[degausser]

First of all, I'd say for computer usage I'm around 50/50 with music/games. If I'm more honest with myself, though, it's probably something like 60% music, 40% games. For games, I only really play Battlefield 3 and Skyrim. For music, the genres I listen to are rock and some sub-genres of it, some trance, some hip-hop/rap, and some classical. With that being said, here are my 'needs' or 'wants' this setup:
 
 - bass has to be there. I don't want something that you cannot hear the bass at all. Not a bass-head, though, at all. 
 - Whenever I play either of those games, I want to feel immersed. In Battlefield 3, whenever there's an explosion next to me, I want to 'feel' it. 
 - If there's no one around, I want to be able to hear where footsteps are coming from. This isn't that huge of a deal because in BF3, with so much going on, it's almost impossible to hear footsteps, but I'd like the possibility to be there. 
 - When listening to music, I don't want the headphones to 'hurt' my ears: highs being too high is mainly what I mean. As far as comfort goes, it's much more subjective than the music itself (in my opinion, anyway), and I think I've picked out good headphones that address that - from what I've read, they're really comfortable. 
 - I don't want other people to hear what I'm hearing - be it music, bullets, explosions or the weather (Skyrim). 
 
I'd also like to mention that I only use headphones. I don't even have speakers on my computer, and I'm not planning on getting them at all. 
 
Anyway, these are the different combinations I've come up with to get as close to my budget as possible. I honestly don't know what I'm leaning towards, but I'll be making the purchase by the end of the week. Any recommendations would be great. I've been spending hours a day for the past week reading what would be the best combination, but I don't know what to pick.
 
Samson SR850 ($50) + Xonar Essence STX ($175) = $225.
Samson SR850 ($50) + HT | Omega Claro+ ($175) = $225. 
A700 ($120) + Fiio E10 ($80) = $200. 
A700 ($120) + HT | Omega Striker ($80) = $200.
A700 ($120) + Xonar DX ($80) = $200.
Ultrasone 550 Pro S-Logic ($150) + Xonar DG ($25) = $175.
ATH M50 ($150) + Xonar DG ($25) = $175. 
DT 770 Pro ($170) + Xonar DG ($25) = $195.
A900 ($200) + Xonar DG ($25) = $225.
 
So, help? Thoughts? Please 

 

[degausser]

Bump. Help, please. 

 

[andrewberge]

I'm not familiar with all those models, so i can't tell you which combination is best. Here's what i do know, though:
 
The ATH-M50s are one of the most recommended players here, they have good bass, and they're closed, so there will be much less sound leakage. They seem to fit your needs really well (don't know about the other cans in your list, though, they might be even better).
 
You should also know that your headphones will make the biggest difference in sound, so if you have to pick between a fancy pair of headphones or a fancy DAC/Amp/Soundcard, take the headphones.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Samson SR850 ($50) + Xonar Essence STX ($175) = $225.
Samson SR850 ($50) + HT | Omega Claro+ ($175) = $225. 
A700 ($120) + Fiio E10 ($80) = $200. 
A700 ($120) + HT | Omega Striker ($80) = $200.
A700 ($120) + Xonar DX ($80) = $200.
Ultrasone 550 Pro S-Logic ($150) + Xonar DG ($25) = $175.
ATH M50 ($150) + Xonar DG ($25) = $175. 
DT 770 Pro ($170) + Xonar DG ($25) = $195.
A900 ($200) + Xonar DG ($25) = $225.
So, help? Thoughts? Please 

 
The Fiio is Stereo 2.0 channel, you want something that makes 5.1 for surround sound.
 
I do not believe ATH-M50 are "gaming" headphones, but ATH-M50s owner are welcome to comment.
 
The DT770 Pro 250-Ohm, would not work with the DG, the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm would.
 
How about just getting the Samson SR850 and the Asus Xonar DG (PCI) = $60-$70
 
Higher end (priced) headphones will be cheaper in Feb, March, April.
 
 

 

[degausser]

I thought that with the Fiio, surround sound wasn't all that desired for music, and as far as gaming goes, it's not that great for hearing footsteps? I could be wrong though. 
 
