ScarsHD
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2013
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Thoughts on Sony MDR-V6? (For competitive PC gaming)
Possibly stereo, but probably dolby.
Possibly stereo, but probably dolby.
I don't doubt the PRO900/2900 but I haven't tried them. My distaste for the PRO 550 drew me away. I may have overreacted by saying the soundstage was "terrible" but it was definitely disappointing, however. They also lacked highs, IMO, and were quite bass heavy.
They were fun cans, no doubt, but didn't fit my taste. I would give the soundstage more of a 6 than a 7.5. But then again, at the time I was used to sound whoring cans like the AD700...and now currently own the Q701. I guess open cans are my preference, especially for gaming. Which is crazy because I like closed cans for when listening to music. I had purchased the PRO 550 solely for that purpose, and was still disappointed. Maybe it WAS the S-logic driver placement that threw me off... but who knows because they are long gone, now
I'm having a hard time figuring out how surround sound works with my setup. Right now, I'm using the Astro A50 (TX amp) with my soundcard (Xonar DX). I have a SPDIF cable going from my soundcard's optical out to the TX amp optical IN...
Here are my questions:
- [COLOR=0000CD]In "Playback devices" must I set SPEAKERS to default (Xonar DX audio device) or should I set it to "S/PDIF Passthrough Device (Xonar DX audio device) or should I set it to "Headset Earphone" (astro device) ???[/COLOR]
- In the XONAR dx panel, apart from setting the SPDIF out to Dolby Digital Live, should I also check the 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter box ???
- And from my tests, it seems like the best configuration is to set the Default Playback device to ASUS xonar Dx speakers and set the SPDIF out to Dolby Digital Live. Because when I do this, it feels like the directionnal cues are quite like when using the 5.1 speaker setup I have in my office... (I guess using this method the Sound Card does all the work and the audio quality should be better... however when I use this config, I sometimes get weird Trebles in my sound... if I use Skype, people's voices sound like they're on helium... there's a little of that in PC games as well... kind of annoying)
I figured my other option is to use the SPDIF out (from the Xonar dx) as a PASSTRHOUGH, which would mean that the mix amp would receive stereo sound and then convert it to surround sound (if I press the dolby button) Correct ???
But that would defeat the purpose of using my Xonar DX processing capabilities. So I guess I'm trying to figure out why is it that when I set my Xonar DX speakers as playback device's defaults, I do get surround sound (without even having to enable the 7.1 virtual shifter checkbox) but with a slight displeasing treble effect in the headset (it sounds like playing a cheap mp3 file at 54kbps...)
Uh... You do? Lol. I think you're it, most of the other long-time thread participants have desktop amps for their stay-home headphones. The C5 was designed especially for great performance with sensitive IEMs, while power output is usually the needed attribute for the full-sized headphones highlighted for gaming use. The AKG flagships are kinda weird... They have an intermediate amount of impedance and dampening factor, yet their lower sensitivity means they benefit more than usual from a larger supply of current.
I'm actually surprised the C5 is only rated at 14 hours battery life, since the E12 is more powerful yet is rated for 12 hours. Then again, the E12 has a bigger battery, and it may carry juice for less time than 12 hours. Both are fine with the AKGs, but the C5 may be a little underpowered for some of the more demanding headphones.
Bass: Sound-wise, this is the most significant change coming off the older models. The Annie presents bass quite well. You can consider it slightly above neutral. Natural if the source doesn't have a need for bass, and quite full and involving when the need for bass is there. There were times where I found them to have more bass than even the HE-400. Overall, it certainly does not, but make no mistake, the bass can be quite full, layered, textured, and infectious.
What it improves over the Q701 is that the bass is no longer situational. It doesn't just hit with really bass heavy songs. It hits at all times, in a very natural way. Put on a bassy track, movie, game, etc, and the Annie WILL impress bass-wise. Make no mistake. I always found the Q701 and especially the old K701 to be slightly below neutral, bass-wise. The bass would decay too quickly, and wouldn't hit with enough energy to give a sense of naturality. No longer an issue with the Annie. Unless you're a basshead, I don't think there will be much to complain about here.
Mids:
...
The Annie further improves on the mids by integrating them even more with the bass and treble. Due to the fuller, warmer sound signature, the mids are still forward, but not as distant due to a thicker sound.
Now, if you’re a headphone guy, you’re thinking “Holy Schiit! 6 watts! That’ll make the magic smoke come out of my headphones! Why the hell do you need that kind of power?”
I'm the 3rd person to say the bass boost of the C5 pairs well with the newer K 701, so I'm not completely crazy. One person thought they were hearing the Anniversary K 702's with the bass boost on, and with the Anniversary K 702:
I haven't heard the Anniversary K 702's yet, but the description of its sound compared to the Q 701 (newer K 701) sounds similar with the C5's bass boost. It doesn't have the same soundstage as with an O2, but other than that, sonically the C5 and O2 are pretty close. Given the headphone list in the first post, I don't think an insane amount of power is needed for the headphones. Again, does power = better? The E12 can output way more power than the C5 yet I much prefer the sound of the C5 to that of the E12. Likewise goes for Schiit Bifrost/Lyr or Asgard combos against an ODAC/O2 from what I heard at local meets with the K 701.
[rule]C5's battery is just an iPod battery. It can be modded/swapped out, and it can still be used while charging.
Hello again I would like to ask another question actually. AT the end of the Guide there is a section dedicated to mics that you can attach to the headphones so you can have a mic with a high quality set of headphones. However the ones listed at the end of this guide I can absolutely not find them anywhere to buy in the UK.
In fact honestly it seems that it is quite difficult to buy anything in the UK when it comes to this guide apart from some brand names like Sennheiser etc.
Can you give me some decent alternatives to something that might be available in my country?
Quote:I'm the 3rd person to say the bass boost of the C5 pairs well with the newer K 701, so I'm not completely crazy. One person thought they were hearing the Anniversary K 702's with the bass boost on, and with the Anniversary K 702:
I haven't heard the Anniversary K 702's yet, but the description of its sound compared to the Q 701 (newer K 701) sounds similar with the C5's bass boost. It doesn't have the same soundstage as with an O2, but other than that, sonically the C5 and O2 are pretty close. Given the headphone list in the first post, I don't think an insane amount of power is needed for the headphones. Again, does power = better? The E12 can output way more power than the C5 yet I much prefer the sound of the C5 to that of the E12. Likewise goes for Schiit Bifrost/Lyr or Asgard combos against an ODAC/O2 from what I heard at local meets with the K 701.
C5's battery is just an iPod battery. It can be modded/swapped out, and it can still be used while charging.
What? Oh, the C5 with Annies. I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said there are a lot of headphones that have been auditioned here, and the C5 probably wouldn't be the first choice for, say, a Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser HD 650. I'm sure the C5 is fine with the AKGs. Didn't I say that?
I think the Annies are K701 65th anniversary model.
I prefer swappable batteries, if you're on the road it lets you keep going and also lets you replace a battery that doesn't hold a charge anymore. FiiO asked during development if they should have swappable batteries, or batteries that could be used during charging. Chalk that up to another design feature I lost the vote on. I don't think the E12 sounds all that great while it's charging. I don't know why it couldn't work both ways in the first place, but I guess FiiO had it's reasons (maybe lower target MSRP?).
I'm having a hard time figuring out how surround sound works with my setup. Right now, I'm using the Astro A50 (TX amp) with my soundcard (Xonar DX). I have a SPDIF cable going from my soundcard's optical out to the TX amp optical IN...