[ariseus]

First time posting and joined here but I've been searching around the forums for answers and it really helped. I've seen some answers but I think I haven't found the right one for my problem which I hope could be answered

Soo here it goes! Yesterday I just bought a Sennheiser Game One, which I heard also has identical driver with the hd 558, I play a lot of games that is why I chose the Game One since it has a great mic which I need for comms and since I'll be using it on my PC all the time. So first time I tried it, I find it impressive, but not as "mind-blowing" as what others might say. I feel like something is lacking from the sound, but I know that the headset itself is not defective( no static or buzzing, directional sound is properly distributed and not lacking volume).

Friends recommended me to buy an external amp (Fiio e17k or schiit magni 2) and I've read other forums that I need a sound card and some say you dont need either one since it won't have any difference. So right now I am confused since I don't know if it is because It is first time for me to try out higher-tier of headset or headphones, or if I just really need an amp or sound card.

I previously own a siberia v2 for 3-4 years and from my observation, I only felt a small to medium difference from sound quality which made me depressed about it. From sound quality im not considering the bass since I know it's an open-back headphones. I just feel like something is really lacking from unlocking its potential. Any answer would be welcome

Btw, refund is not an option since it is difficult to do so in our country

 

[PaganDL]

Hi ariseus,

Welcome to the forums.

I would suggest getting a usb conputer interface which is basically an external soundcard for your pc for a 'better' sound experience as it sounds like you may not even have a soundcard & only using the onboard sound driver which is honestly quite sad.

Some I can recommend & have good experience with are the Lexicon Alpha, Presonus Audiobox 22VSL or 44 VSL depending on your required inputs which are all considered cost effective basic pro grade & last far longer than most pricey consumer audio gear.
Also the headphone out as well as mic in on all of these are really good.

In terms of audio quality, this will put you up to 96 khz sampling or playback rate which is more than most need but doesn't hurt.
You will also find once you have good sound playback, you can tell rather easily who on the internet doesn't.

More than happy to field more questions on this when necessary...

Hope this helps.

 

[Ventace]

Refund get the HD558 buy an Antlion Modmic.
If you don't think it sounds better, try listening to good tracks and not expect huge quality breakthroughs with games?
With the Game One, not much point to a DAC. If you get the HD558's, get a FiiO E10K (anything else isn't worth it). 
For the Schiit Magni to be worth getting, you ought to get the HD598's or HD600's. 
The ODAC should sound virtually identical to the Magni.

 

[ariseus]

Refund get the HD558 buy an Antlion Modmic.

If you don't think it sounds better, try listening to good tracks and not expect huge quality breakthroughs with games?

With the Game One, not much point to a DAC. If you get the HD558's, get a FiiO E10K (anything else isn't worth it). 

For the Schiit Magni to be worth getting, you ought to get the HD598's or HD600's. 

The ODAC should sound virtually identical to the Magni.

Well thank you for the reply and suggestion! Uhm as I mentioned in my post, it is really difficult for me to request for a refund since it was also a gift to me. Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't the game one's drivers the same with the hd 558s?

 

[ariseus]

Hi ariseus,

Welcome to the forums.

I would suggest getting a usb conputer interface which is basically an external soundcard for your pc for a 'better' sound experience as it sounds like you may not even have a soundcard & only using the onboard sound driver which is honestly quite sad.

Some I can recommend & have good experience with are the Lexicon Alpha, Presonus Audiobox 22VSL or 44 VSL depending on your required inputs which are all considered cost effective basic pro grade & last far longer than most pricey consumer audio gear.
Also the headphone out as well as mic in on all of these are really good.

In terms of audio quality, this will put you up to 96 khz sampling or playback rate which is more than most need but doesn't hurt.
You will also find once you have good sound playback, you can tell rather easily who on the internet doesn't.

More than happy to field more questions on this when necessary...

Hope this helps.

