[Radio81]

I appreciate your reply.

Recently, I’ve been trying to stand up in front of my couch every hour or so… sitting on the couch, my back would hurt after awhile, and I realized it was because I was leaning forward and slouching I had my OC38X cable get tangled on a TV Dinner tray last night and noticed it when I stood up, so I’ll count that as one point for wireless

Is that… was that a KSC75 before all your mods? Wow that is like the CoD Pick-5 system but with 10 attachments You’re a man after Mad’s heart, I see!

And, yeah, I’ll be interested to see how that Pulse Explore turns out too. Sometimes Sony emphasizes bass too much for my taste, but I haven’t heard the PS5 gen headsets and it’s possible Sony’s acquisition of Audeze will influence the direction of their planar magnetic PlayStation headsets… one can hope!

Careful man, those cords will get you. Tripping hazards.

That is indeed a KSC75 with a few mods. I can't take credit for the mmcx mod. Someone else did that for me a few years back. I recently did the mmcx mod on my KPH40 though, using Tekki UK's mod kit. He has a store on ebay and etsy. It was super easy to mod and took under an hour.

I think the Pulse Explore being planar will have a more refined bass than their DD options. I'm hoping Sony will offer EQ through an app either via BT or on PS5.

 

[JdeFalconr]

So I just got some pretty bad news. My favorite mixing device for controlling game/chat audio mix - the Beacn Mix Create - downmixes everything to stereo. I didn't realize this before as I had used it just with headphones. Now that I'm rocking a 5.1 system I've discovered that everything comes out stereo. I confirmed with their support people that yes, the device downmixes everything.

Not sure if there's another discrete chatmix device out there that handles more than two channels?

 

[Radio81]

Anyone looking for active desktop speakers that will shame those multimedia Logitechs you are using right now, (hurr) consider these:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=43241

Monoprice MTM-100 100w active desktop speakers, and yes the freq response does extend to the 45-50Hz range, and all the reviews I've watched/read all claim that they image very well. $225 with BIG25 coupon code. My set has been shipped.

Let us know how those sound. They look like a variation of these.

I think they look cool. Great price. Monoprice has had some great deals lately.

 

[Chastity]

Let us know how those sound. They look like a variation of these.

I think they look cool. Great price. Monoprice has had some great deals lately.

They do look familiar. MP added a DAC and put the amp inside the Master (left). As for sound, they sound great. Very satisfying, and they image great. Two caveats:

1) MS USB driver only allows up to 16/48
2) The supplied power connection sticks out really far. I ordered a right angle adapter, since I have it shelf mounted.

Otherwise, I have no complaints. Bass reaches down according to specs. No amp noise worth mentioning, a small pop on startup. (Probably a relay) Timbre is spot on, and it's full sounding, nothing thin or anemic. Imaging is awesome, creates a realistic stage, once you get the angle of the speakers to your sweet spot. Volume is too loud on max to be comfortable, so you have plenty of headroom. Passes my Telarc 1812 Overture Cannon test. May wish to invest in acoustic foam to sit them on. Pairing with a sub is totally optional, as opposed to being recommended / needed.

I played Star Wars' The Imperial March, and I felt like I was in a theatre listening to the soundtrack. Good detail, and lots of dynamics. Detail retrieval is pretty effortless when gaming, tho limited to L/R panning, unless the game does some stereo trickery. If the game has good stereo imaging, then picking up cues will be easy.

Great for movie watching, satisfying dynamics, phantom center works very well. Dialog is very easy to make out.

 

[Chastity]

Update: Ordered a matching sub from Monoprice, because I am a sucker for price bargains: ($65 after coupon)

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=9723

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

So I just got some pretty bad news. My favorite mixing device for controlling game/chat audio mix - the Beacn Mix Create - downmixes everything to stereo. I didn't realize this before as I had used it just with headphones. Now that I'm rocking a 5.1 system I've discovered that everything comes out stereo. I confirmed with their support people that yes, the device downmixes everything.

Not sure if there's another discrete chatmix device out there that handles more than two channels?

Is this a problem because you're trying to use a 5.1 system? Because I'm sure you know, but on the headphone side, that isn't a problem. Just making sure.

 

[Radio81]

They do look familiar. MP added a DAC and put the amp inside the Master (left). As for sound, they sound great. Very satisfying, and they image great. Two caveats:

1) MS USB driver only allows up to 16/48
2) The supplied power connection sticks out really far. I ordered a right angle adapter, since I have it shelf mounted.

Otherwise, I have no complaints. Bass reaches down according to specs. No amp noise worth mentioning, a small pop on startup. (Probably a relay) Timbre is spot on, and it's full sounding, nothing thin or anemic. Imaging is awesome, creates a realistic stage, once you get the angle of the speakers to your sweet spot. Volume is too loud on max to be comfortable, so you have plenty of headroom. Passes my Telarc 1812 Overture Cannon test. May wish to invest in acoustic foam to sit them on. Pairing with a sub is totally optional, as opposed to being recommended / needed.

I played Star Wars' The Imperial March, and I felt like I was in a theatre listening to the soundtrack. Good detail, and lots of dynamics. Detail retrieval is pretty effortless when gaming, tho limited to L/R panning, unless the game does some stereo trickery. If the game has good stereo imaging, then picking up cues will be easy.

Great for movie watching, satisfying dynamics, phantom center works very well. Dialog is very easy to make out.

Thanks for the review. If I was in the market for new desktop speakers that's what I'd buy today.

