Well, thank you very much for your help, I'm going to buy Z, I hope I'll enjoy it.

anarion said:

Here's my Mirror's Edge videos. Since it's OpenAL game (and I'm using the correct device id), SBX doesn't do anything in it though and CMSS just enables HRTF in X-Fi case. Both are tested in stereo mode, not headphone mode. In my opinion, in OpenAL games X-Fi sounds sharper.

Zx:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qL7BX_XcU&hd=1

X-Fi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GH5DsUJpY8&hd=1

Click to expand...

Thanks Anarion. I'm not 100% sure these are the same vids Fegefeur showed me before, but these sound good. Thanks for uploading them.

Any reason you tested in Stereo mode instead of Headphone mode? I'm not even sure what you mean here, Speaker vs Headphone out on the SBX control panel?

xnor said:

If connecting an amp to the headphone jack reduces volume then something is very wrong, or the amp has actually less than unity gain (less than 1x or 0 dB).

(Or the amp's potentiometer at the position you're using attenuates the signal a lot more than you think.)

Click to expand...

Could be either, or something else entirely. Played again two nights ago (Minecraft this time), I had to turn Windows volume way down back to about 23%. Too many variables to account for, could be in-game volume settings or driver weirdness.

Got my new Audio-Gd Compass 2. Love it.
 
Evs - when connected via USB I could easily explode my headphones if I dialled it up enough, however via optical to my SBZ it's much quieter - it still get's loud (louder than just from the SBZ headamp) but the pot is almost all the way up. Basically there's something wrong: I always thought it was Windows, but I'm now veering towards the SoundBlaster drivers. Also remember they have an army of greasy lawyers perhaps insisting that their product not cause us hearing damage. Who knows....
 
I could do the 'gain trick' which was posted up a few pages back... but if I forget about it.... and switch to USB ------> hearing aids here I come.
 
** I have to switch the gain to the on position on the amp to get the same volume with the SBZ/optical as opposed to the off (0dB) gain on the Compass ** Hopefully DJ won't have the same problem.. though I've got to note there is zero distortion on high gain (I'd bloody well hope not). BTW .. soundstage I'm finding is wider on this after playing a bit of DayZ:SA.

SaLX,
does your new Audio-GD amp have a volume knob? Get in the habit of turning it all the way down as part of your shut-off routine... once your hearing is damaged, you won't get it all back. Be careful man... But enjoy the extended freq range of your youth


(I'm assuming you're a little younger than me, and that your hearing extends better than mine, which is about average for someone 1O years older than me )

Hi everyone I recently bought the SB ZXR for my new pc and am now looking for a headphone to go with it. I am considering either the HD800 or K712 but I am wondering if the soundcard will be good enough for these headphones or will I have to get an external amp?

@Evs - yes it has a knob .. and yes I'll zero it every time........ Also I'm a 40+ coffin dodger you young whippersnapper! Bizarre thing is 2 reboots later it's settled down.. the SBZ I mean... grrrr.
 
@ezone... honestly have a good read and search through these forums. Take your time as it'll be worth it. I would recommended heartily the Philips X1 for an all round gamingheadphone + V-Moda boom pro microphone. Other contenders are open AKG's, Beyer 770, 880, 990's and the AD700.. plus a lot more. Senn PC360's I've heard, and they are superb for FPS - if you play in a team then go for these. HD800 is hugely expensive. K712 I would buy in a heartbeat for gaming and everything. Your ZxR will be make them all sound good I'm sure.
 
Checkout Mad Lust's megathread in the video games forum for the most comprehensive roundup on the planet.

ezone2kil said:

Hi everyone I recently bought the SB ZXR for my new pc and am now looking for a headphone to go with it. I am considering either the HD800 or K712 but I am wondering if the soundcard will be good enough for these headphones or will I have to get an external amp?

Click to expand...

The HD800 is great but overkill for the sound quality in games... other than the character of the headphone, you probably wouldn't notice actual improvement over one of the classic "trio" (AKG K701, Beyerdynamic DT880, and Sennheiser HD600). The quality of audio files in games is the limiting factor, you may notice a bigger improvement with music and HD tracks.

