[Change is Good]

So I've been doing some research and the magni and modi setup seems really nice for PC and console gaming.
What I'm curious about is how it would compare to a all in one solution like the SMSL sd793-ii for $70 compared to the $300 magni and modi Uber setup?
Price isint a issue, just curious on how much of a improvement it would be since I've never had much experience with amps.

Remember that M&M combo is stereo only, You'd need an additional device to act as a virtual surround processor.

Yeah, if you're gaming on BOTH console and PC the Creative X7 will probably be a better choice.

 

[Evshrug]

G5 review is up:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal/375#post_12549465

 

[mrkingdomhearts]

Yeah, if you're gaming on BOTH console and PC the Creative X7 will probably be a better choice.

I don't care about surround sound though, tried it with the mixamp and it didn't do anything for me.

 

[Evshrug]

Friend of mine has the original USB Modi, he brought it over once so we could compare against a bunch of other DACs and devices that can be used as a DAC with a Line-Out. We concluded that the Schiit was definitely a solid product, but you pay a little extra for the attractive aluminum case and the funny Schiit name and marketing. I would be just as happy owning a Schiit M&M stack as well as a Creative Omni + Magni, or just a Creative E5/G5. I couldn't tell much sonic difference between purely the DACs that I wasn't sure could just be placebo, but the G5 is only $150 (or less on sale) and still did a great job powering the more demanding headphones I've tried (AKG K612, ZMF Vibro MKII), plus for gaming it has mic connections, EQ/DSP options, is smaller, and only needs one USB cable to a PS4 for audio, chat, and power.

I still think the battery, Bluetooth, and other features of the Creative E5 are well worth the $50 price difference, though if I was PC/Mac only and didn't care about portable audio I would just get the cheaper Omni. MrKingdomHearts' situation is pretty much the conditions that the G5 was designed for.

 

[rebelx]

For gaming purposes, how does the Razer Kraken Pro compare to the Bose QC15?
 
Positional audio (and must be closed back) is probably the most important thing. I cancelled my Ossic X kickstarter backing because I read some negative reviews about how their tech was going to work, so I'm debating whether I should continue using a Bose headset for gaming or if I should use the Kraken Pro when I receive it?

 

[Yethal]

@DigitalRonyn - Man, where is the Dolby Digital update for the G5? And where is my promised patch to the X7 firmware? You promised these things months ago.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Good review Evshrugist,
 
now if only we'd got AC3 support, then all would be well. Still a shame that the broken SBX was alive for several months. I bought mine in December. That's really unacceptable. Good for the G5 that I have a Titanium HD installed in my PC. 

 

[Imperatore]

Any specific reason past ergonomics that earphones aren't part of the discussion here? I've had good experiance with cheap in-ear vs on-ear headphones where positioning is concerned in the past.

I have no experience of them but I fail to see how something so small can offer anywhere near the experience of over or even on ear headphones. I've seen some that cost so much I wonder if they even sell any.

 

[Yethal]

I have no experience of them but I fail to see how something so small can offer anywhere near the experience of over or even on ear headphones. I've seen some that cost so much I wonder if they even sell any.

You'd be surprised how great can the earphones be when it comes to the positional audio. The best rendition of the Virtual Barbershop I've ever heard was on the Fiio EM3 which are 10$ earbuds. Really, try any binaural recording with earphones, You'll be blown away.

 

[Imperatore]

You'd be surprised how great can the earphones be when it comes to the positional audio. The best rendition of the Virtual Barbershop I've ever heard was on the Fiio EM3 which are 10$ earbuds. Really, try any binaural recording with earphones, You'll be blown away.

Positional I could understand but not the rest of it.

 

[Yethal]

Positional I could understand but not the rest of it.

Frankly, me neither. However, I've never owned a nice pair of IEMs so I can't draw any comparisons.

 

[thuNDa]

Thanks for these. I'll give them a listen, and if they sound good, I'll put them up on the first page.

edit: First complaint for the first video (the only one I've seen so far). You should set the surround to at least 67% IMHO. 100% even better. Default I believe is 67% which is a proper gauge for surround. 33% is reducing the surround effect, and doesn't encapsulate the expectation of surround effect for others. So yes, if you can do these tests with surround at 67 or higher, I'd appreciate it. Especially on SBX Surround. I don't like the other one at all, which isn't doing rear surrounds properly.

edit 2: The second video, the SBX Surround really showcased how well it does rear cues at about 2:20. The G5 sounded horrible in rear audio cues.

edit 3: Video 3 (Crysis 2), there was almost nothing to get a hold of in terms of surround cues other than the steam at about 2:30 and some sparks. The BXAE surround doesn't sound like it's doing rear surround at all.

edit: 4, the last video didn't do much in the way of proper surround.

if you can, do tests the way you did the BF4 vid, teasting the surround with the plane's audio cue. A strong focal, consistent point is always best to showcase how well surround works on a DSP.

 
That's what i wrote in the G5 thread:
 
...but after testing more, i'm coming to the conclusion that they indeed changed the whole Surround algorithm, based on the rear-channels already mixed closer to the center in the windows mixer itself(what you can hear in the comparision video from "Elaoin" with surround off).
 
So this thing works very different from SBX, and needs other Surround numbers in the control panel to be comparable.
I always used ~30% with SBX, because it was the cleanest, with the best positional accuracy for me personally, and was also the setting in their own "FPS-profile".
 
Now the FPS-profile in the "BXAE"* has Surround at 60%...

 
Needs more testing...
 
 
*BlasterX Acoustic Engine
 
EDIT: So i tested further, and it seems, that you need a twice as high Surround-setting with the G5.
The higher the Surround-setting, the more the rear-channels get separated, which is kind of the opposite of traditional SBX-Surround.
Anything under 60%, will have some weird "deaf-ear" affect, due to the rear-channels not being separated enough.
 
Another Battlefield 4 comparision:

 
And again "The Division" with various surround settings(times are in youtube):

 

[mrkingdomhearts]

So the G5 works as both a DAC and amp?

 

[thuNDa]

So the G5 works as both a DAC and amp?

Yes, CS4398 DAC, with TPA6120A2 AMP.

 

[mrkingdomhearts]

Hmm similar performance, all in one, alot cheaper then going for a modi Uber and magni setup, USB powered?
Unless I find something better for my needs (going to look up the E5 since I play handheld games as well) I'll probably go with the G5.