[ZK85]

I am going to buy very soon my first audiophile headphones for pc gaming and movie watching, I own an external sound card with 3D CMSS (similar to Dolby Headphones) called the "xi-fi go pro" 
 http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Soundblaster-Audio-System-SB1290/dp/B0044DEDC0/ref=sr_1_1?     s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345570760&sr=1-1&keywords=xi+fi+go+pro

 
but I am unsure how much power it can drive into headphones, so I am thinking of getting the external Recon3d http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Recon3D-External-Enhancer/dp/B005FKT70O/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345570837&sr=1-3&keywords=recon3d

   
 
The problem is no where on either product is it mentioned on how much power it can drive, and contacting Creative support team lead to them saying they have no info on that and that they cant find it out for me -_-  and by searching online I couldn't find ANY info regarding that...so I would be grateful for any help from people who own either or know of a better product (that has virtual surround as I love playing with it on) but please dont suggest an amp without the virtual surround sound (Dolby headphones or 3D CMSS).
 
I will need it to drive at the least 250 ohm
 
 

 Thanks all 

 
 
 
 
 

 

[Vitor Machado]

If you happen to use foobar2000 to play music, there's a DSP plug-in to use Dolby Headphones, which is even better because you can customize it.
 
How about you try your headphones first before deciding? Also, it's not just impedance, sensitivity is just as important.

 

[ZK85]

Thanks for the reply 

 well I will be buying the DT990 250ohms, but I wanted to get something with it cuz amazon doesnt deliver directly to my country and it will have to be shipped to a mail forwarding address in the states and then to me, so by the time I get them if they werent working as they should I would have to wait for the whole process to take place again and thats anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks time.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

If you happen to use foobar2000 to play music, there's a DSP plug-in to use Dolby Headphones, which is even better because you can customize it.
 
How about you try your headphones first before deciding? Also, it's not just impedance, sensitivity is just as important.

 
The OP mentioned PC gaming, for which said DH plugin is totally useless. Good for music listening, but utterly incompatible with games. That's why it needs to be a feature in the sound device drivers.
 
Trying the headphones first is a good idea, but a lot of us just don't have the opportunity. Sometimes we have to take advantage of return policies to be sure we get what we want.
 
Anyway, I have a Recon3D USB on the way to review. It won't be here until next week, but when it does, expect a thorough review on its PC gaming capabilities relative to internal X-Fi cards.

 

[ZK85]

Pleeeeeeeease let me know when you get it and do the review 

 I have been dying to find a real review for the recon3d usb especially tested with  good headphones  

 

[Evshrug]

Pleeeeeeeease let me know when you get it and do the review   I have been dying to find a real review for the recon3d usb especially tested with  good headphones  

I posted my "real world impressions" review today, check it out:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/creative-sound-blaster-recon3d-thx-usb-external-sound-enhancer-for-pc-ps3-xbox-360-and-mac-sb1300/reviews/7395

The short of it, I think most harder-to-drive headphones will need an amp, but the device itself is pretty good as a processor and DAC.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Pleeeeeeeease let me know when you get it and do the review 

 I have been dying to find a real review for the recon3d usb especially tested with  good headphones  

 
It's been taking me longer than usual to review it due to all that I have going on here lately. Work, helping other people out, getting a new monitor, etc.
 
Do note that Evshrug's review caters more toward the console gaming aspect of the Recon3D USB, where people would be more likely to use the Astro Mixamp and Turtle Beach Ear Force DSS. I think it'll complement my upcoming review nicely, which will be more PC gaming-focused.
 
For PC gaming, my first impressions are that it still falls short to a proper internal X-Fi card due to flaws in Creative's software OpenAL renderer for the Recon3D USB (along with X-Fi MB and other products), and it won't appeal to audiophiles since it only supports 48 KHz over USB (WASAPI exclusive mode on 44.1 KHz source material will fail), but for an external gaming audio device, you could certainly do worse than this.

 

[Evshrug]

My first test of the Recon3D was with Starcraft2 on a PC, but I didn't include it in my Recon3D review because that game isn't a great test of the reason most would buy a PC sound card. Shame I had to stop my Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription, but I didn't have the daily time to commit to a same-level party. I leave the PC side up to Nameless and his more comprehensive experience and game library. I'm looking forward to his review too, and I hope he finds a workaround for Thief

Thief actually just had come out around the time I lost access to PC gaming, and with a half-remembered demo being my only experience I hope to play the full game some day! Of course, after I finish Oblivion, Skyrim, Batman: AC, Assassin's Creed, Red Dead Redemption...

 

[ZK85]

Quote:

 
It's been taking me longer than usual to review it due to all that I have going on here lately. Work, helping other people out, getting a new monitor, etc.
 
Do note that Evshrug's review caters more toward the console gaming aspect of the Recon3D USB, where people would be more likely to use the Astro Mixamp and Turtle Beach Ear Force DSS. I think it'll complement my upcoming review nicely, which will be more PC gaming-focused.
 
For PC gaming, my first impressions are that it still falls short to a proper internal X-Fi card due to flaws in Creative's software OpenAL renderer for the Recon3D USB (along with X-Fi MB and other products), and it won't appeal to audiophiles since it only supports 48 KHz over USB (WASAPI exclusive mode on 44.1 KHz source material will fail), but for an external gaming audio device, you could certainly do worse than this.

