[Mad Lust Envy]

My bad Axel, I do recall you saying that. So many people here, I forget who said what.

Very bad attention span, lol.

 

[AxelDaemon]

S'okay
Off Topic comment:
 
Might I add that during my time trying to register in Head-Fi... I couldn't!  I only used Firefox though, but each time I hit register ,it just wipes clean everything I input and nothing happens.
 
I figured maybe Head-Fi was racist to outside regions(I kid lol), so had my friend in the US do it for me cept he did it on Chrome (same information inputted too).  So Firefox issue maybe?
 
2nd, had I known that you could add spaces to your name (actually the description makes you THINK no spaces are allowed).  I'd have put a space inbetween my user name.
 
That or MLE is just special.

 

[AxelCloris]

Having 2 Axels here might start to get confusing I read MLE's reply and instantly assumed it was addressed to me... I was confused

 

[AxelCloris]

Axel, I see from the profile that you have the Mixamp already, do you own the X-Fi HD or is that going to be a future purchase? If you haven't picked it up yet and want to see how the mixamp can handle gaming on the PC cheaply, I use the Turtle Beach Micro II with my laptop and the Mixamp on the go. I know there are better USB to optical connections out there, but I'm impressed with how nice it sounds for the price. I got mine around $25 shipped. Just something to consider. Most of the time a built in PCI or PCI-E card will give you better quality over the same connection.

 

[NamelessPFG]

 
Quote:

@PFG: Woah hey thanks, should've checked the computer audio section har har. (Rather... either I missed it, or your guide isn't in the Wiki... All I see is the foobar one) couple things though.
No clue what that 3D rapture thing is so I'll research on that later.  2nd, there's more than one version of DiRT 2?
And once I invest in a X-Fi Titanium HD I'll just test it myself between CMSS3D-Headphone and Dolby Headphone but I'm gonna elaborate on that more further down this post.
 
In any case I'll start clean again.
 
You know... I think the reason why I was so confused was because I treated the manuals of the A40/Mixamp like the bible.  With the "good, better, best" thing and all that.
 
So to clear this up I think the easiest way (for me anyway) to see if I got this right or not is to have this explained through a format.  Heck I bet you could copy and paste this on to your guide Nameless.  And if I got something wrong, anyone is welcome to edit it and repost it with the modifications.
 
I just have decent enough deduction skills to get by.  So here's what I've interpreted so far.  though I'm only gonna list the ones I see myself end up using.  I suppose with this list people can expand upon it.
 
Though you know it seems like your guide covers and helps with understanding connectivity as well.  I suppose this still is a convenient quick "lazy man's" guideline to connections har har.  That and I have OCD to some extent so laying it out like this would calm my nerves =P
 
In my case this would be for a Q701 or pretty much a stereo headphone.
Your Headphones connected w/ 
1. Soundcard on the PC (ie X-Fi Titanium HD) 
          TRS 3.5mm is recommended for best results in , movies, musics and games etc.  CMSS3D-Headphone works fully?
          So long as the soundcard supports dolby etc.
          Doesn't matter if it's a 3.5mm etc right? Cause the audio already contains the info. That Dolby video by MLE proves
          this, just using apple in ear phones and can tell =P
 
         +Mixamp : Toslink redundant? Seems like PFG's guide confirms about analog circuit bypassing, so this might
          actually have some use =P
 
2. Console
         +Mixamp : Toslink self explanatory lol.  Astro already provides instructions about this.  Or for that matter I think it's
 
I think that covered everything, hopefully I interpreted it right... Not really impressive as a layout guide.  Looked prettier in my head lol.

There's only one version of DiRT 2 on the PC. It's Rapture3D that comes in multiple versions: a "Game" version that comes pre-packaged with certain games (mostly Codemasters racing games), a "User" version that can be used with any OpenAL game that costs money, and an "Advanced" version that costs a LOT of money, but supports output over ASIO and might have some authoring tools for higher-order ambisonics as well.
 
I'll take your feedback on suggested sound configurations into account. I just have to write up something and generally clean up the guide a bit (it's a very long read).
 
Quote:

@namelessFPG
 
I saw the guide but it does a job of explaining the diffrent technologies and such . . and i'm looking for some pointers about the settings . . i have to say i'm pretty shocked . . i thought with a subject with almost 400 pages of discussions i would get hundreds of presets people use . . so far i'm very dissapointed with the Dolby features . . makes everything sound wierd (pushing low ends too much) and no logical cue positioning. and if i disable the dolby feature it sounds like an onboard soundcard . . i mean i dont regret getting the headphones . . they are the sweetest purchase i made in a long time but the card . . if people actually tell me to turn off the feature that i actually bought the card to get . . well that's just sad.

