[bavinck]

  First post does specifically mention the K612 as needing additional amping, and even gives some recommendations on budget amps. You can find the E5 review on @Evshrug's profile.

There is a HUGE amount of info in the first post, and not everyone has experience at dissecting that amount of info. Just answer his question if you can or don't bother replying. The first post is very helpful, but it is not the bible

 

[Evshrug]

If it works with the Xbox One as well I will 100% be purchasing and selling the X7 and putting the money towards a dedicated amp.

If you just want stereo sound... the E5 right now can take stereo input through optical (set the XBO to output PCM), but because MicroSoft is so [insert colorful word here] greedy you will need some separate chat solution. M$ requires a $35 or so royalty fee from the accessory manufacturer for each unit sold. So if Creative made G5 capable of connecting to XBO's non-Bluetooth wireless by adding an extra module, or USB, and sold 500 units, M$ would hold out its hand and demand $17,500 from Creative for the privledge of fixing the XBO's connectivity problem. If you've got some DIY skills you can splice together a long y-adapter to join the M$ chat adapter and output of the E5 or other device, but apparently the chat adapter cannot be manually set and sometimes will auto-decide to steal game audio too.

That, plus all of the initial "online only" and snide comments of an executive, and that some system update removed DVD playback from my 360 randomly, makes me say [colorful language] to the executive team at Xbox making these decisions, and I give up on trying to support them. The new controller and several of the XBO features are awesome (some clearly talented engineers and programmers), but my condolences to everybody who got XBone'd.

TL;DR rant: I highly doubt Creative went through the expensive process of adding native chat support for the XBone.

I can't wait for the G5 to come out!

Same!

Speaking of the G5, whats going on? Its supposed to come out this month and we still don't know that much about it. 
I don't know even if we will see it this year.

They said before that it should be the end of November/early December, similar production schedule as the X7.

 

[Yethal]

  There is a HUGE amount of info in the first post, and not everyone has experience at dissecting that amount of info. Just answer his question if you can or don't bother replying. The first post is very helpful, but it is not the bible

But it contains a lot of useful info and is a recommended lecture for anyone making their first step in virtual surround gaming.

 

[trogdor796]

So I should just stick with my Astro A50s for Xbox use? There's no official or correct way to get my K7XX's working with it? It seems there's no solid solution to use headphones and get chat and surround from the Xbox one, at least nobody here has posted any. Very disappointing on microsofts part.

If you just want stereo sound... the E5 right now can take stereo input through optical (set the XBO to output PCM), but because MicroSoft is so [insert colorful word here] greedy you will need some separate chat solution. M$ requires a $35 or so royalty fee from the accessory manufacturer for each unit sold. So if Creative made G5 capable of connecting to XBO's non-Bluetooth wireless by adding an extra module, or USB, and sold 500 units, M$ would hold out its hand and demand $17,500 from Creative for the privledge of fixing the XBO's connectivity problem. If you've got some DIY skills you can splice together a long y-adapter to join the M$ chat adapter and output of the E5 or other device, but apparently the chat adapter cannot be manually set and sometimes will auto-decide to steal game audio too.

That, plus all of the initial "online only" and snide comments of an executive, and that some system update removed DVD playback from my 360 randomly, makes me say [colorful language] to the executive team at Xbox making these decisions, and I give up on trying to support them. The new controller and several of the XBO features are awesome (some clearly talented engineers and programmers), but my condolences to everybody who got XBone'd.

TL;DR rant: I highly doubt Creative went through the expensive process of adding native chat support for the XBone.
Same!
They said before that it should be the end of November/early December, similar production schedule as the X7.

 

[Yethal]

If you just want stereo sound... the E5 right now can take stereo input through optical (set the XBO to output PCM), but because MicroSoft is so [insert colorful word here] greedy you will need some separate chat solution. M$ requires a $35 or so royalty fee from the accessory manufacturer for each unit sold. So if Creative made G5 capable of connecting to XBO's non-Bluetooth wireless by adding an extra module, or USB, and sold 500 units, M$ would hold out its hand and demand $17,500 from Creative for the privledge of fixing the XBO's connectivity problem. If you've got some DIY skills you can splice together a long y-adapter to join the M$ chat adapter and output of the E5 or other device, but apparently the chat adapter cannot be manually set and sometimes will auto-decide to steal game audio too.

That, plus all of the initial "online only" and snide comments of an executive, and that some system update removed DVD playback from my 360 randomly, makes me say [colorful language] to the executive team at Xbox making these decisions, and I give up on trying to support them. The new controller and several of the XBO features are awesome (some clearly talented engineers and programmers), but my condolences to everybody who got XBone'd.

TL;DR rant: I highly doubt Creative went through the expensive process of adding native chat support for the XBone.
Same!
They said before that it should be the end of November/early December, similar production schedule as the X7.

