[PurpleAngel]

  Right now, on my PC I'm using a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD paired with a  Massdrop O2 amp and AKG K7XX's w/ mod mic. I also have a Schiit Magni, but prefer the O2.
I also play on Xbox One and PS4 with two different setups. For PS4 I'm using a DSS2, and Xbox is using an old Creative Extigy. Both are paired to a set of Kingston Hyper X Clouds for virtual surround.
In the past I was pretty much a console gamer only, but now I play about 50/50 PC/console. The majority of my time is spent playing FPS (Call of Duty, BF, CS:GO, etc.), so positional cues, and accuracy are number one for me, followed by sound quality, which I think I have covered with the K7XX..now I just need a do it all mixamp.
Out of all of these I think I've gotten the best positional cues from the Astro Mixamp/AD700 or Turtle Beach HPX/Extigy.
On PC, before I bought the X-Fi Titanium I had a Asus Xonar DGX paired with Razer Orcas, and for whatever reason I still feel that setup had better positional cues, and was easier to pinpoint footsteps than the X-Fi. I've tried multiple different settings and still doesn't seem as accurate, although I know the sound quality is much improved with the K7XX and O2. I think I might just be so used to Dolby Surround after using the Mixamp and Extigy for so long.
Having said all that...I'd like to be able to consolidate all of my setups into one, and the Sound Blaster X7 intrigues me. I'd like to be able to get rid of the X-Fi + O2, DSS2, Extigy, HyperX Clouds and replace them all with the X7 and K7XX w/ mod mic. My plan would be to run USB from the X7 to PC, and Optical to both the PS4 and Xbox with a splitter since the X7 only as one optical in. I don't want to have to unplug one or the other anytime I used them. Will that work? 
I know this thread is geared more towards console sound setups, but will I be giving up anything going to the X7 from the X-Fi Titanium HD? If anybody has experience doing what I want to do, or coming from a similar setup, I'd really appreciate the feedback.  Sorry for rambling..

 
Did you disable the PC's on-board audio, in the BIOS, before installing the Ti-HD (Titanium-HD) sound card?
 
Have you considered just spending (under $10?) for an audio switch box?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013207KHA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ADWKD39T6DNQP
Connect the DSS2, Extigy & Ti-HD to the audio switch box and the O2 amp to the switch box.
Some switch box's come with a third (yellow) RCA connection for video, which could be used for the mic signal.

 

[TeeReQs]

   
Did you disable the PC's on-board audio, in the BIOS, before installing the Ti-HD (Titanium-HD) sound card?
 
Have you considered just spending (under $10?) for an audio switch box?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013207KHA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ADWKD39T6DNQP
Connect the DSS2, Extigy & Ti-HD to the audio switch box and the O2 amp to the switch box.
Some switch box's come with a third (yellow) RCA connection for video, which could be used for the mic signal.

I did disable the on board sound. Don't get me wrong, the X-Fi sounds great, but from what I remember it was easier to tell where footsteps were coming from using the Dolby on the Xonar DGX vs the CMSS on the X-Fi. This could all be in my head though, as I sold the dgx to a friend and haven't tried them back to back.
 
The switch could be a good idea, but the main reason I was looking at the X7 was to get rid of some wires, and have all the audio be the same across 3 devices. At the very least I could get an Astro Mixamp, or use either the DSS2 or Extigy for both Xbox and PS4 with some sort of switch, and continue to use the X-Fi on PC. On the other hand if $350 for the X7 isn't going to net be any sort of gains on the PC side of things, I might reevaluate my decision.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I did disable the on board sound. Don't get me wrong, the X-Fi sounds great, but from what I remember it was easier to tell where footsteps were coming from using the Dolby on the Xonar DGX vs the CMSS on the X-Fi. This could all be in my head though, as I sold the DGX to a friend and haven't tried them back to back.
 
The switch could be a good idea, but the main reason I was looking at the X7 was to get rid of some wires, and have all the audio be the same across 3 devices. At the very least I could get an Astro Mix-amp, or use either the DSS2 or Extigy for both Xbox and PS4 with some sort of switch, and continue to use the X-Fi on PC. On the other hand if $350 for the X7 isn't going to net be any sort of gains on the PC side of things, I might reevaluate my decision.

The X7 & Ti-HD uses the same type of DAC chips and op-amps, so audio quality would be nice with the X7
To get the X7's audio quality with both gaming consoles, your might need an optical switch box, to share the X7's one optical input port.
With the Creative X7, you might(?) be able to eliminate the DSS2, but your still looking at a lot of wires, the X7 does not come with line-outputs, for microphone connection to the gaming consoles (or to the Extigy?).
Might need to use both the DSS2 & Extigy, for their line-inputs (mic)
 
Some people do prefer Dolby Headphone, over Creative's CMSS-3D or SBX (not my place to judge).
You could replace the Ti-HD with an Asus Xonar DX sound card (used $40-$60).
So for the cost of the Xonar DX and audio switch box, you could get away with using one headphone and one mic, for all three.

 

[TeeReQs]

  The X7 & Ti-HD uses the same type of DAC chips and op-amps, so audio quality would be nice with the X7
To get the X7's audio quality with both gaming consoles, your might need an optical switch box, to share the X7's one optical input port.
With the Creative X7, you might(?) be able to eliminate the DSS2, but your still looking at a lot of wires, the X7 does not come with line-outputs, for microphone connection to the gaming consoles (or to the Extigy?).
Might need to use both the DSS2 & Extigy, for their line-inputs (mic)
 
Some people do prefer Dolby Headphone, over Creative's CMSS-3D or SBX (not my place to judge).
You could replace the Ti-HD with an Asus Xonar DX sound card (used $40-$60).
So for the cost of the Xonar DX and audio switch box, you could get away with using one headphone and one mic, for all three.

