[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

have you found any games that use 24bit yet....?  Also, binaural mixes don't give positional ques the same manner as a video game as binaural relies on raising and lowering levels of sound between the two sides to give the effect of left to right.  it's a neat trick but that crappy virtual 7.1 is about the best you're going to get with greedy money hungry video game makers.   They're not going to go run around with every gun in the game and then with any attachment that might make it sound different in circles at different radius's.  Binaural recordings are a little to realistic for video games in my opinion.  It'd be like watching a dvd from an old crt television while listening to $50,000 home theater.  Just two different things.

 
Raising and lowering levels of sound between the two sides? That makes it sound like a simple crossfeed, and binaural is so much more than that. Note my mention of Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) whenever talking about binaural mixes. It's the HRTF simulation that makes it binaural and not just a dumb crossfeed.
 
And those recordings are too realistic for video games? I never thought I'd hear about anyone complaining about that sort of thing before. If anything, proper binaural audio in games really adds to the immersion for me, like I'm really there. It's also a very handy competitive advantage. (How many times have I used the phrase "aural wallhack" on here? I lost count...)
 
Oh, and speaking of CRTs, I still find it funny how this decade-old Sony GDM-FW900 sitting in front of me still wipes the floor with every single display made after it for gaming. Of course, that's a professional aperture-grille CRT monitor capable of handling 2304x1440 at 80 Hz and lower resolutions up to 160 Hz, being Sony's top-of-the-line monitor for a cool $2,500 back then, not the cheap shadow mask SDTVs everyone thinks of.
 
Still, it's a damn shame that CRTs still haven't been surpassed as gaming monitors, with their combination of no input lag, high refresh rates (for smoother motion), perfect viewing angles (something even the best LCD types aren't capable of, especially in the blacks), deep blacks, and total lack of native resolutions, which is nice for those of us who still like to play old games that don't go as high resolution-wise. Some technologies might do a few things better, but suffer greatly in other areas.
 
Quote:

Right. Well, sounds like someone should be doing gaming audio for a living That would be awesome to have. That's a shame... Maybe audio will get to where it needs to be soon. In this day and age, we shouldn't be regressing. Good to know. That Smyth thing looks really fascinating, but just, way outta my league. Even though it's awesome, it's still only simulating 5.1, not audio in the x/y/z, correct?

 
Correct, the Smyth Realiser is simulating a 5.1/7.1 theater system in the end. It just happens to be really good at it because it allows you to profile it using in-ear microphones and whatever theater you can set it up in for a test recording, but it's still just 7.1 at the most. You also can't profile only HRTFs with it, just a PRIR (Personalized Room Impulse Response, as they call it) because it's also recording all the other qualities of the theater you're in, like the speakers and the room acoustics.

 

[chicolom]

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Can anyone tell me if this is a good deal and upgrade from my horrible Razer Megalodons?
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003Z6H08Q/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=05PH141NK5PVH9GWN3YE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=317819927&pf_rd_i=468294
 
I'm looking to ditch these and get a dedicated internal sound card and a better headset. This combo seems like a really great price but I don't know anything about Sennheiser's. 

 
 
The headset is a Sennheiser PC350, which is a closed version of the PC360.  You should be able to search for PC350 to get impressions about how it sounds.  Open headsets are generally preferable for gaming though. 

 

[Makiah S]

So I luv you guys, and the thread
 
What's a good intro Level AKG headphone to buy that will introduce me to the Akg House Sound... I might demo a pair of K77's, and I'm curious... do they have the "house" sound! My goal is to try a few more brands of cans, so I can widen mah knowledge! 

 

[burritoboy9984]

Well I got my replacement Monoprice headset in. Same static noise when the switch is on amp (with all the volume adjustments on the inline controller and amp turned all the way down, there is still static) which is how they want you to setup xbox live communications. I'm going to chat with them a bit later, and see if there is anything they can do/fix in the future, but for now, I suggest staying away from it if you wish be able to chat with it. You could setup your voice settings to play through speakers and headset and hear other people, but the voice monitoring feature doesn't work without the switch being on amp.
 
Overall my first impressions stand on the mixamp portion of it. Positioning isn't quite as defined/open as with the mixamp, and the rears are lacking. Price-wise, it is a good value, and would be an EXCELLENT value if they could fix the static.
 
