Evshrug's "If I knew then what I know now" discussion journal.

[lenroot77]

That's pretty good if it's your only complaint.  Amusing too as no other DAC/Amp I know of has a phone application.  lol

It's a definite improvement over the dss and mixamp and not having to double amp is nice too. Everything just sounds so clear. There are all these little nuances I'm noticing on destiny that I hadnt heard before.

 

[inseconds99]

Have checked your sliders on the mixer?

Yes they are maxed.

 

[Stillhart]

  Yes they are maxed.

Make sure you check all your Windows sliders too.  Sometimes background ones get turned down somehow...

 

[inseconds99]

  Make sure you check all your Windows sliders too.  Sometimes background ones get turned down somehow...

All slider seem good, there is a button in the amp sections that says 600hm headphones but don't turn it on unless you have them as this might damage your headphones. It's set to 32/300ohm and I kinda want to try the 600ohm setting but I don't want to blow my headphones up.

 

[Stillhart]

  All slider seem good, there is a button in the amp sections that says 600hm headphones but don't turn it on unless you have them as this might damage your headphones. It's set to 32/300ohm and I kinda want to try the 600ohm setting but I don't want to blow my headphones up.

 
Relevant:
 

 

[Evshrug]

All slider seem good, there is a button in the amp sections that says 600hm headphones but don't turn it on unless you have them as this might damage your headphones. It's set to 32/300ohm and I kinda want to try the 600ohm setting but I don't want to blow my headphones up.

Before you blow your headphones up (and your ears), try connecting to another source. Optical, bluetooth (with iPhone or whatever turned up to max), analogue, WHATEV. Oh, and turn down the X7's volume. Then, with the headphones on e table, start playing some audio. Shouldn't be totally blasting, therefore put the headphones on. Raise the volume, see if other sources get louder.

My roommate was sitting across from me when Windows was weirdly not connecting it's volume setting to the X7, so I turned down the X7 control panel volume a bit, up the windows volume thinking everything would be fine, and then played some OMG MUSIC AAAAAAAH! Whipped the HD700 off! On the desk they sounded like some damn desktop speakers. Turned down the volume (which as since worked fine), apparently I didn't lose my hearing because I distincltly heard my roommate say "Did you mean to do that?"

In summary, the X7 has enough juice to deafen you with the HD700 (even on low gain), but Windows is a weird and temperamental beast, and sometimes Borks things up. If you need help, go on Creative's site and start a live chat, or go to the tech support page and submit a support service request.

 

[inseconds99]

Before you blow your headphones up (and your ears), try connecting to another source. Optical, bluetooth (with iPhone or whatever turned up to max), analogue, WHATEV. Oh, and turn down the X7's volume. Then, with the headphones on e table, start playing some audio. Shouldn't be totally blasting, therefore put the headphones on. Raise the volume, see if other sources get louder.

My roommate was sitting across from me when Windows was weirdly not connecting it's volume setting to the X7, so I turned down the X7 control panel volume a bit, up the windows volume thinking everything would be fine, and then played some OMG MUSIC AAAAAAAH! Whipped the HD700 off! On the desk they sounded like some damn desktop speakers. Turned down the volume (which as since worked fine), apparently I didn't lose my hearing because I distincltly heard my roommate say "Did you mean to do that?"

In summary, the X7 has enough juice to deafen you with the HD700 (even on low gain), but Windows is a weird and temperamental beast, and sometimes Borks things up. If you need help, go on Creative's site and start a live chat, or go to the tech support page and submit a support service request.

See on mine the volume knob is the windows sound going up and down. There is no separate volume, when I turn up my volume my windows volume goes up and down. I tried reinstalling and everything. It def gets loud but I can full crank it and it is no louder then my onboard volume.

 

[Evshrug]

See on mine the volume knob is the windows sound going up and down. There is no separate volume, when I turn up my volume my windows volume goes up and down. I tried reinstalling and everything. It def gets loud but I can full crank it and it is no louder then my onboard volume.

Mine does too, except that one time I (accidentally) manually borked it, haven't been able to duplicate the issue since. Have you tried any other sources yet???

 

[Evshrug]

Been messing with my new x7 the last hour. Sounds fab!!!!
My only complaint is the phone app is a bit slow.

