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I play a lot. I don't play much FPS games which benefit most CMSS-3D, but I do play ArmA-series a lot. Recently I have been playing RTS games. Generally my taste for games is really broad. From Dwarf Fortress to BF3 and everything between. As for music, I haven't listened music for years. I have now been introduction myself to wonderful world of music again.
I was thinking of getting FiiO E17 as compromise. I would still be able to use CMSS-3D Entertainment via SPDIF and it would be fine enough DAC/AMP for music also.
How big is the difference of CMSS-3D Entertainment and CMSS-3D Headphone? How does Titanium HD compare to E17 on music playback? I was wondering could it be worth getting Titanium HD over E17. I do have some mobile devices(phone, 3DS) that could benefit from portable amp, but HD 598 isn't exactly portable headphones.
I am not in hurry to get either right now. I will wait and see how my music listening and gaming habits evolve. I probably will be listening more music than now but how much is to be seeing. I probably won't be playing more FPS games only because of sounds, but who knows. Maybe I get addicted to Skyrim and spent rest of my year playing it.
Edit: On side note Titanium HD would go between 2 graphics cards since I have crossfire. It would be taking lot of heat in that position.
First off, there is no such thing as "CMSS-3D Entertainment". Creative uses the CMSS-3D name to describe three different features, much to everyone's confusion:
-CMSS-3D Headphone. Surround mixing for stereo headphones.
-CMSS-3D Virtual. Surround mixing for stereo speakers (and quadraphonic speakers, for whatever reason.)
-CMSS-3D Surround. Speaker fill for stereo sources so it'll play through the rear speakers as well as the front ones for quadraphonic, 5.1, and 7.1 speaker configurations.
Which ones you get obviously depend on which headphone/speaker configuration you have set in the X-Fi control panel.
Second, software CMSS-3D Headphone on a software "X-Fi" device (be it USB or X-Fi MB) doesn't allow MacroFX or Elevation Filter adjustment, though it does seem to do the job regardless. I'd advise leaving the slider right in the middle, where it defaults.
I haven't heard an E17 personally, but I can confirm that the Titanium HD holds its own against the JDS Labs-built ODAC.
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Has anyone taken a look at the Realtek X-Fi mod?
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183809
Yeah, I've fiddled with those before. They're just X-Fi MB(2) and a bunch of other features applied to stock Realtek drivers, and being a software solution, isn't a replacement for an X-Fi card with the actual EMU20k1/20k2. (Still better than stock Realtek, at any rate!)
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I have the Annies headphones (AKG K702 65th Anniversary Edition) and an Asgard 2 amp. (Astro mixamp for console use)
Just looking for some quick advice on which sound card I should be looking at for a primarily gaming focus. There are a lot of debates as to what sound card is best suited to which hobby.
I've looked at these 3
Asus Xonar Phoebus
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD
now from what I have read around various forums/threads seems to be this
Phoebus - gaming focus with a speaker system
Essence STX - more music oriented with headphones, but also good for gaming
X-Fi Titanium HD - pretty much focused on gaming first with headphones, with music/movies/whatever else secondary
I don't really know which one of those, if any, I should pick up, the cheapest is the X-Fi at around 129.99 when price matched (in Canada anyways)
You already have a headphone amp, which kills a lot of the Xonar cards' relative value proposition, and on top of that, the X-Fi Titanium HD just happens to be cheapest for you.
I'd opt for the Titanium HD. It may be a card known for gaming prowess like all true X-Fi cards, but this is one that's also a very capable music card, too. Nice, clean DAC output.