I have a xfi Ti HD, and adding a schitt magni did nothing to improve sound.     Not sure about the AD900x, but in comparison to the AD700 the Q701 is horrible for gaming. The difference is like the AD700 being a $1000 headphone and the Q701 being a $60 headphone. The fact that they got...

Mine used to do that. A driver update fixed it.

You guys contradicted each other. Mindbomb says to check them all, and MindsMirror says not to. Though I think MindsMirror was referring to having a speaker setup when he said not to check them all.

I'm on Windows 8.1 with AD700 headphones, and xfi titanium HD soundcard (gaming mode with CMSS-3D on). I also have av40 speakers that I switch to sometimes.   Everything I've read has said to put windows on 5.1 or 7.1 and set creative to headphones.   However, I haven't been able to find...

I'm just gonna stick with the ad700's. I colored them with a black marker so they don't look as ugly...

The ad700 is one of the ugliest headphones I've ever seen. The q701 is one of, if not the most sexy headphone I've ever seen. That's why I was so stoked to try it since it got a 9.5 rating for gaming in mad lust's thread.

Is it possible that your amp just changed the sound signature of the headphones?   For example, when I had a ZXR it significantly changed the sound signature. It made my $20 speakers sound better on music than my current $100 powered speakers (av40) do with my TiHD.   Ok, I found a post that...

Is the essence stx amp more powerful than the titanium HD?   I can't think of anything that could be faulty... I mean they didn't sound broken or anything... The amp got louder as I turned the dial up, so it was working...   Also, we might be talking about different things here. When...

Alright, so I received my magni today and I can't tell a difference with or without it. There MIGHT be a slight difference but I'm not confident I'd be able to identify with or without in a blind test.   The AD700's just seem much clearer and open and larger sound stage?, while the q701 feels...

That's not really relevant unless you could use both SBX and CMSS3d on the ZXR. But you can't. Therefore the ZXR's surround sound positioning is inferior to the xtremegamer because the ZXR uses SBX and the xtremegamer uses CMSS3d.

Because it's a $250 card that performs worse in surround sound positioning than a $60 xtremegamer.

I don't know much about the asus cards but I wouldn't recommend the Z because of the subpar positioning in FPS games for these series. I would say either listen to your friend or find an xfi xtremegamer on ebay for under $60.

ZX = Z with ACM. ZXR has a better DAC and AMP. The Z's mic is better than the one on the ACM. The control module lets you plug and unplug things right there on your desktop instead of going into the back of your computer. It also gives you a volume knob. In my opinion it is useless since it's...

Hi guys,   I'm primarily a competitive gamer and have been using the AD700 with Titanium HD for many years. I've been looking into an upgrade and decided on the Q701.   So far only the aesthetics are an upgrade for me. The headband is too hard and hurts my head. And neither gaming nor music...

I'm not sure. Someone more knowledgeable would have to comment on that. You could test to see if you can tell a difference. The difference in games is pretty noticeable.

Creative takes the 5.1 channels from windows and uses it to create stereo surround sound which results in superior sound vs if you set windows to headphones.

Yes, that's what you want for the best quality sound.

What games are you playing and what cards are you comparing with?   For me, the ZXR's positioning was a downgrade from an xfi xtremegamer in CS 1.6 and CSS. However, the audio it produced for music/videos was fantastic. It made my $20 speakers sound better than my av40's do with an TiHD.  ...

Thanks!   I was wanting to plug my speakers into the amp mainly so I wouldn't have to go the back of my computer (under my desk) to switch between headphones and speakers.

I don't really know much about audio hardware. I've just seen the magni recommended in various places, especially for gaming.   How would that one you linked differ from the magni?   And so do I need to plug these speakers into a "pre output"?

I don't need a DAC as I have an xfi TiHD soundcard.

I have av40 speakers and I was planning on getting the magni amp along with some q701s, but I saw someone say that they got the FiiO E9 because it has a "pre output" to plug speakers into. Is that necessary?

From anywhere or just Amazon? You can purchase from amazon.co.uk or no?   Have you seen these? http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-4-17-2014-akg-k612-and-k712-pro-added-edits  ...

Magni amp. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CICPMA6

What does this mean?   I have some m-audio av40 speakers and I'm planning on getting a magni amp. Would it be fine to connect those speakers to the amp?