[MetroBBOY]

I picked up a Fidelio X2, it's a fantastic headphone and is a very musical can!

I have a gaming PC running onboard Realtek 1150, which is quite good, however I have now added a Yamaha V675 AVR via optical to also hook up speakers to the PC.

In Pure Direct mode, meaning unfiltered, the Fidelio X2 still sounds clean and offers a good sound. Burr-Brown DAC in the V675 is apparently pretty good and it's headphone jack offers Dolby which was quite good audio wise for positional simulation in games

Question: I still like the idea of Dolby headphone on the V675, but am considering if I can grab a Schiit Magni 2 and connect as pre-out, or should I just get a separate DAC?

If I get a DAC or headamp, which one would eliminate Dolby headphone from my V675 Yamaha?

I'm keen to invest some coin like a Schiit in terms of budget and see if I can get further improvement. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[PurpleAngel]

I picked up a Fidelio X2, it's a fantastic headphone and is a very musical can!
I have a gaming PC running on-board Realtek 1150, which is quite good, however I have now added a Yamaha V675 AVR via optical to also hook up speakers to the PC.
In Pure Direct mode, meaning unfiltered, the Fidelio X2 still sounds clean and offers a good sound. Burr-Brown DAC in the V675 is apparently pretty good and it's headphone jack offers Dolby which was quite good audio wise for positional simulation in games
Question: I still like the idea of Dolby headphone on the V675, but am considering if I can grab a Schiit Magni 2 and connect as pre-out, or should I just get a separate DAC?
If I get a DAC or headamp, which one would eliminate Dolby headphone from my V675 Yamaha?
I'm keen to invest some coin like a Schiit in terms of budget and see if I can get further improvement. Thanks for your suggestions!

 
Very surprised that 30-Ohm headphones work well with the Yamaha's headphone jack (impedance issue), but I guess it's a good surprise.
The Yamaha does not come with Dolby Headphone, Yamaha receivers come with Silent Cinema, Yamaha's own headphone surround sound technology, but if it works for you, great.
Unless your computer's audio comes with DDL (Dolby Digital Live) or DTS-Connect (which compress digital audio), no more then 2-channel of digital audio will pass thru optical and you really need 6-channels for good headphone surround sound.
The compressed audio is 24-bit/48K max,
If you use HDMI (PC to Yamaha), it would pass up to 8-channels of 24-bit/192K digital audio, without the need for compression.
 
An Asus Xonar DX sound card, combined with a FiiO A3 (E11K) headphone amplifier ($60), might offer you several features.
Xonar DX > A3 > Fidelio X2
The Xonar DX comes with DDL (& optical output), so you can send 6-channels of compressed digital audio, to the Yamaha.
The FiiO A3's headphone amplifier has less then a 1-Ohm output impedance, which is great for use with headphones that are only 30-Ohms
 
The Xonar DX can send Dolby Headphone surround sound thru optical, so you could also get Dolby Headphone out of the Yamaha.
But I think connecting the Fidelio to the A3 is better.

 

[MetroBBOY]

Thanks a bunch mate. Informative for sure.

I'm tossing up the idea of a Schiit Magni 2 Uber as an amp and hook it via pre out to the Yamaha RCA.

Would I still get DDL if I get the Magni + get the Xonar DX?

So PC - Xonar - Yamaha - Magni - X2

 

[MetroBBOY]

Re the Xonar, I'm nervous that the drivers are outdated. Running Windows 10 Pro. That's my concern with internal sound cards essentially.