[ChilLyWilLy45]

First off HELLO!!,
     I'm pretty excited about my first post and hope to get some help with my first "good" headphone and soundcard pairing for a gaming computer.  I've gone through Mad Lust Envy's guide and picked the AKG-Q701's because they look sexy and the soundstage is "godlike"? LOL. Oh and they are $199 on amazon right now.  Was thinking about getting the Sony MA900s but currently they are more expensive, I think around $230.  Anyways, with my soon to be purchased Q701s, what soundcard would work best for me and do I need anything else for great positional sound in my games?
     This will all be put into and for a gaming PC.  I'm not trying to move all through my house or bring my headphones out in public.  This will be strictly for the room where my desktop computer will be.  Cord clutter and a mess of wires are not an issue.  Price range is going to be $200 (after buying the Q701s).  Here is what I would like.  My main goal is too have great positional accuracy for gaming, and secondly also have a good setup for movies and music.  I am not an audiophile, just someone that wants to buy wisely and make informed decisions.
     So to summarize, what soundcard should I get and will I need anything else, more equipment??  My price range is $200 for post headphone funds but I'm willing to adjust if the reasoning is "sound".  I'm doing full time school right now and don't want to waste what I have.
     I'm a noob when it comes to this so can you guys please speak in Layman's terms in this post or link to suggested post where I can learn what the different lingo means.  Thanks in advanced, and any suggestions or knowledge would be helpful.

 

[iHelp]

The Magni and Modi I have are great for 200, with any headphones, really. The Magni can be a bit harsh in the treble but for $100, it's quite a steal (that's also made in the US).
 
I don't like (the idea of) soundcards since (personally) you can get a lot of interference with them, being inside your PC. Plus the M&M take up so little space!

 

[ChilLyWilLy45]

Thanks for the reply ihelp. So do you think the Magni/Modi combo with my headphones will be the solution for my audio.  Are they good for gaming, more specifically for First Person Shooters on a PC?

 

[b0000]

Get the vali instead of the magni. For gaming though, you're better off with something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Soundblaster-Audio-System-SB1290/dp/B0044DEDC0

 

[aleibo39]

I'd also recommend the Vali/Modi combination. I run my Q701's through this combo, and it works great for all my needs!

 

[Dannek]

You have several options that you can consider.  Here's the three that I looked at, being that I just purchased new headphones primarily for gaming, but for listening to DAT's as well.
 
1) Get the stack like the Magni/MOdi or O2/ODAC(over your budget) and don't get a sound card.  But keep in mind that you will not have the positional soundstage that you get from the sound cards such as CMSS-3d, SBX, or Dolby headphone.
 
2) Get a stack like the Magni/Modi and budget a little more for an inexpensive gaming solution like the one that b0000 posted. Use the X-Fi Go for gaming and the stack for music.
 
3) Get a nice sound card like the Creative Z(if you want SBX) or the Titanium Hi-Fi HD(if you want CMSS-3d) and get just an amp like the Magni, Vali, or O2.  The sound cards at that level will have good DAC's built in and you can use that solution for both gaming and music.  Again, that will be over your budget if you go with the Titanium Hi-Fi HD, but not by much depending on if you get it on sale.  Either way, I'd do this as opposed to (option 4) just getting a sound card with a built in headphone amp, like the Xonar STX, as I think a separate amp would be better than a sound card based amp.

 

[ChilLyWilLy45]

Option 3 looks like a viable solution Dannek.  I'm going to go for the Titanium Hi-Fi HD.  Still iffy about amps though.  I've read somewhere on the forums that the Q601s do not need much power to get the best benefits from them.  Is this true and if so will I get away with getting a cheaper/lower powered amp?  If my questions sounds dumb, let me know.  Still very very new to all of this audio equipment.

 

[b0000]

the vali is probably the best you can get before moving up to the m-stage. The magni is a bright amp. bright headphone + bright amp = needles (head-fi math™

)

 

[Dannek]

  Option 3 looks like a viable solution Dannek.  I'm going to go for the Titanium Hi-Fi HD.  Still iffy about amps though.  I've read somewhere on the forums that the Q601s do not need much power to get the best benefits from them.  Is this true and if so will I get away with getting a cheaper/lower powered amp?  If my questions sounds dumb, let me know.  Still very very new to all of this audio equipment.

I don't personally own the AKG Q701's, but from what I've read they have an impedance of 62 ohms.
 
So although they are not 32 ohm like some others, they would still be relatively easy to drive.
I'd think that a good sound card like the X-Fi Titanium HD would work just fine for gaming, but if you wanted a little more oomph for music then I think that a good quality entry level amp like a Magni would work very well.  I'd get the headphones and sound card first and try them, then if you decide you want a little more power, get the Magni or Vali or O2, etc.