If anyone else gets one in, post your thoughts as well, perhaps I just got a bad batch but I doubt it after the second one.
 
-Erik

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I don't see why positioning would be any different from the Mixamp, with exception of the amp's strength being weaker, leading to a smaller soundstage. I'd just have to try it out personally.

Can you try using another headphone, or that MP headphone without the chat enabled to see if the hiss goes away?

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Well I got my replacement Monoprice headset in. Same static noise when the switch is on amp (with all the volume adjustments on the inline controller and amp turned all the way down, there is still static) which is how they want you to setup xbox live communications. I'm going to chat with them a bit later, and see if there is anything they can do/fix in the future, but for now, I suggest staying away from it if you wish be able to chat with it. You could setup your voice settings to play through speakers and headset and hear other people, but the voice monitoring feature doesn't work without the switch being on amp.
 
Overall my first impressions stand on the mixamp portion of it. Positioning isn't quite as defined/open as with the mixamp, and the rears are lacking. Price-wise, it is a good value, and would be an EXCELLENT value if they could fix the static.
 
If anyone else gets one in, post your thoughts as well, perhaps I just got a bad batch but I doubt it after the second one.
 
-Erik

 
What type of controller do you have, and can you try a different one?  I read a review of the monoprice that said the static was caused by a controller with the switchable D-pad. 
 
The monoprice page says "The DAC also allows for separate volume control over each of the 8 audio channels, so you can adjust it for the perfect soundstage balance."  Any word on this (is it mentioned in the manual and are the controls for it?)  Seems like it should sound nearly identical to the mixamp in terms of positioning unless it has some other processing going on. 

 
 
P.S. could you upload some close-up pics so we can see the buttons and stuff?
 

 

[burritoboy9984]

Quote:

I don't see why positioning would be any different from the Mixamp, with exception of the amp's strength being weaker, leading to a smaller soundstage. I'd just have to try it out personally.
Can you try using another headphone, or that MP headphone without the chat enabled to see if the hiss goes away?

 
That was my thought as well. I didn't play much with the inline controller being switched to amp (makes is louder, so obviously more power). Perhaps that would open up the soundstage some, but the annoying static is there.
 
I did use other headsets (PC360 and AD700), the MP headphones are SUPER sensitive. So the others drowned the hiss slightly, on the PC360, you can turn the volume knob down until it is more or less gone, but on the AD700 you don't have that luxury.
 
I have 2 right now, perhaps I could mail them both to you, then you could send them to MP. MP is paying for return shipping, so you would just need to pay for me to ship them to you. Then when you are done, slap on the prepaid shipping label and take it to the UPS store, lmk. I'm going to contact MP chat in the next few days before I post a review on their site to see what they have to say.
 
Quote:

 
What type of controller do you have, and can you try a different one?  I read a review of the monoprice that said the static was caused by a controller with the switchable D-pad. 
 
The monoprice page says "The DAC also allows for separate volume control over each of the 8 audio channels, so you can adjust it for the perfect soundstage balance."  Any word on this (is it mentioned in the manual and are the controls for it?)  Seems like it should sound nearly identical to the mixamp in terms of positioning unless it has some other processing going on. 

 
 
P.S. could you upload some close-up pics so we can see the buttons and stuff?
 

 
In that review, what I believe they meant was the mic would be constantly producing static (which other players would hear on xbox live), not that it caused the owner of the headphones to hear static. I noticed a few times I would plug it in, and the in game mic indicator would be solid and I would have to take the batteries out of the controller and reinsert them. As I stated above, the  static I am noticing is there independent of what is plugged in, and how loud any of the volumes are set at.
 
I didn't even see that part on the item description, good find! But, the manual doesn't explain any of that, and from playing around with the amp, there isn't really a way to change certain channel volumes.
 
What all would you like pics of? Make a quick list and I'll take them in the AM before work.
 
-Erik
 
Edit: After looking at the manual of the Sharkoon X-Tatic SR, it appears the "Sound Control Units" are nearly identical except for the 3d Stereo Sound feature on the Sharkoon.

 

[PanamaHat]

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he-300 anyone?    They're an open back dynamic headphone

+1. 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
That was my thought as well. I didn't play much with the inline controller being switched to amp (makes is louder, so obviously more power). Perhaps that would open up the soundstage some, but the annoying static is there.
 
