[Yethal]

I understand but don't really mind paying more for "overkill" if it will be an overall improved sound experience. I won't be using speakers for gaming, just headphones. So my question still stands, which setup would give me the best overall sound experience with DT 990 Pro Headphones, the Creative X7 or STX + Schiit v2 uber stack?

Instead of adding an amp and a dac to the STX You could use the STX as DSP+DAC and use the money to buy a beefier amp (such as Schiit's own Jotunheim) which I belive will provide a better experience than both options.

 

[bloodshot]

Instead of adding an amp and a dac to the STX You could use the STX as DSP+DAC and use the money to buy a beefier amp (such as Schiit's own Jotunheim) which I belive will provide a better experience than both options.

Wow the Jotunheim looks amazing! I'll go with that option then. Thanks

 

[cottonthemoth]

My current setup is Sony MA900's plugged right into my Asus Xonar DGX PCIe card. Even though MA900's only have 12 ohms of impedence, I run them in the middle "Pro-Gaming" Mode for a volume level that falls more in line with my typical gaming / Discord sessions (the DGX's headphone amp seems to do a fantastic job for me).

I have some questions about "Dolby Headphone" Mode on my DGX card. From my experimentation with it over a year ago, I felt similar to u/dannyd1999's comment,

"all Dolby does is make the sound artificial, worsens the audio quality, and doesn't really help in gaming"

When playing games like Red Orchestra 2 / Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, It seems like the best performance comes from leaving Dolby disabled and letting the game's built-in mixing software do the job. Is this against what most advise?

Edit:
After some basic googling, it seems like perhaps this reduced quality effect is due to me usually selecting "Headphone" in game's audio settings, since Dolby Headphone's role is to process 7.1/5.1 surround signals into 3D headphone cues...

I'll experiment with this later today and report back with my findings, comparing settings.

Edit 2:
Looks like there's also reverb issues by default when using the stock/updated Asus drivers, fixed by a dude who released his own drivers called UniXonar, so sounds like I have a bit of a writeup on my hands after work!

 

[Yethal]

Try changing the Dolby Headphone room mode from the default room 2 to room 1. Should sound less processed.

 

[cottonthemoth]

Hmm, even with that, everything just sounds far away and terrible. It may be the slightest bit easier to determine location in 3D space (not even certain on this), but it makes sounds that occur near the player (firing your own weapon) very unenjoyable. Looks like Dolby Headphone is staying off. RS2 Vietnam doesn't allow for you to select what type of sound system your playing into it seems. I'm going to wager that it's much more at home in use on a movie that has 5.1/7.1 built-in for an immersive experience.

 

[Yethal]

Out of pure curiosity, what are your windows/xonar/game settings?

 

[cottonthemoth]

Also set as 7.1 within Windows Audio Configuration Tool
Controller Information also lists the Asus DGX and not the in-built motherboard Realtek driver which stays on for when I swap to my Creative T10's.

 

[Yethal]

Seems like You have everything set up correctly. What happens if You enable virtual speaker shifter and move the speakers away from the head?

 

[cottonthemoth]

Seems like You have everything set up correctly. What happens if You enable virtual speaker shifter and move the speakers away from the head?

I'll mess with it, but I have a feeling I won't be able to stand it-- for VOIP interaction in particular. Everyone talking sounded underwater, and it's nice hearing un-processed mic audio. Further away 3D shift should only exacerbate this.

Edit:
Ordered an Audioengine D1 looool

 

[Lunatics]

Hey guys, currently using a Creative X7 and AKG K7XXs on my desktop set up, primarily gaming but I listen to a lot of music as well and care about the overall sound quality. Just picked up a MSI 16L13 beast of a laptop with an i7 7700K and GTX 1080. I plan to hopefully be taking this over friends houses and away with me and using it to game on the go more often. I am interested in getting a medium/good audio set up on here that I can carry around with me and looking for some advice. First thing I want is definitely a DAC/AMP combo that is fairly small and portable but has the power to power almost any headphone I would want and is good quality. Hopefully (I'm assuming) just runs off USB and no other external power. I would also like a good pair of headphones to use with it that would not be too difficult to leave in a backpack and carry around with me on a regular basis. I was thinking about getting the HD 6XXs from MD but the price hike and 6 month shipping time is turning me off from that the more I think about it. Curious to what some other good options may be that aren't too expensive and would be fairly easy to carry around (the headband on my AD700s and K7XXs worries me about leaving in a backpack with other stuff and carrying around, they seem pretty delicate). Would I be better off looking at a pair of full size headphones, or is there a good pair of IEMs that will give me comparable sound and be affordable that would be easier to carry around than a full pair of headphones?

