[Fotopaul]

Just go the EMU XM7 today for my X7 to replace my cheap edifier speakers, now i can actually watch movies in the office as well!

 

[Lunatics]

Hey guys I have a question regarding this device. I have been using it for the past 2-3 years maybe and have been very happy with it as my first real purchase to get more into the audiophile community other than my first pair of headphones and at the time, this thing seemed like such a significant improvement over any existing audio I had heard. I also mainly got because of the versatility of a device like this and that it allowed me to connect my PS4 to it, my PC and one pair of good headphones and have an all in one setup if I was ever playing my console or PC without having to switch headphones or inputs on anything etc etc.

That being said, I am beginning to question if I should replace it/upgrade or not. I do not use my PS4 anymore and to be honest, I don't really see myself using it anytime soon, especially for any online gaming. Only for a single player exclusive if something comes out that interests me enough. I am wondering if I can get overall better sound quality from any other devices (without breaking the bank and going crazy obviously) and getting something like a standalone DAC and headphone amp vs an all in one unit like this.

My other question is about the "surround sound", is stuff like this kind of a gimmick? If you are playing a game that is set up and meant to have positional audio and you have good quality headphones and DAC/AMP would you still be able to get fairly equal or better directional sound quality from a game compared to using something like this "virtual surround sound" that I feel like these devices do? For a long time I didn't even have surround enabled on my device but I believe I posted in here and people generally all seemed to agree that if I was using the X7 and playing games I should have that setting enabled and turned up to 100% but I don't know...I just don't feel like it does the best job or at least not for me? When it is turned on it feels like it really widens the sound stage and when playing games like CS:GO it sometimes seems hard to actually hear footsteps over any of the other noises that may be going on in the game and sometimes it really does not seem the most accurate. Sometimes it will sound like someone is coming from behind me or to the right but they are actually coming from the left. I don't know if it's that the soundstage seems so wide that things are almost getting spread out to places they shouldn't be or what? I'm not sure.

But I am getting to the point where I am questioning if I should keep using the X7, especially if I am not using it for the multipurpose functions it is good for and I originally bought it for, or if I should look into other separate standalone pieces. What would give me the best overall sound quality? I play a lot of games on my PC and in terms of my PC audio I think that is one of the most important things to me, but I definitely listen to a lot of music as well and watch a lot of movies/tv shows on it and care about the overall sound quality not just gaming performance specifically. It seems like there are a lot of software surround sound options now with the Microsoft one and Dolby Atmos and I think I have seen them discussed in this thread before and people seemed to not be really disappointed with them, I think I feel like peoples opinions of the microsoft version were better. That being said is it even necessary to have a device like this when you can just turn similar features on in Windows now? Trying to make up my mind and decide what to do. I remember the realiser A16 being talked about a lot on here a while ago but what ever happened to that? Did it ever come out or anything? I don't see the option to preorder it anymore or buying it or anything. I remember it was a bit out of my price range but is it ever coming to fruition and something to keep in the back of my mind? Are there other DAC/AMPs that do surround sound other than the x7 and A16 or are these 2 of the only devices like this....ugh, what is my best option boys give me some help/suggestions!

 

[raband]

It seems like there are a lot of software surround sound options now with the Microsoft one and Dolby Atmos and I think I have seen them discussed in this thread before and people seemed to not be really disappointed with them, I think I feel like peoples opinions of the microsoft version were better.

I far prefer the X7 implementation to the Sonic and the Atmos headphone solutions. I don't think the software ones are properly implemented as yet either?

I remember the realiser A16 being talked about a lot on here a while ago but what ever happened to that? Did it ever come out or anything?

Link to discussion here. There are various levels of "patience wearing thin" in the thread. I'm still confident the product will eventuate and be everything it's proposed to be, but the lack of contact/updates from the developers is beyond pathetic.

I play a lot of games on my PC and in terms of my PC audio I think that is one of the most important things to me, but I definitely listen to a lot of music as well and watch a lot of movies/tv shows on it and care about the overall sound quality not just gaming performance specifically.

The X7 is my main unit I use for all PC duties. I'm more than happy with it.
The great versatility of it means I can use it with a variety of AMPs to feed more demanding headphones etc (STAX, HD800's etc) and not lose the virtual surround and not have to double amp.

When it is turned on it feels like it really widens the sound stage and when playing games like CS:GO it sometimes seems hard to actually hear footsteps over any of the other noises that may be going on in the game and sometimes it really does not seem the most accurate. Sometimes it will sound like someone is coming from behind me or to the right but they are actually coming from the left. I don't know if it's that the soundstage seems so wide that things are almost getting spread out to places they shouldn't be or what? I'm not sure.

