[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Audio Technica ATH-A900X

Have not gamed with them yet. but movies and music are great.
Wings a little too week for me, slides down, rests on top of ears.

 

[Mehdi]

Thanks again Purple!
 
Mad Lust, seeing as you have the Q701s and a MixAmp.... does the MixAmp drive the Q701s well by itself, or did you need to use an additional amp?

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

It drives it well enough.  

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I've mentioned it, and its on the K701 listing: the Mixamp and the AKGs will be fine if you're not using voice chat.

 

[Fenrisulf]

How are is the AKG K240 for gaming? I don't see it specifically mentioned in the first post.
I am looking for headphones that are good all-round, will be using it both for gaming (Starcraft 2 & Dota 2 competitively, and also single player games like Mass effect 3, etc) and music. Price range is from 80-150ish, somewhat flexible, can go up to around 200 but would rather not. 

 

[Fegefeuer]

Quote:

The Astro mix-amp. does the same Dolby Virtual Headphone as the Xonar cards.
If the Astro mix-amp. does not power the Q701s, you can all ways plug a headphone amplifier into the Mix-amps headphone output.
 

 
Signal Quality is universes in difference, plus reverb on the Mixamp is actually hindering soundstage/3D-Illusion if you compare with a STX. 

 

[Mehdi]

Between the STs and the Titaniums, which is the more recommended card? 
 
My understanding is that the SQ of the STs is better, but the Titaniums are better for gaming for games that support EAX5+. This question is within the context of virtual surround sound for headphones being the main focus. Which of course means, this comparison would also be between Dolby Headphones versus Creative's [size=small]CMSS technology.[/size]

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Between the STs and the Titaniums, which is the more recommended card? 
 
My understanding is that the SQ of the STs is better, but the Titaniums are better for gaming for games that support EAX5+. This question is within the context of virtual surround sound for headphones being the main focus. Which of course means, this comparison would also be between Dolby Headphones versus Creative's [size=small]CMSS technology.[/size]

Audio quality wise, the cards are about equal.
The STX's (Essence) real advantage is powering headphones in the 150-Ohm to 600-Ohm range and easier to just switch between all the analog ports.
The Creative T-HD (Titanium HD) can have a headphone amp. hooked up to the RCA port and pass surround sound thru them (sorry Essence).
Both cards can pass surround sound thru the digital outputs.
Creative is big on game support for their cards (EAX and other such stuff).
Games do not come with direct EAX support as much as they use to.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Signal Quality is universes in difference, plus reverb on the Mixamp is actually hindering soundstage/3D-Illusion if you compare with a STX. 

 
I'd like some clarification there.
 
We all know the Mixamp only supports DH2 mode for Dolby Headphone, which adds a bit of reverb. Do you use the Xonar cards in DH1 mode (which doesn't add any reverb at all)?
 

Between the STs and the Titaniums, which is the more recommended card? 
 
My understanding is that the SQ of the STs is better, but the Titaniums are better for gaming for games that support EAX5+. This question is within the context of virtual surround sound for headphones being the main focus. Which of course means, this comparison would also be between Dolby Headphones versus Creative's [size=small]CMSS technology.[/size]

 
I don't know if the actual sound quality on the Essence cards is actually better to an audible extent, but it's said that the Titanium HD has a "warmer" sound signature with a bit more bass emphasis by comparison. I can believe that, since the bass does seem a bit punchier than the X-Fi Prelude and X-Fi Forte I had been using prior.
 
The reason why I generally recommend X-Fi cards for anyone who cares about old games that use the DirectSound3D or OpenAL APIs is twofold:
 

1. EAX 3/4/5 support. The most DS3DGX or Xear3D on a C-Media card might do is try to emulate those higher versions, but it probably won't sound as intended. Do note that practically everything has proper EAX 1/2 support, though.
2. CMSS-3D Headphone is capable of using the 3D positional information the DS3D and OAL APIs provide to provide the user with a true 3D binaural mix, very much like Aureal did with A3D and their Vortex sound card chipset back in the late 1990s. By comparison, Dolby Headphone would have to have that 3D information downmixed to 7.1 before it applies its binaural effects, so you lose all sense of height, and sounds seem to jump between speaker positions a bit more instead of panning smoothly, especially toward the rear. (Not surprisingly, this general emphasis on 7.1 surround sound in gaming at the expense of true 3D sound solutions is a constant point of irritation for me.)

 
But if the only games you play all use XAudio2 + X3DAudio or FMOD Ex anyway (software-processed, limited to 7.1 at the most), then those advantages largely go out the window and you might be a little more satisfied with a C-Media card like a Xonar Essence STX or an HT Omega Claro Halo, especially if you plan to make use of the built-in headphone amplifiers at less cost than buying an external, dedicated amp. (Such amplifiers don't do me any good now that I've taken the route of Stax and electrostatics in general, though; that's something you may want to consider as you plan your audio upgrade path.)

 

[Mehdi]

Quote:

 
I'd like some clarification there.
 
We all know the Mixamp only supports DH2 mode for Dolby Headphone, which adds a bit of reverb. Do you use the Xonar cards in DH1 mode (which doesn't add any reverb at all)?
 
