[I95North]

Does anyone know if the latest TB DPX21 and DSS2 still produce the same hissing that MLE's review talks about in the OP?  I'm sending my Tritton 720+ back to amazon for a refund because of the annoying buzz, and it might be hard for me to wait until december for amazon to stock the standalone Astro Mixamps again.  So I'm thinking about giving the TB bundle a try.

If the 720s were a soft hiss like you get from some open mics, it probably wouldn't have bothered me much, but this was more of a low level harsh buzz.  It's too bad, because they sounded great otherwise.

I have the dss2 but I can't remember if it hisses or not. My dss2 has the headphone driver opamp taken out so that I can go into any amp of my choosing without double amping the device.. FWIR no it does not hiss in its unmodified state but don't hold me to that lol.

I do know for sure my dss2 does not hiss at all..

 

[ronswanson]

Quote:

I have the dss2 but I can't remember if it hisses or not. My dss2 has the headphone driver opamp taken out so that I can go into any amp of my choosing without double amping the device.. FWIR no it does not hiss in its unmodified state but don't hold me to that lol.
I do know for sure my dss2 does not hiss at all..

ok thanks.  I guess my only other concern is that it doesn't have dolby headphone, and it only simulates 4.1 instead of 5.1/7.1?
 
If it only simulates 4.1 (assuming there is even that big of a difference between 4.1 and 5.1/7.1), I may just hold off until december for when Astro will supposedly start selling the stand-alone mixamp again on Amazon.  I want to use my amazon credits to make the purchase.

 

[calpis]

you can mod the DSS2? That's kinda cool. Is the opamp in the dss2 socketed or did you have to desolder it off?

 

[I95North]

ok thanks.  I guess my only other concern is that it doesn't have dolby headphone, and it only simulates 4.1 instead of 5.1/7.1?

If it only simulates 4.1 (assuming there is even that big of a difference between 4.1 and 5.1/7.1), I may just hold off until december for when Astro will supposedly start selling the stand-alone mixamp again on Amazon.  I want to use my amazon credits to make the purchase.

FWIR from calling turtle beach some months back it's dolby digital and as far as I know it does 5.1 but I'm not sure if the tech support I spoke to awhile ago knew himself..

The owners manual says "the industry-standard format for encoding multichannel game audio. Dolby Digital processing recreates 5.1 channel surround sound so you can hear the sound all around you, as If you were listening to a 5.1 speaker system".

 

[kellte2]

Quote:

FWIR from calling turtle beach some months back it's dolby digital and as far as I know it does 5.1 but I'm not sure if the tech support I spoke to awhile ago knew himself..
The owners manual says "the industry-standard format for encoding multichannel game audio. Dolby Digital processing recreates 5.1 channel surround sound so you can hear the sound all around you, as If you were listening to a 5.1 speaker system".

 
I don't know where the whole "4.1" thing came from.  The manual says exactly what I95North stated.  You can adjust 4 channels with several different positioning angles, so that's 4, but the center channel is static.  
 
Very cool that you can mod it.  Care to provide details?
 
As for DSS2 hiss, I can't detect any hiss, even at the highest volume.  In order to produce hiss through the DT 990s + E09K, I need to crank the amp all the way to the 3 o'clock position - or so - with the DSS cranked all the way.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

FWIR from calling turtle beach some months back it's dolby digital and as far as I know it does 5.1 but I'm not sure if the tech support I spoke to awhile ago knew himself..
The owners manual says "the industry-standard format for encoding multichannel game audio. Dolby Digital processing recreates 5.1 channel surround sound so you can hear the sound all around you, as If you were listening to a 5.1 speaker system".

 
Well, it HAS to take Dolby Digital 5.1 into the input, because that's all that most consoles will output.  That doesn't mean "Dolby Headphone" is coming out the other end.  If it was using Dolby Headphone, there would definitely be some logos of it on there.
 
Someone posted a long time ago the name of the DSP it uses.  It's in this thread somewhere...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yup. Same way the Recon 3D needs Dolby Digital to do it's THX Tru Studio.



