[wj888]

Maybe you can try a Fostex T50RP modded and see how it compares against the HE-400??
I'm waiting for mine to arrive.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The treble where it's most prone to problems is exactly the same (10,000 hz) on both. The differences are negligible everywhere else. 2 to 2.5db (at the biggest gap in bass) differences. That's really not enough to make a real difference (a real difference honestly starts at about 4db). It'd make the most difference in the treble peak, which it doesn't even have a gap between the two.

If you look at the DT880 graphs, the treble peak is almost identical. The 32ohm has the most treble on the DT880s in any case, and even then, it's not even fatiguing, IMHO. The 250ohm DT880 has the most balanced frequency on the headroom graphs, yet everyone constantly says the 600ohm is better (though lots of people say the 250ohm is actually better). In any case, my friends who have owned all the 880s have told me they all sound too close to really tell me one is clearly better than the other. Beyer got it right by telling us to choose one which suits our needs.

The T50RP is closed and pleather padded. No thanks.

 

[Grymok]

Quote:

Yamaha receivers come with Silent Cinema, Yamaha's version of headphone surround sound, it's even on their $180 receivers.

How would you rate a Yamaha RX3010 reciever for Dolby Headphone use/3d positioning in FPS games?.
Because i have been looking alot on that reciever for my Monitor Audio RX surround setup, and it would just be a win/win situation if it does the job hell much better than the Mixamp and Asus Essence STX sound card .
Else the little brother RX2010 could be possible?.
 
BTW MLE, why havn't you Tested the Panasonic RP-HTF600-S headphones?.
They're damn cheap, but sounds exceptional nice, and i run them from my Denon Avr-1912 atm
Take a look at http://www.head-fi.org/t/571005/the-panasonic-rp-htf600-s-headphones-more-fun-than-the-hd650

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

No. The panasonic I've heard is a very smooth and bassy headphone. I don't like smooth headphones.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

How would you rate a Yamaha RX3010 receiver for Dolby Headphone use/3d positioning in FPS games?.
Because i have been looking a lot on that receiver for my Monitor Audio RX surround setup, and it would just be a win/win situation if it does the job hell much better than the Mix-amp and Asus Essence STX sound card .
Else the little brother RX2010 could be possible?.

The Yamaha receivers use Dolby features for all the speaker stuff, but not Dolby Headphone, only Silent Cinema for headphones.
Some like Silent Cinema better then Dolby Headphone, some prefer Dolby Headphone over Silent Cinema.
I would guess Silent Cinema is the same quality wise no matter which Yamaha receiver you get.
If your really into FPS PC gaming, get the Creative Titanium HD and plug it into whatever receiver you get, you can connect with RCA, optical/optical and even HDMI from your graphics card.

 

[Grymok]

Quote:

The Yamaha receivers use Dolby features for all the speaker stuff, but not Dolby Headphone, only Silent Cinema for headphones.
Some like Silent Cinema better then Dolby Headphone, some prefer Dolby Headphone over Silent Cinema.
I would guess Silent Cinema is the same quality wise no matter which Yamaha receiver you get.
If your really into FPS PC gaming, get the Creative Titanium HD and plug it into whatever receiver you get, you can connect with RCA, optical/optical and even HDMI from your graphics card.

i REALLY REALLY hate Creative, thier drivers for thier sound card is SOOO ****ED. Sry rage time, i really don't like them
 
But read a topic on head-fi that someone would over all suggest the Asus Essence STX, they make a waaay better sound and then they got an buildin amp
 
For the reciever part, maybe the Silent Cinema is the same, for thier amp for headphone shouldn't be the same if the model cost 100£ or 2000£. I'm pretty sure there is a difference in the sound quality .
 
