[x7007]

  I use a Dayton Audio APA 150 with two AuraSound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker Tactile Transducers just attached to the bottom of my office chair. Go for mono with this setup, I  tried stereo but close placement of the transducers just cancels some things out in stereo. I love this setup for games.  Made Lichdom really come alive.  Looking forward to Elite Dangerous with it as well.  Might be good for movies as well, I haven't really watched any with it setup.  A lot of people seem to attach them to their couch.  
 
From all my research the Clark Synthesis TST429 Platinum Transducer is supposed to be the holy grail (if money is no object).
 
Now I just need to get this setup working a bit more seamlessly with what I want to do.  I've been considering just getting a receiver to switch between everything.  I want to add that I'm surprised more gamers don't jump on this type of setup.  It's a value add for me.

ye definitely Clark Synthesis TST429 Platinum  I go for the best one. the problem is ordering it from outside the country, the delivery cost will be insane, like total insane.
 
can I mount it to this chair ?
 
http://www.amazon.com/2xhome-Professional-Comfortable-Adjustable-Conference/dp/B00KK8MSMU/ref=sr_1_69?ie=UTF8&qid=1416578748&sr=8-69&keywords=office+chairs

 

[FrostByghte]

  ye definitely Clark Synthesis TST429 Platinum  I go for the best one. the problem is ordering it from outside the country, the delivery cost will be insane, like total insane.
 
can I mount it to this chair ?
 
http://www.amazon.com/2xhome-Professional-Comfortable-Adjustable-Conference/dp/B00KK8MSMU/ref=sr_1_69?ie=UTF8&qid=1416578748&sr=8-69&keywords=office+chairs

The Clark Synthesis might be better suited for something much larger.  I'd go with the much cheaper Dayton Audio APA 150 and I have a chair very much like that.  I have both mounted with screws to the underside of the chair.  It's quite the punch...lol

 

[rudyae86]

Okay, I am still confused about the sound blaster Z and the sound blaster omni.
 
I want to buy one of them but which?
 
Specs show that sound blaster Z has slightly better hardware and features compared to the Omni...
 
but Price wise, is it worth it?
 
Also, since the Omni is USB, is there any lag compared to the PCIe Sound Blaster Z?
 
Omni is 50 bucks on Creative's website and Sound Blaster Z is at 65 bucks....
 
dont know which to buy

 

[cdsa35000]

Okay, I am still confused about the sound blaster Z and the sound blaster omni.

I want to buy one of them but which?

Specs show that sound blaster Z has slightly better hardware and features compared to the Omni...

but Price wise, is it worth it?

Also, since the Omni is USB, is there any lag compared to the PCIe Sound Blaster Z?

Omni is 50 bucks on Creative's website and Sound Blaster Z is at 65 bucks....

dont know which to buy

Are you kidding?
Omni is just a simple USB DAC with SOFTWARE SBX (PROCESSING DONE WITH THE PC CPU) and Z has own HARDWARE CORE3D SBX.

Yes it can have soundlag if PC CPU is weak and overloaded and USB weak power wont sound good as OMNI is noisier with S/N 100dB than Z has S/N 116dB with better sounding headamp.

 

[rudyae86]

Are you kidding?
Omni is just a simple USB DAC with SOFTWARE SBX (PROCESSING DONE WITH THE PC CPU) and Z has own HARDWARE CORE3D SBX.

Yes it can have soundlag if PC CPU is weak and overloaded and USB weak power wont sound good as OMNI is noisier with S/N 100dB than Z has S/N 116dB with better sounding headamp.

I kind of had the feeling someone was going to say that lol. Im going with the PCIe Z card then lol Thanks for the info. I was really leaning to that card anyways. I like versatility but I figure, who games on their laptop most of the time? Not comfy anyways, my laptop can barely run bf4 anyways lol

 

[cdsa35000]

SBX= THX!
BUMP from page 67 misinfo:

I can't speak for the tiHD I'm windows 8 or newer games. But the z works flawlessly. At least it did for me.

