[teamrushpntball]

Just placed an order for some he400i's through amazon but am also going to demo some audeze phones and senn hd650 tomorrow morning.

Recently sold my hd700's and akg k712 for being a bit even with a tube amp.

Thanks for the input on the soundcards, kinda what I suspected but wasn't sure.

 

[obobskivich]

I just picked up this card, i was wanting to use it for gaming with my Maddog headphones, but the issue im having is when i plug my headphones into the ACM module, i get no headphone out, actually no audio out period, this is with switching it in the software to headphones, what gives?

Is the ACM plugged in correctly? And is the system volume set to a non-zero value? (You will have to set the system volume and then use the ACM's volume control as a fader; the ACM controller doesn't affect software levels).

The SB-Z card comes with SBX Headphone surround sound.
So far I've never heard of the older Creative Lab's audio processor (X-Fi), used in the Prelude, supporting the newer SBX Headphone software.
but i will check on that.

Any HD-Audio audio interface (in theory) can run the Sound Blaster X-fi MB3 software package, which includes SBX. I don't know, however, if they have some sort of internal lock-out that prevents it from running on X-Fi or other soundcards (e.g. if it would refuse to run on a Xonar), but in principle it is a pretty versatile piece of software that could be run on a wide array of modern audio interfaces.

 

[dmbr]

Is the ACM plugged in correctly? And is the system volume set to a non-zero value? (You will have to set the system volume and then use the ACM's volume control as a fader; the ACM controller doesn't affect software levels).
Any HD-Audio audio interface (in theory) can run the Sound Blaster X-fi MB3 software package, which includes SBX. I don't know, however, if they have some sort of internal lock-out that prevents it from running on X-Fi or other soundcards (e.g. if it would refuse to run on a Xonar), but in principle it is a pretty versatile piece of software that could be run on a wide array of modern audio interfaces.

As a matter of fact, I couldn't get MB3 to work properly on my Xonar Essence One

 

[obobskivich]

As a matter of fact, I couldn't get MB3 to work properly on my Xonar Essence One

Interesting, and good to know. I was wondering if it was really so versatile as Creative claimed ("any HD audio compliant device") since that'd also include a lot of their competitors' hardware, and potentially their own older hardware as well.

 

[RamGuy]

Has there been any updates to SBX and it's DSP? Or does it still sound very hallow compared to CMSS:3D?

 

[Fegefeuer]

What do you mean as in hollow? How is SBX hollow? What products did you try? 

 

[RamGuy]

I purchased the Creative ZxR a while back to replace my Creative Titanium HD as it had on-board headphone amp to drive my Sennheiser HD 650 better than my Titanium HD. Ended up returning it after a week as the sound with SBX 3D / surround visualisation sounded horrible to my ears. Watching videos on YouTube felt like they talked through a tin-can and the audio while gaming felt really hollow compared to the CMSS:3D from the Titanium HD card.

Ended up with returning it and getting a Asus Xonar Essence One external DAC with amplifier instead, and now I'm using the Titanium HD for DSP (CMSS:3D) with optical to the Essence One for DAC and amplification.


EDIT:

I wonder if I might actually purchase that software package from Creative and run it on my Titanium HD, or the on-board audio card on my Rampage IV Extreme motherboard? Doesn't really matter if I use the Titanium HD or the on-board as I only use optical out so all the audio card is doing is offering DSP for 3D / surround visualisation in games and movies. That's purely software, but the only way to get CMSS:3D is through a X-Fi audio card so... But that software package should be able to offer the full SBX software suit of the newer Sound Blaster series if I'm not entirely mistaken but Creative does not list what kind of hardware that is supported so who knows what would actually work.

 

[Fegefeuer]

That software is not the real deal. Forget about it. Don't waste your money on SBX if you didn't like it. I personally and a few others find it to be the "truest" to the source of all VST, some say even at the expense of  a bit "immersion" but I personally only consider CMSS-3D/A3D the true (but forgotten) king of immersion. 
 
With Oculus, Vive, PSVR, DTS:X, Atmos and their HP editions the future is pretty clearly moving away from speaker room HRTF. 
 
Keep Titanium HD, use it for CMSS-3D to optical. Save up for a Bifrost Multibit and a Vali 2 or Bifrost MB + Valhalla 2 or even higher. That's where your HD 650 will rock your socks again.

 

[RamGuy]

Hmm.. I'm starting to wonder if CMSS:3D has ever worked over optical? I have never paid much attention to the Creative Console Launcher control panel and everything. But now that I'm trying to compare between my Titanium HD running optical to my Asus Essence One using CMSS:3D vs Creative X-Fi MB3 (SBX Pro Studio) vs Dolby Home Theater v4 (using modified drivers giving my on-board full support for HTv4) I've noticed something rather disturbing when running optical from my Titanium HD....
 
I'm currently running optical from my Titanium HD into my Xonar Essence One and upon testing CMSS:3D within the Console Launcher it seems to work as the surround test is working. But when I try to utilise the EQ, X-Fi Crystalliser and every other option within the Creative Console Launcher it doesn't affect audio whatsoever. Playing back something on YouTube (Chrome), a video (MPC-HC), playing music (iTunes) the audio is not getting affected by anything I try to change within the launcher. And if I try to do the CMSS:3D test while playing back audio in iTunes, Chrome or whatever the test wont output any audio.
 