35 bucks a unit? That's Apple-level insanity right here. No wonder why there are so few third party chat options for XBO the do not rely on the 3.5mm jack.

 

[Evshrug]

 I've read it a number of times but I was hoping for something more specific to my situation.

There is a HUGE amount of info in the first post, and not everyone has experience at dissecting that amount of info. Just answer his question if you can or don't bother replying. The first post is very helpful, but it is not the bible

I can understand this perspective, indeed there is a lot of info on the guide post. Sometimes it's enough to skip to the conclusion or just the scores... but if you see a headphone that catches your fancy, it's worth reading.

The K612 review has a clearly labeled (with a title in bold and underlined) Amping section right after the sound impressions and right before personal recommendation and final impressions. Clearly as in hard to miss, if you read the post multiple times or even just once. Mad specifically says "For gaming, you can forget about using the K612 Pro off the Mixamp alone if you attempt to use a mic." He goes on to suggest picking an amp with neutral to warm-sounding amp to keep from pushing the K612 into fatiguing territory.

From the perspectives of those regular to this thread (many of whom have left), we often see the same questions asked again and again. Though each new poster asks for a personalized reply, it's aggravating to the posters with experience in this area because the answer to their question literally is already written, and the same questions cycle through again and again, as if this thread was customer support. Now, I'm still here because I get something out of hearing about new products or sharing new info I find, but I can understand others who point out the answers in the first post... because that was the point of the first post anyway, as a reference. I have to imagine a lot of people do read the guide and do get their questions answered, occasionally I see new posters announcing their plans and excitement, and their impressions on how they like their new gear (which I do enjoy reading!).

If you want see what made this thread fun, go back to posts two years ago, where MLE was buying and reviewing new headphones like mad, people were coming here for news and posting their own suggestions and comedy, and yeah we had people asking about amping or computer stuff that was out of scope but there was enough other stuff going on that the pace was going pretty quick. Nowadays... Well, I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying the last guide update was half a year ago.

 

[Evshrug]

So I should just stick with my Astro A50s for Xbox use? There's no official or correct way to get my K7XX's working with it? It seems there's no solid solution to use headphones and get chat and surround from the Xbox one, at least nobody here has posted any. Very disappointing on microsofts part.

Before he left, Stillhart had some solution with his XBone, connecting the controller to the accessory wire that came with the Recon3D, and you can do the same thing with a 3.5mm input on the Mixamp. I saw someone else mod the XBOne headset adapter to just have a mic. It's just like the 360 setup days, except back then you had the option of just putting a mic in your controller and just having all the audio go to "speakers" or your headphone, no real need to connect controller and headphone. Yethal has a similar setup now, I actually forget if he just has a PS4 or if he has an XBOne too, probably the best resource for that right now.

35 bucks a unit? That's Apple-level insanity right here. No wonder why there are so few third party chat options for XBO the do not rely on the 3.5mm jack.

Yup. I had the same reaction when I learned that... Considering some of the "native" 3rd party solutions don't cost too much for the market to bear, they must have both slim profits and cheap components.

 

[Yethal]

Well, I did at one point read the first post in its entirety. It's an amazing source of information and actually a pretty good read. Most of my audio-based decisions were based on the feedback from the thread regulars. Well, thanks to Mad and all those other people I'm a happy gamer.
While I understand that the amount of information can be a bit overwhelming I used to work as a customer support rep for a video game and I got frustrated whenever I had tickets that could be answered by literally copy-pasting an article from our FAQ. Over time I got used to it but it was still annoying.
 
As for the chat setup, I used cable from this diagram and a 3.5mm to 2.5mm cable (about 3 bucks on ebay) to have voice chat on my PS4. Should work without a hitch with Xbox too.

 

[bavinck]

I agree with you guys that the first post is excellent. I also agree this thread is getting stale. Honestly, I am only still subbed so I don't miss info on the upcoming g5 lol..

 

[Evshrug]

Well, I put my DSP reviews in my own thread, in my signature and here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal
I think I'll get one early December, hope to review it promptly I've done a few headphone reviews too, but I doubt I'll ever get the breadth of reviews that Mad has.

 

[bavinck]

Well, I put my DSP reviews in my own thread, in my signature and here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal
I think I'll get one early December, hope to review it promptly I've done a few headphone reviews too, but I doubt I'll ever get the breadth of reviews that Mad has.

If it priced right, with good sound and dsp (noise floor in the mixamp sucks) and can handle chat properly for ps4 I am all in

 

[DagsJT]

I can understand this perspective, indeed there is a lot of info on the guide post. Sometimes it's enough to skip to the conclusion or just the scores... but if you see a headphone that catches your fancy, it's worth reading.

