I have a pair of AKG K550s that I got a few years a go and they have recently been not working as well. The sound is warped and distorted at some points in a song, and the volume and detail (highs, lows, mids...not sure what to call those) heavily favor the left cup. I have had similar problems...

Awesome.  Thanks a ton for all the helpful answers.  I appreciate it.  -Elkay

Okay that makes sense.  More or less, an A/V receiver is a big sound card/mixamp that can provide 7.1?  Also, I assume a/v means audio and video?  What purpose does one of these have with video?

Okay cool.  Is the receiver option just for speakers?

It just would have been nice to maybe add some 7.1 speakers to my setup at some point, but it's not super important and I'm pretty set on the STX unless you have something that just completely blows it out of the water for around the same price.  Just one more quick question.  Do I just plug the...

Hey guys.  Sorry for all the posts in the last few days, but all the questions I have I cannot find anywhere (maybe because there self explainatory and I know nothing about sound at all) .  This question, again, has to do with the Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card.  As many of you probably know...

So do you think I would be okay to turn up the sensitivity of the mic and keep the headphones on the lower side?  If no, please list any other solutions I could try out.

Hey guys.  I was wondering, if you have open back headphones (Sennheiser HD598 for example) does the sound bleed into your microphone when you are trying to record videos or livestream?  If so, can you fix this?

Okay thank you so so much for that.  Sorry if the thread was ignorant or bothersome.  I really appreciate your help. 

I don't have the card yet, but I though that a standard headphone cord could not carry anything except for stereo?  Or does it just send the signal to certain parts of the driver to simulate surround?  I really don't know how this works.  Thanks for the answer anyways.

I am looking at purchasing the Creative Sound Blaster Zx.  I was wondering if this sound card has the ability to output 7.1 surround sound through my stereo headphones (Sennheiser HD 598).  If so, please explain to me how this is.  It has a headphone in, mic in, optical in, optical out, and 3...

What about the Creative sound blaster Zx?  Can you do 7.1 with that?

But which port do you connect your headphones into to get that?

Okay, so I am building a gaming PC and I want to get the Sennheiser 598s and the Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card.  This is a 7.1 sound card, but I am wondering if you get true 7.1 virtual surround by just plugging the headphones into the 3.5 jack?  I don't think you do.  And if not, how do you...