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I have used DH, THX and SBX devices.  I agree that DH has weird reverb that's kind of annoying.  I also agree that I find THX/SBX to work much better for my ears.
 
I own both a SB Recon3D (THX) and an SB Omni (SBX) and I believe the rumors that SB just stole the THX tech and decided to stop paying the licensing fees.  They are basically the same to me.  I know @Evshrug has both as well, and I think he's mentioned hearing some slight differences.  Mostly, the new SB just has better sound quality than the old one; the surround sounds the same.
 
If the THX on your onboard card works, it's probably not worth upgrading to a SBZ for JUST gaming.  If you'll be using it for music, it's worth upgrading simply for better SQ.
 
EDIT - Also, this is probably a question that's better in the Nameless Guide to PC Gaming.

Guys, I am currently owning a Philips X1 + Creative Z.
 
 
Is there a update I could do, in terms to improve soundquality in music? I dont like the current sound quality..

onepotatoarmy said:

  Guys, I am currently owning a Philips X1 + Creative Z.
 
 
Is there a update I could do, in terms to improve soundquality in music? I dont like the current sound quality..

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What specifically don't you like?

murder mike said:

  What specifically don't you like?

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Sounds a bit boring and not so punchy and catchy.

onepotatoarmy said:

  Guys, I am currently owning a Philips X1 + Creative Z.
Is there a update I could do, in terms to improve sound quality in music? I don't like the current sound quality..

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Hopefully you disabled the motherboard's on-board audio? in the BIOS.
You have 30-Ohm headphones plugged into a headphone jack with an output impedance of 22-Ohms.
I'm assuming you are getting a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass?

purpleangel said:

   
Hopefully you disabled the motherboard's on-board audio? in the BIOS.
You have 30-Ohm headphones plugged into a headphone jack with an output impedance of 22-Ohms.
I'm assuming you are getting a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass?

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I already order the V Moda cable with a Mic on it, it should be better right?
 
Shell I get a different sound card? The bass is a bit boring, I am mostly listen to edm and I just cant fell in love with it.

onepotatoarmy said:

  I already order the V Moda cable with a Mic on it, it should be better right?
 
Shell I get a different sound card? The bass is a bit boring, I am mostly listen to edm and I just cant fell in love with it.

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I thought the X1 really improved with an amp.  The bass tightened up significantly, which cleared up the mids.  I was using mine with my SB Omni (same as the Z) and the amp was a noticeable improvement.
 
EDIT - And yes, I thought the Boom-pro mic cable actually cleared up a little congestion that I didn't even notice until it was gone.

stillhart said:

   
I thought the X1 really improved with an amp.  The bass tightened up significantly, which cleared up the mids.  I was using mine with my SB Omni (same as the Z) and the amp was a noticeable improvement.
 
EDIT - And yes, I thought the Boom-pro mic cable actually cleared up a little congestion that I didn't even notice until it was gone.

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Well, its not bad and I am not a pro in the genre, but I think it can be better. The headset is great, but my old g35 and my qpad 90 sounds similar I think.
 
I am not sure, I just dont feel a big diffrent

onepotatoarmy said:

   
 
Well, its not bad and I am not a pro in the genre, but I think it can be better. The headset is great, but my old g35 and my qpad 90 sounds similar I think.
 
I am not sure, I just dont feel a big diffrent

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Well I've never heard those other headphones, so I can't really comment on the difference.  I know that the bass on my X1 was overpowering the mids until I amped it, which improved both the bass and the mids.  My suggestion would be to grab a cheap amp like a Magni or Vali or an O2 or something (I don't know what's supposed to pair well with it).
 
Also, make sure you're listening to good music sources --  FLAC or 320k MP3's.

stillhart said:

   
Well I've never heard those other headphones, so I can't really comment on the difference.  I know that the bass on my X1 was overpowering the mids until I amped it, which improved both the bass and the mids.  My suggestion would be to grab a cheap amp like a Magni or Vali or an O2 or something (I don't know what's supposed to pair well with it).
 
Also, make sure you're listening to good music sources --  FLAC or 320k MP3's.

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Currently listening my music on google music client and spotify, which is 320k.
 
Also, will I lose my Surround Sound, when I use a amp and how much performance boost can I achieve with it?

onepotatoarmy said:

  Currently listening my music on google music client and spotify, which is 320k.
 
Also, will I lose my Surround Sound, when I use a amp and how much performance boost can I achieve with it?

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Nope, you won't lose your surround sound, tho you should probably have that turned off while listening to music.  Regarding the performance boost, I'm not sure what you're asking.  I've already described how the sound will change.  It's not something I can be any more clear about, other than to say I didn't really like the X1 until I amped it and then I liked it a lot.  But that's my taste in sound, your mileage may vary.

stillhart said:

  Nope, you won't lose your surround sound, tho you should probably have that turned off while listening to music.  Regarding the performance boost, I'm not sure what you're asking.  I've already described how the sound will change.  It's not something I can be any more clear about, other than to say I didn't really like the X1 until I amped it and then I liked it a lot.  But that's my taste in sound, your mileage may vary.

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So I should buy a amp.

How exaclly can I edit the amp. I never done this before and I am not even sure, what a amp does.
 
Also, doesnt the creative zxr have also an amp?