[chewy4]

So I've heard that there's a way to make CS:GO have 3D sound...
 
Is there a guide for that somewhere? I can't seem to find it.

 

[muksuluuri]

Hey guys,
 
thanks for keeping this obscenely informative thread alive and running! I have browsed throught it but I'd still like to ask a few specific things:
 
Having recently purchased a Qpad QH-1339 headset (basically rebranded Beyerdynamic MMX-300) I'm now looking for the most suitable sound card to pair it with. I'm currently on 64bit Windows Vista, will upgrade to Windows 8 in the summer when I assemble a new Haswell-rig. This setup is mainly used for FPS gaming, so the card should be good for "positional cues" (from what I've learned, Creative's cards in general do this better compared to those of Asus?) etc. I play games like Team Fortress 2 and Modern Warfare 1 & 2, more modern titles as well once the rest of my computer has been brought up to scratch. This headset has a relatively low impedance of 32 Ohms; is this something to take into consideration when choosing the sound card?
 
Some of my current options are:
 
a 2nd hand Auzentech Forte 7.1 for ~US$ 50 - received the Win 8 driver recently, X-Fi, headphone amp, no warranty so a bit risky
 
a 2nd hand Asus Xonar DX2 for ~US$ 70 - an older card, not sure how it compares to more recent Xonars, no warranty so a bit risky
 
a 2nd hand Creative Titanium for ~US$ 70 - the vanilla version, no headphone amp (?)
 
a new Sound Blaster Z for ~US$ 100
 
I'm not limited by a certain budget but wouldn't like to overspend on unnecessary features (such as a hugely powerful amp, considering my headset).
 
Any opinions on the options above, or other cards I should consider?
 
Thanks a ton in advance!

 

[genclaymore]

Amazon has the Z for 80-90 dollars the last time I checked.

 

[Impulse]

Creative cards don't really handle positional cues better in general than Xonar cards, unless you're concerned with older games, but impedance is absolutely something to take into account when selecting your card/amp... AFAIK most of the ASUS Xonars have relatively high output impedance so even tho they have better amps than Creative's older cards they might sound a bit uncontrolled with lower impedance headphones... Dunno about output impedance on Creative's cards...

Those Beyers are actually harder to drive than the average headphone because of their low impedance/sensitivity, unlike most low impedance highly sensitive headphones.

The Titanium HD is Creative's best card and it's often on sale for $100 (should be discontinued for the Z series eventually), doesn't have any discrete amp despite what they advertise tho. A regular old X-Fi titanium seems a little expensive at $70 if it's second hand... I'm not terribly familiar with the Forte, the DX2 is kind of a rip considering you can buy a new DGX for like $50. From what I've read, the THX/SBX headphone surround emulation onthe new Z series isn't as strong as Creative'd old CMSS-3D or Dolby Headphone (used on Xonars), haven't heard one myself though.

You may or may not eventually realize you actually want an external amp to get the most out of that headset, so I wouldn't overspend on the card. Cheap DGX, the Forte if you read good things about it, or the Ti HD if you find a deal, IMO.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

So I've heard that there's a way to make CS:GO have 3D sound...
 
Is there a guide for that somewhere? I can't seem to find it.

 
It's the same process for almost every Source-engine game:
 
-Enable ALchemy (that is, copy dsound.dll and dsound.ini to the game's root folder)
-Set "snd_legacy_surround 1" in the console
 
Quote:

Some of my current options are:
 
a 2nd hand Auzentech Forte 7.1 for ~US$ 50 - received the Win 8 driver recently, X-Fi, headphone amp, no warranty so a bit risky
 
a 2nd hand Asus Xonar DX2 for ~US$ 70 - an older card, not sure how it compares to more recent Xonars, no warranty so a bit risky
 
a 2nd hand Creative Titanium for ~US$ 70 - the vanilla version, no headphone amp (?)
 
a new Sound Blaster Z for ~US$ 100
 
I'm not limited by a certain budget but wouldn't like to overspend on unnecessary features (such as a hugely powerful amp, considering my headset).
 
Any opinions on the options above, or other cards I should consider?

 
Out of those options, I'd probably pick the X-Fi Forte (especially at that price), though I would try to make sure it has a heatsink on the DSP or some other indication that it's one of the later batch of cards. Also, I'd definitely opt for Daniel_K's X-Fi Support Pack over the Auzentech drivers I had used several months ago.
 
Then there's the X-Fi Titanium HD, which is very capable, but generally around $100-120 these days, thus more expensive. Any advantages over the Forte that aren't driver-related probably wouldn't be noticeable with your headphones.
 
If you want to go Xonar for any reason, I'd suggest either the cheap DG(X) or the high-end Essence ST(X) line.
 
Quote:

Creative cards don't really handle positional cues better in general than Xonar cards, unless you're concerned with older games, but impedance is absolutely something to take into account when selecting your card/amp... AFAIK most of the ASUS Xonars have relatively high output impedance so even tho they have better amps than Creative's older cards they might sound a bit uncontrolled with lower impedance headphones... Dunno about output impedance on Creative's cards...

Those Beyers are actually harder to drive than the average headphone because of their low impedance/sensitivity, unlike most low impedance highly sensitive headphones.

The Titanium HD is Creative's best card and it's often on sale for $100 (should be discontinued for the Z series eventually), doesn't have any discrete amp despite what they advertise tho. A regular old X-Fi titanium seems a little expensive at $70 if it's second hand... I'm not terribly familiar with the Forte, the DX2 is kind of a rip considering you can buy a new DGX for like $50. From what I've read, the THX/SBX headphone surround emulation onthe new Z series isn't as strong as Creative'd old CMSS-3D or Dolby Headphone (used on Xonars), haven't heard one myself though.