It's a tad annoying to have to reconnect in settings each time I switch off Bluetooth in general on my iPhone (battery reasons), and it's a tad annoying to navigate between panels as it saves changes to the X7, BUT like Still said, having an app at all is unique and extremely useful, and I actually like the delay when adjusting the DSP/EQ; adjust a slider, just less than a second later the change suddenly takes effect, giving my mental focus time to get ready to contrast what changed. I also usually don't make adjustments once I find what I like and get into a session, so that's not a usability problem, AND once I find all the settings I like for a headphone or genre I've made a habit of saving that as a preset. Custom presets are just as nice as "MyModes" for DSLR cameras, and make everything fast.

 

[lenroot77]

It's a tad annoying to have to reconnect in settings each time I switch off Bluetooth in general on my iPhone (battery reasons), and it's a tad annoying to navigate between panels as it saves changes to the X7, BUT like Still said, having an app at all is unique and extremely useful, and I actually like the delay when adjusting the DSP/EQ; adjust a slider, just less than a second later the change suddenly takes effect, giving my mental focus time to get ready to contrast what changed. I also usually don't make adjustments once I find what I like and get into a session, so that's not a usability problem, AND once I find all the settings I like for a headphone or genre I've made a habit of saving that as a preset. Custom presets are just as nice as "MyModes" for DSLR cameras, and make everything fast.

I do appreciate the option to stream music over bluetooth. According to the inter webs this should not degrade the music. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

My k7xx's just sound amazing! Just really happy with this thing. Even at 400 dollars i would have been happy.

 

[Evshrug]

Well, if you have AAC files, the X7 doesn't require the audio file to be compressed further and converted to another format on the fly. If you have a device supporting AptX, then you could have AIFF or FLAC files (I assume ALAC too, except iOS devices don't support AptX at this time) and the audio is sent with less compression than AAC! So, that's a thing.

Of course, the Host-Mode USB on the side is wired, and is higher output so it can charge an iPad while playing or charge a phone really fast.

 

[Fleat]

Evshrug, I appreciate all your feedback on the X7 thus far. It more or less solidified my decision to purchase it if it went on sale again.
 
Fast forward to me emptying my wallet some more (thanks head-fi) and I spent the weekend testing out the X7 which left me quite impressed. It certainly seems to make the X2 more lively and I love the input mixing. I have USB host to my main PC, optical in from the PS4, line in from the Syba USB audio adapter for PS4 chat, and my laptop & phone hooked up via Bluetooth. It allows live mixing between all of the inputs, and it works very well.
 
I spent around 10 hours playing Iron Banner in Destiny and 4-5 hours listening to music and enjoying other media. Here is some feedback on my brief time spent and please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions.
 
Pros
Excellent dac and amp
Input mixing is useful and effective
Software is solid on PC and Android
Multiple headphone outputs
Bluetooth audio quality is solid
Works with a wide range of headphones (worked great with 600ohm DT-990's & many others)
Changing the Game->Voice balance doesn't lower the power output
No hissing or noise at any volume
Built in headphone stand
Philips Fidelio X2 + X7 is a blissful setup
 
Cons
Expensive even at the "sale" price
Messy setup for PS4 sound & chat (required Syba USB Audio adapter and included 3.5 to RCA cable)
Using an app is less convenient than turning the knob on the MixAmp Pro for game / voice balance
SBX Surround is less effective than Dolby Headphone (requires more testing with a larger variety of games)
Somewhat unsightly and much larger physical footprint
Reliant on Creative for firmware and software updates
 
 
At this point, I think the pros outweigh the cons for me. I plan to do more in-depth testing of the surround sound implementation and compare it in more PS4 games to the Astro MixAmp Pro. I also plan to compare SBX Surround between the Sound Blaster Z and the Sound Blaster X7 for PC games. I am curious to see if those sound the same at the same levels.

 

[Evshrug]

When you say USB host mode to PC, are you using the rear Micro USB port or the full sized USB port on the left side of the X7? I didn't know the host-mode USB COULD connect to the PC!

Are you using the X7 on a desk? How often do you have to rebalance chat/game? I've been happy every time but once just using the default game/chat balance, the one time I wasn't was when a friend had his mic further away... I highly recommend trying a USB mic if one shows up on Massdrop or something. The more I use the X7, the more I forget about the mic... I just think of the X7 as mostly a source component with a nice amp and DSP. Which is why I was surprised last night when my GF called during a gaming session and the X7 switched to the call. Nice not to have to take off my headphones to pay attention to her (and I didn't stop playing, either XD ), not once did she mention the mic quality or anything about the call being different. So, that's cool I guess.