The L/R speaker out is a line out as far as I know. Just because they are included in the same jack the naming is different(correct me if I'm wrong). This will send SBX surround to your amp fine. The sbx surround might sound different using headphones out of this port as they are meant for speakers. Users report different surround staging/imaging through this one. The headphone out would be your best bet but its inferior to the sq in the line outs. Myself and many users can confirm this(I have my suspicions of the headamp bottlenecking the sq after the DAC). The tiHD would beat it there. But it is more pricey generally unless you find a good deal or used.

SBX surround is not a rebrand of thx, there is a difference and sbx is superior and most people will agree with this.
However I cannot speak for the other features.

You can use sbx surround or cmss3d for movies without issues.

Listen to demos for both and see which one you prefer better though. Its subjective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BxO9cd-sYA

Titanium HD has the usual line out (all features of the headphone section work over line out, like CMSS-3D) which can be used for any active speaker, amp or whatever, in your case the O2 amp. It will work in Windows 8 as well. I had no problems. 

SBX is NOT THX rebranded. Apart proven from a lot users you can't just rebrand licensed stuff and get away with it. There's also a reason why Creative calls it OEM on their webseite and THX is still listing it. 

What you lose with SBX is perfect legacy, what you gain is much better signal quality, in general through all virtualized channels, especially noticable with voices and music. You can for instance enjoy the soundtrack of a game much better. 

Try to see SBX like a hybrid of CMSS-3D (imaging, depth, soundstage) with THX (tonality, sq), excep that CMSS-3D can be more accurate due to it's different EQ (which you can replicate with your SBX though) and superior in older games, though not by much anymore.

Today's games however won't ever go the old route again and it's pointless to have any hope in that regard. Let's see what "True Audio" by AMD brings to the table as it's supported by actual games.

BUMP to clearify SBX is rebranded THX:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1799986

My question:

Quote:
Hello, Does the 2013 revision of the Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D SBX USB sound card use the same hardware/processor as the older Recon3D THX USB sound card? I have seen news articles about the Recond3D line being revised but wanted to see if there was more specific details on the USB sound cards. Also, when will you have the Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D SBX USB back in stock? I can only find the THX version for sale online. Thanks in advance.
Their response:

Quote:
Dear P

Thank you for writing in to Creative Technology Ltd.

Regarding your first question, please note that although the software suite has been renamed and become completely proprietary of Creative, the hardware of the sound card is the same for both models of the product.

Regarding your question about the availability of the Sound Blaster Recon3D in our online store with the SBX Pro Studio technologies, please check our online store again in two weeks, since we are in the process of replenishing it at the moment:

http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blast...laster-recon3d

If you still require assistance, please reply to this email and include any previous correspondence to ensure a quick response.


Regards,

F
Creative Worldwide Customer Response

 

[DJINFERNO806]

SBX= THX!

I think you are confusing yourself with your question to the rep and also his answer.

You asked him if the hardware was the same? Hardware meaning the SPU, the Soundcore3D. Which it is, the processor hasn't changed at all. And given creative R&D costs, it won't for a while, they will continue using it until its no longer useful or has paid for itself.

You did not ask him if the sound processing aka virtual surround HRTF algorithm was the same. But hr still answered it for you regardless by explaining the software is Noe proprietary to creative, aka the sound processing software, aka SBX.

But let me explain once again, it is most certainly not a rebrand. THX sounds nothing like SBX. Also Feg was right and you cannot just simply take THX licensed software and rename it to your own, that is illegal and zcreative knows better.


Lastly please do not say this is misinformation as we have done tons and on and off testing of both products before you even came along. I have tons more experience with the said products than most.

Also please do not continue reposting multiple times. It comes off silly and childish.

 

[cdsa35000]

OK, then I will ask him/software programmer again if the surround algorithm is the same or not for the final conclusion.

 

[DJINFERNO806]

Are you kidding?
Omni is just a simple USB DAC with SOFTWARE SBX (PROCESSING DONE WITH THE PC CPU) and Z has own HARDWARE CORE3D SBX.