And is the Xonar DG really all that.. good?
 
I'm thinking of doing this: Xonar DG + SR850 + JVC RX700, and seeing how I like the sound for gaming as well as music. 

 

[degausser]

Also, would using the Fiio E10 not be good for gaming..?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I thought that with the Fiio, surround sound wasn't all that desired for music, and as far as gaming goes, it's not that great for hearing footsteps? I could be wrong though. 
And is the Xonar DG really all that.. good?
I'm thinking of doing this: Xonar DG + SR850 + JVC RX700, and seeing how I like the sound for gaming as well as music. 

Don't see any reason to get the JVC HA-RX700s, I would think you be fine with just the SR850.
 
 
 

 

[degausser]

Quote:

Don't see any reason to get the JVC HA-RX700s, I would think you be fine with just the SR850.
 
 
 

Yeah, I changed my mind about that. But my other question still stands - would getting the Fiio E10 be just as viable for gaming as the Xonar DG? 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Also, would using the Fiio E10 not be good for gaming..?

I'm sure the E10 makes better sound then the Xonar DG.
The E10 does not do any detailed audio processing of gaming audio.
It only takes whatever digital infomation that comes through the USB, changes it from digital to analog and then uses the headphone amplifier to power the headphones from that analog signal.
With music it is very easy, simple 2.0 channel sound and the information is unchanging and fix in mp3, FLAC, CDs, etc.
Games require audio processing,
I do not know if your built in sound card can send processed gaming audio back through the computer bus to the USB in the computer, out to the E10.
Or if the game comes with an audio processing engine and just uses the CPU.
Would the Xonar DG send processed gaming audio back through the computer bus to the USB ports?
I do not know enough about how current games process audio to give a knowledgeable answer.
 

 

[degausser]

Well, would the Fiio E10 sound better than my on-board sound card for gaming? As in, positional audio, etc? The most important thing for me is to feel immersed in a game, and in this case it's just Battlefield 3. 
 
I've been looking everywhere on google for an answer to this but it seems as though no one's either tested it, or bothered to post about it. :\

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Well, would the Fiio E10 sound better than my on-board sound card for gaming? As in, positional audio, etc? The most important thing for me is to feel immersed in a game, and in this case it's just Battlefield 3. 
I've been looking everywhere on google for an answer to this but it seems as though no one's either tested it, or bothered to post about it. :\

Yes, the Fiio E10 would sound better then on board sound card for anything, does the E10 know how to process gaming audio, no.
I'm guessing portable headphone amplifiers are mostly used for music.
Gamers use all in one sound cards.
 
 
 

 

[webhappy]

I was in a similar situation and got the fiio e10 for my hd598. My feeling is that most games have their built-in HTRF for headphone mode, so do we really want the dolby headphones processing? In fact, a search on google reveals that some people find dolby headphones on bf3 to give a fishbowl feeling. I have not tried dolby headphones with BF3 myself, though. I also don't know if sky rim has a headphone mode. I find the headphone mode in BF3 to be just fine (and as you noted, you really don't need great positioning since all you hear are explosions and the other audio effects 99% of the time). I can't do wartapes on my headphones. After ~minute of that, I start getting fatigued from the sheer amount of noise (i.e., bullets/explosions) in the background. Wartapes with my klipsch pro media 2.1 are fun for any spectators though!
 
BTW, BF3 does all audio processing by CPU so it seems excessive to throw a $170 soundcard at such minimal work.

 

[estreeter]

For all the negative feedback that the first batch of ZO2 has accumulated, I find mine to be absolutely fantastic with MW3.
 
Without ZO, explosions sound like this:
boom
 
With ZO, explosions sound like this:
 
KEEERRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPPPP !!!!!!!!!!!
 
Bigger cans will give you better positional cues, but I've been happy using IEMs with my ZO thus far. This weekend, its the AD900 and several hours of uninterrupted fragging.

 

[ZARIM]

I will recommend the Ultrasone HFI550 because it has natural surround sound and imaging is very good on these, they are very good for music, movies and games. If you add external AMPs+DAC later like Fiio E7+E9 then it willbe complete gaming setup and music will sound good too.