[Stillhart]

  Hey @Stillhart , 
 
Got the Omni today and it's a pretty awesome device! It's smaller than I expected (same went for the Vali) and works well. A TON less hiss than the Mixamp.
 
What settings are you using for your Omni in the SBX Surround slider? Not sure what % to set it to. 

Honestly, I don't like to run all the effects and stuff on.  I just turn on surround when it's time to game and leave it at that.  I have it at 100% right now.  I think I like it closer to 66% with the Q701's though, as they've already got a massive soundstage.

 

[grumpy1471]

Grumpy,
Great to hear it!
Mine's been giving me troubles lately (popping sound with game audio and mic), but before that (hmm, before I loaned it to a co-worker, in fact...) it sounded great for me too. I'm gonna have to test it in all my USB ports.
I recommend starting out testing at 67%, get used to that first but then experiment with other settings. I personally like mine best at 100%, a little bass boost at a very low frequency, and a little bit of the dialogue plus booster. Told you it was a pretty good DAC!

How do you like the Vali?

This may seem obvious to the point in which you might think I'm insulting your intelligence (believe me, I'm not 

), but... have you tried updating the firmware of the Omni? I had a bit of popping off the bat but it was fixed once I downloaded the latest firmware. 
 
I tried the settings that you mentioned. I put it to 100% surround, 10% Dialog Plus and increased the low frequencies by 1db and I was quite happy with that. I may try messing around with the settings a bit to find the settings that sound best to my ears though.
 
As for the Vali, it was well worth the money (as well as the abysmal shipping cost). I can hear a bit of hiss with it but it's barely enough to be able to hear it over my computer fans. It definitely tamed the highs and tightened up the bass and I enjoy the K712s a lot more now. Plus, I can get uncomfortably high volumes out of the cans. I have the Vali at around 1/3 of the max volume. 
 
I'm really pleased with the Omni and Vali. You are definitely right about the Omni being a good DAC. 
 
 

 
Honestly, I don't like to run all the effects and stuff on.  I just turn on surround when it's time to game and leave it at that.  I have it at 100% right now.  I think I like it closer to 66% with the Q701's though, as they've already got a massive soundstage.

I find that the crystalizer, recon mode and bass slider are quite useless. The Dialog Plus helps a bit when it's at a low %. I'll try out a few surround settings in between  ~60% and 100% to see what I like best. 

 

[Evshrug]

I'm not offended, thanks for the suggestion!
I already uninstalled and reinstalled the driver software already. I don't think consumers can update the firmware (firmware is the code inside the Omni that controls hardware like turning the volume dial and recognizing IR input.

Also, I'm gonna stream some PS4, this month's PS+ free game is a cool looking indie that reminds me of a 2D Psychonauts.

 

[grumpy1471]

Ah okay. Could've sworn that I was getting some popping until I updated the firmware. You can, in fact, update the firmware though. If you go to the drivers page for the Omni, there'll be a Firmware link beside View. 
 
Edit: There is one option, it's ~700KB and is apparently an "updated" firmware from back in November of 2013. May or may not help. It says it improves performance though.

 

[chicolom]

  I missed Dolby Headphone so I picked up a Xonar U7.
 
Too bad I can't actually get it to DO any legit Dolby Headphone.  Not sure if it even can.

 
 

 
An update on the Xonar U7 in case anyone was wondering if it's legit...
 
I've been playing around with it for a few hours, and...unfortunately it seems to be a fail as far as headphone-use goes.  It's gimped to only taking 2 channels from a game and upmixing it (pro-logic).  No discrete channels = bad positioning.  
 
 
Yes, it comes with Dolby Home theater v4 which has Dolby Headphone inside via the "Surround Virtualizer: Headphone" but you can't get it to work properly with the U7.  The U7 is unable to feed it 5.1 or 7.1 channel source AND have it come out the other side as 2 channel Dolby Headphone signal (how the U3 works).  The only way to get the U7 to handle more than 2 channels is to set the Xonar to "Speakers" in which case it will split the source signal into separate analog channels out the back of the U7.  So your 5.1 game audio will be split between the 5 different analog ports on the back, not a downmixed Dolby Headphone stereo signal.  If you only want to output via stereo using the two line-out RCA ports on the back, you have to set the U7 to only 2 channels - which bottlenecks all your sources/games down to 2 channels and kills your ability to feed Dolby Home Theater v4 (and thus Dolby Headphone) properly.  Pro logic. 
 
The U7's second output mode, "Headphones", is strictly two channel in -> two channel out.  You can't set it to anything other than 2 channel.  It's basically just a stereo DAC, and no amount of virtualization software is going to fix the fact that your only getting two channels from all your sources when in "Headphones" mode.  The Xonar U7 has it's own virtual surround when in the "Headphones" mode, called "Xear," but it's not that good.  Turning it on also disables Dolby Home Theater v4 and vice a versa. 
 
