Hey guys,
 
So I'm using the Audio Technica ATH-M50s (http://www.head-fi.org/t/386819/audio-technica-ath-m50-review) with the Xonar U3 portable amp (http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_U3/) and I want to know what settings would be optimal for regular usage. My most
frequent activities involve listening to music (320kbps or FLAC) on Winamp or streaming videos and audio online. I game occasionally but not
shooters so having perfect sound in-game isn't necessary for me. 
 
The Xonar U3 software has options for Audio Channel, Sample Rate, Analog Out, SPDIF Out and also stuff like "HF", "GX" etc.
Some of these are obvious but just as a precaution, I'd appreciate it if anyone could help figure out the most optimal settings
for all of the aforementioned categories.
 
Thanks in advance guys!

Hi, I just bought the ASUS Xonar U3 from EggHead as well, and after 13 straight hours (not kidding) of tweaking the EQ settings, I finally perfected the setting for my ears.

I just wanna share with you the EQ I did, since the ATH-M50 has almost similar dark sound signature with my Sennheiser HD202 - II.
I listened to some tracks using both of them before I bought the Senn from our local music store. I preferred the laid-back sound of the Senn, and I had small ears that made the Senn fit as a circum-aural can.|

**Notes on this setting:
I NEVER USE DSP - had to emphasize
 
For music and movies, I disable Dolby Headphone and 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter, unless you want to feel like watching in a cinema complex

For gaming, (I play FPS by the way), I simply enable Dolby Headphone and 7.1  if there are many walls and open space in the game
then under Effects tab, I set Environment Size to either Large or Medium
(tested in Battlefield 3, Tomb Raider 2013, Resident Evil 6)
 
the EQ setting:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj213/kamotecure/Equalized.png
 
These are some of the tracks I used to calibrate my U3 Equalizer settings, pls. take note that I'm no audiophile, just a guy who loves bass but doesn't want to lose the mids as well
 
For soundstage:
Callum Graham - The Channel
Antoine Dufour - These Moments
Jon Gomm - Passionflower

For Airiness and Echo balance:
Redline Barbershop Quartet - Wonderful Tonight(Youtube)
 - yeah I know Youtube only provides stereo audio, but still..

For da Bass:
Naughty Boy ft. Sam Smith - La La La
Chase and Status - Time(Queensway Remix)
Madcon - Beggin
Jason Derulo - Talk Dirty
The Lonely Island - Jizz in my Pants

I'm using the same setup, and apparently it is not a good combo. This is because the impedance of the m50s is about 38 ohms, and the output impedance of the u3 is about 20 ohms. 
 
To be honest, I seem to be getting pretty good sound out of the setup. I'm definitely not getting excess volume though.
 
P.S.
Here is an article on output impedance.

nahtol6 said:

**Notes on this setting:
I NEVER USE DSP - had to emphasize
 
For music and movies, I disable Dolby Headphone and 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter, unless you want to feel like watching in a cinema complex

For gaming, (I play FPS by the way), I simply enable Dolby Headphone and 7.1  if there are many walls and open space in the game
then under Effects tab, I set Environment Size to either Large or Medium
(tested in Battlefield 3, Tomb Raider 2013, Resident Evil 6)
 
 

Click to expand...

 
I got a Xonar U3 a few weeks ago and still can't get the sound right in games. I couldn't  get the sound to be normal for music even on hi-fi mode on 0 bass is just too boomy (not really a problem as I don't listen to music on my desktop rig), but in games the FR isn't abnormal for some reason (that includes the BGM). For in-game audio though the 3D effect just isn't there - far away gunshots are just softer but aren't staged any farther than my face, front nor rear or the flanks it doesn't matter. I only get a little bit of panning, like when bullets whiz past me. from side to side; front to rear (and vice versa) it's barely panning. My settings are the same as yours - 7.1 audio, 8ch source, Large Room, Dolby Headphone.
 
What am I missing here? Is it somewhere in the U3's settings, or is it the games? So far I've tried Darksiders, Unreal Tournament III, Crysis series, and Warframe - all lacking in 3D effects. I even tried Total War games, same thing, even with settings that can choose between multichannel output or stereo headphones (neither works as I thought it could), however I got to try this on a full size HT set-up before and I can hear cavalry coming from behind me (not that I got my spears to turn around in time, but as far as immersion is concerned, it was a lot of fun).

I'm not expecting to hear a gunshot from 10m away to actually sound like it came from 10m away, but at least I should be able to tell by ear what general direction it came from. So far I can't tell front from rear, only left from right. Is it because I'm using an IEM?

Thank you for posting your settings. They helped out alot.