[Shike]

Quote:

I'm not a fan of ripping people off; the guy who sold me the phones says that's what they tell everyone to do if they ever want to upgrade. He said that it's how their warranty works (and admitted it's kind of stupid) and that they don't care if a customer purposely damages them for that reason.

 
Uh-huh, I'm going to say the person that told you this was doing his best to get a sale period.  I bet you have a number to call to claim the warranty yes?  Call them and see if they think that's "okay" and acceptable under their policies.  I'm sure you'll get a very different answer.

 

[lukeman3000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lukeman3000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif












I'm not a fan of ripping people off; the guy who sold me the phones says that's what they tell everyone to do if they ever want to upgrade. He said that it's how their warranty works (and admitted it's kind of stupid) and that they don't care if a customer purposely damages them for that reason.

 


Uh-huh, I'm going to say the person that told you this was doing his best to get a sale period.  I bet you have a number to call to claim the warranty yes?  Call them and see if they think that's "okay" and acceptable under their policies.  I'm sure you'll get a very different answer.

No dude, the warranty is through the store itself. I just bring the phones into them, no numbers. The guy who told me this was like the guy running the "pro audio" section of the store. He wasn't se punk kid or anything. And I highly doubt he gets commission off the sale.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

No dude, the warranty is through the store itself. I just bring the phones into them, no numbers. The guy who told me this was like the guy running the "pro audio" section of the store. He wasn't se punk kid or anything. And I highly doubt he gets commission off the sale.

Then it's even easier: ask the store owner if he considers it acceptable use under their extended warranty.
 
I don't care if he was a "punk kid" or not, there's unethical and immoral groups in all ages.  Also, in terms of commission: the sale on the product itself probably not, but possibly on the warranty.  There are retailers that require certain amounts of extended warranty sales just for employees to even keep their jobs.
 
I was told a similar lie at another electronics shop that wasn't audio.  When I told the manager about it the employee was fired on the spot.  In that specific case the employee made commission on the warranties, just as a little fun fact.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Absolutely no comparison for me. Dolby Headphone gaming ALL THE WAY.

Please note that I use it only for gaming, and sometimes movies, NEVER for music.

I got into headphones BECAUSE I was trying to find better headphone gaming solutions. I bought the A40/Mixamp combo and wasn't relatively impressed. I went back to my ghetto Pioneer HTS-G1 5.1 speaker setup.

Then I decided to try headphone gaming again, and got the AD700s. Wow. I never went back to my speaker setup ever again. My mind was blown at how accurate Dolby Headphone gaming could be. It's not even right to call it 5.1 or now 7.1. There are no speaker positioning cues here. It's a complete 360 degree soundfield, and sounds are placed all around you.

Ever since then, I have made it a mission to only get headphones that could perform relatively well when pairing it with Dolby Headphone (off my Mixamp).

There is no way in hell I could ever go back to regular stereo after experiencing what gaming in virtual surround can really do to the gaming experience.

It sounds weird at first, but once you have used it for a bit, you will easily take the processed sound over the simple stereo.

As for the the most amazing demo of Dolby Headphone, I'd say the honor goes to the K701/K702, IMHO. The ridiculous artificial soundstage actually works very well with Dolby Headphone.

DH is very headphone dependent.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

DH is very headphone dependent.

True, Headwize says that Dolby tests it for use on flat DF equalized headphones.  Dig through HeadRoom and find the flattest DF headphone.
 
Better yet, I'll tell you: K601.  Which explains a lot for me

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I agree, flatter/neutral headphones do very well with the processing. I remember tyrying my old RE0s with my Mixamp. Even though they are IEMs, the dimensionality and pinpoint accuracy was spot on. Of course, soundstage wasn't great. I think a full sized headphone that sounds like the RE0s would be amazing with it.
 
How does the K601 stack up to the K701? The K701 was the BEST open headphone I have ever paired up with DH.

 

[Shike]

K601 is flatter, but a bit harder to drive depending on what amp you're using since it's a bit more reactive:
 

 

 
I always thought the K701 sounded a bit "plastic" like in comparison as Uncle Erik said it.  To me the K601 is the real winner, which explains why I've bought it two times (once used, when it started going south I bought a completely new pair - I had the option for the K701 for $40 or so more and declined so that should say SOMETHING I think ).

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Oh I don't disagree. The K701 in general wasn't my cup of tea, however that artificually humongous soundstage worked almost too well for Dolby Headphone. It was borderline god mode whenever I used them in competitive gaming.
 
Damn, I'd like to try the K601 to see how they stack up. Oh well. I think I'm gonna slow down on my headphone purchases now.

 

[matthewh133]

I don't use dolby 5.1 with my AD900s. I find it better without it.

 

[vrln]

I prefer straight up stereo too...

 

[Gradoman]

5.1 full speaker system is great, ie in Fall Out 3 the following companions are heard behind you, and great in FEAR..scary

 

[oqvist]

Depend a bit on what headphone you use. Headphones like Ultrasone Pro 900 and ED 8 you really don´t need decoding or eq to get proper imaging that much. Anyway I run my 5.1 speakers when I want as realistic soundstage as possible and use headphones when I want it more intimate and dig deeper into the game world. I never play fps games competivelly but soundstage is important for me.
 
CMSS3D and dolby headphone do screw up the sound quality so much there is no point not using my speakers. When I had crappier speakers it was a more valid approach to my ears
 
As for Fallout 3 mentioned above I can´t for my life figure out where sounds comes from in that game. Bethesdas sound system is absolutely broken. You have indicators on the HUD luckily.

 

[akgfan]

Stereo with not big headstage headphones. K701 were no use for me, sounded like cave. I think that position imaging is not a problem because you can enable 3d audio in game. I have no problem with that in 3d shooter games.

 

[antux]

Since I discovered CMSS-3D Headphone on the X-Fi series, I never play a (3d-audio capable) game without it. Walking around in games like Oblivion or Mass Effect with NPC chatter coming from all around you is just great and enhances the immersion. Beats every 5.1 setup I have heard so far, but I guess with a proper setup it would be just as good.

 

[Cataphract]

Quote:

Stereo with not big headstage headphones. K701 were no use for me, sounded like cave. I think that position imaging is not a problem because you can enable 3d audio in game. I have no problem with that in 3d shooter games.

That really depends on the game though. DICE does some killer 3D mixing for their headphone mode, as does Valve to some extent, but many developers do not, especially for console games where 5.1 -> DH downmix is the best you can get.