Would be nice if i could test if i shall get the reciever or sound card :S

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The sound quality may vary by the amps inside the receivers, but the Silent Cinema processing will be the exact same, so positional cues and whatnot will be the same.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

i REALLY REALLY hate Creative, thier drivers for thier sound card is SOOO ****ED. Sry rage time, i really don't like them
 
But read a topic on head-fi that someone would over all suggest the Asus Essence STX, they make a waaay better sound and then they got an buildin amp

 
I'm no fan of Creative's business practices (*cough*Daniel_K*cough*), but in my experience, the Titanium HD's drivers are significantly more stable than the other X-Fi cards I've tried. I have no problems with them, other than the occasional mode lock that isn't too infuriating when I spend the majority of my time in Game Mode.
 
That gives me some relief since, unfortunately, Creative-based cards are the only way to go for proper DirectSound3D and OpenAL support in older PC games for the time being. No C-Media card can compete there, be it Asus, HT Omega, or the non-X-Fi Auzentech cards, as long as Creative has all that 3D audio tech (some developed in-house, some acquired from Aureal and Sensaura) in their iron grasp.
 
I'm still waiting for Rapture3D-esque software that supports DirectSound3D games, handles EAX 5 and everything below just fine, still provides virtual 5.1/7.1 for XAudio2/X3DAudio games, and maybe even supports Aureal A3D 3.0 and under. Then I'd no longer need to buy specific sound cards ever again, at least until I hit the DOS era of gaming.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

i REALLY REALLY hate Creative, their drivers for their sound card is SOOO ****ED. Sry rage time, i really don't like them
 
But read a topic on head-fi that someone would over all suggest the Asus Essence STX, they make a waaay better sound and then they got an buildin amp
 
For the receiver part, maybe the Silent Cinema is the same, for their amp for headphone shouldn't be the same if the model cost 100£ or 2000£. I'm pretty sure there is a difference in the sound quality .
 
Would be nice if i could test if i shall get the receiver or sound card :S

My $500 Yamaha RX-V671 can drive my AKG 600-Ohm headphone just fine.
For most receivers (all brands), when you plug your headphones in, the internal receiver speaker amplifier(s) stop driving the speakers and switch over to driving the headphones.
So there is more then enough juice for driving headphones.
Now the more expensive the amplifier, chances are they will come with better DACs (better quality audio).
With an Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card (used $50), which has almost the same features as the Essence STX/ST.
You can run optical from the Xonar DX/D1 to the receiver and get 5.1 surround sound for headphones and speakers.
I use the Essence STX, so I have no problem recommending to just go ahead and get the Essence STX.

 

[Mrniceguy633]

Well after fighting within myself, I finally ordered the HE400s with velour, and an E11. Very excited and nervous at the same time. I'm sure they will be better than the two I've experienced(px3 and a50). $400 better? Perhaps. I look forward to hearing what a real set of headphones sound like. Immersion is my top priority tho. Did sound change much during the burn in process?

 

[obazavil]

Heh...
 
I come back after some months and MLE is still crazy as ever about what headphones to keep.
 
Surprised to see he liked HE-400 a lot to still have them, and also that he re-bought again the DT990.
 
Long time bro!
 
That reminds me... I need to remember where I left the MixAmp... 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Sup bro? You know me, can't ever make up my damn mind.

But yeah, the HE400 is too good to give up. My predicament now is that the 990/32 suits me so well, I'd be more than happy with it alone, or the HE400 alone.

 

[Evshrug]

Lol obazavil!

Purple angel, if using receiver + PC Soundcard, wouldn't the receiver's DAC section be irrelevant as the soundcard would be the DAC? Also, receiver amps do have a ton of power, but I was under the impression that they had a separate amp section (or maybe gain?) for headphone jacks as a "normal" speaker volume setting doesn't blow out headphones when you plug them in. How does that work?

Nameless,
So you game going back in time? Or does the occasional new game bring you (Ba-da-dum!) back to the future? Also, I know the Daniel_K thing is bad because despite never having delved into discreet audio cards before, I heard about the incident just in reading reviews on Creative's cards. I guess Creative is starting to get bull-headed since their market niche has been slowly drying up unexpectedly since the latest console generation... I would've thought PC gaming would be expanding larger than ever now that the consoles are showing their age, but MMO's and BF3 are the only AAA experiences on PC that have hit my radar, and of course you've expounded on why BF3 audio is an example of a step back. Recently I played Halo Reach and I was amazed how much clearer the positioning and distance cues are than BF3, even just on XBOX in stereo!
Excited for Halo4, though I wish Microsoft would have 343 industries develop it for Windows in parallel to their console.

