[Fegefeuer]

The HW700DS is already available both in the US and EU without import.
 
Most likely the device doesn't output binaural over optical so you're indeed stuck with the headphones. Not worth it. Not at aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall. 
 
I'm not a fan of buying stuff and sending it back just for testing purposes, else I'd have checked out this device already. 

 

[Yethal]

Hi, just want a quick opinion, what do You guys think of Samson sr850? Are they worth buying or is it a better idea to save money on something tad pricier. I'm using mixamp 2013 magni combo.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hi, just want a quick opinion, what do You guys think of Samson sr850? Are they worth buying or is it a better idea to save money on something tad pricier. I'm using mixamp 2013 magni combo.

 
For their price , $49.99 they are a good value.
If you where going to up your budget, then your looking at $90-$120 for the Sennheiser HD558s.

 

[Yethal]

   
For their price , $49.99 they are a good value.
If you where going to up your budget, then your looking at $90-$120 for the Sennheiser HD558s.

are modded 558s as competitive oriented as 598? I'm looking for a pair of cans I'll buy and then never think about buying another one after that. Also back here new pair of 558 costs as much as new pair of AKG K612 which is kinda riddiculous.

 

[autoteleology]

I finally got my SRM-T1 back from Accutech after a component went bad, and part of the welcoming party was my new Xonar U3 (to upmix the signal from 2.0 to 7.1 with Dolby Pro Logic IIx, custom remap the spatial processing with 7.1 Virtual Surround, downmix the 7.1 data back to 2.0 with Dolby Headphone, and apply equalization/sound normalization before outputting the resulting processed PCM data through optical TOSLINK) and my Fiio D07K (cheap, effective optical DAC).

In short, my new audio chain is Xonar U3 (processor) -> Fiio D07K + HiFiMeDIY USB Power Isolator (DAC) -> Stax SRM-T1 (amp) -> Stax Lambda Normal Bias (headphone).

The results of this are absolutely mind-blowing. I've never heard anything like this before, even from something like an Astro Mixamp. A Mixamp can't even hold a candle to this, both in processing and in SQ. The spatial processing is so accurate it is almost eerie - I can perfectly place everything going on around me just from watching my uploaded YouTube videos, much less actual in-game audio. When I get my HD7970GEs back from servicing on Monday and start playing again after my month-long hiatus, I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be game-breaking.

It works just as well with music, too - I compared the processed and non-processed output while listening to some Daft Punk (the Xonar U3 control panel has a switch to turn all processing on and off) and the result is a vast improvement over vanilla 2.0 - by comparison, the unprocessed signal sounds terrible, or as terrible as a mid-tier Stax setup can sound. My Lambdas sound effortless, but with custom processing, they sound so, so much more so.

So, basically, I've found my audio nirvana. I can't imagine headphone audio ever getting better than this. I highly recommend the Xonar U3 to anyone who listens to music or plays games through a PC, and either has an optical DAC, or doesn't mind shelling out a few bucks for one (the D07K costs like $50, and the Modi is $100). The Xonar U3 costs like $30, and to me, it's worth far more than that.

 

[Murder Mike]

  are modded 558s as competitive oriented as 598? I'm looking for a pair of cans I'll buy and then never think about buying another one after that. Also back here new pair of 558 costs as much as new pair of AKG K612 which is kinda riddiculous.

 
If you have a Magni and the K612 costs the same as the 558, I would go with the K612. 

 

[conquerator2]

If you have a Magni and the K612 costs the same as the 558, I would go with the K612. 

+1.

 

[Yethal]

   
If you have a Magni and the K612 costs the same as the 558, I would go with the K612. 

Thanks, I'll go with K612 then.

 

[Sharrakor]

Hey guys, I've just ordered the denon ahd1100 for gaming on a new laptop. I was looking at the CAL!, which is well spoken of in this thread, but had a change of heart and ordered the denons instead. Part of why I did that is that both of these headphones are supposed to sound very similar, ergo the ahd1100 must be nice for gaming as well.
Where I'm going is, have any of you used the denon ahd1100 with dolby headphone? How do they sound?
Many thanks!

 

[Stillhart]

Anyone seen this little gem yet?
 
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/527826/microsofts-3-d-audio-gives-virtual-objects-a-voice/
 
MS is working on 3-D virtual surround audio that tracks your body position using the Kinect sensor!  Man, how awesome would that be?

 

[PurpleAngel]

#23917 of 23926 8 hours ago
sebastianZA
Anybody use the sennheiser momentum for gaming. Would like to hear what you guys think. From the reviews they seem great but not sure if they more for portable use only. I'm looking at purchasing AKG Q701. So want to know wich would be a better investment?I'm gonna use a Mixamp with it for my PS3?

 
I wonder if the Mix-amp can drive the Q701s well enough?
Might think of getting a used HD558.

 

[conquerator2]

Anyone seen this little gem yet?

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/527826/microsofts-3-d-audio-gives-virtual-objects-a-voice/

MS is working on 3-D virtual surround audio that tracks your body position using the Kinect sensor!  Man, how awesome would that be?

That's all great and nice but do you really move at all when playing games? You're sitting in the middle and that's where the audio is centered too most of the time (or on the character)

Unless you mean all the decent Kinect games where you need precise Game audio and wear headphones... Oh, wait

Neat idea but... Somewhat useless, isn't it?

 

[Stillhart]

That's all great and nice but do you really move at all when playing games? You're sitting in the middle and that's where the audio is centered too most of the time (or on the character)

Unless you mean all the decent Kinect games where you need precise Game audio and wear headphones... Oh, wait

Neat idea but... Somewhat useless, isn't it?

I think the main use would be for the Oculus Rift (obviously).  Turn your head in VR, sound tracks your head movements and stays in the same place.
 
Or hell, you don't even need to be in VR.  Imagine turning your head in a first-person game to get a better "read" on where a sound is coming from, rather than turning your character.
 
And let's not forget that outside of gaming, this is a thing that people are interested in.  I can't recall the name of the device, but there's a DAC/Amp you can buy that does this already and it's in the multi-thousand dollar range.  The idea is that music sounds more realistic on headphones if the sound stays in the same relative place when you move around. 
 
*shrug* There's three uses for you right there.  I'm sure there are people way smarter than me working on how to market and sell it as we speak! 

 

[Change is Good]

Meh....

 

[Silent Xaxal]

 
I think the main use would be for the Oculus Rift (obviously).  Turn your head in VR, sound tracks your head movements and stays in the same place.
 
Or hell, you don't even need to be in VR.  Imagine turning your head in a first-person game to get a better "read" on where a sound is coming from, rather than turning your character.
 
And let's not forget that outside of gaming, this is a thing that people are interested in.  I can't recall the name of the device, but there's a DAC/Amp you can buy that does this already and it's in the multi-thousand dollar range.  The idea is that music sounds more realistic on headphones if the sound stays in the same relative place when you move around. 
 
*shrug* There's three uses for you right there.  I'm sure there are people way smarter than me working on how to market and sell it as we speak! 

 
Not that exciting, to be honest, seeing as that is what having a good soundstage will give. If that can give a similar effect to cans with less soundstage.....color me interested.
 
But besides that, most core gamers will be just sitting, or, at most, playing with a wiimote (Not a large bunch, but they do exist) controller, or MKB.