Thank you for the reply and suggestion! Is this the one? http://amzn.to/2ohzya6
I'm on a tight budget so probably the Lexicon would be enough Btw may I know how this works since it looks different(sorry im new to these kinds of audio devices). Correct me if I'm wrong, so this is an external sound card and not an amp? And it could assist in improving the overall sound and mic quality of my headset? Truly sorry, I still lack exposure in these kind of things ~_~

 

[alynx]

Never heard a G4ME series headphone. But I read somewhere that the recent ones use the same driver as the HD 5x8 line of headphones. Well, even with my decade old X-Fi soundcard the HD 598 sound way better than with my realtek 892 onboard sound. And they sound even better with the Objective stack. I guess what Im trying to say is: the g4me one should be similar and should benefit greatly from a decent soundcard, may it be internal or external.  Id recon, altough I cant confirm, that something like a SB Z could be what you need to push your game ones's.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I would suggest getting a usb conputer interface which is basically an external soundcard for your pc for a 'better' sound experience as it sounds like you may not even have a soundcard & only using the onboard sound driver which is honestly quite sad.

 
You don't even know what his motherboard is, which for all you know could be a Maximus IX.
 

Some I can recommend & have good experience with are the Lexicon Alpha, Presonus Audiobox 22VSL or 44 VSL depending on your required inputs which are all considered cost effective basic pro grade & last far longer than most pricey consumer audio gear.
Also the headphone out as well as mic in on all of these are really good.

 
He picked up a G4ME One for gaming, not an AKG K702 and condenser mic for recording. He'll need virtual surround a heck of a lot sooner than a good quality ADC circuit with phantom power mic preamps.

 

[ariseus]

   
You don't even know what his motherboard is, which for all you know could be a Maximus IX.
 
 
He picked up a G4ME One for gaming, not an AKG K702 and condenser mic for recording. He'll need virtual surround a heck of a lot sooner than a good quality ADC circuit with phantom power mic preamps.

Actually my motherboard is only an Asrock H97m Anniversary which only has a Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec(based from their site) as its sound card and I think it's not a decent one either. A sound card would not fit in the motherboard too, because the 2nd pcie slot is being blocked by my graphics card. So should I go with a DAC/AMP instead?

 

[ariseus]

  Never heard a G4ME series headphone. But I read somewhere that the recent ones use the same driver as the HD 5x8 line of headphones. Well, even with my decade old X-Fi soundcard the HD 598 sound way better than with my realtek 892 onboard sound. And they sound even better with the Objective stack. I guess what Im trying to say is: the g4me one should be similar and should benefit greatly from a decent soundcard, may it be internal or external.  Id recon, altough I cant confirm, that something like a SB Z could be what you need to push your game ones's.

 
Well I just checked now that I don't have an available slot for my sound card since my graphics card is blocking the way.  The motherboard that I'm using is an Asrock H97m Anniversary which has a Realtek ALC662 as its sound card. This is not a decent sound card right? Should I go for a dac/amp or a usb sound card instead?

 

[ariseus]

<ignore this comment, i accidentally duplicated my reply>

 

[alynx]

The 662 is Realteks baseline 6 channel HD audio codec. Realtek provides a comparison chart:
http://www.realtek.com.tw/images/products/High_Definition_Audio_Codec_Selection_Guide_07182008.jpg 
 
For me the 892 is borderline acceptable. It works and e.g. the HD 598 get loud enough but in an edgy, shouty kinda way of loud. It just doesnt sound good at all. Since you cant get an internal soundcard there is no other way but external. Unfortunately I have no experience with USB soundcards from Creative or Asus, but thats what I would be looking at, especially for my gaming needs. Although now that I come to think of it... I do game with my Objective stack more often that not and its frikkin amazeballs. So maybe a "real" usb soundcard like e.g. Micca Origen, Schiit Fulla 2 etc etc could also be an option.