That's good to know about the X7 vs X-Fi. Doesn't sound like I would be going backwards in terms of sound quality, at least. I believe I have an optical split box that I could use for the consoles. I know I won't be able to get rid of all the wires, but at least some of them, and just having the same audio processing across all three devices would be nice Not to mention freeing up some desk space. For the microphone I was planning on using the Creative BT-W2 module for PS4, and running the mic wire directly into the controller like I'm doing now with the Extigy on Xbox.
 
I talked my friend into sending me the Xonar DGX I gave him awhile back. Curious to see if I still feel the same about Dolby Headphone. I think I'm going to pick up a 2013 Mixamp Pro as well, just so I can try out everything back to back. They're cheap and easy to re sell. Shoot, might as well try a G5 while I'm at it.. I've apparently gotten the itch to explore all options haha.
 
I think if I do end up preferring Dolby Headphone over SBX/CMSS the Xonar DGX for PC and DSS2/Mixamp for both consoles would be the best option.
 
Thanks for all the input angel, gives me some options to think about.

 

[Evshrug]

Yeah, I think you've got a pretty solid idea of how to manage your setups.

Now, I've not owned an X-Fi Titanium HD before, but I have had an X7 since it came out. The X7 DOES have a line-out (two RCA's on the back, included RCA to TRRS adapter if needed), and a firmware update this year allowed the X7 to output the headphone-surround processed mix to be output through the line-out, if you desired to connect it to your O2. The X7 ought to be pretty close to the O2 anyway, and I'm working on a review of some upgraded OpAmps that elevated the amping audio experience even more. The old X-Fi and the newer X7 do share the same DAC and primary amp chips, BUT the electronics and design in general was improved for lower output impedance and better signal to noise ratio... you would experience a better sense of space and less distortion with purely stereo content, and I feel the surround processing takes those aspects even further. Dolby Headphone surround processing indeed is good, but it still sounds to me like speakers in a room (with a little bit of fuzzy bloom) rather than more transparent like the environment of the game. Though DH slightly exaggerates bass and makes treble slightly recessed/distant, I feel like SBX is ironically more immersive because it's more believable while DH is more competitive because it sounds more processed. Ask me another day and I might explain it a different way, but I'll always say pick according to what works for you

The BT-W2 module does keep the setup rather clean, and give you all the mic options of the X7.

 

[Silent Xaxal]

Has anyone tested either of the EL-8s in regards to gaming? Am kind of curious about this.

 

[Fegefeuer]

well, with its closed in soundstage and blobby imaging I don't think it's worth considering. Stick to the proven headphones that stood the test of time. K7XX, HD 800, HD 598, X2 etc.

 

[Yethal]

I'm so buying another set of alcantara pads. These are amazing on everything.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm glad they're doing it for you. If I was still reviewing headphones, I'd always make sure to have those pads on hands for those eventual times when I'd have headphones that have leather pads.

And OMG Sennheiser HD6XX for $200! Them being HD650s in Massdrop skin. The 650s are one of my absolute fave all rounders, and I'd go for these in a heartbeat if I were in a market for balanced headphones with a fatigue free sound. As long as you have some good amping.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Agree. They are simply marvellous. Go Modi Multibit + Jotunheim and GO HOME FOREVER TOGETHER AND EVER AND EVER, TOGETHER FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER

 

[inseconds99]

I'm glad they're doing it for you. If I was still reviewing headphones, I'd always make sure to have those pads on hands for those eventual times when I'd have headphones that have leather pads.

And OMG Sennheiser HD6XX for $200! Them being HD650s in Massdrop skin. The 650s are one of my absolute fave all rounders, and I'd go for these in a heartbeat if I were in a market for balanced headphones with a fatigue free sound. As long as you have some good amping.

Tossed up between k7xx, x2 and hd6xx for literally all day use, everyday listening on my pc. Gaming (mostly), YouTube, music etc. owned a hd650 briefly and loved their sound but they weren't the best for gaming. Owned an x2 twice but had issues with comfort, have lost 90 pounds since then (head god smaller lol). Never owned the k7xx, not sure if I should hop on that bandwagon next.

 

[Fegefeuer]

why? You have a TH-X00 and a SHP9500, yet you want a K7XX as well? That's mid-fi purgatory. 

 
I miss the Chicolomist 

 

 

[Yethal]

  why? You have a TH-X00 and a SHP9500, yet you want a K7XX as well? That's mid-fi purgatory. 

 
I miss the Chicolomist 

 

What happened to him?

 

[lenroot77]

I'm glad they're doing it for you. If I was still reviewing headphones, I'd always make sure to have those pads on hands for those eventual times when I'd have headphones that have leather pads.

And OMG Sennheiser HD6XX for $200! Them being HD650s in Massdrop skin. The 650s are one of my absolute fave all rounders, and I'd go for these in a heartbeat if I were in a market for balanced headphones with a fatigue free sound. As long as you have some good amping.

I'm am all over these! Glad I sold my 650's a month or two back. Have to say this is 1 of the 2 headphones I've put on and was instantly smitten with.
Such a rich sound!

 

[Change is Good]

Maybe if it was a rebranded 600 I'd bite. Always been curious about that one. I'm not a fan of rich, n-shaped sound signatures so this one's a pass.