[Railius]

   
For internal cards, I would say the Xonar DGX is the cheapest route.  I'm not sure why PurpleAngel is recommending the Xonar D1.  He's more familiar with Asus cards, so maybe he knows something I don't, but AFAIK both cards feature the SAME Dolby Headphone DSP and both have optical outputs.  The DS1 costs twice as much as the DGX though.  If your going with the Magni, it makes sense to go with the cheapest soundcard option as you don't want to waste money on it's internal amp.  You'll only be using the soundcard to do the processing, not the amping - if you already have a Magni.
 
If you go the Magni route, don't forget about the FiiO D3K.  This is an external optical DAC that you would put between whichever soundcard you get and the Magni.  It lets you take a straight digital signal out of the soundcard to feed the amp.   You can skip it if you want, but it may improve the sound a tad over taking an analog signal straight from the soundcard.
 
 
 

1. If you get the Q701, I would get what I said before, which is  Q701 + Magni + FiiO D3K + Sound Blaster Z (OEM version) OR Xonar DGX.  You hook them up in that order.
    
2. If you get the PC360, I'm not sure I would get a Magni as a soundcard may be good enough to amp them by itself. 
    
3. If you want to get a soundcard that you can use also use on laptops, then you should look at the Xonar U3 (Dolby Headphone) or the Sound Blaster Omni (SBX Pro).  These are little USB soundcards that offer the same virtual surround sound.  They have wimpy amps though, so you'll probably want a FiiO D3k + Magni to go with them.

 
 
Keep in mind I'm not going to tell you which surround sound DSP to go with, because that's highly subjective and up to your personal preference.  I would listen to some Dolby Headphone or SBX pro demos to see which you prefer.
 
 
 

 
I'll go for Dolby Headphone because it's apparently better for fps games, in this case i'd rather go Xonar DGX or Xonar U3 (because of the price), checking on those sound card, dont i need a 7.1 card? Maybe that's why he picked the D1 
 
If i go with a D1 card i wont be able to buy the FiiO D3k (no money), unless i go DGX or U3, but can you clarify the difference in soundwise between a 5.1 card and a 7.1 card.. remember my goal here
 
Edit: Btw does my card suck so much? This is the onboard one.. I can make an effort to get some more bucks to buy everything that you're advising me, but can i get anything good from this board or nope?
 
Realtek® ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC 
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
Audio Feature :
- Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound
- DTS Ultra PC II
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
 
Thanks for all the help man! 

 

[martin vegas]

  Would this do the job? http://www.amazon.com/Orei-DA21X-Premium-Converter-Headphone/dp/B00F4ORTZ6/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_t

This one would be the better choice because it's 5.1 over RCA Orei DA34X Premium Digital to Analog Audio Decoder SPDIF/Coaxial 5.1-Channel Input to RCA L/R/3.5mm Headphone Output.. All this means is you will still get sound from your console while playing dvds or blue rays and not have to set your console on stereo rather than 5.1 because the Orei DA34X decodes dolby!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

There is no such thing as 5.1 over RCA. At the most, all you can get is Dolby Pro Logic II.

Edit: Ah, you mean it converts Dolby/DTS to PCM/Stereo?

The Fiio D07 does that, but the D03k doesn't. If I were Fiio, I'd just discontinue the D03 and just sell the D07, so as people don't get confused and start complaining that the product doesn't work because all they heard is garbled noise.

That Orei DAC seems to be quite a bang for buck, though who knows how good the dac chip is. Fiio uses some good Wolfson dac chips on theirs.

 

[martin vegas]

There is no such thing as 5.1 over RCA. At the most, all you can get is Dolby Pro Logic II.

Edit: Ah, you mean it converts Dolby/DTS to PCM/Stereo?

The Fiio D07 does that, but the D03k doesn't. If I were Fiio, I'd just discontinue the D03 and just sell the D07, so as people don't get confused and start complaining that the product doesn't work because all they heard is garbled noise.

That Orei DAC seems to be quite a bang for buck, though who knows how good the dac chip is. Fiio uses some good Wolfson dac chips on theirs.

It decodes the sound to stereo yes..if it never, he wouldn't get any sound with his consoles blue ray or dvd player because the console would have to be set on stereo..that's why a lot of people in England buy dacmagics because they decode the signal..most don't!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Agreed. Though, why would you do that, when something as cheap as a first gen DSS on Ebay costs less and has Dolby headphone?