The K612 review has a clearly labeled (with a title in bold and underlined) Amping section right after the sound impressions and right before personal recommendation and final impressions. Clearly as in hard to miss, if you read the post multiple times or even just once. Mad specifically says "For gaming, you can forget about using the K612 Pro off the Mixamp alone if you attempt to use a mic." He goes on to suggest picking an amp with neutral to warm-sounding amp to keep from pushing the K612 into fatiguing territory.

From the perspectives of those regular to this thread (many of whom have left), we often see the same questions asked again and again. Though each new poster asks for a personalized reply, it's aggravating to the posters with experience in this area because the answer to their question literally is already written, and the same questions cycle through again and again, as if this thread was customer support. Now, I'm still here because I get something out of hearing about new products or sharing new info I find, but I can understand others who point out the answers in the first post... because that was the point of the first post anyway, as a reference. I have to imagine a lot of people do read the guide and do get their questions answered, occasionally I see new posters announcing their plans and excitement, and their impressions on how they like their new gear (which I do enjoy reading!).

If you want see what made this thread fun, go back to posts two years ago, where MLE was buying and reviewing new headphones like mad, people were coming here for news and posting their own suggestions and comedy, and yeah we had people asking about amping or computer stuff that was out of scope but there was enough other stuff going on that the pace was going pretty quick. Nowadays... Well, I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying the last guide update was half a year ago.

 
Cheers Evshrug. I've read the first post so many times, in fact it was a big part in my choosing to buy the K612's to begin with. And I knew they needed amping, hence I bought a Fiio E10k at the same time. However I'm now looking at replacing two devices (Mixamp and E10k) with one and having less clutter etc. So even though I understand the guide suggesting they need amping, there's so much choice with amps now.
 
As you say at the end, it's not been updated recently and I've read your very good review of the E5 which has thrown a spanner in the works as previously I'd not even heard of the E5 (it's not in the guide on the front page) so I was hoping people maybe had experience of different amps, some of which won't be mentioned by MLE at all given when the guide was updated.
 
I do know how annoying it is to find people asking the same questions, I'm on another forum where one thread has the same question over and over, with the reply being to look on the front page. The thing there is that the front page does have the info, but MLE's guide is missing some amps etc. I've read through a good ton of the pages on this thread when I was researching headphones and it was a massive help. But the thread seems more based on headphones themselves rather than amps and combinations.
 
I appreciate advice either way though and I really appreciate the mass of posts before hand for helping me choose the K612's to begin with.

 

[Evshrug]

DagsJT,
You could've taken my rant poorly, my sincere thanks because I think you get it that I didn't intend it as criticism or personal remark... Just kind of the state of the thread.

Your second to last sentence sums up the thread very well! While this thread was started talking about gaming with surround, the guide is focused on headphones good with that. In my thread, well... I defined it much less categorically, just dropping info on things I learned along the way, though headphone surround fascinates me and I tend to focus on that. I'm trying to make a YouTube series of reviews and setup guides on headphone surround DSPs, like the Mixamp and G5, and I'll start putting out videos in a playlist on that theme soon. As far as amps go... Some of the DSPs I've tried had pretty good amps and DACs built-in, so you don't need extra gear, but I'd say there are INDEED TONS of amp choices out there. I've tried like... three, but I haven't tested a ton of them, so I highly recommend checking out the very great first-hand owner reviews of different amps here on Head-Fi.

That's one of the things I liked about Mad's reviews: he recognized that there are many very good amp options, so he just made suggestions on what character of amp would synergise well with the particular headphone and gaming audio. I think explaining the thought process in picking amp synergy and what to look for in an amp review would make a helpful article in my "if I knew..." thread, hmm... just give me a few minutes to do some chores first! But anyway, I recommend checking out amp reviews and seeing what's cool, and hopefully the reviewer is good enough to describe the cons/benefits without too much hype (but a little hype is fun if it isn't an outright lie).

Thanks for the comments on my E5 review! Stuff like that encourages me to keep going, hopefully one day I can get paid to do it and I can make a job of it

 

[Evshrug]

If it priced right, with good sound and dsp (noise floor in the mixamp sucks) and can handle chat properly for ps4 I am all in

http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal/345#post_12069785

 

[bavinck]

The E5 is $200 (though sometimes on sale), the G5 is adding at least one feature to this, so we'll see about price. If the G5 truly is based on the E5, then the noise floor is inaudible on 32 ohm and up headphones, so that'll be quite good, though the noise floor is audible on my IEMs. The E1 is silent with my IEMs and has a much longer battery life, buuuuuuut it doesn't do justice with harder to drive headphones, like the E5 can. Optimized gear selection! Btw the E1 is still stronger than the PS4 controller jack's amp

Good to know, thanks for the info. I have never heard if the e1 before, I will check it out. Sometimes I would prefer to use iems when gaming solo.