[burritoboy9984]

 

 
I got the PLYR 2's while Skullcandy had the 50% off sale a while back, best $65 I've ever spent imo. They are very similar to the SLYR's IMO. Not great for gaming, but are perfect for watching TV and movies while the wife is sleeping. MLE, will you compare the built in processor to the one from the receiver plz? Just for curiosity sake.
 
On a side note, my buddy just received his X1's and I think after messing around with them briefly, I'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon and snag a pair. They give a feeling like the LCD lineup has of being slightly closed for an open headphone. I'll just have to get used to how loud I'm talking I guess, lol.
 
-Erik

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I can't divulge anything yet. Just wanted to give you guys a head's up of what's around the corner.

 

[Chubtoad]

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True, it would plug into the PS vita, but how would you power the Mixamp? It's powered by USB, you know (unless the older models with batteries could function this way?)
If you need an amp for the Vita, I'd recommend a FiiO E11 instead. No DAC component (but your Vita is the DAC in that case anyway), but the amp is a smidgen more powerful than the E17 and costs much less.

Thanks, looks like I could pick up an E11 for $62.00, not to bad

 

[Currawong]

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Awesome review collection. I was about to post a thread about the Xbox 360 and whether I should bother to upgrade from my Halo Edition. I may have to if I want to use optical out at the same time as HDMI if I was to consider a Dolby adaptor. Better audio imaging is on my list of things I want. 

Currawong really IS watching! Lol.

Curra, really a Dolby Headphone adapter is easily the most important thing in the chain for me.

If I had to make a choice between playing a game with the HD800 with the best stereo amp/dac in the world, or a simple KSC75 with a Dolby Headphone device, I'd choose the KCS75 everytime. That's how important virtual surround is to me. No joke. Once you get used to the fact that it's not about pure fidelity but immersion and virtual surround positioning, and adjust to the SQ change, you'll find that playing in stereo is like putting on blinders. Of course HD800 with Dolby Headphone would probably destroy the world with it's overwhelming awesomeness.


I dunno about you, but I'd look into older receivers that have Dolby Headphone. Like triple digit Harmin Kardon or Marantz receivers. They have very little to mo audible noise floors. If you want compact, a 2nd gen Mixamp is pretty quiet. Otherwise, the other devices are fine but do have audible hiss.

 
That's a thought actually. I could then use one with speakers in my living room. So far I might go for one of the gaming units though.
 
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Awesome review collection. I was about to post a thread about the Xbox 360 and whether I should bother to upgrade from my Halo Edition. I may have to if I want to use optical out at the same time as HDMI if I was to consider a Dolby adaptor. Better audio imaging is on my list of things I want. 

 
Shouldn't need to upgrade your Xbox 360 just to get optical out. If the Halo edition is like my current Xbox, you can use one of the many adapters like these to get HDMI to one source and optical to the DSP. This one is third party, but I have the official microsoft one myself.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Optical-Audio-Adapter-Xbox-360-Cable/dp/B0042UQLM0

 
Thanks for that. I don't know why I didn't think to look for third party adaptors. 

 

[kiab42]

After much searching around I've come to the conclusion that the Beyerdynamic DT990 + FiiO E10 DAC will be a good combination for my PC gaming needs. Does this sound like a reasonable purchase or do any of you feel that I could spend my money on something better? I've also looked at the FiiO E9K as suggested by this guide, but I was refered to the E10 by someone else and was drawn to the price. I know it's only a $35 dollar difference, but if there isn't too big of a difference then why not? I'm new to the audiophile world by the way, so any suggestions are very helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.  

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

You're gaming in stereo... AND you're underpowering the 990... double whammy, IMHO. Not sure which impedance 990 you got, but the 32ohm is current hungry, and needs more power than the 250ohm. The 250ohm is too high an impedance for the E10 to fully drive to a great level...

You might be happy with how it will sound, but you're basically bottlenecking the 990.

Oh well..

Definitely would've went with something else.

 

[chicolom]

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After much searching around I've come to the conclusion that the Beyerdynamic DT990 + FiiO E10 DAC will be a good combination for my PC gaming needs. Does this sound like a reasonable purchase or do any of you feel that I could spend my money on something better? I've also looked at the FiiO E9K as suggested by this guide, but I was refered to the E10 by someone else and was drawn to the price. I know it's only a $35 dollar difference, but if there isn't too big of a difference then why not? I'm new to the audiophile world by the way, so any suggestions are very helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.  

 
The E10 is a stereo DAC/amp.  For PC gaming I would go with a device with virtual surround, which would be an Asus U3 for laptops, or on of the Asus or Creative desktop card for a desktop PC.
 
The E10 is fine for music, but for gaming I would choose a device with virtual surround over it every time when gaming.  The E10 can only be used as the first device in the audio chain, as it only has a digital input.
 
Also, there is a big difference between the E10 and E9.  One is a powerful desktop amp while the other is a small and cute usb powered DAC/amp.  The amp in the E10 is decent, but it's NOT on the same level as the E9.
 

 

[kiab42]

Thanks for the responses. So, it looks like the 990s will do the job for my gaming, but the amp I chose will hold me back. I'm guessing this mean the E9K will be the better choice over the E10 or should I do what Chicolom suggested and upgrade my sound card?

 

[burritoboy9984]

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Thanks for the responses. So, it looks like the 990s will do the job for my gaming, but the amp I chose will hold me back. I'm guessing this mean the E9K will be the better choice over the E10 or should I do what Chicolom suggested and upgrade my sound card?

 
Upgrade your soundcard to something that provides headphone surround. THEN get an amp later if you are not satisfied.
 
-Erik

 

[kiab42]

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Upgrade your soundcard to something that provides headphone surround. THEN get an amp later if you are not satisfied.
 