 
 
Thats awesome cuz I will be using it for pc gaming cant wait and thanks for the update, my DT990 32 ohm is coming on its way from amazon (I wanted the 250 ohm but this one was on special discount for 270 dollars i couldn't resist) and I was trying to figure out now if I should get the recon3d USB or this new one i found http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004275EO4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER 

 

[ZK85]

Quote:

My first test of the Recon3D was with Starcraft2 on a PC, but I didn't include it in my Recon3D review because that game isn't a great test of the reason most would buy a PC sound card. Shame I had to stop my Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription, but I didn't have the daily time to commit to a same-level party. I leave the PC side up to Nameless and his more comprehensive experience and game library. I'm looking forward to his review too, and I hope he finds a workaround for Thief

Thief actually just had come out around the time I lost access to PC gaming, and with a half-remembered demo being my only experience I hope to play the full game some day! Of course, after I finish Oblivion, Skyrim, Batman: AC, Assassin's Creed, Red Dead Redemption...

Thanks for the info man, yeah I just got an Asus G75 Laptop so I am back into pc gaming and I can say for sure I am not going back to consoles for a looooooong time
 
and thief was an awesome game back in the day, I played all the series when they first came out brings back such good memories lol you will like it if you dont mind graphics much, and of course all the games you just mentioned are soooo much better with mods on the pc

 

[Evshrug]

Thanks for the info man, yeah I just got an Asus G75 Laptop so I am back into pc gaming and I can say for sure I am not going back to consoles for a looooooong time

and thief was an awesome game back in the day, I played all the series when they first came out brings back such good memories lol you will like it if you dont mind graphics much, and of course all the games you just mentioned are soooo much better with mods on the pc

Weeeeeell I did get Skyrim for PC, for just that reason. When it comes to graphics (and PC games), I LOVED the Myst series and will find a way to play Myst IV and V at some point, and I wish new games could capture that mix of puzzle and lush visuals. Portal 2 touches that sometimes, and the Elder Scrolls games if I forget puzzles and quest-areas plagued by sameness, and I guess that's e best I can hope for with modern games going forward. That said, I can look past looks and enjoy the game, for example I loved Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, I'm almost done replaying Marathon on my iPad, and the game I have logged the most hours and years playing is the Escape Velocity series, especially Nova. So, I think the "something different" offered by Thief will appeal to me

I'll probably still be bi-platform, because a console is so damn convenient. So is reading a book, lol. When I get a better income and the time comes that I can afford a graphics card upgrade, I'm sure I'll feed my PC experience. It's just I've got hours of game time bought and paid for, waiting for me, before I move on. Of course, you never really move on from games like Starcraft or your favourite flavor of competitive FPS after you beat the story

 

[ZK85]

Quote:

Weeeeeell I did get Skyrim for PC, for just that reason. When it comes to graphics (and PC games), I LOVED the Myst series and will find a way to play Myst IV and V at some point, and I wish new games could capture that mix of puzzle and lush visuals. Portal 2 touches that sometimes, and the Elder Scrolls games if I forget puzzles and quest-areas plagued by sameness, and I guess that's e best I can hope for with modern games going forward. That said, I can look past looks and enjoy the game, for example I loved Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, I'm almost done replaying Marathon on my iPad, and the game I have logged the most hours and years playing is the Escape Velocity series, especially Nova. So, I think the "something different" offered by Thief will appeal to me

I'll probably still be bi-platform, because a console is so damn convenient. So is reading a book, lol. When I get a better income and the time comes that I can afford a graphics card upgrade, I'm sure I'll feed my PC experience. It's just I've got hours of game time bought and paid for, waiting for me, before I move on. Of course, you never really move on from games like Starcraft or your favourite flavor of competitive FPS after you beat the story

Haha what you need is a new introduction to indie games my friend, they are so fun cuz they are sooo different, if you care more about gameplay than graphics i suggest you check them out, some of my fave tittles i recommend are :    "Mount&Blade: warband" , "sword and sworcery" I didnt miss-spell that ..."bastion" , "legend of grimrock" "the binding of Isaac", "Amnesia", "Magicka" and of course "Limbo" 
 
they are really worth checking out and steam has them on discount every now and then

 

[Evshrug]

Bastion was so classy, got it on an Xbox Live sale (probably for as much as the regular Steam price, lol).

 

[ZK85]

lol I dont know how much you got it for bro, however when i bought it on steam it was for 2 dollars (think it was a sale price), other than getting games really cheap though i think the main reason i will be sticking to pc gaming is the modding and (plus I really love how easy it is to carry your whole library around)

 

[ZK85]

Quote:

 
It's been taking me longer than usual to review it due to all that I have going on here lately. Work, helping other people out, getting a new monitor, etc.
 
Do note that Evshrug's review caters more toward the console gaming aspect of the Recon3D USB, where people would be more likely to use the Astro Mixamp and Turtle Beach Ear Force DSS. I think it'll complement my upcoming review nicely, which will be more PC gaming-focused.
 
For PC gaming, my first impressions are that it still falls short to a proper internal X-Fi card due to flaws in Creative's software OpenAL renderer for the Recon3D USB (along with X-Fi MB and other products), and it won't appeal to audiophiles since it only supports 48 KHz over USB (WASAPI exclusive mode on 44.1 KHz source material will fail), but for an external gaming audio device, you could certainly do worse than this.

Did you ever get to reviewing the recon3d?
 
I just got my new DT 990 32 ohm in the mail, I like them but they are a bit less than I expected (they sound a bit muddled or congested, not too much so but till not even close to how open and clear every one keeps saying they should be) I thought it might be an amp thing but how can that be since they are 32 ohms? ... gonna be burning them in and see what happens.