 

[ariseus]

  The 662 is Realteks baseline 6 channel HD audio codec. Realtek provides a comparison chart:
http://www.realtek.com.tw/images/products/High_Definition_Audio_Codec_Selection_Guide_07182008.jpg 
 
For me the 892 is borderline acceptable. It works and e.g. the HD 598 get loud enough but in an edgy, shouty kinda way of loud. It just doesnt sound good at all. Since you cant get an internal soundcard there is no other way but external. Unfortunately I have no experience with USB soundcards from Creative or Asus, but thats what I would be looking at, especially for my gaming needs. Although now that I come to think of it... I do game with my Objective stack more often that not and its frikkin amazeballs. So maybe a "real" usb soundcard like e.g. Micca Origen, Schiit Fulla 2 etc etc could also be an option.

Yeah that is what I'm exactly hearing with my current setup right now, it really is "edgy and shouty" in the way it sounds. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm actually planning to get an external sound card or dac/amp instead. Schiit Fulla 2 looks decent and meets my budget, ill put it into consideration and going to research more.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Actually my motherboard is only an Asrock H97m Anniversary which only has a Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec(based from their site) as its sound card and I think it's not a decent one either. A sound card would not fit in the motherboard too, because the 2nd pcie slot is being blocked by my graphics card. So should I go with a DAC/AMP instead?

 

If you want virtual surround, you'll need at least

 

1. Software like Razer Surround

 

2. An external soundcard

 

The latter can work with a DAC-HPamp as long as it has a digital SPDIF output and the DAC-HPamp or DAC has the same kind of SPDIF input.

 

Personally, get something like the Xonar U3 now. If you feel it lacking or you get some other headphone that actually needs more power, get the DAC-HPamp. Do not loose the box since it comes with a 3.5mm toslink adapter.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi ariseus,

Refering to your question, In terms of what you need, as suggested, is a good external soundcard so if the Lexicon Alpha suits your budget, go for it...

I believe I mentioned something like the Lexicon Alpha would improve your sound quality & in terms of value, it lasts a ridiculously long time as it is considered pro grade equipment (my Lexicon Alpha has been around & still in use for almost 15 years & is still going strong). Also it is bulit like a tank & as an external usb interface, is easier to switch out if you upgrade your system.

Just some notes to keep in mind, software by itself doesn't necessarily improve things if your system doesn't have the hardware to support it.

Also as a general comment, not surprising but there seems to be a lack of knowledge of cost effective & value add pro grade equipment on the forum which isn't necessarily anything wrong though it is annoying when most who have no idea in regards to the cost effective pro grade gear harp on about how some consumer grade is better (schitt, etc)...all I am saying it is DIFFERENT & HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE

By the way, Protege_Maniac, most motherboards have a realtek audio chip of some kind, which is nothing wrong though as stated, just there are better and what's important at the end of the day, regardless is having a good audio signal.

Hope this helps

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Also as a general comment, not surprising but there seems to be a lack of knowledge of cost effective & value add pro grade equipment on the forum which isn't necessarily anything wrong though it is annoying when most who have no idea in regards to the cost effective pro grade gear harp on about how some consumer grade is better (schitt, etc)...all I am saying it is DIFFERENT & HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE

 

That's because they can see a cheap interface with "25mW at 32ohms, 10ohms output impedance" where you're paying for USB power and an ADC circuit that most don't need vs an audiophile amp with "500mW at 32ohms, 0.0001% THD, 108dB SNR, 2ohms output impedance" and they have lower impedance, relatively low sensitivity headphones. Bass drum hits are a lot clearer, cleaner, and more perceptible through a K702 with my Meier amp than a Scarlett Solo for a start. The gap is barely there on a Superlux HD330 however (same sensitivity rating but higher impedance).
 

By the way, Protege_Maniac, most motherboards have a realtek audio chip of some kind, which is nothing wrong though as stated, just there are better and what's important at the end of the day, regardless is having a good audio signal.

 

The thing is I'm not talking about the digital conversion circuit. It matters a lot less if it's Realtek or Wolfson - how the analogue signal coming off the DAC is handled by succeeding circuits is more important - and the op-amp output stages on some motherboards are more than enough for driving many headphones well enough while gaming. Maybe when the attention span is all into the music with no other distracting stimuli one would start noticing some things are off, but still not that bad.

 

The bigger problem is not knowing what board it is but immediately dismissing it as just "sad."