The U7's third and final output option is SPDIF/Optical.  This mode does either  2 channel PCM or Dolby Digital Live.  NO 8 channel input from source down to 2 channel DH output (like the U3).
 
 
 
The U7 only seems useful for people wanting to drive multiple analog speakers from their PC.  It's not good for gamers with headphones, as the only headphone virtualization you'll be getting will all be derived from 2 channel sources.
 
It's a shame, because the hardware looks and feels quiet nice.  It seems well built, everything's gold plated, and it has a cool digital volume knob on top that also acts as a click button to switch between outputs.  The Dolby Home Theater v4 software also looks nice and clean (a bit too simplified and dumbed down though IMO).  Throwing Dolby Home Theater v4 together with the U7 was a nice thought, but it just doesn't work when you can only set your audio devices to 2 channels when trying to use any heapdhone surround.  I figured Asus was smart enough to have thought that through, but I guess I was wrong.
 
I guess I'll be returning the U7.  I didn't pay 90 bucks for a glorified Pro Logic box.  Chicolom don't roll like that, you dig?
 
 
 
 

 
 
I also picked up a Xonar U3 from microcenter, and that on the otherhand works great.  Very easy to set up and it's doing Dolby Headphone properly. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Feed tht U3 to your optical dac and Mstage for some wonder.

 

[chicolom]

Yeah, the U3 works fine.  It's a keeper. 

 
I think I might use that U7 money and get a slightly nicer optical DAC though.
 
The D3 is aight, but I wouldn't mind replacing it.  I notice a wee bit of hiss from it.  Also, I was doing some comparing between it and the DSS (both receiving Dolby Headphone signals) and I swear the lowly DSS had a slightly larger sounding soundsdtage.

 
Maybe an optical Modi or something...Any other <$100 optical DACs I'm forgetting?  I imagine the Modi is slightly better than the E17...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I havent used my D03k since I've had my E17, but I didn't notice any hiss when I used it.

 

[AxelCloris]

 
I also picked up a Xonar U3 from microcenter, and that on the otherhand works great.  Very easy to set up and it's doing Dolby Headphone properly. 

 
You went to Microcenter and didn't bother to stop by and say "Hi." So cruel. You even had to drive by my neighborhood assuming you took 27 down.
 
Shame about the U7, I was interested in what it could do. Looks like I may eventually get a U3 for the new computer if I don't want to put in a dedicated sound card with optical out and DH. I've had the U3 before, twice actually, and liked it both times. But it doesn't work on OS X.

 

[Stillhart]

  Yeah, the U3 works fine.  It's a keeper. 

 
I think I might use that U7 money and get a slightly nicer optical DAC though.
 
The D3 is aight, but I wouldn't mind replacing it.  I notice a wee bit of hiss from it.  Also, I was doing some comparing between it and the DSS (both receiving Dolby Headphone signals) and I swear the lowly DSS had a slightly larger sounding soundsdtage.

 
Maybe an optical Modi or something...Any other <$100 optical DACs I'm forgetting?  I imagine the Modi is slightly better than the E17...

I've been looking for a cheap optical DAC that isn't an E17 for a while.  The Opti-modi was the perfect solution in theory.  In practice, I didn't notice much difference over my SB Omni.  I'm curious what you think, if you get it.  I'm also curious if you find more options...

 

[chicolom]

   
You went to Microcenter and didn't bother to stop by and say "Hi." So cruel. You even had to drive by my neighborhood assuming you took 27 down.
 
Shame about the U7, I was interested in what it could do. Looks like I may eventually get a U3 for the new computer if I don't want to put in a dedicated sound card with optical out and DH. I've had the U3 before, twice actually, and liked it both times. But it doesn't work on OS X.

 
Whoops.
 
Yeah, I take 27 down.  I thought you lived farther south, closer to actual Cincy?
 
Yeah, the U7 looked nice, but it's inferior to the U3 in terms of headphone-surround capabilites.  Dat 2 channel bottleneck.  Too bad.
 
 

 
I've been looking for a cheap optical DAC that isn't an E17 for a while.  The Opti-modi was the perfect solution in theory.  In practice, I didn't notice much difference over my SB Omni.  I'm curious what you think, if you get it.  I'm also curious if you find more options...

 
Good to know.
 
I'll have to think about whether I'll get one...I'm not loving that Schiity 15% restocking fee... :\

 

[Evshrug]

Omni! It's ALIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems firmware solved all my USB problems, will update if Optical issue is resolved too!

Honk Honk!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

That's why you buy everything on Amazon or Best Buy, Chico!

 

[Evshrug]

 

[grumpy1471]

Omni! It's ALIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems firmware solved all my USB problems, will update if Optical issue is resolved too!

Honk Honk!

Where's my thanks?

Glad to see that the firmware helped!