Grymok,
I'm sure MLE could test those receivers and headphones... if you or someone provided them to him for free. Also, MLE stated in his guide that many headphones he listened to didn't rate a gaming review, and that he's not really interested anymore in stepping down in quality (exception, maybe the dt990).

MLE,
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Lol obazavil!
Purple angel, if using receiver + PC Soundcard, wouldn't the receiver's DAC section be irrelevant as the sound card would be the DAC? Also, receiver amps do have a ton of power, but I was under the impression that they had a separate amp section (or maybe gain?) for headphone jacks as a "normal" speaker volume setting doesn't blow out headphones when you plug them in. How does that work?

With the Xonar DX/D1, you can use DDL (Dolby Digital Live) to send a compressed 5.1 digital audio signal (optical) from the PC to the receiver, where  the receiver would use it's DAC (Digital to Analog Converter).
You can also use (3 mini-jack) analog cables to connect the sound cards analog audio signal to the receivers line-in (RCAs), if the receiver comes with 6-channel (5.1) line in connectors,
this connection would have you using the sound card's DAC and not the receiver's DAC.
I would assume it's cheap to use the speaker amplifier to power the headphone jack instead of a separate amplifier (just for the headphone jack).
They put something (resisters maybe?) between the speaker amps and the headphone jack that allows the speaker amps to power the headphone jack.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Nameless,
So you game going back in time? Or does the occasional new game bring you (Ba-da-dum!) back to the future? Also, I know the Daniel_K thing is bad because despite never having delved into discreet audio cards before, I heard about the incident just in reading reviews on Creative's cards. I guess Creative is starting to get bull-headed since their market niche has been slowly drying up unexpectedly since the latest console generation... I would've thought PC gaming would be expanding larger than ever now that the consoles are showing their age, but MMO's and BF3 are the only AAA experiences on PC that have hit my radar, and of course you've expounded on why BF3 audio is an example of a step back. Recently I played Halo Reach and I was amazed how much clearer the positioning and distance cues are than BF3, even just on XBOX in stereo!
Excited for Halo4, though I wish Microsoft would have 343 industries develop it for Windows in parallel to their console.

 
Haha, no, I don't perceive time in reverse, but I am more of a retrogamer than most here, especially if games as recent as the likes of Unreal Tournament and Battlefield 1942 are somehow "retro" by today's standards. I also don't like the direction modern games are taking; for example, BF2142 basically spelled the beginning of the end for the Battlefield series by overdoing the unlocks, and BF:BC2 made me lose all faith in DICE to the point where I won't even consider BF3. (M60 + Magnum Ammo madness when I was still stuck on the starting PKM just a month into release did not help one bit.)
 
But it's not like I swear off newer games entirely; in fact, I'm about to start playing lots and lots of PlanetSide 2 and MechWarrior Online, and there's always Rise of Flight when I'm up for a hardcore WWI flight sim challenge.
 
I just wish game developers would start using OpenAL again; they could use the OpenAL-native EFX effects that every sound device has instead of proprietary Creative EAX for reverb/chorus/occlusion, and anyone could have true binaural 3D sound with no less than six HRTFs to choose from, regardless of sound card, through Rapture3D. Problem is, Creative also owns OpenAL and is allegedly not helping prospective developers much...
 
Creative being bull-headed is nothing new, really. They basically sued Aureal, who just launched the 3D sound revolution with their A3D tech and Vortex sound card chipset, Aureal countersued and technically won, but the legal fees basically bankrupted them and allowed Creative to buy them up so they could utterly bury A3D and deny support to Vortex-based sound cards...so the story goes, anyway.
 
Had Aureal survived, I bet the state of PC gaming audio would be much, much better than it is now, simply because they were the biggest competitor Creative ever had in PC gaming audio.