[ruuku]

Quote:

I posted once before about having trouble with my mixamp and astro headset.. well i sent them in and they replaced the mixamp but not the headset. So the mixamp is fixed, i no longer get uneven sound. Still cant really pinpoint where sounds come like they are advertised.. in your review for the ax720, you said that they werent that great. my astro headset is no where near as good as the ax720. I was hoping you could try to get a review out for it. I was hoping to buy the q701, but dont have enough money at the moment for it. So now its between the pc360 and the ad700, which according to your reviews, they have about the same score.. maybe you can compare the two against each other? The mic wouldnt be a big issue. Im hoping the pc360 at least sounds as good as the astro. Im leanning toward the ad700 more cause its cheaper. i really loved my ax720. So im kinda confused how good the ad700s are. sorry if i asked to many questions lol.

Keep in mind MLE mentions many times that the scores he gives aren't to be used in direct comparison with each other, but rather an objective number as to how well the HP compares in that aspect of its use (ie: competitive, fun, ect.) If you liked the sound qualities of the AX720 headset then I would say that you might be let down with the AD700. I wouldn't say that the AX720 has "good" bass, but it is quite plentiful. Going to a HP that has been described with "anemic" bass would be a mistake IMHO (...but I have no idea what you're looking for). After owning the AX720, and having auditioned the AD900, I would say that they two completely different beasts.... although the AD900s were superior in every aspect except for how much bass is throws out. The quality of bass was better, and had much better definition, but little to no impact. I've read that the AD700s have even less. 
 
Having already owned two headsets you should have a pretty good idea of what characteristics (bass, mids, highs, soundstage ect.) you're looking for and listing them will help the community in suggesting what HPs to check out/research further. 

 

[calpis]

Quote:

You guys with the Recond3D USB, do you know if the software tweaks are basically just for custom equalizing, or can you tweak other aspects of sound? I'll probably test it out tomorrow, but don't wanna jump into it if it's just EQ tweaking.
I guess all that's left for me to try out is the DSS2, and perhaps Sony's proprietary virtual surround for its headset. Oh yes, Silent Cinema, though it doesn't seem to be as good as the Recon's THX surround, by recent comments.

 
Funny you say that because I have a stand alone Sony decoder box. Sony MDR-DS1000 was the only wired virtual surround package they made and it came with one of their crappiest headphones they've made that I ended up donating. The decoder box itself worked like intended but in the end I preferred DH to it. I don't think I've even used it in the past 2 years. I never did get rid of it because I could still use it if I ever went to a lan party or something. Now that I have a mixamp owning both is pretty pointless. I'd like to try it again but it's in a moving box somewhere and I don't have the urge to go and find it.
 
Edit: Correction, Sony MDR-DS8000 also had a headphone jack but was also wireless via IR. Pretty insane but the headphones did head tracking just like the beyer.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

My bad, I meant the newer headsets that have some newer Sony DSP. Its the ones that directly sync up with the PS3.

 

[Evshrug]

You guys with the Recond3D USB, do you know if the software tweaks are basically just for custom equalizing, or can you tweak other aspects of sound? I'll probably test it out tomorrow, but don't wanna jump into it if it's just EQ tweaking.
I guess all that's left for me to try out is the DSS2, and perhaps Sony's proprietary virtual surround for its headset. Oh yes, Silent Cinema, though it doesn't seem to be as good as the Recon's THX surround, by recent comments.

Aaah! Quick before battery dies!
The standard band EQ is actually a few sidebar tabs down, there are other adjustments besides! Don't remember all of them but you can tailor the strength of the surround effect, and I think they have a basic bass boost which when combined with the crossover is basically a dumb-Man's way to choose how broad a spectrum of bass you wanna boost, like leave midbass alone and just up the sub bass. There's also stuff like compressed music restorer, chat effects (meh) and I don't remember what all right now but they had a Buncha stuff. IMO maxing surround effect doesn't make it sound echoey, but perhaps less than max makes for better positioning? I dunno!

Like what other aspects do you mean?

Ah battery @1%!!!

 

[Evshrug]

Okay, so noise-wise, the Victor SU-DH1 and Creative3D are pretty silent with the HE-400, whereas the Mixamp 5.8 has a very slight hiss IN comparison (for my preferred volume level).
Oddly though, going through the PS3 menus, the clicking sound from scrolling on the XMB sounds distorted through the Recon 3D. Odd indeed.

I also noticed distortion with the Halo: Reach into cutscene (before you get to the start menu). I think the Recon3D gets confused with some audio, and sometimes it feels like the audio swims around the positioning zones. But it seems fine in actual gameplay. Also something odd: yesterday treble was very harsh playing oblivion, but the day before it was fine. Stuff I'm used to like the clink of picking locks. So it was weird, cuz I didn't change a setting.

