[Deagle 14mm]

Hey guys,
 
First i want to say sorry for my English. It's not my primary language.

I want to buy headphones mostly for gaming and music. I decided to go with akg k721 pro or k612 (it depends on my budget, I'm still saving). These will by my first GOOD headphones. Unfortunately i don't know with what I should power them. I want to have CMSS-3D, and nice DD or DTS experience in movies.

I think about getting X-Fi Xtreme Audio (about 60$ in Europe) + MAGNI + MODI or X-Fi Titanium HD (200$) + (I think just amp). Whitch set up is better? What I should change? May be some other ideas?
I want to spend max 300$ on this part of rig.

And about pitting everything together.
At what should I look while buying cabels? Any specific company? Any very important specs?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  First i want to say sorry for my English. It's not my primary language.
I want to buy headphones mostly for gaming and music. I decided to go with akg k721 pro or k612 (it depends on my budget, I'm still saving). These will by my first GOOD headphones. Unfortunately i don't know with what I should power them. I want to have CMSS-3D, and nice DD or DTS experience in movies.
I think about getting X-Fi Xtreme Audio (about 60$ in Europe) + MAGNI + MODI or X-Fi Titanium HD (200$) + (I think just amp). Whitch set up is better? What I should change? May be some other ideas?
I want to spend max 300$ on this part of rig.
And about pitting everything together.
At what should I look while buying cables? Any specific company? Any very important specs?

 
What country are you in?
 
AKG K612 Pro headphones and Sound Blaster Z sound card should give you a good setup.

 

[Deagle 14mm]

I'm from Poland.
 

 AKG K612 Pro headphones and Sound Blaster Z sound card should give you a good setup.

I'd rather go with K712 if I'll be able to aford it.
I've read that DACs and AMPs in sound cards can hardly compare to desktop DAC + AMP setup and sound card isn't as well isolated as desktop DAC/AMP. (am I wrong?) From sound card I only want fancy software. 
 
And as I said before I'd like to heve CMSS-3D not SBX.
 
btw. Sound Blaster Z(about 100$)

 

[Deagle 14mm]

Ps. I'd like to plug my electric guitar fom time to time (without losing quality). It's not "must have" but it would be nice to have that option.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I'm from Poland.
 
I'd rather go with K712 if I'll be able to afford it.
I've read that DACs and AMPs in sound cards can hardly compare to desktop DAC + AMP setup and sound card isn't as well isolated as desktop DAC/AMP. (am I wrong?) From sound card I only want fancy software. 
And as I said before I'd like to have CMSS-3D not SBX.
btw. Sound Blaster Z(about 100$)

 
External DAC/Amps do offer better sound quality, then an internal sound card, but it also costs more more going external.
External DAc/amp do not come with any headphone surround sound features, like CMSS-3D or SBX, or Dolby Headphone
So you need a sound card to process the headphone surround sound and an external DAC/Amp for sound quality.
With your setup, guess it would sound card (with CMSS-3D), with an optical connection to and external DAC/amp.
The older Creative Labs Titanium series comes with CMSS-3D and the used cards will sell for around $50 (more or less).
There is the Schiit Modi/Magni DAC/Amp, $198 plus shipping and taxes.
 
There are some sound cards with good built in DAC features.
The Creative Labs Titanium-HD offers some really good sound quality, just connect an external headphone amplifier to it and you will have a nice setup.
Sometimes you can get a used Titanium-HD for a good price.
 
Usually it considered better to spend more of your audio budget for headphones, over what you spend for the DAC/amp.
You might want to figure out how much the AKG K712 will cost you, then figure out how much of your budget would be leftover for a DAC/amp and sound card.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I'd go with the X-Fi Xtreme Audio and Schiit stack plus the K712.  However if you can't afford this, try the Titanium HD + Magni + K712.  

 

[Deagle 14mm]

Actualy first option would be cheaper for me for about 100$.

 

[Rhamnetin]

  Actualy first option would be cheaper for me for about 100$.

 
First option will also sound better, since the Schiit Modi should be a better DAC than the Titanium HD.  The X-Fi Xtreme Audio will have the same features (CMSS-3D) as the X-Fi Titanium HD.

 

[Deagle 14mm]

Only software difference between X Audio and T HD in that set up would be THX if i'm reading right.

 

[Rhamnetin]

  Only software difference between X Audio and T HD in that set up would be THX if i'm reading right.

 
Yeah the Xtreme Audio might not have THX TruStudio Pro, which I don't think is ever worth using anyway (I have the Titanium HD).

 

[Deagle 14mm]

Thanks for advice it really helped me.

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
First option will also sound better, since the Schiit Modi should be a better DAC than the Titanium HD.  The X-Fi Xtreme Audio will have the same features (CMSS-3D) as the X-Fi Titanium HD.

 
I believe the Titanium-HD's CMSS-3D uses more hardware features of the audio processor,
while the XtremeAudio's CMSS-3D's is more software based.
 
You really think the Modi is a noticeably better DAC then the Titanium-HD's PCM1794 DAC chip?

 

[Rhamnetin]

   
I believe the Titanium-HD's CMSS-3D uses more hardware features of the audio processor,
while the XtremeAudio's CMSS-3D's is more software based.
 
You really think the Modi is a noticeably better DAC then the Titanium-HD's PCM1794 DAC chip?

 
I think the main difference would be less possible noise interference, which I've had some problems with on the Titanium HD.  But you bring up a good point about the Ti HD's CMSS-3D implementation, it's something to look into.  I don't know if they use a different X-Fi DSP, which has some of the hardware that CMSS-3D uses like X-Ram.

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
I think the main difference would be less possible noise interference, which I've had some problems with on the Titanium HD.  But you bring up a good point about the Ti HD's CMSS-3D implementation, it's something to look into.  I don't know if they use a different X-Fi DSP, which has some of the hardware that CMSS-3D uses like X-Ram.

 
I believe the XtremeAudio uses a audio processor from the older Audigy series (original came with EAX 3.0 or 4.0?)
While the Titanium-HD used the latest audio processor from the X-Fi series.
 
Getting an external DAC does removing audio noise that might be coming from inside the computer case.
but I think it comes down to what is left in his budget after buying the K712s, that dictates what he will be able to buy.

 

[Rhamnetin]

   
I believe the XtremeAudio uses a audio processor from the older Audigy series (original came with EAX 3.0 or 4.0?)
While the Titanium-HD used the latest audio processor from the X-Fi series.
 
Getting an external DAC does removing audio noise that might be coming from inside the computer case.
but I think it comes down to what is left in his budget after buying the K712s, that dictates what he will be able to buy.

 
I agree, the headphone is most important.