 
I don't know if the actual sound quality on the Essence cards is actually better to an audible extent, but it's said that the Titanium HD has a "warmer" sound signature with a bit more bass emphasis by comparison. I can believe that, since the bass does seem a bit punchier than the X-Fi Prelude and X-Fi Forte I had been using prior.
 
The reason why I generally recommend X-Fi cards for anyone who cares about old games that use the DirectSound3D or OpenAL APIs is twofold:
 

1. EAX 3/4/5 support. The most DS3DGX or Xear3D on a C-Media card might do is try to emulate those higher versions, but it probably won't sound as intended. Do note that practically everything has proper EAX 1/2 support, though.
2. CMSS-3D Headphone is capable of using the 3D positional information the DS3D and OAL APIs provide to provide the user with a true 3D binaural mix, very much like Aureal did with A3D and their Vortex sound card chipset back in the late 1990s. By comparison, Dolby Headphone would have to have that 3D information downmixed to 7.1 before it applies its binaural effects, so you lose all sense of height, and sounds seem to jump between speaker positions a bit more instead of panning smoothly, especially toward the rear. (Not surprisingly, this general emphasis on 7.1 surround sound in gaming at the expense of true 3D sound solutions is a constant point of irritation for me.)

 
But if the only games you play all use XAudio2 + X3DAudio or FMOD Ex anyway (software-processed, limited to 7.1 at the most), then those advantages largely go out the window and you might be a little more satisfied with a C-Media card like a Xonar Essence STX or an HT Omega Claro Halo, especially if you plan to make use of the built-in headphone amplifiers at less cost than buying an external, dedicated amp. (Such amplifiers don't do me any good now that I've taken the route of Stax and electrostatics in general, though; that's something you may want to consider as you plan your audio upgrade path.)

That's a very informative post, thank you!
 
Generally speaking, I'll want to play the newer games that are being released. As such, since most ( if not all ) have moved to software processing, then it does seem like the EAX cards are a bit pointless? 
 
On your point about the Headphone amps, I thought the THDs supported up to 600ohm? 

 

[NerevarReborn]

Hey, guys.  I wanted to ask for some advice on what to buy.  I've never owned anything beyond very basic headphones and headsets, but I have always wanted to upgrade.  From the original guide and a lot of the comments, I really wanted to get the Sennheiser PC 360s and the Mixamp to go with them.  However, I was wondering if the Sennheiser X 320 made for the Xbox 360 (I'll be playing on the 360 mostly, and maybe some PC gaming) or even the Tritton AX 720 might be a better choice for someone just starting out?  I searched around a bit, but I haven't been able to find much on the X 320s and the 720s had some good things said about them.  I really appreciate this thread.  All the posts have really helped me to narrow down my headset choices.  Thanks Mad Lust Envy and everyone else.  It's a big help.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

That's a very informative post, thank you!
 
Generally speaking, I'll want to play the newer games that are being released. As such, since most ( if not all ) have moved to software processing, then it does seem like the EAX cards are a bit pointless? 
 
On your point about the Headphone amps, I thought the THDs supported up to 600ohm? 

The T-HD (Titanium HD) does not come with a true headphone amplifier, but still does a good job of driving headphones.
I would "guess" around 150-Ohm to 200-Ohm you should do fine with the T-HD, at 250-ohm the T-HD is still decent(?).
At around 250-Ohms (and higher) the Xonar Essence should be doing a better job of driving headphones.
(below 250-Ohms the Essence is still good at driving headphones).

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

Hey, guys.  I wanted to ask for some advice on what to buy.  I've never owned anything beyond very basic headphones and headsets, but I have always wanted to upgrade.  From the original guide and a lot of the comments, I really wanted to get the Sennheiser PC 360s and the Mixamp to go with them.  However, I was wondering if the Sennheiser X 320 made for the Xbox 360 (I'll be playing on the 360 mostly, and maybe some PC gaming) or even the Tritton AX 720 might be a better choice for someone just starting out?  I searched around a bit, but I haven't been able to find much on the X 320s and the 720s had some good things said about them.  I really appreciate this thread.  All the posts have really helped me to narrow down my headset choices.  Thanks Mad Lust Envy and everyone else.  It's a big help.

 
From the specs available: X320 (http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-X320-Xbox-Headset-360/dp/B005JVKAY6) vs AX 720 (http://www.amazon.com/Surround-Xbox-360-PC-Playstation-3/dp/B002ZS6Y64)
The Senn X320 looks like terrible value for money. It appears to be a stereo-only headset, no virtual surround.
In contrast, the Tritton has a processor for virtual surround--which is what this entire thread is about--and is cheaper than the Sennheiser X320. 

 

[NerevarReborn]

Thanks! I appreciate the advice. I wasn't entirely sure if the X 320 would support virtual surround or not. I should have been able to figure that out at least. I'll take it off my list. Thanks again.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-320-Headphone-Black/dp/B006RF9HX8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340343649&sr=8-1&keywords=pc320

This one would be the better option, as it doesn't. Have a built in amplifier, so it will work with the Mixamp or any other amp. Haven't heard them though.