Yes it can have soundlag if PC CPU is weak and overloaded and USB weak power wont sound good as OMNI is noisier with S/N 100dB than Z has S/N 116dB with better sounding headamp.

This is also misinformation. Your cpu will hardly feel a difference regardless of where the processing is done. Windows audio session api handles the mixing and won't induce much overhead. Nothing a modern cpu won't do with just 1% usage.
Lastly, the S/N means nothing with the sbz because the headamp is actually rated lower at around 100dB as well. Its actually a bottleneck for the DAC itself on the card. This has been talked about many times in this thread by us. Simple search is simple.

Also where are you getting "USB weak power" from? This makes no sense. USB audio connection is the best way to get asynchronous audio to a DAC externally. Non jitter and also no EMI from an internal card.

Please do your research.

 

[lauris3722]

Could someone explain how ohm's work within the amp? Let's say this one delivers 80mW at 300ohm, can there be a math done to find out what it delivers at 24ohm? I have 3000mW 24ohm headphones, wondering if this card will be able to supply it.

 

[rudyae86]

This is also misinformation. Your cpu will hardly feel a difference regardless of where the processing is done. Windows audio session api handles the mixing and won't induce much overhead. Nothing a modern cpu won't do with just 1% usage.
Lastly, the S/N means nothing with the sbz because the headamp is actually rated lower at around 100dB as well. Its actually a bottleneck for the DAC itself on the card. This has been talked about many times in this thread by us. Simple search is simple.

Also where are you getting "USB weak power" from? This makes no sense. USB audio connection is the best way to get asynchronous audio to a DAC externally. Non jitter and also no EMI from an internal card.

Please do your research.

So, would going with the Omni be a more vaible option compared to the Sound Blaster Z PCIe? Sound Blaster Z does at its highest 24bit/192khz stereo direct and the Omni has 24/96khz i think. Is there any sound/quality differences because of these numbers? Hardware wise, are they the same or is something better in the Z?

 

[DJINFERNO806]

In terms of specs, I wouldn't worry about them too much. I highly doubt you'll be using any audio sources that are even 24 bit or higher than 48khz especially if the omni is mostly for gaming. You also won't benefit from the extra bit rate and sampling frequency by just setting windows to that. Doesn't work that way.

Whether its more viable will depend on two things. One would be if you rather have an externel unit rather than an internal. Or do you need to take it to other PC's?

I personally think an internal Z is a much better and cleaner option but that's just me. I think the omni is ugly and looks like a toy.

 

[Silverwind]

I have not used the built in OMNI mic. What I am using is a vmoda boompro mic plugged into the mic input jack. Works like a champ!

 

[genclaymore]

I have used the omni mic and it worked good even when i had it right under my monitor also the omni it self didn't give me hardware issues at all, just some minor software suite settings being odd. I just didn't like using "what u Hear" to send the audio into my external dac. Since I read the info on the optical wrong when I first got it as i thought it had the "Send stereo mix to spdif" check box but it had Two settings for DD live which didn't make sense windows 8, while windows 7 had it as muiti channel mix thru spdif without the encoder..

 

[Evshrug]

So, would going with the Omni be a more vaible option compared to the Sound Blaster Z PCIe? Sound Blaster Z does at its highest 24bit/192khz stereo direct and the Omni has 24/96khz i think. Is there any sound/quality differences because of these numbers? Hardware wise, are they the same or is something better in the Z?

Think of it this way... CD is 16bit/44kHz. And very good. Diminishing returns range good. A higher bit rate is more important than the refresh. With the Omni you already have superior audio capabilities than you get on CD or DVD movies (unless you're talking about the flopped SACD or DVD-Audio formats), I'm telling you I had both side by side and I was hard -pressed to hear a difference between them. Really I'm confident that the major differences are price, that stereo optical input, and where you plug them in. If you'd rather have the Z, get that, but don't bother paying for rush shipment because you've already been patient about choosing one so far