Even I'm somewhat surprised that there isn't as much discussion on optimal sound card settings in there. It's important that non-X-Fi card users chime in to fill in where I can't, at least until I'm in the position to get sound cards for review purposes without severe financial pain.
 
Quote:

I wouldn't say Toslink to a mixamp is redundant out of the X-Fi HD. You'll get DH from the DD output over a toslink cable. It will give you a different sound than using the surround processing that comes with the card natively. It would depend on which you prefer. I've played with Creative's hardware and I wasn't impressed with their quality, but the DH from my mixamp works for me. But then you have Nameless, who loves the CMSS3D processing. Everyone has different tastes. So if you have the mixamp, play with it and see then go with the setup that sounds best to you.

The one thing about HRTF-based binaural surround is that your mileage WILL vary. Sometimes, the effect totally falls apart for some people because their HRTFs are too far from the average. Other times, there's a distinct coloration to the sound that each processing tech brings that people will like or hate.
 
People should be encouraged to experiment and find out what sounds best to them wherever possible, since the only ears you can really trust in this field are your own. I can provide them suggestions and guidelines, but don't expect such things to work as well for them as they do for me due to numerous reasons.

 

[hamzatm]

Competitive gamer just getting into high end headphones/sets, bought a used and very old pair of DT770 professional 80ohms and ran them through my Auzentech X-fi Forte. Personally I found that for some reason they weren't especially clear or transparent,  I'm not sure what it was but they were kinda murky-ish. I thought the Forte amp could drive them but maybe not (the volume is way loud enough from the Forte though). That said the positioning on them is fantastic! I think the problem is that they are really old. I got fed up with them looking so old and ugly, and thats colouring my judgement of the sound, which is crazy but whatever -  and which is why i'm now in this thread!
 
ANYWHOO, I decided to 'upgrade' to something that would pick up details and sound more clear in my games, without losing any directional/positional accuracy (and also look decent!). I read through the first post as well as the AVS forum post by MLE (awesome person) and think that the K701 and HD598 would be just what i'm looking for, but they are out of my budget. DT880 and 990 are also kinda too expensive.
 
I can get new PC360s for £80, or I can get burned in K601s for the same price. Is the K601 as good as the K701? I would only run them through my X-fi Forte sound card. Which one sounds better for my needs? An attached mic and the volume control etc on the PC360s is attractive, but I read in many places that the PC360s sound muffled and not clear? Im not sure if thats true but it would ruin my day. Another possibility is HD555/558 (modded to the 595/598) and to be honest I'm just confused. Actually I would go for the PC360s but some dude said the HD555/595 is actually clearer and not the same and its pissing me off.
 
Basically I'm after something that sounds fantastic in games for a decent price (under £100 or thereabouts) and it doesnt have to be new! Ebay is fine. Bass is good but i dont want it drowning out clarity, but also bear in mind that i can equalise the sound on my sound card so... yeah. Positioning should be comparable to the DT770s. Most important is I want to be blown away... but that seems like a bit too much to ask
 
Thanks! Also I dont care about music in this purchase at all -  these are dedicated gaming beasts, with maybe a bit of movies but meh.
 
Edit: Mainly play MW3 on PC at a high level. Prior to the DT770s footsteps were all but unhearable, but with the DT770s I can hear them like a wallhack even with other stuff going on - thats one thing i dont want to change!

 

[GigaFi]

Can anyone put up some footage of MW3 with and without digital surround?

 

[hamzatm]

Quote:

Can anyone put up some footage of MW3 with and without digital surround?

I COULD do that, but at the moment I cant persuade FRAPS to record my audio at all - I think its a codec issue

 

[Phos]

 
Quote:

 

I wrote a PC gaming audio guide, but I only have so many sound cards and so much money to buy sound cards with for the sole purpose of reviewing.
 
Needless to say, I can't write something tailored to every sound card in existence right now. Most of my knowledge is concentrated on X-Fi cards, not anything with a C-Media chip or even those Recon3D cards with the Sound Core3D DSP.
 
And as far as CMSS-3D Headphone vs. Dolby Headphone is concerned, I prefer the former just because DH can't use the 3D positional information DirectSound3D and OpenAL games offer to provide proper binaural sound with height cues instead of virtual 7.1, but it does seem to skew the sound signature more. (Rapture3D's implementation may be even better than both for all I know, but I can't get the DiRT 2 "Game" version to switch to headphone mode to test it out with, and I don't want to pay up for the "User" version just to find out that it suffers from the same problem.)

