Hi xaval, yeah, I just got home and tried exactly what you suggested, unplugging all sources... I would say that this way, the background is silent, BUT, turning the volume pot makes occasional "pops"; not all the time, and not always at the same positions, but going from one extreme to another...

I purchased this unit from a fellow head-fi'er, it was originally bought in the spring of 2013 so should still be under warranty...   I shall investigate further. Not an optimal situation to be in. :(   Thanks again for your insights!

Thanks for your input Xenophon, well appreciated!   The tests were made with FLAC files using Titanium HD as the DAC; I will commit further tests with a standalone cd-player. As an additional note, turning the volume pot on the Violectric makes small "pops" or "crackles" regardless of the...

Guys, just received my V200, haven't really had time to appreciate it yet but it sure is a sexy-looking piece of hardware. :) Couple of questions: - I have seen numerous owners mentioning the background is pitch black, completely silent, even at high volumes; should I be worried as mine has...

I've been running SB Z + Beyer MMX-300 combo for the last year or so and it has served me well. However, I recently bought Fostex TH-600 headphones and have a Violectric V200 amp coming my way; I'm about to pull the trigger on Titanium HD, as I figure a), HD's DAC is better than Z's and b), I...

I came across discounted Fostex TH600, US$424 / £265 for a brand spanking new set; would it be a gross crime against everything that is pure and holy to NOT buy these at this price? The projected use would be 90% pc-gaming with an occasional movie thrown in for good measure. My current banger is...

Guess I'll leave it off then as I have Windows sound settings at gaming-grade 16bit 48KHz anyway.

  Blimey, I think you might be on to something. Will check it later but thanks in advance!   Regarding the settings,I'll try 67% as well. How about crystalizer, is it generally advisable to have it off or on? What does it even do? SBX Bass is more self-explanatory and I think mine is set to...

  How are your settings in the SBX Pro Studio? I'm also having troubles, namely the volume going very low from time to time for no apparent reason; it's no "going deaf" effect after being hit by a flashbang or anything like that, the master level just seems to drop for a few seconds and after...

Yeah this is massively frustrating and even leads to twitchy teamkills (or actually suicides; I only play hardcore where ricochet friendly-fire is the only mode available). :( Moreover I can't seem to find good settings in my SBZ's SBX Pro Studio, the bass is always very unnatural and there's a...

Where to download the drivers for SBZ? Creative's server is apparently running on a Celeron 300A and a 56kbps modem.   I'm getting max 30kbps dl speeds and it's driving me nuts, having to wait for hours for a puny 162 MB file.  

Hah yea I bought that one today as well. $4.99, right? ;) Are you playing promod or the vanilla mp. 

  Have been using a Deathadder 3G since 2006 with no build-quality issues at all.  Have further 2 new ones on standby in case this one eventually needs to be replaced, since the original one is far superior to the more recent incarnations (the combination of S3688 + the V2 PCB give the lowest...

The original Deathadder 3G revision 2 A.K.A. the first version to actually hit the shops.

Black Friday sales would be my best estimation, although CoDs seldom go for really cheap through official channels.

Is this 2013 model the first proper revision of MMX-300? I've been happy with my QH-1339, I'd say it verges on neutral whereas a vanilla DT770 I demoed sounded nothing alike, that one was so boomy I thought the set was defective; apparently, that's how it's supposed to sound. If the new MMX-300...

  Which trouble are you referring to? That Xeon uses the same exact socket, same motherboards, same RAM... With double the threads compared to i5. Actually for Haswells, overclocking is of relatively little value since they intentionally used a very bad/cheap method of attaching the...

Quote: widdyjudas   Yeah, components are well expensive here in Finland as well, China is still relatively better in this sense.   Hey but how about this: Get a Haswell Xeon E3-1230v3; costwise it's similar to i5 when in fact it's the SAME cpu as as 4770 non-k, except with no igp and a...

Go for the hyperthreaded cpu, be it Ivy or Hazzy. Many games take advantage of more than 4 threads already and the trend will only get more pronounced as we sail into 2014. I'm in the process of building a new rig as well. I opted for a SB-E 3930k as it's going for not much more than a 4770k...

Pray tell, where in Europe can you get a new TiHD for $100? :blink:

Thanks a lot Impulse and Nameless, really helpful! No love shown for Sound Blaster Z, then? I found an open box one for ~$60, no warranty but should be mint. It really seems to be between the Forte and the Z now, as Titanium HD is vulgarly expensive still here in Europe, they are asking for...

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...