And scout mode does have it's uses, but like I said it compresses all the volumes to a smaller medium range, so quiets are louder and louds are quieter. It gives a big f-u to any settings of turning down background music or whatever, but like I said with Reach and CoD, it made some of the more startling sounds less startling. Not a fidelity setting, but I will use it sometimes.

Just curious, as I find that the Recon3D's amp section to be a somewhat weak link, why aren't you amping with your NFB-5 instead of the little FiiO? You don't use that amp much anymore?

 

[Fa11ou7]

Quote:

I guess all that's left for me to try out is the DSS2, and perhaps Sony's proprietary virtual surround for its headset. Oh yes, Silent Cinema, though it doesn't seem to be as good as the Recon's THX surround, by recent comments.

 
You should really try out the Turtle Beach PX5/XP500/Ear force Delta box if there is any way you can get your hands on it. I have the PX5 and have been really impressed with it so far. I think the actual wireless headphones are pretty decent but I'm mostly referring to the box. The software for the wireless headphones is pretty amazing also - way more than just EQ settings. If I wasn't supporting my wife through PA school I would ship mine to you, but alas I am too poor to even buy myself a decent pair of wired cans.

 

[I95North]

Oh well sending my used USB recon 3d back to its seller. I tried everything imaginable to get it to work half decent. Already orderd a new one and today I should receive it. The used one was either defective or maybe it's the way the device is susposed to work. "audio going low and then Normalizing by it's self". Kinda like some compressor was at work but was very slow in returning volume back to normal the sound just kept going up then down ever so slightly..

Yup if the brand new one I expect to get today does the same thing I will return it also and go back to using my dss2 and mixamp

 

[Naingolann]

Great stuff there MLE. Thanks for reviewing those devices.
 
The Recon sure is disappointing, but the SU-DH1 is really appetizing, especially for those who also watch movies on their consoles. Too bad it's near impossible to find around.
 
It'd be great to read your thoughts on the DSS2 too, although I'm not really expecting much from it.

 

[I95North]

Quote:

Great stuff there MLE. Thanks for reviewing those devices.
 
The Recon sure is disappointing, but the SU-DH1 is really appetizing, especially for those who also watch movies on their consoles. Too bad it's near impossible to find around.
 
It'd be great to read your thoughts on the DSS2 too, although I'm not really expecting much from it.

If you find one of the SU-DH1 anywhere new besides maybe japan for less than what the astro mixamp cost please let me know i'd like to try it out also. The DSS2 is ok the only thing i don't like is some of the eq settings make it sound really lofi.. The other thing about the DSS2 that i find out even with the mixamp its hard to actually tell when someone is 6:00 directly behind you or 7 and 5 oclock close proximity but maybe neither product is able to actually do that and i'm expecting to much for DH.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

EVShrug, I can't use the NFB5, as it doesn't have analog inputs. The NFB5 must be used source first (meaning digital inputs only). The only way I could use it is if I bought an ADC (analog to dogital converter). So it'd be going from digital to analog, back to digital, back to analog. Not sure how much all that converting would alter sound, and for $26, not really wanting to find out.

You should really try out the Turtle Beach PX5/XP500/Ear force Delta box if there is any way you can get your hands on it. I have the PX5 and have been really impressed with it so far. I think the actual wireless headphones are pretty decent but I'm mostly referring to the box. The software for the wireless headphones is pretty amazing also - way more than just EQ settings. If I wasn't supporting my wife through PA school I would ship mine to you, but alas I am too poor to even buy myself a decent pair of wired cans.

No reason to try those, as they all use Dolby Headphone, which sounds identical on all amps. All I'd be testing is the headsets themselves. I've already seen plenty of impressions on AVS for those headsets, and I've come away with them not being good enough for audiophiles.

 

[Evshrug]

If you find one of the SU-DH1 anywhere new besides maybe japan for less than what the astro mixamp cost please let me know i'd like to try it out also. The DSS2 is ok the only thing i don't like is some of the eq settings make it sound really lofi.. The other thing about the DSS2 that i find out even with the mixamp its hard to actually tell when someone is 6:00 directly behind you or 7 and 5 oclock close proximity but maybe neither product is able to actually do that and i'm expecting to much for DH.

Wait.......... are you using a Mixamp AND the DSS2 at the same time?? Maybe the two processors are trying to calculate rear at the same time, one of them from the stereo signal... Also, the DSS2 is Turtle Beach's processor AFTER they lost/ stopped paying for the Dolby 7.1 to DH processing FWIR, so it may explain why the processing cues aren't particularly accurate. After all, it's not true channel-less 3D audio, like you can get on PC.