 

[Chastity]

Thanks for the review. If I was in the market for new desktop speakers that's what I'd buy today.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=38620

Alternative choice if you want to try out a ribbon tweeter

 

[Chastity]

Sub arrived! \o/

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sho...e-no-old-pictures-please.529140/post-17730776

See link above for pics and initial impressions. What a killer 2.1 setup for under $300.

 

[Evshrug]

So I just got some pretty bad news. My favorite mixing device for controlling game/chat audio mix - the Beacn Mix Create - downmixes everything to stereo. I didn't realize this before as I had used it just with headphones. Now that I'm rocking a 5.1 system I've discovered that everything comes out stereo. I confirmed with their support people that yes, the device downmixes everything.

Not sure if there's another discrete chatmix device out there that handles more than two channels?

I've never heard of the Beacn Mix Create...
If what you're saying is that it down mixes the 5.1 surround into stereo with no Head-Related-Transfer-Function (HRTF) processing, that it's simply summing up the right channels/left channels and evenly sending the center to both headphone ear cups, then yeah that's kind of a bummer. You'll lose all sensation of directionality that way. However, there are many gamer options for applying headphone surround processing digitally. Specifically with the ability to control the balance of volume between game and chat, the Astro Mixamp Pro can do that from optical, several devices such as the Audeze Mobius headphones or EPOS Audio GSX 1000 external sound card can do that via USB sources (if you want EPOS Audio products, get them fast because they just shut down their gaming division a few days ago), and a couple of home theater receivers include a headphone surround output option. I've had the best luck with the USB devices as far as sound quality goes, apart from the hyper expensive Smyth Realiser. If you have a Playstation 5, that has Tempest Audio 3D for built-in headphone surround mixing, and I believe Xbox has licensed Dolby Atmos for headphones.

There used to be a wonderful software suite for PC, called Redscape Audio, but Ryan Redezke closed that store down when he recently started working for THX/Razer. Razer has offered poor quality headphone processing software in the past, but that was before acquiring THX and being joined by Ryan... so maybe it's worth revisiting them and seeing what's up.

 

[JdeFalconr]

I've never heard of the Beacn Mix Create...
If what you're saying is that it down mixes the 5.1 surround into stereo with no Head-Related-Transfer-Function (HRTF) processing, that it's simply summing up the right channels/left channels and evenly sending the center to both headphone ear cups, then yeah that's kind of a bummer. You'll lose all sensation of directionality that way. However, there are many gamer options for applying headphone surround processing digitally. Specifically with the ability to control the balance of volume between game and chat, the Astro Mixamp Pro can do that from optical, several devices such as the Audeze Mobius headphones or EPOS Audio GSX 1000 external sound card can do that via USB sources (if you want EPOS Audio products, get them fast because they just shut down their gaming division a few days ago), and a couple of home theater receivers include a headphone surround output option. I've had the best luck with the USB devices as far as sound quality goes, apart from the hyper expensive Smyth Realiser. If you have a Playstation 5, that has Tempest Audio 3D for built-in headphone surround mixing, and I believe Xbox has licensed Dolby Atmos for headphones.

There used to be a wonderful software suite for PC, called Redscape Audio, but Ryan Redezke closed that store down when he recently started working for THX/Razer. Razer has offered poor quality headphone processing software in the past, but that was before acquiring THX and being joined by Ryan... so maybe it's worth revisiting them and seeing what's up.

Thank you! I appreciate the comprehensive reply. Headphones aren't my concern here, I am very happy with Creative's virtual surround solution and I already have it in place for headphones. The issue is my 5.1 speaker system which only gets stereo from the Beacn. I don't have much interest in trying to find some solution to upmix stereo to actual 5.1, losing who-knows-how much quality in the process, especially when the audio stream started out as 5.1 at the source application.

After some research I purchased a Turn Up Mixer (https://turnup.tech/). That gadget can directly control Voicemeeter virtual devices, not to mention a bevy of other things. Voicemeeter, as it happens, supports up to 7.1 for its virtual devices, so problem solved. Apparently Beacn has it on their "Ideas" feature suggestion page (with a decent amount of support, mind you) to implement 7.1. If they do it then I'll happily switch back. But for now the Turn Up should work just great.

 

[WhiteHartMart]

@Fegefeuer I'm not sure about new... but the big thing about PS5 audio is that it basically works with any USB Audio Class 1 (UAC1) DAC, and Tempest 3D is a fairly competent virtual surround codec built into the PS5 itself, so you're not restricted to Optical or HDMI solutions. I'm currently unemployed, but if I had the income I'd like to try out a Qudelix 5k to see if that works in USB wired mode (and bluetooth when I'm out of the house).

Picked up a 5k last week for PS5 use and now my G6 is redundant.

The Qudelix covers so many uses for me (Gaming, PC, Bluetooth etc) and does all really well. Mic input sound significantly better on PS5 than the G6 too

 

[illram]

Baldur's Gate 3 surround mix is incredible. Like, one of the best surround games I have heard recently. It is a very common occurrence for me to be in game at a bar or in a shop or whatever and hear some random bump or kid yelling and think it is happening in my house upstairs or behind me etc. This is just using Windows, 7.1 with Redscape and not Atmos or a $4,000 Realiser...

 

[Chastity]

FYI for Redscape owners: seems the author posted an update to Redscape, 1.4.12, I just happen to check the secure download page, and there it was. So if you own a license, use the d/l link you got in your email to get the update.

 

[tmaxx123]

Anyone still using the x7 in here with an iPhone on iOS 17? The x7 app doesn’t open for me anymore since upgrading to the newest iOS. I’ve posted on Reddit to the sound blaster subreddit but haven’t heard anything meaningful yet.