[PurpleAngel]

  If I were to get Xonar DX and a Schiit Magni, I would have sufficient power for Q701's and Dolby headphone surround sound? What advantage does the Magni have over say a Fiio E9? How would surround transfer into the Schiit of the Fiio? I think I've decided...
 
EDIT: Would this card work for what I want? I found it cheap on craigslist.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-SB1040-Sound-Blaster-Xtreme/dp/B000W7PNZI

The Magni should easily drive the 62-ohm Q701s and you will have Dolby Headphone surround sound with the Magni/Xonar combo.
Not a big difference to me between the Magni & E09K amps, I just recomend the Magni because of it's really low headphone output impedance, less then 1-Ohms (E09K is 10-Ohms), makes the Magni a little more desirable for use with lower impedance headphones, like under 50-Ohms.
 
The Creative Xtreme audio is not well liked among the Creative sound card owners.
I believe it uses an older Creative audio processor with updated drivers.

 

[MuhammadLlama]

I get that but would I get any kinda of surround sound with it through this setup? I'd rather not spend so much now and a little bit down the line I could upgrade cards... With any sound card, how would I connect it to a Magni? Would you suggest getting a nice sound card and down the line and getting a Magni, or would you suggest getting an old sound card and a Magni and upgrading cards down the line?
 
Also have you heard anything about the ACM on the SBZ SBX degrading audio quality? If I don't get a Magni or something of the like now I think I would want some kind of volume control... Also how's the beamforming mic they include? Good enough to not get something like this to velcro-mod (like one guy on hear with AD700's) to my cans?:
http://www.amazon.com/Labtec-LVA7330-ClearVoice-Head-Microphone/dp/B00000JBRV/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1386448223&sr=8-14&keywords=head+microphone

 

[MuhammadLlama]

Bump... If you could answer this last post I can make my decision... Thanks so much.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I get that but would I get any kinda of surround sound with it through this setup? I'd rather not spend so much now and a little bit down the line I could upgrade cards... With any sound card, how would I connect it to a Magni? Would you suggest getting a nice sound card and down the line and getting a Magni, or would you suggest getting an old sound card and a Magni and upgrading cards down the line?
 
Also have you heard anything about the ACM on the SBZ SBX degrading audio quality? If I don't get a Magni or something of the like now I think I would want some kind of volume control... Also how's the beamforming mic they include? Good enough to not get something like this to velcro-mod (like one guy on hear with AD700's) to my cans?:
http://www.amazon.com/Labtec-LVA7330-ClearVoice-Head-Microphone/dp/B00000JBRV/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1386448223&sr=8-14&keywords=head+microphone

The Asus Xonar DG ($26.80) or DGX ($38.99) sound card have a $10 mail in rebate this month.
Both come with headphone surround sound.
You would plug the Magni into back panel of the sound card, into the front speaker/headphone output jack.
I've heard the Sound Blaster's ACM does degrade sound quality.
I personally have not seen negative reviews on the Beamform mic.

 

[toliman]

you could get a mod-mic instead of the velcro to attach.
 
the mod-mic uses a magnetic clip + boom mic, should be right what you want there, as it's detachable, and the magnetic clip is discrete, also you can attach to multiple headphones and use the same boom mic.
 
Usually the issue with DDL and DH / VH / SS is that it either adds echoic/HRTF effects to separate or congeal sounds into the shared stereo channel, or it's an EQ boost at best. "Good" dolby headphones effects are hard to perceive on mid-range unless the earphone/headphone can separate really well to begin with, and you have a good source.
 
For DTS encoding, that's usually better over optical anyway, and it's not a quality issue until it hits the DAC on the hifi/speakers/amp.
For DH/Virtual speaker setups, it's arguable. it can be very grating, and affects a great deal of audio signature, the worse offenders are usually the CMSS processing modes on the X-Fi chipsets. though, the realtek/CMI chipsets do try to screw things up in questionable ways too.
 
The cheaper creative cards, often are no different in feature or hardware to CM8878's or realtek onboard audio chips. the DG or DGX will do well, it's not that functionally different to the higher end realtek chips on newer motherboards, but they have really improved the general quality of onboard sound. you usually end up paying for DTS encoding or DDL encoding standards, because the tech is licensed, but it ensures a higher quality DAC usually to boot.
 
If you're considering the Magni/Modi/Loki sic. a USB DAC will "fit" better, the Aune T1 is ~$200, and looks ... er, headphone-y. the E17 / E07k is cheaper as a USB DAC.
 
If you're going to jump to a good soundcard, the xonar essence STX or X-Fi Titanium will cover most all requirements for amp  and 100db+ SNR, also $200.

 

[MuhammadLlama]

Thanks a lot. Would something like a Xonar DX either coupled with an Astro MixAmp or not drive Q701's suitably? I hear it has the same audio processor as the STX just a lower quality DAC and amp. If this is the case, I could use a DX with a MixAmp (maybe) and later on down the line upgrade and add an amp and DAC. That would be preferred if that all makes sense... 
 
EDIT: A few more things about upgrading a DAC later on... 1. A DAC will still transfer DH, or any other surround signal right? 2. If the DAC only has a USB input can you convert the optical cable to usb into the DAC, or does quality get lost or changed when you do this and if not I would have to get a DAC with an optical input right because sound cards don't have USB outs. 3. Attaching a DAC or amp in line after a sound card, will bypass the sound cards built in DAC and amp right? What order in the line do DAC's and amps go?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks a lot. Would something like a Xonar DX either coupled with an Astro MixAmp or not drive Q701's suitably? I hear it has the same audio processor as the STX just a lower quality DAC and amp. If this is the case, I could use a DX with a MixAmp (maybe) and later on down the line upgrade and add an amp and DAC. That would be preferred if that all makes sense... 
 
EDIT: A few more things about upgrading a DAC later on... 1. A DAC will still transfer DH, or any other surround signal right? 2. If the DAC only has a USB input can you convert the optical cable to usb into the DAC, or does quality get lost or changed when you do this and if not I would have to get a DAC with an optical input right because sound cards don't have USB outs. 3. Attaching a DAC or amp in line after a sound card, will bypass the sound cards built in DAC and amp right? What order in the line do DAC's and amps go?

DAC - Digital to Analog Converter.
Amplifiers are analog.
So the DAC does it's job first, then the audio is sent to the amplifier.

 

[MuhammadLlama]

What about the rest of my post? xD

 

[MuhammadLlama]

Thanks for everyone's input! I decided on Q701's with a Xonar STX and a desktop mic. If I decide the built in amp doesn't fit well with the Q701's (as I've heard) I can always return it. I'll post results on it when I get it on Wednesday. Thanks again, can't wait to keep getting deeper into the Head-Fi community!