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New headphones or soundcard for gaming?

post #1 of 5
11/8/11 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 
Hi there,

I've signed up to this forum because I need some expert advice. smily_headphones1.gif I use my pc for pretty much nothing but gaming, specifically Battlefield 3 at present and always use headphones - Razer Carcharias. I quite like the headphones, I find them to be very comfortable and I think their sound output is good (though I must admit I haven't got much else to compare them to). 

Regarding my soundcard, I've got an Asus Xonar DG but was looking at possibly upgrading to the Essence STX. It's quite hefty at ~£140 so wondered whether this would be a worthwhile upgrade. What I'm looking for really is an even more immersive experience and the ability to maybe hear more than I can at present (for example, I like to try and hear out where my enemies are coming from).

I've done a lot of research and am still a bit confused. I heard one fellow state that there is not much difference in quality between the DG and the Essence STX. However, I'm sceptical about this because the DG can be had for less than £30 whereas the Essence is over x4 more expensive. Some advice or recommendations would be highly appreciated. 
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post #2 of 5
11/8/11 at 1:35pm

Heya,

 

I don't think you're going to notice much of anything going from the DG to anything else. Just enable Dolby Headphone and play some games. You'll find Dolby Headphone sounds... virtually the same... sound card to sound card. The STX has a larger amount of headroom for amplification, but that's not going to change what you hear, that just allows for driving of higher impedance headphones should you get something different in the future. And the STX should have higher quality components in general, but I wouldn't say it's going to be a true audible difference.

 

I think a headphone upgrade would give you more of a sound difference. Something open air with a big sound stage combined with dolby headphone. AD900? DT990? FischerAudio FA-011?

 

Very best,

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post #3 of 5
11/8/11 at 1:53pm
All games use compressed sounds so you won't notice much SQ improvement from jumping to the STX. If you want a noticeable change go with a different set of cans, as MalVeaux suggested.
Edited by Draygonn - 11/8/11 at 1:55pm
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post #4 of 5
11/8/11 at 2:23pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies. A new headphone it is then. How does the Sen 598s compare to the aforementioned headphones in terms of gaming?
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post #5 of 5
11/8/11 at 2:59pm

I've heard that setting game audio to "Cinema theater", works best with Dolby.

Triple check your windows (Vista or 7) and game settings, just in case you missed something that would help.

The Razer Carcharias are 32-Ohm heads, easy for any sound card to drive.

The Essence STX with it's upgradable op-amps would sound better, but not enough for something that costs six times more the the DG.

or that would really affect game play.

Blu-ray movies and music would sound better with the STX.

The DG uses the CMI8768 audio processor, the Essence STX CMI8878, only slightly newer chip.

I do not believe the Dolby for the STX is much different then the Dolby on the DG.

 

The X-Fi Titanium HD would be the best sound card for gaming,

 

I would say get new headphones, like the Sennheiser (50-Ohm) HD-558s (would also need separate mic).


Edited by PurpleAngel - 11/8/11 at 3:02pm
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