[illram]

Just out of curiosity, is there anything that beats the X7 with a vastly expanded budget or is it pretty much the king of gaming atm in terms of VSS?

Define "vastly expanded"? You can't beat the Smyth A16. But it's $4,000...

Hi all, first of all I’d like to thank the OP for such an informative post. I’ve read through a lot of this thread over the past month and learnt a lot.

I recently purchased the G6 after reading all the positive comments regarding it's virtual surround. I'm not sure whether I have it setup correctly, with the below settings I can't hear footsteps in Modern Warfare as loud as I could using my Astro Mixamp TR on the PS4. I'm using the A40 headset but looking into some audiophile headphones next. I did try the AD700X but returned those cause they just didn't work for me compared to the A40/mixamp combo in this game. I lost count the amount of times people ran up to me without me hearing a peep. I tried running a flat EQ in the mixamp and used my older mixamp with similar results. Maybe the soundstage is too large and footsteps sound too far away/softer than I’m used to.

My G6 settings:

Equaliser is set to Gaming (I think this on by default cause I haven't changed it)

Dolby set to full? (the circle is all grey)

Surround on & set to 60 - I had it set to 100 to begin with but read some comments to lower it to 60 or below?

Crystalizer, bass, smart vol, dialog+ all off

Setup - Headphones - Output mode is audio effects & 7.1

At the bottom I see the below icons highlighted - headphone mode, gaming, SBX, dolby audio when my PS4 is on (it's connected via optical) and headphones.

Any help is appreciated. I love this device so far, it sounds a little different than the mixamp which I like. Things sound clearer and I think the positional audio is a lot better as well. Only issue I'm finding is I can't soundwhore like I could with my mixamp so I'm at a disadvantage now vs others that can hear me across the map. I'd like to be able to hear them more otherwise I'll have to return it

I haven’t tried fiddling with the EQ cause I have no idea what I’m doing. I did have custom EQ’s loaded into the Mixamp TR which is probably why footsteps were so loud - I could pinpoint enemies from far away but they have to be pretty close now unless I’m not moving/making any noise.

Has anyone made any tweaks to get the footstep sounds louder in Modern Warfare and can share their settings?

Try turning crystalizer on, setting a flat EQ, and set surround to 100. If crystalizer does not do it for you try a slight boost between 2k and 8k in EQ. But always keep surround at max.

I have never tried the A40's as headphones but I imagine even "cheap" good cans would be an improvement in staging and imaging. E.g. PC37X, HE-4XX, HD598. The AD700X is usually well regarded in the FPS positional audio department, maybe also try that again with the G6 vs. the mixamp.

 

[Xspearo]

Hi, I had the same issue with setting the surround options so high on certain headphones things would sound so far and spacious that it made it hard to hear footsteps especially with something like the AD700X that already has a big sound stage, So I dialed mine back to like 10 or even 5. For eq I came across these(down below) but i dailed back on some but every headphone/headset will be different you just have to tweak it to your likely. Also in modern warfare make sure the audio settings in game is on "studio reference" or the one that has flat EQ line.


This is website where I found eq:
https://forums.pubg.com/topic/78432-sound-blaster-z-pubg-sound-settings/

Equalizer Settings:
31: -4dB
62: -3dB
125: 2dB
250: 4dB
500: 6dB
1k: 5dB
2k: 10dB
4k: 10dB
8k: 9dB
16k: 9dB

 

[xxxkinel]

Johnny tran
Could you please tell us what settings you was using with your astro mixam pro tr
Like what presets you was using
Atm i cant seem to find a good preset
Especially when kill streaks are out i cant hear no footsteps at all
Thank
All advise welcome if you can help with a good preset for mixamp pro tr with call of duty modern warfare 2019
also if any one knows what frequency footsteps are in hz

 

[Johnnytran]

Define "vastly expanded"? You can't beat the Smyth A16. But it's $4,000...


Try turning crystalizer on, setting a flat EQ, and set surround to 100. If crystalizer does not do it for you try a slight boost between 2k and 8k in EQ. But always keep surround at max.

I have never tried the A40's as headphones but I imagine even "cheap" good cans would be an improvement in staging and imaging. E.g. PC37X, HE-4XX, HD598. The AD700X is usually well regarded in the FPS positional audio department, maybe also try that again with the G6 vs. the mixamp.