Most people agree that the DSS was better than the DSS2. Keep in mind, I'm just basing this off of Amazon reviews, not first-hand experience, though the only Head-Fi post I read on the subject seemed to confirm it.

I'm leeching a school wi-Fi right now, hopefully when I get home in two hours I'll get to play with Recon3D software settings. For example, I haven't found the FPS shooter preset yet, I'd be interested to see what settings it changes and the effect on sound. Also the changes from each setting, like the effect from the surround slider... I think the built in THX video-audio sample is a poor one, because most of the action sounds nice, but most things are placed in front of you. So I'll probably use cutscenes from Starcraft2, with mutalisks and banshees flying all around

Mad, do you have Reach? I do highly recommend testing the audio of that game... If you can't stand recharging shields (which CoD characters have anyway, just don't show it!), at least you should give the first mission's starting cutscene a listen. Back to front flying VTOLs, jeeps driving around, people talking with their backs turned, etc. Plus armored buttocks, of you're into that kind of thing

Edit: Also, too bad about your reference amp. I agree all those conversions can't be good. So, do you think I'm missing out with the Recon3D & I ought to return it and buy a DSS? Or just not have surround until I can afford a Mixamp, which will probably be a while with my GF's birthday present looking to be more expensive than a new pair of KSC75? (she really needs portable speakers loud enough to replace a crappy wal-mart boombox used to teach Zumba exercise, happen to have any suggestions?) I'm tempted still to just get one of those $30 eBay DSS and work with that till I can afford a NICE amp like an O2 or M-Stage like chicolom has... but I'm still happy with my Mac sound solution.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

In any case, I'll call the Recond 3D "Dolby Headphone Lite". It's definitely a viable alternative, but with some glaring issues with panning, distortion with certain sound effects, and rear positional cues not being up to snuff.

I'm not a Halo fan, so no Reach.

The damn Recon doesn't install properly on my computer. The massive headache ain't worth it, so I'll just be doing the review for the Recon 3D in it's default config.

 

[Evshrug]

In any case, I'll call the Recond 3D "Dolby Headphone Lite". It's definitely a viable alternative, but with some glaring issues with panning, distortion with certain sound effects, and rear positional cues not being up to snuff.
I'm not a Halo fan, so no Reach.

LOL it's the shields and aliens, right? Or they just should've stopped at Halo2? Lol! It's ok, seems like lots of people I've met who like CoD say they prefer the "realistic" setting and custom class weapons, while my friends who play halo like both games, but find the skill ceiling higher on Halo. Nobody likes noob tubes or armor lock, HA! I mostly play CoD4 and BO, but I find a lot to love about Halo when I play it. I love games! Couldn't get through Gears of War tho, too clunky and imprecise for me.

But games aside, am I missing out in a pairing with my Q701? Or might I not even hear a difference? I mean, I am pleased with the Recon3D, it would be pretty easy to live with and I find it very convenient, and I'm glad the market has choices and competition... But at the end of the day, I am curious about the grass on the other side of the fence just like everybody else. I guess you're set in your review... It's up to me if I choose to be content. I have a feeling I may stress my credit card to do my own side-by-side before my Recon3D's return period ends...

Well anyway, I'll test default vs tweaks. I feel like the positioning of the Recon3D was pretty good, I'll have be the one to see if default vs. tweaks makes all the difference. Maybe the software installed hassle free for me because I installed on a Mac, and had wiped out all other audio drivers?

 

[okdark]

Great job man!! just ordered the KSC75 thanks to you, althoguh I wanted the gamecom637  but I heard they brake fast...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

LOL it's the shields and aliens, right? Or they just should've stopped at Halo2? Lol! It's ok, seems like lots of people I've met who like CoD say they prefer the "realistic" setting and custom class weapons, while my friends who play halo like both games, but find the skill ceiling higher on Halo. Nobody likes noob tubes or armor lock, HA! I mostly play CoD4 and BO, but I find a lot to love about Halo when I play it. I love games! Couldn't get through Gears of War tho, too clunky and imprecise for me.
But games aside, am I just missing out in a pairing with my Q701? I mean, I am pleased with the Recon3D, it would be pretty easy to live with and I find it very convenient, and I'm glad the market has choices and competition... But at the end of the day, I am curious about the grass on the other side of the fence just like everybody else. So?

I LOVE Sci-fi games. I just feel the Halo games are too open in the campaign, and too floaty and slow in Multiplayer. I prefer smaller, faster, and more focused action.

Ironically, I have played and beat each one. I even bought Halo Anniversary and Halo 3.

The Recond 3D is good. Could be better, but it's good. I'd say it's 75% the Mixamp.