So my DX mic finally came yesterday and my friends all say it sounds much worse than the Zalman.  I did tests and it couldn't even pick up my voice unless i had it right under my mouth.  I guess I got a bad one :/

eric_c said:

To all amps.

You'll come to the same conclusion by trial and error: if you put your MixAmp at 20%, connect it to an O2, you'll find you have to crank the O2 volume quite high to reach the same decibel level (by estimation, not measurement).

It's a more efficient setup to crank the MixAmp high and use the second amp to attenuate.

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Good to know.

ztrains said:

So my DX mic finally came yesterday and my friends all say it sounds much worse than the Zalman.  I did tests and it couldn't even pick up my voice unless i had it right under my mouth.  I guess I got a bad one :/

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That's odd... it's the polar opposite of what I've experienced with two DX mics.

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hyperionxl said:

I need a desktop amp/dac for my q701s. I play a bit of battlefield but mostly need it for an easy to use volume/eq control next to me while I play movies, games, flight sim, etc. 
 
Here is what I have a selection from: 
http://munkonggadget.com/product_346681_th
http://munkonggadget.com/product_150311_th
 
I could order from the US or wherever, but tax and time it takes to ship sucks.
Around a $300 budget or less would be nice.

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Quick question: are you already using some sort of sound card, or are you using integrated motherboard audio? (I doubt you're talking about console gaming because flight sims don't exist on consoles.)
 
Generally speaking, for PC gaming, I'm more likely to recommend a good internal sound card and an external amp (easily done with $300), or a cheap sound card with all the relevant gaming features, an external DAC with S/PDIF input, and then a discrete amp.

I wanted to say thanks Mad Lust Envy, been stalking these forms for a while and without a large budget bought the CAL! as i saw you recommended them on a few different threads.  I couldn't be happier right now and can start to save pennies for an upgrade.

So after all 
 
Q701 -> Mixamp -> Amp downstream is a damn good thing.
 
Q701 seemed lacking in bass before, now it is just perfect.

No problem shakes.

ZzBOG, yeah, that's because the amp wasn't doing absolutely anything for the Q701 before. The only power the Q701 was getting was from the Mixamp. Now, you're getting the amp's power.

You also weren't getting Dolby Headphone before. You were getting an expanded stereo, and possibly Pro Logic II's DH, which is inferior.

zzbog said:

So after all 

Q701 -> Mixamp -> Amp downstream is a damn good thing.

Q701 seemed lacking in bass before, now it is just perfect.

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You mean...
Q701 <-- Amp (receiver In your case) <-- Mixamp <-- Console
Mic <--/
Right? Remember, lotsa people read this thread... Glad you found a solution!

Sorry it's taking quite awhile to get the HE400 impressions up. Don't have much time to game, and my attention is focused elsewhere. It will come eventually. Right now, with little use, I feel an 8.5 for fun, 7.5-8 for competitive. Still unsure on it's competitive score, as I feel that rear positional cues may not be a strength on them (just as they weren't on the HE-4), but slightly better than the DT880s in that regard. In any case, I can still whoop some ass on BLOPS with them, but they aren't rear wall hacks like the K/Q701/AD700/HD598/PC360. even the D7000 has better positional cues.

That being said, I haven't tried them enough to say whether this is accurate or not.

In other news, I'd really like to try the DT880 Pros for gaming. I believe they deserve a chance, as the Pro models seems to do positioning better than the Premiums.

right yeah the arrows in my Q701 set up should be pointing in the direction of the headphones as Evshrug pointed out.

I finally got my CALs. Unfortunately for my isolation purposes they are just not going to cut it. Though the HM5s are now officially sitting on the shelf next to my Superlux. The CALs have taken over as my headphone to listen to during the day. Only change I have made is putting the super soft plush HM5 pads on them. I am not to sure how Creative/Denon/Foster developed these headphones but I heard absolutely no change what so ever on the pad replacement. The HM5 pads are much larger but fit perfectly, they are also warmer which I am not thrilled about but I will take the comfort over the heat. Makes me wonder if since the Shure940 pads fit on the HM5 whether they will slide onto the CALs. Wish I could afford to make that replacement for fun. 
 
This is a headphone that acts really different from my E9 vs straight out of my Iphone4s. The Iphone makes them very boomy, the e9/e17 tightens the bass right up. Though the Amp combo can make the highs a little harsh on some songs. Not as harsh as the HM5s(Due to it's extremely balanced sound.) The CALs have brought my love of liquid Drum and Bass/ chill Dubstep back into my life while my partner and brother make WAY to much BLOODY noise. 
 
So I will be saving for the DT770pro 250ohms after all. Could be a couple of months till I am able to pull it off financially unless I get a bonus. The CALs/HM5 pads will do me till then.

So which do you prefer? The CAL or HM5?

Also, what's wrong with the CAL pads that you swapped them out? I found them very soft and comfortable, heat issues aside.

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mad lust envy said:

So which do you prefer? The CAL or HM5?
Also, what's wrong with the CAL pads that you swapped them out? I found them very soft and comfortable, heat issues aside.

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I prefer the CAL. 
 
The pads are fine on the CALs just find them a little small. It is the same issue I had with the Koss DJ100. I can feel the edges of the pads on the edges of my ears. Just didn't find them as comfortable. Also with the CALs don't feel like I have my head trapped in a vice. HM5 headphones are very very tight headache inducing tight.
 
During console gaming I will still use my DT990s. Since I have control of the TV volume then.

Ah yes, that's understandable. The pads are indeed just barely big enough to fit my ears, and I can feel my ears touching the sides. I like their small size. It keeps it from having so much pleather on skin contact.

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mad lust envy said:

Ah yes, that's understandable. The pads are indeed just barely big enough to fit my ears, and I can feel my ears touching the sides. I like their small size. It keeps it from having so much pleather on skin contact.

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Yah it really is going to be a user preference thing for sure.