I did use other headsets (PC360 and AD700), the MP headphones are SUPER sensitive. So the others drowned the hiss slightly, on the PC360, you can turn the volume knob down until it is more or less gone, but on the AD700 you don't have that luxury.
 
In that review, what I believe they meant was the mic would be constantly producing static (which other players would hear on xbox live), not that it caused the owner of the headphones to hear static. I noticed a few times I would plug it in, and the in game mic indicator would be solid and I would have to take the batteries out of the controller and reinsert them. As I stated above, the  static I am noticing is there independent of what is plugged in, and how loud any of the volumes are set at.
 
I didn't even see that part on the item description, good find! But, the manual doesn't explain any of that, and from playing around with the amp, there isn't really a way to change certain channel volumes.
 
What all would you like pics of? Make a quick list and I'll take them in the AM before work.
 
-Erik
 
Edit: After looking at the manual of the Sharkoon X-Tatic SR, it appears the "Sound Control Units" are nearly identical except for the 3d Stereo Sound feature on the Sharkoon.

 
AD700 is the most susceptible-to-hiss headphone I've used.  PC360 can bury it some though.
 
I can see an inline cable amp adding hiss, as pretty much all the Turtle Beach headsets that do that get complaints about the hiss.
 
That's a little disappointing that the monoprice decoder box appears to made from where Sharkoon got there's.  I was hoping it was a monoprice original design.
 
The manual hints that it takes dobly headphone and then processes further:
 
Quote:

      The SCU offers two different playback modes for the reproduction of Dolby ®  Headphone signals.
      These  playback modes are different in tone color and sound impression. The gaming mode focuses on  
      heavy basses so especially in-game sound effects are accurately reproduced.
      In contrast the music mode of the SCU offers a well-balanced tone color which is recommended for   
      music listening.

 
Just plain Dolby Headphone pleaze!
 
The Sharkoon box only says PLII and Dolby 5.1, where the monoprice is PLIIx + 7.1, so they may have different chips still.
 
You probably don't need to take pics if it looks just like the Sharkoon box, b/c I can just look at pictures of that....

 

[burritoboy9984]

Quote:

 
AD700 is the most susceptible-to-hiss headphone I've used.  PC360 can bury it some though.
 
I can see an inline cable amp adding hiss, as pretty much all the Turtle Beach headsets that do that get complaints about the hiss.
 
That's a little disappointing that the monoprice decoder box appears to made from where Sharkoon got there's.  I was hoping it was a monoprice original design.
 
The manual hints that it takes dobly headphone and then processes further:
 
 
Just plain Dolby Headphone pleaze!
 
The Sharkoon box only says PLII and Dolby 5.1, where the monoprice is PLIIx + 7.1, so they may have different chips still.
 
You probably don't need to take pics if it looks just like the Sharkoon box, b/c I can just look at pictures of that....

 
It is different from the Sharkoon box slightly. The 4 buttons from the Power -> mode on the side are identical, the shape is slightly different as you can see on the monoprice site.
 
The headset sounds pretty good with the inline amp off, but to process the xbox live chat you have to have it on, or have the voice settings to play through speakers.
 
If you still want pics, let me know what of.
 
-Erik

 

[Impulse]

So I luv you guys, and the thread

What's a good intro Level AKG headphone to buy that will introduce me to the Akg House Sound... I might demo a pair of K77's, and I'm curious... do they have the "house" sound! My goal is to try a few more brands of cans, so I can widen mah knowledge! 

I'm not sure there's such a thing, tho I haven't tried AKG's lower end open models either. Something like the closed K181 is gonna sound vastly different than the Q701 tho.

Some brands like Senn might have more similarities across models even between open and closed stuff but even then there's always exceptions... For instance the closed HD25-1 ii sound very different than most Senn (and not necessarily in the way you'd expect), still one of their oldest and most popular headphones.

I guess you could view AT AD700's as a very poor man's Q701? If that's the direction you were looking in... Probably easier to compare specific models or try out stuff with similar signatures based on recommendations and threads like this than to go by brand.

 

[chicolom]

AKG K240 is one of the more popular AKGs.  It's pretty well balanced sounding, but I can't remember how similar it is or isn't to the Q701.  It definitely has a smaller soundstage.  It's semi-open.
 

