The Nameless Guide To PC Gaming Audio (with binaural headphone surround sound) | Page 123 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

DJINFERNO806 · Sep 21, 2013 at 4:32 PM

Lol no no... I tried using a recon3d and there was some hissing.

I agree with you on your points. The recon3d is cleaner than mixamp however I think Dolby headphone is superior to thx surround. However sbx is superior to both of those IMHO.

I don't do much console gaming anymore so its not a huge problem but creative could of had a huge winner on their hands with a few tweaks.

NamelessPFG · Sep 21, 2013 at 8:31 PM

fegefeuer said:
New Soundblaster cards with CMSS-3D, albeit lesser models.

One external device with up to 600 Ohm.

http://www.techpowerup.com/190126/creative-announces-the-sound-blaster-omni-surround-5-1-usb-sound-card.html

Well, this I didn't see coming...they're still keeping the Audigy brand around, and now introducing cards in PCIe flavor?

I really don't get Creative's direction a lot of the time, but now I'm curious if that's a real EMU10K2 on those Audigy cards, particularly the Rx. This could lead to kX Project driver support for those who want it on a PCIe card. (Though I'd prefer that Creative just open up the EMU20K1/2 documentation so they can make use of the X-Fi DSP...)

By the way, NONE of those are mentioned as having CMSS-3D Headphone, just the SBX Pro suite (including SBX Pro Surround implicitly).

purpleangel said:
I'm guessing cost, I'm assuming the CA10300 audio processor (Audigy 4) is cheaper to manufacture then the current SoundCore3D.

Given that the actual Sound Core3D seems to be a miniature IC not much unlike the one on the Audigy SE and other cards that simply use host-based (read: software) processing, I wouldn't be surprised if the EMU10K2 is actually the more expensive one to produce. That's what baffles me even more.

DJINFERNO806 · Sep 21, 2013 at 8:35 PM

As far as I can tell there is no E-MU chip on the fx. That one just has basic sbx studio finctionality. If you look at the card their is a smaller chip on there. Maybe the soundcore3D?

NamelessPFG · Sep 22, 2013 at 2:29 AM

djinferno806 said:
As far as I can tell there is no E-MU chip on the fx. That one just has basic sbx studio finctionality. If you look at the card their is a smaller chip on there. Maybe the soundcore3D?

Crap, I got the cards mixed up! I meant the Rx.

It may not actually be an EMU10K2 (hard to tell with the low image resolution), but it's a huge chip and I don't see any other reason Creative would suddenly choose to recycle the Audigy brand now.

DJINFERNO806 · Sep 22, 2013 at 3:37 AM

From pics of both cards( audigy RX and audigy 4) it shows they both use the ca10300-iat. Unless the RX pics are doctored by creative? I don't see why they would.

According to some online sources, mainly kx threads, it seems those are emu10k2.5 which have been used since after the audigy 2 cards onwards. Not sure the differences or what not. The RX also has a PLX chip onboard most likely for a PCIe bridge.

Ya I don't know why they would recycle the brand either.... Only thing I can think of is like I mentioned, wasted stock of these chips? I don't understand why anyone would care about upmixed cmss3d stereo or EAX reverb added to music or media...

Vague · Sep 22, 2013 at 4:14 PM

Been looking to upgrade to higher-end audio for FPS gaming but i honestly have no clue what so ever to upgrade to in terms of Soundcard or Dac/Amp but i have picked out headphones i like HD598's. Would be great if someone could help me out.

DJINFERNO806 · Sep 22, 2013 at 4:19 PM

You have two basic choices first.

You want virtual surround options for your games or do you plan on pure stereo?

Stereo: Buy an external Amp + DAC or a combo. This allows you to bring it with you for use portably or on another audio source.

Surround: Sound blaster Z series/Asus Xonar line. Or alternatively an x-fi tiHD if you play older games a lot for its abilities there. I'm not sure how well it would power certain headphones so an amp may be needed for that card.

Vague · Sep 22, 2013 at 4:44 PM

djinferno806 said:
You have two basic choices first.

You want virtual surround options for your games or do you plan on pure stereo?

Stereo: Buy an external Amp + DAC or a combo. This allows you to bring it with you for use portably or on another audio source.

Surround: Sound blaster Z series/Asus Xonar line. Or alternatively an x-fi tiHD if you play older games a lot for its abilities there. I'm not sure how well it would power certain headphones so an amp may be needed for that card.

Does pure stereo give you good positional audio or would i need Virtual sound for that?

DJINFERNO806 · Sep 22, 2013 at 4:51 PM

That depends on you. I personally think stereo sucks for gaming and I need the natural position(attempted anyway) and soundstage of virtual surround. A lot of guys though swear by pure stereo and say it gives them amazing positioning. You can still get direction albeit a limited amount.

It seems to be personal preference really. My recommendation would be listen to both while playing your favourite games and decide.

Vague · Sep 22, 2013 at 5:00 PM

djinferno806 said:
That depends on you. I personally think stereo sucks for gaming and I need the natural position(attempted anyway) and soundstage of virtual surround. A lot of guys though swear by pure stereo and say it gives them amazing positioning. You can still get direction albeit a limited amount.

It seems to be personal preference really. My recommendation would be listen to both while playing your favourite games and decide.

In that case i will get Xonar Essence STX or Phoebus. Thanks dude.

PurpleAngel · Sep 23, 2013 at 1:46 AM

vague said:
In that case i will get Xonar Essence STX or Phoebus. Thanks dude.

I'm an Xonar fan (and STX owner).
But if you want to save a few dollars, the SB-Z (Sound Blaster Z, model SB1500) sells for $95 (plus any tax & shipping), the SB-Z may not have as good a headphone amplifier as the STX/Phoebus, but as the HD598s are only 50-Ohm, they a very easy to drive.

DJINFERNO806 · Sep 23, 2013 at 1:48 AM

^ I agree. As long as your not anal about needing top of the line headphone amp and DAC, the z is the best price/performance card around. Especially if you prefer sbx over Dolby headphones.

Evshrug · Sep 23, 2013 at 8:45 AM

Eeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuah!

Vague · Sep 23, 2013 at 11:22 AM

djinferno806 said:
^ I agree. As long as your not anal about needing top of the line headphone amp and DAC, the z is the best price/performance card around. Especially if you prefer sbx over Dolby headphones.

Would this be a good setup for gaming and music. Sound Blaster Z with external Amp?

PurpleAngel · Sep 23, 2013 at 11:28 AM

vague said:
Would this be a good setup for gaming and music. Sound Blaster Z with external Amp?

Do you already have the Z card?
Would be nice to know if the Z series can send Headphone Surround Sound out of it's front/speaker line-out jack, which would give the external headphone amplifier a slightly cleaner audio signal, then hooking up the external amp to the Z's headphone jack.

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