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Is audiophile PC gaming possible? - Page 2

post #16 of 27
1/26/11 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siyfion View Post


Quote:
Originally Posted by DivergeUnify View Post

Unfortunately( not to say audiophile gaming isn't possible) most of the sound files in games are pretty low quality.  They're not even HQ variable bitrate, they're like 100kpbs lol

 

I agree, a lot are, which is a shame. But I think it's getting to the point where game developers are starting to care more and more about sound, take a look at Bad Company 2 as an example:

 

http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/battlefield_bad_company/archive/2010/01/22/an-audiophile-s-guide-to-bf-bc2-full.aspx
 


Bad Company 2 sounded immaculate.  I haven't played it with my Grados( which I understand aren't really gaming headphones, but they are open, they're my best sounding headphones, and they give me great positioning), but I did on a speaker system and... JESUS heh.  Supposedly systems like the PS3 are at least using Blu Ray so they can store uncompressed audio( which isn't neccessary but I'd rather have that then 100k by a long shot)

 

I think the more popular items like Beats, Bose, and those 50 cent headphones become, the more attention will be brought to file quality to the average consumer.  Its logical enough- graphics are insanely pretty right now so audio is the next step

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post #17 of 27
1/26/11 at 12:48pm

Really helpful. Keep it coming :)

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post #18 of 27
1/26/11 at 1:44pm

depending on the genre? for FPS headphones are by far the best, no ifs, no buts.  I get pinpoint sound letting me know exactly where other players are in relation to me - last night i took out an irritating sniper in TF2 simply by hearing his gun going off and made a beeline to them and killed them, even though they were invisible.  never used 7.1 and never will, no way to set it up in this room, and i seem to do rather well using just headphones.

 

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post #19 of 27
1/26/11 at 1:56pm

Id recommend tritton ax pro headphones. you get great sound quality and REAL 5.1 surround sound with them the immersion is amazing.

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post #20 of 27
1/27/11 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 

For those that are interested, I've posted up Part 3 now...

 

Basically in part 2 I'd narrowed my choice down to using headphones, not a headset (not particularly surprising). In Part 3 I'm now going to take a look at a few of the contenders; obviously more will be added to this part as and when I get a chance to try different headphones out, so keep that in mind when reading as it's quite short at the moment.

 

Also, some of you may not consider these headphones as "audiophile" quality; I don't want to get into a debate, but needless to say, compared with most "gaming" stuff on the market these are enough of a step up for me to consider them "audiophile".

 

Edit: Oh and Battlefield Bad Company 2 does rock! ;)

 

@ googleborg Do you use any kind of surround sound emulation (CMSS-3D or Dolby Headphone?)

&

@ thp777 Have you ever tried using Dolby Headphone in a game? It's spectacular, hence why I felt I couldn't recommend "true" 5.1 sets over a great stereo set. (I own a set of Roccat Kave's and compared to my Goldring NS1000's with Dolby Headphone enabled it's no competition; not just in SQ either! Positional sound was much easier to determine with DH too! Try it!)

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post #21 of 27
1/27/11 at 8:08am

I've always wondered why people use those "5.1 headsets" when emulation offers something like 64 sound channels for positioning (yes, I game with headphones using CMSS-3D with an X-Fi card).

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post #22 of 27
1/27/11 at 8:32am
Thread Starter 

@FallenAngel: Couldn't agree more. The main reason being the smoothness with which the sound just "rolls" around your head when using Dolby Headphone / CMSS-3D. I found that with my "true" 5.1 headset it seemed to have a much lower "positional-resolution".

 

Anyways, I have lots of research to be getting on with! ;)

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post #23 of 27
1/28/11 at 3:04am
I tried to use CMSS 3D with headphones and it still sound so much unrealistic, it is awful and color the sound a lot, headphones are the best for detail but the unreal fatiguing sound-stage is their weakness BUT you can get used to it and still virtually localize enemies but not as much as speakers. Surround speakers is the best but require lot a place even with little satellites, when i was using Creative S750 i was trapped near the computer with satellites in rear and sides but it was worth it.

The best for headphone soundstage is HRTF it is used for headsets of combat aircraft pilots but require a lot of personal measures because of the head and ears shape/size.

But the title is misleading, for audiophile quality you can only use stereo or it is insanely expensive.
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post #24 of 27
1/28/11 at 3:27am

Are any of the discussions here useful to your guide?

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/534479/mad-lust-envy-aka-shin-cz-s-guide-to-headphone-gaming-particularly-with-dolby-headphone#post_7208658

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post #25 of 27
1/28/11 at 4:04am
Thread Starter 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Omega17TheTrue View Post

I tried to use CMSS 3D with headphones and it still sound so much unrealistic, it is awful and color the sound a lot, headphones are the best for detail but the unreal fatiguing sound-stage is their weakness BUT you can get used to it and still virtually localize enemies but not as much as speakers. Surround speakers is the best but require lot a place even with little satellites, when i was using Creative S750 i was trapped near the computer with satellites in rear and sides but it was worth it.

The best for headphone soundstage is HRTF it is used for headsets of combat aircraft pilots but require a lot of personal measures because of the head and ears shape/size.

But the title is misleading, for audiophile quality you can only use stereo or it is insanely expensive.


I disagree, the title isn't misleading, you can still have an audiophile quality setup that you use for gaming. Also, CMSS-3D is (in my opinion) far inferior to Dolby Headphone; so don't knock it till you've tried it! ;)

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric_C View Post

Are any of the discussions here useful to your guide?

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/534479/mad-lust-envy-aka-shin-cz-s-guide-to-headphone-gaming-particularly-with-dolby-headphone#post_7208658


It was useful in terms of recommending good headphones, but the MixAmp isn't quite what I'm looking for... It's not a good enough DAC or Amp to be considered "audiophile" level.

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post #26 of 27
1/28/11 at 4:50am

Curious what you say about the MixAmp. Didn't you recommend the JVC SU-DH1 earlier? It's my (rudimentary) understanding that it is inferior for gaming, compared to the MixAmp.

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post #27 of 27
1/28/11 at 6:47am
Thread Starter 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric_C View Post

Curious what you say about the MixAmp. Didn't you recommend the JVC SU-DH1 earlier? It's my (rudimentary) understanding that it is inferior for gaming, compared to the MixAmp.


Did I? Hmm.. Don't remember it but I possibly did, regardless... The JVC SU-DH1 is a great bit of kit, as is the MixAmp, but they just aren't good enough quality for me to recommend in my quest for an "audiophile" level setup. Another issue with them both is that their implementation of Dolby Headphone was current when they were first produced, as time goes by and the technology and understanding progresses, they can never be updated. A sound card with Dolby Headphone can more than likely get an updated driver set that supports the new features.

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