That lack of hiss and noise is what the 127 dB DAC (and clean, discrete, isolated amp) is all about, premium components are so clean that, with no music or game playing, you won't hear the difference between the amp being off or on besides the lights and click from inside the amp (a relay). With a lower noise floor, it seems like subtle nuances come forward in the audio. When you compare the X7 to the Z, your motherboard, or your mixamp, listen to a well-recorded live song... You may be able to sense the size of the room from how the performance bounces around off the walls. It's pretty cool!

Creative support and I have been communicating about the E1, we've come to the possibility that it might be a lemon. Possibly the first one with my particular issue (though everyone must press firmly till analog interconnect cables "click" into place, which is odd next to the more "normal" USB connection). We're going to exchange it.

Tomorrow starts my 2-day weekend, hopefully I'll start my YouTube playlist on different DSP headphone units, and hopefully get a lot of views

 

[pack21]

that sounds creamy to my ears.

I can't wait for Monday to ordering my X7. I've been waiting to sell my Mixamp but is done now.

I hope here in Europe Creative has a quick delivery service.

 

[Fleat]

When you say USB host mode to PC, are you using the rear Micro USB port or the full sized USB port on the left side of the X7? I didn't know the host-mode USB COULD connect to the PC!

Are you using the X7 on a desk? How often do you have to rebalance chat/game? I've been happy every time but once just using the default game/chat balance, the one time I wasn't was when a friend had his mic further away... I highly recommend trying a USB mic if one shows up on Massdrop or something. The more I use the X7, the more I forget about the mic... I just think of the X7 as mostly a source component with a nice amp and DSP. Which is why I was surprised last night when my GF called during a gaming session and the X7 switched to the call. Nice not to have to take off my headphones to pay attention to her (and I didn't stop playing, either XD ), not once did she mention the mic quality or anything about the call being different. So, that's cool I guess.

That lack of hiss and noise is what the 127 dB DAC (and clean, discrete, isolated amp) is all about, premium components are so clean that, with no music or game playing, you won't hear the difference between the amp being off or on besides the lights and click from inside the amp (a relay). With a lower noise floor, it seems like subtle nuances come forward in the audio. When you compare the X7 to the Z, your motherboard, or your mixamp, listen to a well-recorded live song... You may be able to sense the size of the room from how the performance bounces around off the walls. It's pretty cool!

Creative support and I have been communicating about the E1, we've come to the possibility that it might be a lemon. Possibly the first one with my particular issue (though everyone must press firmly till analog interconnect cables "click" into place, which is odd next to the more "normal" USB connection). We're going to exchange it.

Tomorrow starts my 2-day weekend, hopefully I'll start my YouTube playlist on different DSP headphone units, and hopefully get a lot of views

Sorry, I should have clarified better. I am using the Micro USB port to the PC. I have not tested the USB Host feature yet.
 
I am using the X7 on a desk setup where I have my PC, PS4, and Xbox One. I have HDMI runs to my LG 55" OLED on the other side of the office (which will eventually be in wall runs). I find myself having to balance things quite a bit because I play with 4-6 different people on a regular basis who all have very different microphone levels. A significant chunk of my time has also been in Destiny where the game gets ridiculously loud during specific encounters for end bosses etc (I am sure you are aware). I could remedy this by balancing heavily towards voice chat and it would solve this problem, but I like to have the game & voice levels comparable to each other.
 
I definitely agree that it is nice having an all in one "source", and it is really the largest motivating factor in me keeping it. Having to swap my headphones between all of my different devices gets really tedious, and the mixing fits the bill perfectly for me. It allows me to hear the sound on a quick youtube video (from my phone or PC) without impacting the people I am in a chat party with on the PS4. Last night, I mixed the sound from Netflix on my laptop via bluetooth with the game sound from Destiny on the PS4.
 
I have considered the USB microphone route, but my home is kind of hectic and I need a physical mute button. I did test out my Blue Yeti for fun on the PS4, and the recording quality was impressive but it sees it as an audio input & output device (and the dedicated mute button doesn't work). I am currently using the V-MODA BoomPro Mic, and it isn't nearly as sensitive with background or ambient noise as well which is nice. With that said, I may pick up a snowball if it popped up at the right price just to test out a setup similar to yours.
 
I absolutely agree that the quality of the DAC and amp are excellent. I am going to try to get my hands on some other equipment to compare it to since what I have is easily bested by it. I would love to see where this fits in $->impression wise for my own ears. That is a shame about the E1, and hopefully Creative can get you a working one. I will be curious to see what your impression of the E1 will be like.