 
If I do the same testing when running my headphones directly from the minijack of the Titanium HD everything gets affected by the settings. It might seem like I've been in placebo-land all along and none of the Titanium HD DSP has been actually working using optical? Even with the "play stereo mix using digital output" enabled?
 
 
 
Using optical from the on-board audio and changing things through Dolby Home Theater v4 clearly affects all the audio. And same goes for using the X-Fi MB3 software. What's even more funny is the fact that the X-Fi MB3 software also works over optical from my Titanium HD while the Titanium HD's own software does not seem to do anything.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hmm.. I'm starting to wonder if CMSS:3D has ever worked over optical? I have never paid much attention to the Creative Console Launcher control panel and everything. But now that I'm trying to compare between my Titanium HD running optical to my Asus Essence One using CMSS:3D vs Creative X-Fi MB3 (SBX Pro Studio) vs Dolby Home Theater v4 (using modified drivers giving my on-board full support for HTv4) I've noticed something rather disturbing when running optical from my Titanium HD....
I'm currently running optical from my Titanium HD into my Xonar Essence One and upon testing CMSS:3D within the Console Launcher it seems to work as the surround test is working. But when I try to utilise the EQ, X-Fi Crystalliser and every other option within the Creative Console Launcher it doesn't affect audio whatsoever. Playing back something on YouTube (Chrome), a video (MPC-HC), playing music (iTunes) the audio is not getting affected by anything I try to change within the launcher. And if I try to do the CMSS:3D test while playing back audio in iTunes, Chrome or whatever the test wont output any audio.
If I do the same testing when running my headphones directly from the minijack of the Titanium HD everything gets affected by the settings. It might seem like I've been in placebo-land all along and none of the Titanium HD DSP has been actually working using optical? Even with the "play stereo mix using digital output" enabled?
Using optical from the on-board audio and changing things through Dolby Home Theater v4 clearly affects all the audio. And same goes for using the X-Fi MB3 software. What's even more funny is the fact that the X-Fi MB3 software also works over optical from my Titanium HD while the Titanium HD's own software does not seem to do anything.

 
My two cents.
Disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS.
Remove the X-FiMB3 software
Remove the Dolby Home Theater V4 software.
Return the Asus Essence One.
Buy an external headphone amplifier and connect it to the RCA line-outputs on the Ti-HD (Titanium-HD).
The Titanium-HD can send CMSS-3D Headphone surround sound thru it's RCA jacks.
Read up and ask on this thread about headphone amplifiers for use with the HD650.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/197776/sennheiser-hd650-impressions-thread
 
To the best of my knowledge, the Ti-HD provides a fairly good DAC function.

 

[Fegefeuer]

worked over optical for me for many years and still does. Equalizer, Crystallizer, just everything, as it actually should. 

 

[obobskivich]

worked over optical for me for many years and still does. Equalizer, Crystallizer, just everything, as it actually should. 

+1. CMSS/SBX and all of the other processing features have never been a problem for me via digital out, and that's on Audigy 2 ZS, X-Fi, Recon3D, and ZxR.

 

[NoOneLt]

Hey guys, can someone explain how ZxR "stereo direct" mode works? I read somewhere that it bypasses "everything" and outputs 192 KHz through RCA's. Is that true? But then what about bit's, 24? And what about upsampling? If most music is 44,1KHz/16bit then do stereo direct involves unnecessary upsampling?
 
In my situation i use Foobar and ASIO, if i play 44,1KHz/16bit in stereo direct, what exactly happens? Or if i play game?
 
Though in windows set-up i set 44,1KHz/16bit, does stereo direct bypass this setup?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[obobskivich]

Hey guys, can someone explain how ZxR "stereo direct" mode works? I read somewhere that it bypasses "everything" and outputs 192 KHz through RCA's. Is that true? But then what about bit's, 24? And what about upsampling? If most music is 44,1KHz/16bit then do stereo direct involves unnecessary upsampling?

In my situation i use Foobar and ASIO, if i play 44,1KHz/16bit in stereo direct, what exactly happens? Or if i play game?

Though in windows set-up i set 44,1KHz/16bit, does stereo direct bypass this setup?

Thanks in advance!

My understanding is that it bypasses/defeats all of the various post-processing features on the card (e.g. SBX, Crystalizer, EQ, volume control, etc), but I'm not sure what it does to sample rate (e.g. if it fixes to 24/192 or fixes to whatever Windows is set to). That said, no matter what your system will have SRC taking place at some level (since not all of the audio on your machine, in various applications, etc is identical depth and sample rate), and generally modern soundcards do a good enough job as to be transparent at that task. I would think it safe to regard the feature as similar to many receivers' "direct" mode that bypasses all of their associated decoder features.

 

[germanium]

My understanding is that it bypasses/defeats all of the various post-processing features on the card (e.g. SBX, Crystalizer, EQ, volume control, etc), but I'm not sure what it does to sample rate (e.g. if it fixes to 24/192 or fixes to whatever Windows is set to). That said, no matter what your system will have SRC taking place at some level (since not all of the audio on your machine, in various applications, etc is identical depth and sample rate), and generally modern soundcards do a good enough job as to be transparent at that task. I would think it safe to regard the feature as similar to many receivers' "direct" mode that bypasses all of their associated decoder features.

 Yes it is supposed to allow playback of 24 bit 192KHz content at full resolution & bypass all windows & driver processing other than volume control.