-Erik

Sounds like a plan. Is it possible do get a sound card that will do the job for pretty cheap. Also, from your experience or anybody else's, would the 990s provide decent audio with a good sound card or would it also benefit from an amp?

 

[kupco]

I currently have DT990's with a Creative Soundblaster Z hooked up through the amped headphone out on the soundcard and it drives the Beyers decently. I fell like there is room for more though (mainly when listening to music) so I'm thinking of getting a Schiit Magni to drive them properly.

 

[kiab42]

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I currently have DT990's with a Creative Soundblaster Z hooked up through the amped headphone out on the soundcard and it drives the Beyers decently. I fell like there is room for more though (mainly when listening to music) so I'm thinking of getting a Schiit Magni to drive them properly.

So, currently you don't have a stand alone amp? For someone like me who is not very familiar with higher quality audio would the 990s and a good sound card impress me? Also, now that I think of it, in about a year I will be switching from desktop to exclusively using a laptop. Could I get by with purchasing an amp now instead of a sound card, so that I can easily make the transition from desktop to laptop? Thanks.

 

[roguegeek]

So, currently you don't have a stand alone amp? For someone like me who is not very familiar with higher quality audio would the 990s and a good sound card impress me? Also, now that I think of it, in about a year I will be switching from desktop to exclusively using a laptop. Could I get by with purchasing an amp now instead of a sound card, so that I can easily make the transition from desktop to laptop? Thanks.

You are trying to force an answer that you want to hear, but wouldn't be right. If you want the DT990, it needs to be properly powered, period. Budget for a good desktop amp. If you aren't going to do that, you shouldn't be buying them.

 

[Happy Bullets]

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After much searching around I've come to the conclusion that the Beyerdynamic DT990 + FiiO E10 DAC will be a good combination for my PC gaming needs. Does this sound like a reasonable purchase or do any of you feel that I could spend my money on something better? I've also looked at the FiiO E9K as suggested by this guide, but I was refered to the E10 by someone else and was drawn to the price. I know it's only a $35 dollar difference, but if there isn't too big of a difference then why not? I'm new to the audiophile world by the way, so any suggestions are very helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.  

Skip the Beyer and get the X1...Awesome for gaming....and relatively easy to power.

 

[Evshrug]

That's a thought actually. I could then use one with speakers in my living room. So far I might go for one of the gaming units though.

Thanks for that. I don't know why I didn't think to look for third party adaptors. 

Hi Currawong.
This is the audio dongle I've been using with my Xbox 360 Elite since 2010:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S5CCF2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you have one of the newer "Slim" models (with the different harddrive and Wi-Fi built-in), you shouldn't even need an audio dongle because the Slim has an optical-out port on the back already. I second the suggestion for a receiver for convenience though... Plug everything into it via HDMI (or your other audio gear via RCA or whatever), easily switch inputs, and of course switch between powering speakers and headphone surround easily. I'm trying to test now how Dolby Headphone compares to Silent Cinema for Headphone Surround as a viable alternative, but I suppose I should warn you that I'm the oddball that preferred the Recon3D (with it's THX TruStudio Pro surround processing) over either of those two.

DH and SC both have an echo-effect that doesn't seem like a natural way to position audio, THX did not and I was truly impressed while gaming and watching movies (read my review linked in my signature, recommended tweaks are also linked from that review to help owners). The way the Recon3D handled back/front panning was particularly evident in the first campaign cutscene of Halo: Reach, where a warthog and two helicopters woosh from behind to front of your perspective... Very cool. I haven't tested this same scene yet with my DSS (just got it), but I was immediately annoyed that the echos were back... I'm giving it time to grow on me though, and it DOES sound "surround."

I doubt you need an explanation at this point, but I also tried to break down headphone surround and provide examples in my "If I knew then..." thread linked in my signature. I intend to expand that help thread, but I've been kinda... inactive? Lazy? Uninspired? since starting my job at Bruegger's bagels. I ought to keep "blogging" there though.
-----

So, currently you don't have a stand alone amp? For someone like me who is not very familiar with higher quality audio would the 990s and a good sound card impress me? Also, now that I think of it, in about a year I will be switching from desktop to exclusively using a laptop. Could I get by with purchasing an amp now instead of a sound card, so that I can easily make the transition from desktop to laptop? Thanks.

Hmm... Well, if you got the Xonar DX, that has DH and a decent built-in amp, not too expensive either, but that's an internal soundcard that won't be usable with most laptops. The USB DAC + surround processor units I know of are: Asus Xonar U3, Creative X-Fi Go! Pro (or the older but apparently better Go! Live model), and Creative Recon3D USB. They are decent but a step-down in power and quality compared to a soundcard, so you would need an external amp to add to your chain. The Creative Recon3D USB has the distinction of also being designed to work with consoles via Optical, and IMO had pretty good quality and was hiss-free, but it's biggest weakness was a built-in amp of average power. Quality and soundstage was MUCH improved when I plugged the headphone out jack into a Tube amp, although my much-easier-to-power/drive AD700 didn't need an extra amp to sound pretty great straight out from the Recon3D.

I wonder if the new AD900x (which should also be easy to drive) wouldn't also be a great match... Keep in mind Asians typically have wider heads than those of European descent, for me I bent the headband to make it narrower and strung a rubber-band between the "wings" to increase comfort. My AD700 were much lighter than the Q701, and of course the headband was more gentle, so in some ways the AD700 was more comfortable long-term. The new pads look different (more plush), maybe they'll help the earcup sit flush more easily against the head without bending the headband "bars" much. Of course, an amp will still improve these a little, but not as obviously as the top three in the DT series.