I have a K712, and I like it very much. However, it doesn't blow me away compared to the Q701 I've been rockin for a year and a half... mostly still a great engaging sound, the K712 just seems a bit more refined and comfortable to wear (headband). Both are driven adequately from my Sound Blaster Z card, though I generally prefer tube amps for their pleasing coloration... plugging my headphone straight into the Z doesn't seem any worse than amping with my FiiO E12.

Recommendation from my experience: Sound Blaster Z + Q701, and later, just for fun, buy a Schiit Vali or Garage1214 Starlight or Sunrise III tube hybrid amp to emphasize the soundstage and make the midrange more lush GREAT setup for gaming and music that made me fall in love.

Ya my 15.32 already blew my hearing once because I forgot it was on high gain at 12 o clock.... Good bye tympanic membrane...

Its weird having a volume knob now as opposed to controlling windows volume. That's one thing I liked about the zxr.

Anyone on this thread try using a AKG Q701 plugged directly into a Sound Blaster Z (or Zx)?
Does the combo work well together?

I tried AKG K601s last night, gaming wise (rising storm - l4d2 - insurgency )  it was PERFECT ! CALs are already very good for soundwhoring  but if was about to join  a tournament  i would use the AKGs since they're  super comfortable and the soundstage is more defined + bigger  ! 
I had to use to raise the volume substastianlly ( 56-60 vs 16-20 % on 32ohm headphones ) and sound was kind of "harsh", it was actually a bit painfull   

evshrug said:

Thanks Anarion. I'm not 100% sure these are the same vids Fegefeur showed me before, but these sound good. Thanks for uploading them.

Any reason you tested in Stereo mode instead of Headphone mode? I'm not even sure what you mean here, Speaker vs Headphone out on the SBX control panel?

Click to expand...

Mostly, because, well, headphone out is unusable loud with these headphones. Headphone mode also has this "in your head" kind of HRTF. While it might be more accurate, it sounds worse in my opinion. SBX wouldn't be enabled in that game anyway since it's OpenAL game and I did not use generic software mode. Headphone out and line out have different HRTF in OpenAL games and if you have SBX enabled. Same situation with X-Fi. It is kinda annoying that you can't enable headphone mode when using line out since the headphone out can be unusable with headphones. Even with line out, ACM is a must.

Anyone have experience using the Sound Blaster's ASIO drivers for applications where ASIO drivers REALLY count, meaning low-latency music production/live software instrument playing? 
 
I use midi controllers to trigger sample libraries (pianos, EPs, organs, etc.) and getting the latency/buffer as low as possible is important as every millisecond counts when your playing.
I've always had to fall back to ASIO4ALL drivers to get the latency down.  I'm pleased to see that I'll have some "native" ASIO support with the SB Z.

As I read before when I was evaluating the card, the latency time with the native ASIO driver is about 1ms or 2ms, if someone here can confirm that it will be a realy good latency for the musicians, for me the higher acceptable value is no more than 8ms

anarion said:

Mostly, because, well, headphone out is unusable loud with these headphones. Headphone mode also has this "in your head" kind of HRTF. While it might be more accurate, it sounds worse in my opinion. SBX wouldn't be enabled in that game anyway since it's OpenAL game and I did not use generic software mode. Headphone out and line out have different HRTF in OpenAL games and if you have SBX enabled. Same situation with X-Fi. It is kinda annoying that you can't enable headphone mode when using line out since the headphone out can be unusable with headphones. Even with line out, ACM is a must.

Click to expand...

I see... Can you confirm that Mirror's Edge in OpenAL mode sounds exactly the same in either Headphone or Speaker mode, or better yet, post another video with same settings except in headphone mode? I think you understand that the trade-off between headphone and speaker mode HRTFs will be largely decided by individual taste, earshape, and headphone. Plus it's harder to fairly represent SBX in comparison to other surround DSPs if most people are going to naturally choose the default headphone mode. If you don't want to, just tell me how you recorded it and I'll make a Borderlands 2 sample.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHhwUT4BYMk&hd=1
 
My Mirror's Edge CMSS-3D Headphone Mode