I see that the HD 598s have a pretty good review in the first post in the thread and seem to have a good soundstage and be good for "competitive" and I see the "Black Special Edition" on ebay for about 100-150 or so? Wondering if this might overall just be a better option than thinking about the more expensive 6xx or 650s.

 

[Turpow]

I see that the HD 598s have a pretty good review in the first post in the thread and seem to have a good soundstage and be good for "competitive" and I see the "Black Special Edition" on ebay for about 100-150 or so? Wondering if this might overall just be a better option than thinking about the more expensive 6xx or 650s.

If "competetive" gaming is important to you, the 598s are fantastic, definitly beating out the 650. Still great for music and imo one of the most comfortable and light headphones I've used. Not sure how they'd hold up to being carried around a lot. Wouldn't say they feel the most sturdy of phones. Also a fan of the dt990 pro if you want to add a bit more fun to that but lose a little soundstage. Takes a bit more juice though.

 

[Yethal]

Hey guys, currently using a Creative X7 and AKG K7XXs on my desktop set up, primarily gaming but I listen to a lot of music as well and care about the overall sound quality. Just picked up a MSI 16L13 beast of a laptop with an i7 7700K and GTX 1080. I plan to hopefully be taking this over friends houses and away with me and using it to game on the go more often. I am interested in getting a medium/good audio set up on here that I can carry around with me and looking for some advice. First thing I want is definitely a DAC/AMP combo that is fairly small and portable but has the power to power almost any headphone I would want and is good quality. Hopefully (I'm assuming) just runs off USB and no other external power. I would also like a good pair of headphones to use with it that would not be too difficult to leave in a backpack and carry around with me on a regular basis. I was thinking about getting the HD 6XXs from MD but the price hike and 6 month shipping time is turning me off from that the more I think about it. Curious to what some other good options may be that aren't too expensive and would be fairly easy to carry around (the headband on my AD700s and K7XXs worries me about leaving in a backpack with other stuff and carrying around, they seem pretty delicate). Would I be better off looking at a pair of full size headphones, or is there a good pair of IEMs that will give me comparable sound and be affordable that would be easier to carry around than a full pair of headphones?

I see that the HD 598s have a pretty good review in the first post in the thread and seem to have a good soundstage and be good for "competitive" and I see the "Black Special Edition" on ebay for about 100-150 or so? Wondering if this might overall just be a better option than thinking about the more expensive 6xx or 650s.

Take a look at iFi iDSD BL. It has the power to power literally any headphone while still being (somewhat) portable. As for the headphones, I used to own the HD598 and they are a great pair if you're looking for competitive headphones. Look for some Beyerdynamic headphones. They're sturdy, comfortable and the parts are interchangeable with each other so You can replace the drivers later on.

 

[AxelCloris]

It has the power to power literally any headphone

Well that's certainly a bold statement.

 

[rudyae86]

My current setup is Sony MA900's plugged right into my Asus Xonar DGX PCIe card. Even though MA900's only have 12 ohms of impedence, I run them in the middle "Pro-Gaming" Mode for a volume level that falls more in line with my typical gaming / Discord sessions (the DGX's headphone amp seems to do a fantastic job for me).

I have some questions about "Dolby Headphone" Mode on my DGX card. From my experimentation with it over a year ago, I felt similar to u/dannyd1999's comment,


When playing games like Red Orchestra 2 / Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, It seems like the best performance comes from leaving Dolby disabled and letting the game's built-in mixing software do the job. Is this against what most advise?

Edit:
After some basic googling, it seems like perhaps this reduced quality effect is due to me usually selecting "Headphone" in game's audio settings, since Dolby Headphone's role is to process 7.1/5.1 surround signals into 3D headphone cues...

I'll experiment with this later today and report back with my findings, comparing settings.

Edit 2:
Looks like there's also reverb issues by default when using the stock/updated Asus drivers, fixed by a dude who released his own drivers called UniXonar, so sounds like I have a bit of a writeup on my hands after work!

I am using the same settings as you are, I have the Asus Xonar DG (PCI version) and have had no problems using UniXonar drivers. I did notice a bit less reverb when using those drivers and made positional cues a bit more clearer but nothing out of this world. I enable Dolby Headphone and set it to DH2 which works out for me in most games. I am not sure if Ro2 or RO2 Veitnam have 5.1 or 7.1 support. I haven't really researched about it. Not sure if it automatically detects if windows is configured for stereo or 5.1 r 7.1. So it really is a hit or miss figuring out if you should enable DH or not for those types of games that dont have an audio setting (like BF1)

 

[Yethal]

Well that's certainly a bold statement.

Okay, maybe not electrostats but this thing is able to output 4W into 32ohm which is more than several desktop amps can provide. Guys on the BL thread claim to be able to power LCD4 with this thing.