Lookie what I found at the Magnolia section at my Bestbuy? I did NOT see these before!

Mentionables (tried them all on my friend's phone as the source)...

ESW9A: I bought these before. What? I LOVED their sound this time! Very rich, warm, leaning towards bass and mids. Treble was a nice kind of smooth. I really enjoyed it. I hated them when I owned them. Hmm...this caught me off guard.

A900X: Ugh. Just... no. From first try putting them on...I absolutely hated them... everything about them. Still with that terrible Audio Technica loose ass wing design that did slipping all over the place, with zero clamp, and zero sense of being secured on my head. I will never, EVER try an A-T seriously again, until they get rid of that design. The sound... where's the bass? It's a closed headphone, and yet... weak as hell bass. Didn't like them one bit.

AKG K550: Very sexy. Quite comfy for a pleather padded headphone. Sound? Where is the LIFE? I haven't heard a soulless headphone like this... the bass was terribly weak, and everything felt too sterile and dry. Didn't like them one bit. Don't know why this was so popular, to be honest. They were as inviting as a dentist appointment. The Q701 is INFINITELY better than these. Shame on those who called them a closed Q701. That's an absolute insult to the Q701, even when the Q701 is ampless.

HD558: Hmm! I have to say... I LIKE these! Nice balance, airy sound, not as analytical as the HD598. They surprised me! I could see these being good for competitive gaming without it losing too much musicality. Thumbs up from me.

I went to their musical instruments section and got to try:

Sennheiser HD-25-II. Pretty damn balanced, but I didn't like that the treble was overly smooth for my taste. Wasn't fond of their sound.

AiAiAi TMA-1: People actually think these are pretty? They looked like $20 headphones, and the plastic felt like it. It was ugly and cheap looking (they look much better in pictures than IRL, and I still thought they were ugly.) The sound however was nice. I didn't audition them for too long, but I gotta say the sound was better than the Senn HD25-II to me.

The only ones I'd seriously consider good for gaming out of these, would be the HD558. The rest are music impressions only.

Almost got to try an open box DT1350, but no go.

 

[kellte2]

Quote:

I discovered that the newer DSS2's use the [size=small]CVT (Cirrus® Virtualizer Technology) algorithm. Never heard of it.[/size]

From April of 2012.
 
I'm very interested to hear from someone with a DSS, DSS2, and Mixamp to put them through their paces with a high quality headphone.  I'd consider flipping my DSS2 and getting something else if I had a solid report that it was definitely inferior.

 

[Evshrug]

That sounds very suspicious.  Seems like a read about some scams before where people would ask for money in advance to build amps.  Unless that guy has lots of positive feedback I would be wary.

Faaaaaaaaaaaaa-
I just finished writing a pretty long reply, but my mom ****ed up the network right as I hit "submit." I'm not sure I'm going to be up to re-typing it...

Well, in short, I have been in communication with the builder from the start, I'm basically getting his very first completed desktop amp at cost, because I agreed to write the product description and take nice product photos for his product page. Since I've only paid half so far, and he only gets the marketing goodies after I receive the amp, it really behooves him to come through. I've been in communication with him from the start about progress updates and what would be best in the description. Because he has only sold portable amps and bare PCBs before, he's figuring out the logistics for taking the new project into a new product.

I felt like I needed to light a fire under his seat yesterday. According to his response this morning, we're just waiting for his carpenter to finish my enclosure and 5 more. He said that he would only have the amp up on ebay for purchase after he has enclosures and PCBs on hand, from now on, and of course he would have a batch of 5 completed amps ready when the page goes live. So I'm taking a bit more risk and waiting a longer than anyone after me would.

I do hope it works out... He does have good feedback, and I have talked with pleased others that have no connection to him except that they bought PCBs from him. The amp itself is an upgraded design based on Sijosae's tube hybrid's layout, well regarded and at stock-build reviewed as better than Millet's Starving Student design. The Chinese spin-offs of Sijosae's design, the MUSE, Indeed, and Bravo tube hybrid amps, are also well reviewed, except for their cheap build quality. I noticed that a lot of the parts used in the most extensive mods of these amps are used in the design my builder showed me. The enclosure the builder has described sounds really nice too... I want to share pictures instead of words, but his carpenter is building it to be furniture quality. Think "wife-approved" so it doesn't have to be squirreled away in a basement or garage.