 

[martin vegas]

Agreed. Though, why would you do that, when something as cheap as a first gen DSS on Ebay costs less and has Dolby headphone?

You can still download movies to your console and watch Netflix and youtube play games and get sound if the dac is just stereo with the console set to stereo..but you can't watch dvds or blue ray because the console needs to be set on 5.1 for this, and on that setting there is no sound!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Again, why would you get that DAC when the DSS is a Dolby headphone DAC/AMP? Watching Blu-Ray, you set the Bitstream to Mix, and you'll get Dolby Headphone out of that. You don' have to change any settings. Leave it on optical/Bitstream Mix, and you're good to go for all purposes with the DSS/Mixamp/etc

 

[martin vegas]

Again, why would you get that DAC when the DSS is a Dolby headphone DAC/AMP?

I agree,It's just finding one new..he could get the dss2 that has been made for turtle beach headphones anyway..the only reason I never got the dss2 is because they are supposed sound bad with sennheiser headsets, i don't use EBAY, I don't trust computers for putting account info on because I have had a trojan horse before..i am happy with my arcam r dac over rca to my sennheisers..the r dacs a better dac than the dac magic and dac magic +.. I had a similar cheap dac to the Orei DA34X and they are good value with decent sound for money!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

A used DSS on ebay for $20 or so. Its a no brainer. Cheapest way to get Dolby Headphone on consoles...

The DSS2 doesnt have Dolby Headphone and uses its own generic virtual surround. I haven't tested it.

The last 2 Mixamp pros I bought were from ebay.

 

[kenshinhimura]

Again, why would you get that DAC when the DSS is a Dolby headphone DAC/AMP? Watching Blu-Ray, you set the Bitstream to Mix, and you'll get Dolby Headphone out of that. You don' have to change any settings. Leave it on optical/Bitstream Mix, and you're good to go for all purposes with the DSS/Mixamp/etc

that probably works with most but not all blurays. i know for sure it didnt work with my bluray of The Crow with dts-hd. =(

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It works for EVERY Blu-ray, as both DTS and Dolby Hd get converted ti Dolby Headphone. All signals will work once you set the PS3/4 to Bitstream Mix. Keep in mind that certain previews and trailers, etc aren't even encoded in either, and are basic PCM/Stereo at least until the movie actually starts.

 

[ABK792]

Thanks for the input, guys. I'm thinking about something else now. So there's a few things I need: the headphones, some sort of dac/amp, and a mic preferably with a mute button. The headphones I was planning on buying are the Sennheiser 588's which are about $130. Now I know you've reviewed the Astro a40's, Mad Lust Envy. How would you compare the A40's and the 598's (I know you reviewed the 598's which have to be similar although probably better than the 588's.) Now between buying a good mic and dac/amp + the headphones it will probably end up being about the same price as the A40 which I can get for like 220-230. So maybe I should just get those? Thanks for the help.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

If you want less cable clutter, get either a headset, or a headphone with a removable 3.5mm cable (like the Fidelio X1, though that's expensive).

Honestly, I don't know what you want. If cable clutter isn't a problem, just get a 558 + some external mic + Mixamp. You can always buy a used Mixamp. Hell, I'll even sell you my 2011 Mixamp for $80 total. Assuming you live in the states.

I have the 5.8 so i don't need the Mixamp pro anymore.

 

[martin vegas]

If you want less cable clutter, get either a headset, or a headphone with a removable 3.5mm cable (like the Fidelio X1, though that's expensive).

Honestly, I don't know what you want. If cable clutter isn't a problem, just get a 558 + some external mic + Mixamp. You can always buy a used Mixamp. Hell, I'll even sell you my 2011 Mixamp for $80 total. Assuming you live in the states.

I have the 5.8 so i don't need the Mixamp pro anymore.

Sounds like a bargain..just add the 558's and your ready to game..you can get Logitech mics for a good price!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-3-5mm-Hands-Computer-Microphone/dp/B005DJOIHE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1387906093&sr=8-2&keywords=clip+on+mic

This mic seems to be like the Dealextreme clip-on mic, without having to wait 10 years for it to arrive at your house (as long as you buy it from one of the American listings). Not sure on the quality, but it's worth a shot. The DX clip on will take like a month (trust me). I bought two of them on two separate occasions, and it took forever.