[fritzritz]

  Sadly, receivers haven't had honest-to-goodness Dolby Headphone for a few generations.
 
But looking up the Onkyo TX-NR636 quickly reveals that it's one of the recent Dolby Atmos-enabled receivers, which makes me wonder how it'll handle Atmos content mixing through the headphone-out. Time to flip through the manual-

"If you selected any other listening mode than Pure Audio (European, Australian and Asian models), Stereo, Mono and Direct, connecting headphones will switch the listening mode to Stereo."

OH, COME ON! YOU BLEW IT, ONKYO!
 
Also, don't underestimate the headphone-outs of AVRs just because they're meant for speakers. They tend to be pretty powerful, certainly enough for a typical AKG 7xx set. The main issue's just that you don't get any sort of surround processing out of it unless the receiver explicitly advertises having a Dolby Headphone mode or something similar.

Yeah I found the same when I did my own research.
 
NOTE: I am a console gamer and would really like to play with virtual surround.
 
I am able to follow what MLE has had to say about console gaming setups, I am just still confused how an AV Reciever comes into play...if it should at all (to be honest, I never anticipated wanting to get a headset or I would have gotten an AVR with dolby headphone ...I figured I should try to leverage my AVR if possible).  I guess I see the AVR as a potential external amp for the headphones....am I wrong here?
 
So, for discussion sake, would it make sense to use the AVR at all if I plan to use something like an astro mixamp?  Would it benefit to have the AVR in between the headset and mixamp at all?  I think I am leaning towards a Fidelio X2 with a Boompro mic.  I don't think the X2's even really need an amp but it wouldn't hurt  Unless I am missing something, I don't see how it is even feasible to use the AVR with all of those components.
 
The AVR also has an optical in...not sure if that would change the setup at all.
 
I am trying to diagram it all out but I keep confusing myself, not sure how to incorporate the Boompro properly:
 

 

[Evshrug]

I'm not familiar with that one, but I'd doubt the headphone jack has much amplification if any, A/V receivers are generally meant for speakers. If your motherboard has an optical out, it'll work just fine as a DAC (which is all a soundcard is), but you'll probably still need a headphone amp for the AKGs.

I would disagree with many of these statements and feel there are some errors also in your assumptions.

If fritzfritz wants a balanced sound, the K612 is quite balanced among all the frequencies (I own one, it's more balanced than the Q701, K7xx, or k712, though those are slightly more refined), while the X2 has more "fun" in having more bass and treble and a little less mids than neutral.

Receivers either have dedicated headphone Amps (like my Yamaha, haven't checked out Onkyo) or they use the powerful speaker amp, with resistors to keep from blowing out your headphones. That's why some receivers have really high output impedance. Usually they sound fine, and have lots of "juice," but also some headphones might sound weird with the high-output impedance. AKG full-sized headphones are one of the ones that are very tolerant of different output impedances, and the K612 is especially good at dampening signal noise and output impedance variances because it has relatively low sensitivity and 120 ohms impedance of it's own. Practical example: my friend's tube amp makes a whining sound with his K712 (62 ohm impedance), while it sounds fine on my K612. If you have a receiver for your amp, the K612 will probably be the better choice.

If you connect your receiver via HDMI or Optical to your game console or PC, you can hear sounds from either source. HDMI preferred. You could also get a cheap Asus U3 and connect the optical out from that to your Receiver, and thus get Dolby Headphone surround processing in that setup. You wouldn't like using the U3 on it's own, the DAC and amp have distortion, weak power, and low detail, so better to just output optical from the U3 to something else.

There are many other good options in line with the K612 and X2, just those are recent ones with great above-average performance within their respective sound signatures.

http://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Beach-Force-Surround-Processor-63043006306200/dp/B006W41X36

They're still dolby

There is Dolby Digital Live (DDL) encoding, an Dolby Headphone decoding/processing. The DSS2 has DDL, but the headphone processing is an algorithm by Cirrus Logic.

 

[Blze001]

Receivers either have dedicated headphone Amps (like my Yamaha, haven't checked out Onkyo) or they use the powerful speaker amp, with resistors to keep from blowing out your headphones. That's why some receivers have really high output impedance.

 
I looked up the Onkyo's user's manual online to check, they don't list anything beyond "it has a headphone jack".
 
If it was any good, wouldn't they say so?