 

[ruuku]

Raising and lowering levels of sound between the two sides? That makes it sound like a simple crossfeed, and binaural is so much more than that. Note my mention of Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) whenever talking about binaural mixes. It's the HRTF simulation that makes it binaural and not just a dumb crossfeed.

And those recordings are too realistic for video games? I never thought I'd hear about anyone complaining about that sort of thing before. If anything, proper binaural audio in games really adds to the immersion for me, like I'm really there. It's also a very handy competitive advantage. (How many times have I used the phrase "aural wallhack" on here? I lost count...)

Oh, and speaking of CRTs, I still find it funny how this decade-old Sony GDM-FW900 sitting in front of me still wipes the floor with every single display made after it for gaming. Of course, that's a professional aperture-grille CRT monitor capable of handling 2304x1440 at 80 Hz and lower resolutions up to 160 Hz, being Sony's top-of-the-line monitor for a cool $2,500 back then, not the cheap shadow mask SDTVs everyone thinks of.

Still, it's a damn shame that CRTs still haven't been surpassed as gaming monitors, with their combination of no input lag, high refresh rates (for smoother motion), perfect viewing angles (something even the best LCD types aren't capable of, especially in the blacks), deep blacks, and total lack of native resolutions, which is nice for those of us who still like to play old games that don't go as high resolution-wise. Some technologies might do a few things better, but suffer greatly in other areas.

This brought back fond memories of my 19" sony... bought around 1995-6 and lasted until 2005... that thing weighed a ton, but the colors, and refresh rates were grand. Recent TVs and monitors have been getting better though, but I guess its "artificially" raising the bar through software ( gaming modes ect.) rather than through straight forward technological advances. After using a 27" daily for the past 6-months or so, I'd be hard pressed to want to revert to anything less than 24". Display wise, the next few years should be pretty interesting... its nice to see IPS panels finally hitting the mainstream, as well as advances in OLED and other technologies.

 

[HalidePisces]

Oh, and speaking of CRTs, I still find it funny how this decade-old Sony GDM-FW900 sitting in front of me still wipes the floor with every single display made after it for gaming. Of course, that's a professional aperture-grille CRT monitor capable of handling 2304x1440 at 80 Hz and lower resolutions up to 160 Hz, being Sony's top-of-the-line monitor for a cool $2,500 back then, not the cheap shadow mask SDTVs everyone thinks of.

Still, it's a damn shame that CRTs still haven't been surpassed as gaming monitors, with their combination of no input lag, high refresh rates (for smoother motion), perfect viewing angles (something even the best LCD types aren't capable of, especially in the blacks), deep blacks, and total lack of native resolutions, which is nice for those of us who still like to play old games that don't go as high resolution-wise. Some technologies might do a few things better, but suffer greatly in other areas.

You have a Sony GDM-FW900? Holy crap, am I jealous of you.

Out of curiosity, how well does it display a 4:3 picture?

 

[I95North]

Quote:

 
 
Oh, and speaking of CRTs, I still find it funny how this decade-old Sony GDM-FW900 sitting in front of me still wipes the floor with every single display made after it for gaming. Of course, that's a professional aperture-grille CRT monitor capable of handling 2304x1440 at 80 Hz and lower resolutions up to 160 Hz, being Sony's top-of-the-line monitor for a cool $2,500 back then, not the cheap shadow mask SDTVs everyone thinks of.
 
Still, it's a damn shame that CRTs still haven't been surpassed as gaming monitors, with their combination of no input lag, high refresh rates (for smoother motion), perfect viewing angles (something even the best LCD types aren't capable of, especially in the blacks), deep blacks, and total lack of native resolutions, which is nice for those of us who still like to play old games that don't go as high resolution-wise. Some technologies might do a few things better, but suffer greatly in other areas.
 
 

Nameless you should get with the times and throw that boat anchor over board and get a REAL nice led monitor lol. I'm Kidding really i have the HP-A7217A same as yours and i can't game without it at all. Aside from getting nauseous when playing games on lcd's of any sort they also make my eyes blood shot red after only an hour of playing on them. I gave up using lcd's 3  years back and found my new joy.
 
She takes about 30mins to get to her climax and put out like no other monitor can for me and then when she does its oooHH so Heavenly it makes me wanna  cry lol..
 
If she breaks down i don't know what i'd do.   I0 years old and she still puts out vivid colors, crisp blacks and crazy nice contrast ratios like a spring chickin..