[PurpleAngel]

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Hi guys, I just got a pair DT 880s yesterday evening, truly impressed. I am planning for this setup for gaming, any comments:
Xonar DG sound card (for Dolby Headphone) ---> FiiO E11 --> DT880s

Are the DT880s 32-ohm, 250-Ohm or 600-Ohm?
 
The headphone amplifier on the Xonar DG may/should not work with the 250-Ohm and would not work with the 600-Ohm.
 
 
 

 

[sabzingeur]

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Are the DT880s 32-ohm, 250-Ohm or 600-Ohm?
 
The headphone amplifier on the Xonar DG may/should not work with the 250-Ohm and would not work with the 600-Ohm.
 
 
 

250-ohm, I know the headphone amplifier on the Xonar DG is weak, that's why I'm planning to use the FiiO F11 in between for better sound. The setup is:

Xonar DG soundcard --> Fiio F11 headphone amplifier --> DT 880s

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

That setup shouldn't have issues.

While the DT880s left me unimpressed for positioning rear sounds for FPS games, they are one of my very faves for everything else.

 

[sabzingeur]

Quote:

That setup shouldn't have issues.

While the DT880s left me unimpressed for positioning rear sounds for FPS games, they are one of my very faves for everything else.

Yeah, I bought the DT880s after reading your recommendations, Mad Lust. Thanks for that. I haven't not been able to test rear sound positioning because my Xonar DG hasn't arrived yet, currently I only have XFi virtual surround and it had never been impressive, I cannot tell the difference amongst any position to the rear, plus many sounds just seem 'central' no matter where they are from. I really hope that Dolby Headphones is much better.
 
I'm for fun gaming though, and I'm in love with the DT880s already, especially the bass, yum! Thanks Mad Lust!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I was actually considering getting a pair of DT880 Pros as my well balanced can... but I already feel like it'd be overkill as I have too many cans...

 

[weez82]

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Well, that's not reassuring. The Mixamp Pro's supposed to have better USB functionality.
 
Did the Windows sound control panel allow you to set the Mixamp to 5.1 or 7.1 instead of plain stereo?

When I go into the control panel it only shows the option for stereo. I think if they made drivers for their mixamp it would be a winner for pc use. But as it is now, the windows default driver is lacking.

 

[Eric_C]

sabzingeur: Congrats on the DT 880! Is yours Pro or Premium? 
I can confirm what MLE's saying about rear positioning with the 880; even with Dolby Digital I can't place rear sounds accurately. Then again one should always be checking their 6 o'clock...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

For some reason, I feel like the Pro Beyers have better positioning than the Premiums. The DT990 Pro and DT770 Pro are both superior than their Premium counterparts. Perhaps the DT880 Pro is the same. Maybe the stronger clamp helps positioning.

 

[sabzingeur]

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For some reason, I feel like the Pro Beyers have better positioning than the Premiums. The DT990 Pro and DT770 Pro are both superior than their Premium counterparts. Perhaps the DT880 Pro is the same. Maybe the stronger clamp helps positioning.

But your DT 990s are Premium right? I just raved about my new DT 880s at a local forum and someone with a pair of DT 990s (Pro) already want to exchange theirs for mine. I gotta consider though, because you said DT 990s (Premium, presumably) have such good bass.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The DT880s are no slouch in bass either. The DT990 just has quite a bit more.

Yeah I have the Premiums. The DT990 Pros have better positioning, but it had more mid bass than I wanted. I'm somewhat sensitive to mid bass, and a lot of it gives me headaches.

 

[sabzingeur]

Quote:

Xonar DG soundcard --> Fiio F11 headphone amplifier --> DT 880s

 
My friends are telling me that by doing this I am double-amping and thus audio quality would be sub-optimal. Do you think this setup still yields better quality than connecting the headphones directly to the soundcard?
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Umm, you won't be double amping if you connect the Fiio E11 from a line out on the soundcard. HOWEVER, I'm not certain you can get Dolby Headphone without double amping anyways. Apparently some soundcards do, most don't.

For us who game on consoles, you CAN'T get Dolby Headphone and use another amp without double amping. Double amping for Dolby Headphone on hard to drive headphones is fine, and is severely blown out of proportion here.

Just think of the first amp as a pre-amp. So unless you want to b*tch and complain about not maintaining the absolute cleanest signal to your headphones, suck it up, connect the amp to your DH device, and enjoy the game. That or play with your clean signal in plain stereo.

Christ. People act as if its the end of the world if you double amp. People need to realize that Dolby Headphone is HEAVILY processed audio, and doesn't exactly nitpick on signal clarity. In fact, it being so processed seems to hide whatever imperfections double amping does in the first place.

Sorry for being so blunt, but it annoys me. This isn't MUSIC, this is gaming. The benefit of DH FAR outweighs whatever fidelity loss is caused by double amping.

 

[Cheapy]

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My friends are telling me that by doing this I am double-amping and thus audio quality would be sub-optimal. Do you think this setup still yields better quality than connecting the headphones directly to the soundcard?

Just to add to Mad Lust Envy's comment.
 
I just put my DG on the >32 Ohms setting (VOIP setting I think?) turned the volume up to 80 and then ran a cable from the headphone out of my DG to the line in of my Fiio E9 where I use the E9 to control the volume I want. If I remember right the DG only lets you use Dolby Headphone when you have only the headphone jack in use hence you carn't bypass the DG's amp unless you never want to use Dolby Headphone.

 

[Evarin]

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It's just that they haven't done their homework, and go off whatever stuff like MLG recommends.
These are typically the type of people who think Beats and Bose are what's the best in headphone audio.
I wouldn't call them stupid or anything, just not well informed. The Astro A40 was my first headset because I was looking for the best, and happened upon a site where they were recommended to me. Ironically, I still felt severely underwhelmed by them even though I knew next to nothing about headphones. I then asked for something better where I was recommended the AD700s. That's really what got me into this hobby. They blew me away.

There are video reviews for people who work for major companies (CNET, etc) which directly compare the Astro A40's and the PC360's and find them to be roughly equal. It is difficult to get an idea of headphones without picking them up and trying them on for extended periods of time. Otherwise, it's all a crapshoot.

 

[Riku540]

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Christ. People act as if its the end of the world if you double amp. People need to realize that Dolby Headphone is HEAVILY processed audio, and doesn't exactly nitpick on signal clarity. In fact, it being so processed seems to hide whatever imperfections double amping does in the first place. Sorry for being so blunt, but it annoys me. This isn't MUSIC, this is gaming. The benefit of DH FAR outweighs whatever fidelity loss is caused by double amping.

 
Completely agree. People often forget, or don't even consider that game sounds aren't produced to the same standards and quality music is. Consider the amount of content to the game, and the actual amount of space it takes up on a disc or your hard drive. Clearly, sound is highly compressed; a $1000+ setup is overkill to buy for something game developers more often than not do not break their backs over perfecting.
 
Oh, haithar MLE. I'm back btw.