Did anyone else felt that the ZXR is weaker on the volume ? I connected it to the ACM and it's louder than connected straight to the back of the card. it doesn't look like there is lesser quality, they might've fix that ?
This is very curious, because the ACM doesn't have an amp of it's own... Basically, it works by taking the output of the soundcard and dialing down from that. I don't have a ZxR (I have the Omni), so maybe what is happening is the card detects the presence of the ACM (somehow), and instead of honoring the computer's volume setting is actually outputting the full Line-Out volume and you don't have the ACM turned down as low as the PC settings? That's my best guess without looking at your gear in person.
Aune X1 Pro for the X1.
Don't have a recommendation for the K702 though, as IMO the [COLOR=545454]CS4398 on the SBZ/Zx/Omni actually fits quite well with the K702.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=545454]Also, one thing you guys have to understand is that a DAC isn't the biggest improvement to audio quality. If anything, you'd be hard pressed to hear a very significant difference anyways. More over, many games (especially multiplatform ones) aren't exactly recorded in the highest bitrates and in a proper studio either. You're not benifiting from a very high quality DAC.[/COLOR]
This^, especially about the DAC.
The DAC in the Z/Omni is already quite good, and the jump from low-cost built-into-the-computer-motherboard-DAC to a decent DAC like the soundblasters will be a bigger jump than any step up after that. You can do better, but you have to spend a significant amount of money to hear any significant change, and for the majority of GAMES you won't hardly hear any improvement.
I would run off the soundblaster z amp and see how you like it. I am pretty happy with mine.
And so am I with the very similar Omni. For longer gaming sessions (or even short sessions with Counter Strike) I like to EQ down 8-9 kHz band by a few decibels, but I find the Omni's amp to be a good sample of solid-state amping. Sometimes I plug a tube amp into the headphone jack, just because I like the coloration of tubes.
so you have jst the soundBZ on its own then ? if i may ask how are your settings ? like volume, sbx prostudio crystalize and all that
oh ok didnt know about that dolby not being sorround then ... ty , well i have sorround at 65 atm and crystalizer at 55 and in my music it sound so good, very happy with this headphones, compared to my sennheiser 598's they were dissapointing when it came to bass and overall the x1 are so much better ( to my tastes of course dont flame me
) my soundblaster combos quite well with it i havent got refined ears i jst like my bass to ratle my brain and im happy, plus soundstage is very good in games
I have my surround at 67% right now, but sometimes I like more. I find the Crystalizer makes sound "harder" and emphasizes treble, so I turn it off, fatiguing for me but maybe good for your ears and your Phillips X1. Sometimes I use a modest amount of Smart Dialogue because I like mids and sometimes the Frequency range of vocals get recessed behind other instruments, but that's a personal taste thing. When I had my Audio Technica AD700, I liked a bit of bass boost, but now with my AKG K712's I only (sometimes) use a bass boost at a very low crossover point, so it just boosts low low subbass. It's important for you to play around and find what you like best!
About Dolby surround... SBX makes headphone and speaker surround when those are plugged directly into the sound card, the Dolby Digital Live is only for outputting an encoded surround signal for a home theater receiver to power a 5.1 speaker setup. Nice feature but not the most common need for computer setups.
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