 

[Evshrug]

FritzFritz,
Basically, XBox One is annoying when it comes to microphone setups, LOL! If you're gonna use a boompro, it's easiest just to plug everything into a Mixamp (skip out on the AVR). However, it is possible that Onkyo has their own headphone surround processing in there, converting surround to a stereo mix meant to make headphones sound like surround. My Yamaha does, I know Sony and Denon do too, they just don't use Dolby Headphone specifically.

 

[fritzritz]

Evshrug,
Thanks for all the info, very appreciated, the XBox One is a little frustrating.  I am hoping that the new controllers that will be coming with a 3.5mm stereo jack will make things easier in the future (specifically the new elite controller). 
 
I am going to continue my research, I had no idea I was going to get in the headphone game when I set up my entertainment center a year ago....there is so much to learn!  Glad to hear you had a good experience with the K612s, they are on my short list as well. 

 

[Evshrug]

I looked up the Onkyo's user's manual online to check, they don't list anything beyond "it has a headphone jack".

If it was any good, wouldn't they say so?

Maybe not as good as a Liquid Crimson, but it won't necessarily be BAD either. Worst case scenario is it could have an absurdly high output impedance, but some people are big proponents of buying antique AVRs for amping.

TL;DR
Manual blurb doesn't necessarily mean it's good/bad, not the best amp but only through trying will you be able to know if it satisfies.

 

[Evshrug]

Evshrug,
Thanks for all the info, very appreciated, the XBox One is a little frustrating.  I am hoping that the new controllers that will be coming with a 3.5mm stereo jack will make things easier in the future (specifically the new elite controller). 

I am going to continue my research, I had no idea I was going to get in the headphone game when I set up my entertainment center a year ago....there is so much to learn!  Glad to hear you had a good experience with the K612s, they are on my short list as well. 

Yeah, for future research, I'd say look at
"analytical" competitive options like Phillips SPH9500, Audio Technica AD700, Beyerdynamic DT880,
"balanced" options like Sennheiser HD558, HD598, AKG K612, K7XX, Sony MA900,
"fun" or colored headphones like Phillips X1, X2, HiFiman HE400, HE400s

And some closed headphones I don't know much about but are often mentioned: Soundmagic, Mr. speakers Mad Dogs, Fostex HP600, etc.

Most of these have gaming reviews on this guide, and we've had a lot of discussion in the thread comments over the years too.

 

[inseconds99]

Got my MA900's in, getting used to their sound which is soooo much different then my HD800's (obviously). Love how light the headphone is and how light the cable is. Dislike that my ears touch ever so faintly on the inside. So far I can tolerate it though as the headphone nearly disappears on my head.

 

[Evshrug]

I could feel the cloth touch my ears too... But it never annoyed me like on-ear headphones. The soundstage is MASSIVE. The sub-base and super treble regions are a bit rolled off though. That is maybe less exciting for a movie, but on the positive it's fatigue-free for long gaming sessions.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Bear in mind, you WANT the drivers to touch your ears for their optimal sound quality. It's more or less designed that way.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

http://www.amazon.com/Avantree-Bluetooth-Converter-Adapter-Transceiver/dp/B0085HOM4K

Was thinking about one of these for my KSC35s. I'd just wrap the KSC35's cable to the Receiver or something and keep it in my work shirt pocket...

edit: Hmm, I see issues about a second delay, and then there is the little problem of... volume control. Damn.

May contact Creative to see if they'd like to send out the Soundblaster Jam for review. It's cheap, wireless, and the design reminds me of the Ultrasone 15 and 15G.

 

[octiceps]

Am I correct in assuming that, generally speaking, headphones with angled drivers which sit further from the ears have a wider soundstage?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yes, but the M900 is not a standard headphone. The design is VERY elaborate and specific. Only a few other headphones (mainly Sony's older MDR-F1) uses a similar technical design.

For example, stuffing the pads on the MA900 so that they don't touch your ears will result in a pretty noticeable SQ loss. Either accept the MA900 as a partial on ear, or prepare to lose some audio fidelity.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Ok, so I assume the 

1. Cross-platform connectivity

 
on the G5 page means optical in. I don't see any other way other than this thing to dissapoint and be USB only.

 

[NamelessPFG]

At least the MA900 doesn't irritate my ears (pinnae if we're being pedantic) where they touch, probably due to the soft padding over the drivers.
 
That's more than I can say for a few other cans. SR-Gamma without replacement padding in the cups? NEVER AGAIN.