[Tohveli89]

Hello!
I'm new to hi-fi and I just dipped my toe in by getting a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700 as I heard they were good for gaming. I did this after my 5.1 headset was lost and I read a few articles that said that 5.1 is pretty much useless and that you are better off using good stereo headphones and since gaming is where the headphones matter the most to me it was an obvious choice. I have an external usb soundcard from creative, the x-fi surround 5.1 and now I'm wondering if the sound card is powerful enough to drive my headphones or is the sound card utter rubbish and I should get another one? If this soundcard is good then is there something I should get to experience even better sound. My budget if you suggest something is somewhere at 150€, yes I live in Finland so no free shipping charges from amazon/ebay for me =(((

 

[AmanGeorge]

Welcome to Head-fi!
 
The AD700 isn't supposed to be too tough to drive, I'd give it a shot straight out of your sound card - I think you'll be pleased with the results. Good luck!

 

[earerror]

You will be fine with your soundcard, they do not need lots of power to sound good...post your impressions once you get them! 

 

[Mr Joboto]

Don't worry about your soundcard.

 

[Tohveli89]

Thx for all responses, I should be getting the AD700 tomorrow if I have the time to go and pick them up from the post office. I'm could write a short impressions of the AD700's but I've heard that you should burn the headphones in and I haven't yet completely understood how to do that. Another thing that I'm thinking about is the settings on my soundcard. Is anyone of you familiar with the creative x-fi surround 5.1 soundcard and could give me some pro tips on how to get the best possible sound from it.

 

[el aye]

I thought my AD700s sounded fine/great coming from my x-fi titanium (via the front panel).

 

[classakg]

Quote:

the settings on my soundcard. Is anyone of you familiar with the creative x-fi surround 5.1 soundcard and could give me some pro tips on how to get the best possible sound from it.

Try these:
 
Main volume: from 50 to 100% 
Bass: 50% 
Treble:65% 
CMSS-3D: ON 
24 Bit Crystalizer: on and set to 80% 
SVM: ON 

 

[Tohveli89]

Ok, now it's time for some stupid questions, but a man once said to me: the one who is stupid is the one who doesn't ask the questions...
1. How do you adjust the bass and the treble because I can't find the settings, only the bass boost...
2. SVM?

 

[shake]

Quote:

Ok, now it's time for some stupid questions, but a man once said to me: the one who is stupid is the one who doesn't ask the questions...
1. How do you adjust the bass and the treble because I can't find the settings, only the bass boost...
2. SVM?

I believe those settings are found only on desktop models of x-fi cards.  I have the same thing btw.  80% Crystalizer may be too much, it depends much on your cans and your tastes.  I have mine set at 65%.  Anything over that starts sounding compressed.  You'll also have to play with the CMSS-3D to tune it to how you want it to sound.  With headphones though, I find it best to set it all the way to the "front".

 

[Tohveli89]

Yeah I did some research and seems like the x-fi surround 5.1 lacks some stuff when it comes to settings compared to the desktop cards.