Make sure you have the Windows settings to 7.1 and any in game settings headphone surround settings turned off. You need the game to be outputting 7.1 (5.1) channels to the X7, not it's own version of virtual surround.

Makes sure the "spatial sound" is turned off in Windows etc too.

edit: If it was me in your place, I'd make sure the X7 is setup correctly and maybe look at a different amp to use in conjunction with it if I had the burning urge to spend some money or try something different.

 

[Fotopaul]

I agree totally with @raband the "software" only VSS is not on par with SBX, not even close from my experience. Also, a huge factor in VSS is the headphones used and the soundstage, they produce which can make all the difference.

As for the A16, it's not even on the market, so there really is no point discussing upgrading to it as you simply can't. But im sure if it gets released it will be a monster.

Now if you don't really use the flexibility of the X7 anymore, then sure there might be worthy upgrades in terms of DAC/AMP from a pure SQ and musical standpoint (but don't expect to get anything magically better for 300usd) but for gaming there really isn't anything better. What headphones and speakers do you use with the X7 ?

Maybe an upgrade to your headphones/speakers will make you appreciate the X7 more?

For me though the X7 which was meant to be a sole DAC/AMP for my Xbox for gaming has been my daily driver for everything from my PC and Xbox, the ability to mix signal from different sources are simply amazing and something I did not count on.

Recently (as you can see from the image above) i got the EMU X7 speakers to go with my X7 and now im stoked to watch movies and even listen to music on the X7. Sure my Sony UDA-1 and Sony SS-HA1 is more musical and full bodies for music but the X7 with it's matching speakers are a lot more fun for movies and games, A LOT.

The fact the X7 can downmix and carry the SBX surround thru optical is quite unique i think, which means you can get the surround carried over to another DAC/AMP.

As for surround gaming, with an open back headphone, SBX is far better than both Dolby headphones (which is built in many receivers and other gaming headphones products) and the virtual ones.

I have SBX set to 55% and feel I get very good positional cues in BF1, just as good as I got with mixamp Pro TR (Dolby headphone) but now i actually got good sound as well, no reverb or hollow sound which many of the other VSS techniques gives you.

Now some will advise you to set SBX to 100% and set Dolby Digital to "night", i personally do not what the Dynamic range set to NIGHT simply because it does not help me that the X7 "normalize" the levels of the sound regardless of how far away from them they are coming. For me, this makes it harder, to determine the distance at which the sound emits.
I have my Dolby Digital Dynamic Range set to full, and SBX set to 55% with my Philips Fidelio X2HR which seems to be the sweet spot, right now anyway.

Again i think these setting are heavily dependent on the headphones ones use with the X7.

For gaming and movies i would look to upgrade headphones/speakers and maybe add a external amp if needed.

 

[Lunatics]

At the moment I am using HD 6XX's with my X7 and also have a pair of AKG K7XX's that I was using prior. Bought the HD 6XX on Massdrop thinking it would be a slightly more "durable" headphone without the headband that I could take places with me in my backpack but it ended up becoming my daily driver as I felt that in CS:GO specifically I was getting better positional audio from these vs the AKGs but the couples times I have used the 7XXs since then I feel like they have a much wider sound stage and in terms of other games/sounds typically would handle them a little better, but CS almost sounded too far away with footsteps and stuff etc if that makes any sense.

I believe I have it set up properly, but again there could be something I am missing. Windows settings have the device set up as 5.1 speakers (there is no 7.1 option in Windows). In the software I have Surround set to 100%, Crystalizer at 65%, bass at 50%, crossover freq at 80hz, basically everything stock there except surround. Scout mode is turned off. I am not sure about my Dolby settings that you mentioned as I am not sure where those are.

 

[c-attack]

I believe I have it set up properly, but again there could be something I am missing. Windows settings have the device set up as 5.1 speakers (there is no 7.1 option in Windows). In the software I have Surround set to 100%, Crystalizer at 65%, bass at 50%, crossover freq at 80hz, basically everything stock there except surround. Scout mode is turned off. I am not sure about my Dolby settings that you mentioned as I am not sure where those are.