Thank you. I switched to a flat EQ on the G6 and have set the boost high sound setting in modern warfare. I found this one to be the best for me but I think once I start tweaking EQ settings I should have the flat EQ setting in game so I know what exactly is being altered. At the moment I can hear footsteps but they're much softer than with the Mixamp TR. I don't think I ever had anyone get close to me without me hearing them, even when I was in a gunfight. Last night playing with the G6 I had two occasions while during a shootout someone was able to sprint within meters of me and kill me without me hearing them.

*edit*

Keeping a flat EQ but boosting the 2 and 4Hz by 2-3dB sounds ok but still not at the level of the mixamp. Maybe the mixamp’s EQ settings are more advanced? I’ve had a look in there and don’t really know how to copy it as it’s a different layout

Hi, I had the same issue with setting the surround options so high on certain headphones things would sound so far and spacious that it made it hard to hear footsteps especially with something like the AD700X that already has a big sound stage, So I dialed mine back to like 10 or even 5. For eq I came across these(down below) but i dailed back on some but every headphone/headset will be different you just have to tweak it to your likely. Also in modern warfare make sure the audio settings in game is on "studio reference" or the one that has flat EQ line.


This is website where I found eq:
https://forums.pubg.com/topic/78432-sound-blaster-z-pubg-sound-settings/

Equalizer Settings:
31: -4dB
62: -3dB
125: 2dB
250: 4dB
500: 6dB
1k: 5dB
2k: 10dB
4k: 10dB
8k: 9dB
16k: 9dB

Thank you for these settings. I will give them a go tonight with the various in-game sound settings, hopefully I find something which works for me

*edit*

This EQ doesn’t work on this game, it sounded very odd, I can’t explain it but the footsteps were very inaudible

Johnny tran
Could you please tell us what settings you was using with your astro mixam pro tr
Like what presets you was using
Atm i cant seem to find a good preset
Especially when kill streaks are out i cant hear no footsteps at all
Thank
All advise welcome if you can help with a good preset for mixamp pro tr with call of duty modern warfare 2019
also if any one knows what frequency footsteps are in hz

Hello, I don't have the exact settings on hand but if you google zalia's astro presets you'll be able to find a lot of different ones. The one I was using was his specific modern warfare one. Hope it works for you
The sounds of killstreaks are too loud in that game, i'm not sure there's any preset that can lower their volume while still being able to hear footsteps.

 

[Xspearo]

Thank you for these settings. I will give them a go tonight with the various in-game sound settings, hopefully I find something which works for me

*edit*

This EQ doesn’t work on this game, it sounded very odd, I can’t explain it but the footsteps were very inaudible

Not sure if your PC settings, are you in 7.1?
Make sure you also go into sound control panel on your PC and you go through configuration setting and it's in 7.1 and all speakers have a check mark. Also in sound control panel go to properties, advance and its 32 bit, 96 hz.
In sound blaster me personally I have all effects off but surround and that's on 10 but each person and headphones/headset is different. Dolby is left on normal.

Another thing you can do is clip game play of a situation and loop it to keep playing while you mess with EQ at the same time.



This is what I kind of have but still tweaking it. I see a lot of people say about 1k to 8k is roughly where footsteps are. Let me know if/what you come up with.

 

[xxxkinel]

Johnny tran
I have the zalias mw tournament i got it a few days ago
Do you remember what ingame sound eq settings you was using with it eg
Studio refrence home thearte dynamic thearte boost high boost low booste
Also did you have dolby headphones turned on \ off on mixamp
Soorry for all the questions
thank you for your help

 

[Johnnytran]

Not sure if your PC settings, are you in 7.1?
Make sure you also go into sound control panel on your PC and you go through configuration setting and it's in 7.1 and all speakers have a check mark. Also in sound control panel go to properties, advance and its 32 bit, 96 hz.
In sound blaster me personally I have all effects off but surround and that's on 10 but each person and headphones/headset is different. Dolby is left on normal.

Another thing you can do is clip game play of a situation and loop it to keep playing while you mess with EQ at the same time.



This is what I kind of have but still tweaking it. I see a lot of people say about 1k to 8k is roughly where footsteps are. Let me know if/what you come up with.

I had something similar to yours but ended up dropping those ranges to 2-4dB. I use the boost high setting in-game so things sounded a little too harsh. When using the "studio reference" flat eq test in-game, footsteps sounded very soft. I will edit this post with what I have tonight when I get home.
That's a great idea about looping the clip. What I did when testing was jump into a private game and blindly run around the map while I fiddled around with the EQ. I couldn't see where I was going because I use the same monitor for PC and gaming! I might just record a 10 minute clip of me running around on the PS4 and have it play in the background while I mess around with the EQ tonight.