I'll let you guys know if I'm disappointed, or if it's worth the cost (you should know by now I'm being very careful about money, even/especially on things I really want) and I am really pleased. After that, maybe I'll start a new thread for it and get some second opinions.

Carefully copying this to the clipboard, so I don't have to rewrite everything I want to say...
PS my mom DID mess it up again, glad I took the precaution!! :rolleyes:

 

[Evshrug]

From April of 2012.

I'm very interested to hear from someone with a DSS, DSS2, and Mixamp to put them through their paces with a high quality headphone.  I'd consider flipping my DSS2 and getting something else if I had a solid report that it was definitely inferior.

Well, the trick with that is how unlikely it would be for anyone to own all three (or even two) at the same time. People like Mad, Nameless, and me at my more obsessive/curious moments would be the exception, but we wouldn't keep them forever once we pick a fav, unless forced to.

Also, the 4 channel thing started from the top Amazon review on the DSS2, where the guy posted several updates trying to get a response from TB customer service. A combination of something they said and the website graphic showing only 4 speaker drivers lead him to believe it was only "4.1" channel output. It doesn't really make sense... As Mad said before, the device is fed a 5.1 channel signal, and the processing happens, and down mixes it into binaural sound, 2.0 channels, one for each headphone driver. There's not even a .1 subwoofer to worry about separately! So...

Anyway, enough people have stated that their upgrade didn't sound like an upgrade that I am willing to conclude that the DSS is superior to it's follow-up, even if I don't know exactly why. Can you imagine trying to dig yourself out of the reputation hole if the first review on your product, on one of the world's largest reseller's site, states that it's "just 4.1" surround?

BTW, for anyone else reading this, I think when Kelite2 said "the center channel is static," he means that while you can adjust the positioning of other speakers, the center stays "static" in it's central position.

 

[kellte2]

Quote:

BTW, for anyone else reading this, I think when Kelite2 said "the center channel is static," he means that while you can adjust the positioning of other speakers, the center stays "static" in it's central position.

That's exactly right.  The virtual center channel is always the center.  The other 4 angles are adjustable through various presets.  I don't know any better, but I've been happy with the DSS2 performance.  It is certainly better than stereo, but I can't speak to its predecessor or its competitors.  

 

[Makiah S]

Aww that open Box DT 1350 would have been nice
 
In addition I like that Head Phone Case... I've got some Cherry Wood sitting in mah shed I'm thinking bout making me a Suit Case for cans! Like the crappy case I got with the Dt 880s but well Nicer and more protective! 
 
Kinda like a suitcase kinda thing [although that's tottally off topic]
 
I wish we had Headphone Bars here in the SOuth East US... even CANADA has em... although Canadian money is worth more than the US dollar last time I checked [by 3 US cents] so go figure! 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Lookie what I found at the Magnolia section at my Bestbuy? I did NOT see these before!

 
Hmmm.... What's the Magnolia section?  Like a closed off higher-end-gear section?  Bestbuy's website says there's on at a nearby store, but I don't remember seeing one before....

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, it's usually where they keep the super expensive TVs and projectors, etc. Almost every BB I've seen has the Magnolia section on back wall, right corner. I had a a geekasm when I saw these and the 90" TV they had... makes my 65" look puny. =/

 

[ronswanson]

Quote:

The wired Mixamp is almost dead silent. Also, the Recond 3D USB is also silent. The Recon isn't as good as the Dolby Headphone devices though, IMHO.
If I were in your shoes, I'd spend the money for the wired Mixamp + $15 for the KSC75 for NOW until you can afford a full sized headphone.

so the KSC75 would be recomended over the Sennheiser HD201?  I know your number rating is one point higher, but does the fact that the HD201 is a full-sized headphone give it any advantage over the KSC75 at all?