[Yethal]

  So I decided to treat myself to something nice as an early Christmas present and just ordered a used X7 off eBay for a steal of a price at $260. I am new at this "op-amp" replacement thing so what do you guys recommend for replacement of the stock op amps? I have read through a good part of this thread already but 140 pages is a daunting task for anyone but if I have to I will since my X7 gets here on Monday. 
 
Before someone asks, because someone always will and for good reason, I will be using the X7's for mostly gaming on my Xbox One and light music and movie listening experiences but mostly gaming (Halo 5, Battlefield, COD, etc). Is there an op amp that provides a superior listening experience compared to the stock ones or are the stock op amps plenty and more than enough. I am super excited to finally have this piece of kit again.
 
I have been using Astro A40 TR's for the past year and don't get me wrong they are nice and totally overkill even for the most determined gamer but nothing compared to my old setup which included HD600's. I know these are first world problems lol but just trying to get a little more educated overall on the products I buy. 

My current setup (by Monday of next week): <-- oxymoron I know  

Creative Sound Blaster X7
Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (detachable cable modded myself) 
V-MODA Boom Mic Pro (great solution for party chat) 
Xbox One - using SPDIF 
MacBook Air - USB 
iPhone 6 - Bluetooth 
 
In the mean time I will be catching up on reading the remaining 130+ pages of this thread
 
Again the last week have been here myself I have learned a lot and will continue to and super appreciative of the responses to my questions, thanks guys.  

There is a multitude of op-amps on the market but the two brands that have been tested with the X7 by more than one person and that provide a very clear upgrade are Supreme Sound (Burson) V5i and Sparkos Labs SS3601. You can find several reviews of both on Head-Fi.

 

[mbyrnes]

There is a multitude of op-amps on the market but the two brands that have been tested with the X7 by more than one person and that provide a very clear upgrade are Supreme Sound (Burson) V5i and Sparkos Labs SS3601. You can find several reviews of both on Head-Fi.

I need the email of the guy from Sparkos. I want to order the complete swap and hoping for a little price break on them. Finally got my financials in order and looking to do a few upgrades to my setup.

HD6XX are being delivered today. Want to grab an OTL tube amp (Valhalla 2 is currently in the lead). Swap the OP amps, and look for an endgame type headphone for ~$1,000. I need to find shops in Philly that carry various headphones so i can hear them firsthand. Tempted by the new ZMF headphones, Elears, HD800S, and a few others. The headphones aren't a huge priority, as I want a good amount of time with the HD6XX.

 

[Yethal]

I need the email of the guy from Sparkos. I want to order the complete swap and hoping for a little price break on them. Finally got my financials in order and looking to do a few upgrades to my setup.

HD6XX are being delivered today. Want to grab an OTL tube amp (Valhalla 2 is currently in the lead). Swap the OP amps, and look for an endgame type headphone for ~$1,000. I need to find shops in Philly that carry various headphones so i can hear them firsthand. Tempted by the new ZMF headphones, Elears, HD800S, and a few others. The headphones aren't a huge priority, as I want a good amount of time with the HD6XX.

Just so I understand this correctly.
You want to grab a set of op-amps so you can swap op-amps in a tube amp?

 

[mbyrnes]

No swap the OP amps in the X7. The tube amp would be for the HD6XX and my stereo. I'll use the amps in the X7 for gaming with my other headphones.

 

[Yethal]

No swap the OP amps in the X7. The tube amp would be for the HD6XX and my stereo. I'll use the amps in the X7 for gaming with my other headphones.

Good god, for a moment I thought You wanted to swap op-amps in a tube amp. You can contact mr Sparks via his contact form:
 
http://sparkoslabs.com/contact/

 

[mbyrnes]

Good god, for a moment I thought You wanted to swap op-amps in a tube amp. You can contact mr Sparks via his contact form:

http://sparkoslabs.com/contact/

Oh no, I'm not that noobish, lol. I'm going to order all 4, emailed with Andrew and we will get everything wrapped up on Monday. Very excited to do this upgrade. I'll post thoughts on swapping the output stage first, then after they are all swapped.

 

[mbyrnes]

Ordered and paid for the 4 Sparkos. Andrew is awesome, emailed him at 10:30 or so last night. He responded and got the order done about 11:30. He's going to ship them out Monday. He gave me a deal on them, so I just did the entire swap.

I'm going to have to lock into 3 or so songs to do a comparison. It'll be a fun experiment, and I expect from everything I've read that I'll be extremely happy. Cannot wait!

 

[Yethal]

Ordered and paid for the 4 Sparkos. Andrew is awesome, emailed him at 10:30 or so last night. He responded and got the order done about 11:30. He's going to ship them out Monday. He gave me a deal on them, so I just did the entire swap.

I'm going to have to lock into 3 or so songs to do a comparison. It'll be a fun experiment, and I expect from everything I've read that I'll be extremely happy. Cannot wait!

Please do a sngles only vs duals only vs whole set comparison. I'm really curious how big of an improvement the duals are.

 

[mbyrnes]

Please do a sngles only vs duals only vs whole set comparison. I'm really curious how big of an improvement the duals are.

I'll see how the swaps go. I was going to replace the singles first, listen, then duals. I would think people would swap the singles or all. Doubt anyone would order the duals and not the singles. If I have no problem with getting them in and out, I'll try all the combos.

Your wallet may not be so curious though, lol

 

[Yethal]

I'll see how the swaps go. I was going to replace the singles first, listen, then duals. I would think people would swap the singles or all. Doubt anyone would order the duals and not the singles. If I have no problem with getting them in and out, I'll try all the combos.

Your wallet may not be so curious though, lol

Upgraditis vs Poverty is a fight that never ends.

 

[mbyrnes]

Upgraditis vs Poverty is a fight that never ends.

I'm really hoping this mod holds off any DAC/solid state upgrade for a long time. I was really impressed with the X7 straight out of the box, but thanks to YOU, I felt it was necessary to do the OP amp swap, lol. I do want a tube headphone amp/preamp really bad though. I've wanted tube sound for my Vienna Acoustics since I bought them many years ago. Killing two birds with one product will complete my audio Nirvana for a while. I do want endgame type headphone, but I'm very happy with my collection, so no hurry.

I've replaced the stereo system in my car, bought a good phone for mobile, and the X7 covers my gaming very well. Once I decide on a tube amp, I'll bet in audio heaven. The new Bottlehead Sex 3.0 is intriguing, and could potentially drive my speakers. Still need to do a lot more research, and hopefully listen to a few before buying.

 

[Riotstarterr]

 
 
Don't forget to report your experience with another OPAMPS in X7.

 

[VeerK]

You guys need to stop, now I'm starting to get the bug to replace the opamps

 

[Yethal]

You guys need to stop, now I'm starting to get the bug to replace the opamps

 

[Holy Schiit]

Ok so I finally received my X7 back after a year and some change without it. The firmware update took a couple of times to fully complete itself on my MacBook Air which was a pain since I had to switch USB ports for the last 4th of the update after it claimed "the update has failed". Anyways I have a technical question but I will preface..
 
I currently have my Xbox One connected to the X7 through the Optical In (SPDIF). Everything is in order sound is coming into my headphones, bluetooth works and my MacBook Air plays sound fine...
 
My question is whenever I go into the Headphone section in the Sound Blaster X7 Control Panal on my laptop and click on "Direct Mode" or "Direct Mode (SPDIF-In)" sound cuts off from my Xbox One. 

Why is that? 

Also if the X7 can't play sound from the Xbox One when I have either "Direct Mode(s)" checked...what is that setting specifically made for?