*edit*

Here's what I think sounds ok with the boost high settings in-game. I've also tried dropping the 31-62Hz to -12dB which *may* have made footsteps more audible.

https://imgur.com/a/NtfmC11

Johnny tran
I have the zalias mw tournament i got it a few days ago
Do you remember what ingame sound eq settings you was using with it eg
Studio refrence home thearte dynamic thearte boost high boost low booste
Also did you have dolby headphones turned on \ off on mixamp
Soorry for all the questions
thank you for your help

I use the boost high setting in-game with dolby on. I think the boost low makes footsteps louder but also explosions etc get deeper and you won't be able to hear people moving around if there's too much going on

 

[SierraMadre]

Which amp should I buy for k712 pro? (not expensive, but with enough power) As dac Ill use dragonfly black. Ill use them for gaming and trap music.

You probably should avoid using the dragonfly with an amp. Better to use it by itself or not at all.
If you are intent on getting an amp then either use your motherboard dac, get a separate dac with dedicated line-out to go with the new amp, or get an all-in-one dac/amp. If you use the dragon-fly with a separate amp you will be double amping which isn’t such a good idea unless you are very careful with your equipment and settings.

Read this for further explanation

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/double-amping.726659/

If I were you, I’d just get a Creative Sound Blaster G6 or Sound blaster X3 and see how you find them They both have Line-out (and optical out) so you can add an amp later if you want to but they are both good stand-alone dac/amp combos in their own right with more than enough juice to power the K712 Pro. I use the K7XX (which is quite similar to the K712 Pro) with the G6 and at other times with the X3 and they work very well together.

 

[xxxkinel]

Thank you Johnny tran for your help

 

[greyforest]

hi all
Looking for some suggestions here

Currently using ae-5 optical out to feed external dac and amp with play mix to digital out

Tried möbius and was very impressed by wavesnx virtual surroundings, however the windows version of wavesnx takes 10% of the cpu load all the time(i9 9900k)

So is there any other solutions(Hardware dsp) that have better virtual surroundings than wavesnx ? I tried hesuvi don’t think its as good as wavesnx

 

[SierraMadre]

hi all
Looking for some suggestions here

Currently using ae-5 optical out to feed external dac and amp with play mix to digital out

Tried möbius and was very impressed by wavesnx virtual surroundings, however the windows version of wavesnx takes 10% of the cpu load all the time(i9 9900k)

So is there any other solutions(Hardware dsp) that have better virtual surroundings than wavesnx ? I tried hesuvi don’t think its as good as wavesnx

Sennheiser GSX1000, SXFI AMP and SXFI X3 are probably your best options. Whether they are as good as / better than Waves will be down to personal preference.

 

[Thenewbie76]

I need some help. Should I get the GSX1000 or soundblaster g6? I plan on using it as a dac for my PC with the JDS Labs atom as a amplifier. Its for my uni setup nxt yr ( I know its a long time ). However blackfriday is right around the corner. I am more inclined towards the g6 because Amirm from audiosciencereview gave the DAC part of the G6 a quite good rating whereas he has not reviewed the GSX1000.

 

[greyforest]

Sennheiser GSX1000, SXFI AMP and SXFI X3 are probably your best options. Whether they are as good as / better than Waves will be down to personal preference.

thanks for your advice, i am very interested in sxfi however the service is not available in my region, the x3 sold here does not include sxfi features.

 

[ronfifer]

Question: Sound blaster G6 or E5 for competitive FPS gaming with AKG K702, AD900x, and HE-4XX? Price is not an issue, they're are equally priced here, no mic will be used.

In terms of imaging and positional accuracy, do they both implement the same VSS engine and features like SBX Pro Studio? Both have same output power? Is there a difference other than bluetooth?

Should i be looking at any newer Soundblaster products with SXFI, binaural technologies?

 

[AudioManNewb]

I think once you acclimate to the SXFI presentation... I think it's the best VSS I've experienced, personally. Not everyone will like it. It's gonna be polarizing, in the way Dolby Headphone was more polarizing than say SBX or CMSS-3D. But I think the positional accuracy and spacing is the best.

As always, let your ears adjust. I didn't like it at first. By the end of all the testing, it was #1.

Yea so far the sxfi has had the best VSS. Do you think the 400i and the SXFI amp would be a good pairing for FPS CODMW to be exact gaming/music?