[moskwiz]

Hi!

I recently became something of a low-key hi-fi enthusiast (ie. went from Spotify to Tidal/FLAC and from smartphone to smartphone+USB dongle to Hiby R6 2020). On the PC I've only used keyboard manufacturer headsets for ten years (don't judge).

Having discovered that I've been seriously missing out in audio fidelity in gaming, I'm now on the lookout for a DAC for PC that has to be good both for music and for gaming (meaning mic-in + ..surround..) and I'm really confused about virtual surround sound. Of most of the DACs marketed for gaming, only a few products have digital surround capability onboard. Most, including the coveted Mayflower ARC Mk2 are stereo only. I play a mix of competetive and immersion games and have always used digital surround via gaming headsets (Logitech G933, before that Logitech G35). Say what you want about the stereo SQ of my Logitech G933 (I can save you the bother - it's trash) but the onboard digital surround is really quite good, at least for my needs.

Which brings me to my conundrum - I have a hard time believing that a stereo signal can be accurate enough for front/rear distinction and precise enough to obsolete well implemented digital surround. For games like War Thunder, where precise positioning (especially in crowded noisy environments) is key to success, can stereo seriously compete with dedicated virtual 7.1?

I'd probably just be happy with the EPOS Sennheiser GSX1000 (or maybe SoundBlaster X3 or SoundBlasterX G6) but since I want this DAC to be the one and only for my PC (for now at least), I'm worried that the GSX1000 is not powerful enough, if I want to add a more sensitive higher-impedance pair of cans into the mix in the near future (right now planning on gaming on V-Moda Crossfade M-100 Master + BoomPro). And as for the SoundBlasters, I'm a bit worried that their software suites are crap and that they aren't up to par in musicality/stereo SQ compared to smth like the ARCs or a Schiit HEL etc.

Really looking forward to your ideas, experiences and recommendations!

Much obliged!

 

[CTR640]

On the PC I've only used keyboard manufacturer headsets for ten years (don't judge).

For PC gaming I've been using Trust KB-1450 lowprofile keyboard since 2013 so blow me lol

What kind of games do you play aside War Thunder? And 7.1 surround? But headphones are only 2 so stereo And all that marketing bs about virtual surround, well, I can't say anything about that but it smells like pile of poo to me. To hear the footsteps of your worst enemies is usually done by a good headphone and in this the Beyerdynamic DT990. DT1770 and 1990 probably too but these headphones are populair, especially the 990.

And what is your budget for the dac/amp? I have no idea about the dac/amps you mentioned so can't help with that. But I have Fiio K5 Pro as my only one to use for my PC and it's an allrounder so wether be it for music, movies, gaming, youtube, NFSW bs or whatever lol. iFi ZEN CAN is an option too.

About the Schiit, others here can recommend good schiit lol

 

[moskwiz]

What kind of games do you play aside War Thunder? And 7.1 surround?

WT is the only competetive right now, but won't rule out FPS or other battlearena games in the future (I played Dota2 for 2000+ hours so definitely have that propensity you could say ) Aside from that I like RPGs and RTS, stuff like Red Dead Redemption 2, Witcher 3, GTFO, Metro series, STALKER series.. probably will give Cyberpunk a good try soon. Immersion and atmosphere are key for me, so that includes immersive audio.

Edited original post - the term is indeed virtual surround =)

And what is your budget for the dac/amp?

Budget is like 150-300€

Maybe the thing is that I have little to compare things with, because I've really ever played with surround (back in the day of using actual 5.1 speakers) or virtual surround and the only stereo alternatives are the same headsets with the surround turned off. I briefly tried my Hiby R6 2020 with the V-Modas for WT but the directional audio cutoffs (plane going from L to R) were just pure crap, not to mention discerning front/rear. Another possible factor might be my ears just being used to the Logitech's virtual surround sound signature..

 

[mindbomb]

Yea, front and back don't work well on stereo. You have to rotate to be able to tell the difference in those directions on stereo, and even then, there may be dead spots where it is just ambiguous. When you convert 7.1 audio to binaural audio for headphones, then the difference between front and back can be a lot more apparent, even without performing additional movements. And dead spots are eliminated. Due to the existence of dedicated front and surround speakers in the channel layout.

You might want to check the mad lust envy thread in the video game subforum. They can give you advice on what stuff to use.

 

[moskwiz]

Thanks, I should've guessed there's a whole subforum for this -_-