Try the surround sound at a lower level. Perhaps move it down to the 67% mark on the slider and then work back up. The perceived effectiveness of the surround sound is going to be different for each user and potentially different in individual games as well. 100% is too much 'swirl in teacup' for me. I spent a long time at 70% and only in the last year moved up to 75%. This reduces the volume of rear noises making it much easier to tell front, left, right, and "I need to turn around". The bass boost and crystallizer are just one click EQ presets. It is possible it may distort some sounds at higher levels and make them more difficult to hear or just the opposite in quiet soundscape. Might want to tick them off and see, after you find a happy surround setting. Just to complicate things, you may have different ideal surround levels for the two headphones.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

I'll take some screenshots of the way I have it setup. Of course, all of these settings folks have been providing are subjective, what might be good for you, may not be good for me. From memory I have surround up pretty high. Its at around 70%.I am using the HD 600's. I do also have a set of Sennheiser (cant remember the model) closed cup 7.1 gaming headphones. I have actually yet to test these with the X7 so see how well they work.

Just for info, this is what I have vs what I have used with the X7:

Sennheiser HD600 - Sound amazing!
Sennheiser HD598 - Sound really great! Just not as amazing as the 600's
Sennheiser (Need to check the model) 7.1 Gaming Headphones - Not tested
Shure SE535 - Not tested
Jaybird X3 - Not tested

 

[ShaggyRS6]

This is what I have for music and movie, gaming i just set to FPS profile.

 

[Lunatics]

Thanks for the replies guys I will try playing with the settings and testing a little more. Have not been playing CS as much lately but started playing over the weekend and just found playing one map (Overpass) I heard someone running to me and it just sounded like their footsteps were coming from all directions around me and I was having a lot of trouble pinpointing the location.

Another question I have is...is there any way to boost foot step volume in games using EQ or anything? Even using a "good" basic audiophile set up like I have now, people seem to be able to hear or call out footsteps sometimes in game and hear them from farther away when I don't even seem to have the faintest sound of anything coming through my own set up. My game volume is set to "1", my Windows volume is about 20 and I am using the "high impedance" setting in the X7 that is boosting volume. The game and audio in general is quite loud but it seems like people seem to be able to pick out and hear footsteps or certain things earlier/before I can and I am sure a lot of people are probably playing with "gaming headsets" and the such vs using better set ups so, is there some setting or EQ change or something I am missing somewhere that would help me improve my accuracy?

 

[ShaggyRS6]

Isn't Scout mode meant to do that?

 

[alex_f]

I see that microphones has been mentioned a few times in this thread, however having recently upgraded DAC, amp and headphones to bimby, valhalla 2 and HD800 I'm looking for alternative solutions to modmic for running through the X7.

For gaming I'm currently running this setup PC -> USB -> X7 -> optical -> bimby -> valhalla 2 -> HD800. I don't want to glue the modmic to the HD800 and sourcing an alternative solution for microphone input to the X7. I do have the option to run with the Q701 through X7 and modmic for chat but would like to utilize the potential of the HD800 also when gaming with friends.

I've been looking into dynamic microphones with XLR to 3,5mm and condenser XLR microphones with a phantom power adapter. Is there anyone who can recommend an option for voice input to the X7 other than modmic?

The reason I'm not just getting an USB mic is to limit the amount of USB interfaces, and the option to use the X7 together with the PS4 and share the mic with PC.

One last issue, can anyone reccomend toslink cables with narrow connector that will fit to both input and output on the X7 simultaneously?

 

[Fotopaul]

There are several options.

1# Get a High-quality microphone and connect it to the X7 with smartrigt adapter, or similar basically you will need a simple interface that will act as a power/preamp. Quality will vary depending on the adapter. Another option without a preamp might be worth looking up. I would opt for the one without a preamp as a cheap preamp might add to much noise. (Might actually try to connect my NT-1A to my MixAmp PRO TR with an adapter and see how that works)

2# Get a USB mic that will work on both PC and PS4, unlike Xbox PS4 can take any USB microphone. Now the beauty of this simple solution is that you can use a USB switch so with a press of a button you can switch the mic from PS4 to PC and vice versa. I use this USB switch to switch my MixAmp PRO TR between my Xbox and PC, works flawlessly

As for Toslink cables i'v not really had any issues with connecting to to the X7, been using these cables

I don't game on a PC but on my Xbox so my mic solution was to pair the X7 with a MixAmp PRO TR and use the mic on the MixAmp and then feed the signal to the X7 line in. For Xbox this is probably the best solution if you want as little clutter and cables running along with having the ability to adjust the chat audio within the X7 control panel.

 

[alex_f]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Will it be possible to have the X7 output chat via bluetooth dongle to PS4 from a USB mic connected to a PC?

 

[Yethal]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Will it be possible to have the X7 output chat via bluetooth dongle to PS4 from a USB mic connected to a PC?

Theoretically you could output the signal from the PC to the mic input on the X7 but that's really overcomplicating things. Just buy a second mic seriously

 

[alex_f]

Is it possible to output the line-in to the PS4 as chat?