I assume that's because you're using a receiver, I'm just using a DAC and headphone amp so DTS isn't an option for me. Right now I'm trying to see if I can possibly expand to 4.0 with a Schiit SYS and two more bookshelf speakers or studio monitors. I can live without a sub and have no room for...

Yeah, I feel better about the DAC purchase now, and I just ordered the 305P Mk II's. It's a little unfortunate there's no easy solution for eventually extending to surround sound. Although I'm kind of wondering now since the sound card is outputting sound to both the ports and the stereo mix to...

I completely missed your post until now, but Creative finally got back to me and said the same thing (just needed to enable "Play stereo mix to digital output" in advanced settings). So that's definitely good to know. It seems like I don't need to do anything fancy since I can keep using...

Well, I haven't been able to find a definite answer about getting Creative's DSP to work over optical out. Can't seem to get moderation approval on Creative forums, made a reddit post on /r/PCAudio and no one answered. I haven't been able to find any setting myself that would enable it. Get the...

Well, I'm waiting for moderation before I can post in the Creative forums. I've been looking per your suggestions but haven't found a way to enable sound processing over optical yet. Re the JBLs, I knew they had amps, but when I asked for suggestions on Reddit for speakers that would work well...

Yep. The Modi was connected to the soundcard through the optical out port on the sound blaster and then into the optical port on the Modi. Didn't use USB at all. Yeah that might have to be my next step, but after talking to Schiit support it doesn't sound like there's an actual solution to...

Oh, I guess that was my mistake then, I was under the impression you could after reading some old threads on the topic. I'm not actually sure how you could after taking a closer look at the inputs, so maybe I misunderstood. Maybe they meant the Magni, and not using a DAC at all? I do have a set...

Doing it that way, would I be able to swap to speaker mode in the SBZ control panel to turn off headphone processing, or would it be stuck thinking I'm using headphones? I think that's the part I've been confused about. The 305's do look very tempting, and they come in under budget...

I have a Magni 3 and Modi 2 Multibit on the way, just to preface this. Sound Blaster Z on Win 10. Still not sure the best solution to connecting everything (even after reading this thread), whether I should run the speakers through the Schiit stack and connect the Modi to line out (losing SBZ's...

Thank you all, you guys have been insanely helpful. I never get this much info when posting on other forums. Apologies for my relative cluelessness. 

Better buy than the Swan products? Sounds like it, just rather curious how they compare   EDIT: Did notice the Monoprice speakers have a better S/N ratio than the D1080-IV's

Does TRS mean 3.5mm? I found some cables on Amazon (and Walmart of all places) like that, but they don't specify TRS anywhere, just 3.5mm.   Alternatively, after some googling, I'm almost kind of thinking about replacing the Promedias with something like the HiVi D1080's (as a separate project...

Right, I knew it was the DAC, just for some reason woke up this morning and mis-remembered thinking I needed the Uber version of the DAC rather than the Uber version of the amp. The Modi 2 Uber has extra inputs as far as I can tell but not sure I need them.   Can my Klipsch Promedia speakers...

That would mean in theory it should work? I'm just used to surround sound but I know to avoid those "5.1" and "7.1" headphones.   At the moment I'm thinking I could stretch my budget for a Vali 2 and Modi 2 Uber, and sell/upgrade my headphones just a little ways down the line. They come out to...

Well, when I originally thought about adding some equipment I was thinking of planning a budget somewhere around $200 - $250 USD - something like a Schiit Magni 2 / Modi 2 (there was another brand I was looking at as well after reading some negative comments about Schiit, but I can't remember)...

I just tried it with my HTC One M9, I'd say yeah it seems to sound a bit better. Maybe not by a huge amount, but if that's the problem is there anything that can be done about that? (EDIT: Even if it's replacing the headphones themselves)

I'm not sure that it's necessarily boring, if I were pressed to describe it I think I'd say it doesn't sound all that clear/crisp. There's also definitely some distortion/noise that shouldn't be there at higher volumes (I mean, not SUPER loud, but at the upper range of what I prefer to listen to...

Thanks for the comments, guys. So it seems the SBZ is probably adequate by itself for the HD598SE's?   The reason I was considering upgrading (in some fashion, whether that was headphones and/or equipment) was because I've actually found them rather underwhelming. I'm rather terrible at...

I have a Sound Blaster Z along with a Sennheiser HD598SE (debating upgrading to HD 600 or something else in the sub-$300 range). I'm trying to figure out if I bought an amp whether or not I'd need to also get a DAC, or if the sound card will be sufficient enough.   I googled some stuff...