You may or may not eventually realize you actually want an external amp to get the most out of that headset, so I wouldn't overspend on the card. Cheap DGX, the Forte if you read good things about it, the Ti HD if you find a deal, IMO.

 
For software-mixed games, it's really down to a matter of preference on CMSS-3D Headphone vs. Dolby Headphone, with plenty of outspoken proponents on both sides, myself and Mad Lust Envy among them.
 
They say the Titanium HD has a 35-ohm output impedance on the headphone jack. Didn't seem to faze the HE-400 much, but orthos are known for flat impedance curves, and I don't have any demanding dynamics lying around. (Nor do I plan to buy any when most of 'em are priced in used Stax territory. On the other hand, if someone would kindly lend me some more sets to review...an AKG K/Q70x or Sennheiser HD650 would surely be the ticket for demanding dynamics!)
 
The X-Fi Forte claims to have some kind of headphone amp, but I don't know if it's a dedicated circuit or another Titanium HD advertising incident. It'll get plenty loud, but I don't know the actual output impedance or the control it'll have over more demanding dynamic/ortho drivers.
 
And for that matter, the money spent on amplification at this point would be far better spent just getting a newer headphone, and I'd only consider paying up for the amp if the headphones absolutely require it (read: electrostatics).

 

[Impulse]

Well, you can get a decent amp to run out of the line out of any of the cards for half the price of any headphone in the MMX's league (or better), so it's not like it'd be a huge investment if he's unhappy with any of the card's performance... If output impedance for some of the other X-Fis go that high then a new DGX might easily be the best value (think it's z-out is in the same range as the STX), provided he doesn't have a preference for CMSS-3D over DH, that or that Forte. That's why I suggested not spending over $50-55 unless he's stretching for something like a Ti HD or STX.

 

[NamelessPFG]

I'll be the first to admit that audio amplifiers are not my strongest field of knowledge. Seems like it would be too rife with placebo, but on the other hand, there's a good reason they exist: to ensure control over the transducers. The lines tend to blur a lot amidst the hype, though.
 
All I know is that dedicated headphone amplifiers get expensive. Stupid expensive, like "more than the headphones connected to them". Especially if you want to get into electrostatics, which REQUIRE them; a Stax SRM-1/Mk2 Pro will fetch around $325-450 these days, and that's considered fairly entry-level by Stax amp standards! ("High-end" for electrostatic amps apparently means $2,000+ KGSSHVs and $5,000+ BHSEs that aren't even made anymore...)

 

[Impulse]

Well yeah, but that's a whole other league you're talking about... Entry level solid state amps that can handle nearly all dynamic headphones and even many planar magnetics can be had for $100-150 (Schiit Magni, JDS O2, Fiio E09k, etc). It seems like even if you pay double that you're only getting more features (inputs, etc.) and slightly more refinement, I'm sure an even larger investment (3-5x) would be more noticeable of a step (at that point tube amps are in contention too) but I haven't had that luxury yet.

A decent entry level amp plus a cheap sound card's gonna be better than a slightly more expensive card by itself (and $20-50 extra on the card pays for a good chunk of an amp), unless you're going for something like the STX or just driving really sensitive low imp headphones that won't benefit from a discrete amp in any significant way.

 

[lunemi]

I am going to get the ad700 but I don't know which sound card to pair it with. I only play fps games like counterstrike source, bf3 and Cod mw2. So the only thing I really care about is to be able to "sound whore" with great positional accuracy. Suggestions on sound cards are much appreciated!

 

[roguegeek]

Quote:

I am going to get the ad700 but I don't know which sound card to pair it with. I only play fps games like counterstrike source, bf3 and Cod mw2. So the only thing I really care about is to be able to "sound whore" with great positional accuracy. Suggestions on sound cards are much appreciated!

 
An AD700 and X-Fi Titanium HD using CMSS-3D make for an ungodly pair when it comes to competitive gaming.

 

[lunemi]

Thx for the reply! But will the X-Fi Titanium HD work with windows 8? 

 

[olinoob]

yes it does, that's my setup
 

 

[chewy4]

Quote:

 
It's the same process for almost every Source-engine game:
 
-Enable ALchemy (that is, copy dsound.dll and dsound.ini to the game's root folder)
-Set "snd_legacy_surround 1" in the console
 
 

Thanks.

Something seems off about it though, not sure I like it. 

 

[jonathan1107]

Hi, I have received last friday my Astro a50 headset system. I game mainly on PC and Xbox 360. I enjoy Surround sound very much. I was told these were the best I could buy and I deeply regret not informing myself well because they are BS...
 
There is a constant high pitch buzz in the right ear cup which is even more pronounced when talking in the mic.... So I'm now into getting a refund for the headset and purchasing another one. I'd like you guys to point me to the best Headset system for my price range 250-315$
 
I was told the PC360 would be a good choice. But I was trying to figure out how does one get his surround sound from their PC (I use a Xonar DX souncard) to the headset itself. I believe the PC360 features to 3.5mm plugs... one for the mic and the other for the headphones... ain'T 3.5mm input limited to stereo sound? So why then do people on this forum keep telling me "surround sound and soundtage is great on that headset" ??
 
I'm quite new to the headset world, I'd really like for someone to just give me some detailed wisdom. I did read a lot on this forum, but there's just too much to read. I'd just like someone to tell me what they reccomend for an audiophile like me who wants surround sound (not some crappy emulated ****) and games mainly on his PC (xonar dx) and his console (xbox 360) I also chat a lot through programs like skype and vent when gaming on PC...

 

[neopac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathan1107 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

ain'T 3.5mm input limited to stereo sound? So why then do people on this forum keep telling me "surround sound and soundtage is great on that headset" ??
 

 
i don´t ask you to read the 99 pages of this thread.. but maybe you should read the first post... binaural is what you´re looking for