Malrick
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2011
- Posts
- 4
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- 0
Hi, I've had my HD595's for about 6 months now and I like them a lot - but one thing that bothers me is that I've never been sure if I was using them to their full potential (I'm new to the world of "decent" headphones 
). I purchased them not for music, but for gaming (with some movies/music thrown in once in a while). I wasn't looking for pin-point directional cues or ultra high quality music, my main concern has always been with immersion. I want to replicate the feeling of "being there" as best as possible, and that means getting to the point where I forget I'm even wearing headphones.
Anyways, that's what I'm trying to achieve (and I understand that the HD595's aren't exactly top of the line or anything, but they are a big boost from what I was used to). I was just wondering if anyone here had experience with finding the optimal settings for getting the best sound out of these headphones. Right now I'm using a USB soundcard that is probably not very good, but it was in my budget and I'm restricted to only USB cards due to using a laptop (http://us.store.creative.com/Sound-Blaster-XFi-HD/M/B004275EO4.htm). Does anyone know if the amplification on the card is sufficient for the HD595's? As for the sound itself, I'm not sure if I have the setting correct or not. Is it best to have the source's volume as low as possible so I'm able to turn the main volume on the AMP up higher? Or do they function just as well at lower volumes? (Sorry if these are dumb questions, I have no idea when it comes to this stuff)
For example, I'm using an optical connection from my Xbox (which outputs PCM 2ch 16-bit 48,000hz) to go into the SPDIF input on the back of the USB card. I then have the card set on recording mode so I can use the simulated positional audio/surround on the 2ch audio coming from the Xbox. Do I want to have my cards input-output set to match the Xbox's (16-bit 48000)? Or should I set it higher (Goes up to 24-bit 96,000). I notice that if I do set the output higher, their is a slight delay in the audio, so I'm guessing that's a bad thing. Finally, I have 3 different volume controls that I have to work with haha, so I have no idea what I should be setting them. Theirs the sound on the Xbox (In-game volume control), the SPDIF-input sound on my card, and then the headphone output level on my card. Do I want to have the SPDIF and in-game sound set lower so I can set the amp to a higher volume?
Thankyou for the help - and sorry if this isn't the best area of the forum to ask these questions. I wasn't sure if I should make a thread in here or in the PC section :X
-Aaron
). I purchased them not for music, but for gaming (with some movies/music thrown in once in a while). I wasn't looking for pin-point directional cues or ultra high quality music, my main concern has always been with immersion. I want to replicate the feeling of "being there" as best as possible, and that means getting to the point where I forget I'm even wearing headphones. Anyways, that's what I'm trying to achieve (and I understand that the HD595's aren't exactly top of the line or anything, but they are a big boost from what I was used to). I was just wondering if anyone here had experience with finding the optimal settings for getting the best sound out of these headphones. Right now I'm using a USB soundcard that is probably not very good, but it was in my budget and I'm restricted to only USB cards due to using a laptop (http://us.store.creative.com/Sound-Blaster-XFi-HD/M/B004275EO4.htm). Does anyone know if the amplification on the card is sufficient for the HD595's? As for the sound itself, I'm not sure if I have the setting correct or not. Is it best to have the source's volume as low as possible so I'm able to turn the main volume on the AMP up higher? Or do they function just as well at lower volumes? (Sorry if these are dumb questions, I have no idea when it comes to this stuff
)For example, I'm using an optical connection from my Xbox (which outputs PCM 2ch 16-bit 48,000hz) to go into the SPDIF input on the back of the USB card. I then have the card set on recording mode so I can use the simulated positional audio/surround on the 2ch audio coming from the Xbox. Do I want to have my cards input-output set to match the Xbox's (16-bit 48000)? Or should I set it higher (Goes up to 24-bit 96,000). I notice that if I do set the output higher, their is a slight delay in the audio, so I'm guessing that's a bad thing. Finally, I have 3 different volume controls that I have to work with haha, so I have no idea what I should be setting them. Theirs the sound on the Xbox (In-game volume control), the SPDIF-input sound on my card, and then the headphone output level on my card. Do I want to have the SPDIF and in-game sound set lower so I can set the amp to a higher volume?
Thankyou for the help - and sorry if this isn't the best area of the forum to ask these questions. I wasn't sure if I should make a thread in here or in the PC section :X
-Aaron