Set windows sound to stereo and set the Rapture 3D speaker layout (a separate executable from DiRT 2) to headphone stereo compatibility mode.  

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Competitive gamer just getting into high end headphones/sets, bought a used and very old pair of DT770 professional 80ohms and ran them through my Auzentech X-fi Forte. Personally I found that for some reason they weren't especially clear or transparent,  I'm not sure what it was but they were kinda murky-ish. I thought the Forte amp could drive them but maybe not (the volume is way loud enough from the Forte though). That said the positioning on them is fantastic! I think the problem is that they are really old. I got fed up with them looking so old and ugly, and thats colouring my judgement of the sound, which is crazy but whatever -  and which is why i'm now in this thread!
ANYWHOO, I decided to 'upgrade' to something that would pick up details and sound more clear in my games, without losing any directional/positional accuracy (and also look decent!). I read through the first post as well as the AVS forum post by MLE (awesome person) and think that the K701 and HD598 would be just what i'm looking for, but they are out of my budget. DT880 and 990 are also kinda too expensive.
I can get new PC360s for £80, or I can get burned in K601s for the same price. Is the K601 as good as the K701? I would only run them through my X-fi Forte sound card. Which one sounds better for my needs? An attached mic and the volume control etc on the PC360s is attractive, but I read in many places that the PC360s sound muffled and not clear? Im not sure if thats true but it would ruin my day. Another possibility is HD555/558 (modded to the 595/598) and to be honest I'm just confused. Actually I would go for the PC360s but some dude said the HD555/595 is actually clearer and not the same and its pissing me off.
Basically I'm after something that sounds fantastic in games for a decent price (under £100 or thereabouts) and it doesnt have to be new! Ebay is fine. Bass is good but i dont want it drowning out clarity, but also bear in mind that i can equalise the sound on my sound card so... yeah. Positioning should be comparable to the DT770s. Most important is I want to be blown away... but that seems like a bit too much to ask
Thanks! Also I dont care about music in this purchase at all -  these are dedicated gaming beasts, with maybe a bit of movies but meh.
Edit: Mainly play MW3 on PC at a high level. Prior to the DT770s footsteps were all but unhearable, but with the DT770s I can hear them like a wallhack even with other stuff going on - thats one thing i dont want to change!

If the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm are not getting enough "juice", they can sound "murky-ish" or crude bass.
Is there a headphone gain setting for the X-Fi Forte, something that you can set to one setting higher?
Upgrade the op-amp on the forte?
Sennheiser PC360s for 80GBPs ($127 US) is a great price, in the USA the PC360s are going for 125GBP ($200 US).
And the PC360 comes with an integrated mic.
AKG K601s (120-Ohm), they might(?) be harder for the Forte to drive then the DT770 Pro (80-Ohm).
I think most would agree that AKGs like a little more juice to sound their best.
 
 
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The DT770 Pro 80 sounded murky to me with games that had anything resembling some ambient bass. I haven't used them in ages, but I'd guess that in Mass Effect 3, being on the Normandy would be quite muddy sounding on the 770/80s.

 

[Danthrax]

I still don't believe in dolby headphone, in all of those I could hear where the shots were coming from (in fact it was clearer without it) using q701s and an iBasso D7.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

In all those except DH, I could hear where the shots were coming from, in a 2D line from between my ears. That's it.

With DH, I could clearly tell whether the shots were coming from in a full 360 degree field.

So while you don't believe in DH, I certainly don't believe in basic stereo.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

The DT770 Pro 80 sounded murky to me with games that had anything resembling some ambient bass. I haven't used them in ages, but I'd guess that in Mass Effect 3, being on the Normandy would be quite muddy sounding on the 770/80s.

Maybe the AKG K601 would be a better choice then the DT770s?
 
 

 

[RayleighSilvers]

Is the sound on mw3 nerfed so bad that even an expensive headphone won't help? I played cod4 with the x1's in stereo and mw2 with the x41's and they were absolutely brilliant. Nobody ever crept on on me unless they had dead silence. But mw3 is a different story. I'm finding it extremely hard to position sounds and footsteps don't really become audible unless they are very close, whereas in the previous cods, I could hear people from quite a distance. I'm using HTF600's and x41 atm and they both don't help/. Had some Senn 558's for a while (unmodded) and they didn't help either.