[Zaruk]

Yeah... The thing is, my PC doesn't have any -- ----- -- shaped slots in it. What's a good budget USB Amp or something like that... (all my PC has is a ----- -- and a ----- -- -- shaped one. I know this is a weird way of showing off ports, but... Yeah....)

 

[daleb]

I...What? I didn't get that at all! the Xonar U3 is a usb sound card with virtual surround sound.
 

 

[Zaruk]

Oh, sorry. I was looking at the DG...

 

[Zaruk]

Literal facepalm...

 

[daleb]

I just didnt get what you meant by the "shapes" thing...
Maybe a PCI-E would fit?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132052
 
Edit: You don't NEED virtual surround at the beginning, you can get one of these later if need be.

 

[Zaruk]

No, it's some weird port.... The motherboard is old as anything and I should be getting a new PC soon...

 

[daleb]

Quote:

No, it's some weird port.... The motherboard is old as anything and I should be getting a new PC soon...

Oh, its probably an AGP connector then. I had one of those way back when.
 
Edit: Could it also possibly be a PCI-X?

 

[Evshrug]

Any recommendations?

The Turtle Beach DSS is really cheap on eBay, and if your computer can output Dolby Digital Live from an optical output, you can get surround on PC too (it's mainly intended to use with game consoles). The PC-only cheap option is a Xonar U3 by Asus. It's easier to have a do-all Surround Processor for everything if you get a Creative Recon3D USB, I used to have one and liked it a lot, hooked up to my Mac via USB (included native drivers and settings control software) and hooked up to my Xbox 360 via the optical. Head-Fi member NamelessPFG is selling his for ~$60.

Any of the above will pair fine with the Samson's, but if later on you get a hard to drive headphone upgrade, you'll probably also need to double-amp with a separate amp. IMO, cross that bridge when/if you get there, though I've found the Recon3D USB and the DSS to be relatively suitable for double-amping.

 

[Zaruk]

No, that's not it...
After further research, the two ones not being used by my graphics card are a PCI and an unknown one...

 

[Zaruk]

if your computer can output Dolby Digital Live from an optical output, you can get surround on PC too

How do I find out if it can?

 

[Evshrug]

On another note, my Koss KCS75 Pulse Clips arrived today.

I am seriously impressed for the $9.99 sale price.

Not as rich as the Q701, and the separation between instruments and notes isn't as distinct, but the little Koss is an amazing deal with basically no unpleasant qualities. I didn't compare them side-by-side A/B, but I don't feel dissatisfied after being brain-attuned to the Q701 for a fairly long time. First thing I noticed was it has pretty great impact, listening to Wilco's "Whole Love" you really get a sense of strings being hit and the acoustic guitar pushing sound at you, you feel how hard the musician is playing. Good cans to rock to. I also plugged them into the relatively crappy (re: noisy) aux out of my computer speakers while playing Starcraft II today (I reached #1 in my division today, first time ever Whooray!); the background noise didn't bother me, and what I DID hear was much "fuller" and... more... intense and involving, making my old $80 Sony computer speakers sound laid-back and thin by comparison. Bass presence was much better. Overall if the mid-bass is boosted then the mids are "neutral" ish and the low-trebles slightly lifted. Maybe a little bright, and the sub-bass extension is pretty weak, but songs don't usually try to produce those atmospheric low low notes at the extremes of our hearing range.

The only thing I would say against it, is perhaps the Koss' somewhat forward sound isn't as relaxing and may be tiring to listen to music with for a longer duration (probably done after an album's worth). That said, I played music and games with them for 3.5 hours today, maybe I got used to it but the Koss never seemed harsh or painful. Physically, the clips didn't bother me even though I was also wearing glasses, the way they rotated behind my ear didn't interact much with my glasses stems, and they didn't hurt (though taking them off was kind of like the relief I feel after taking off socks from my feet).

The biggest come-away is how worthy these sound, even fun. Their price begs the question: if you're enjoying yourself and having fun, why pay more? There are reasons, but still I think EVERYONE ought to own one, even if it's just to reference if an upgrade is worth the money.

 

[daleb]

Quote:

No, that's not it...
After further research, the two ones not being used by my graphics card are a PCI and an unknown one...

Then the Xonar DG will work, as it is PCI, and is the cheapest option!

 

[kellte2]

On another note, my Koss KCS75 Pulse Clips arrived today.

I am seriously impressed for the $9.99 sale price.

Not as rich as the Q701, and the separation between instruments and notes isn't as distinct, but the little Koss is an amazing deal with basically no unpleasant qualities. I didn't compare them side-by-side A/B, but I don't feel dissatisfied after being brain-attuned to the Q701 for a fairly long time. First thing I noticed was it has pretty great impact, listening to Wilco's "Whole Love" you really get a sense of strings being hit and the acoustic guitar pushing sound at you, you feel how hard the musician is playing. Good cans to rock to. I also plugged them into the relatively crappy (re: noisy) aux out of my computer speakers while playing Starcraft II today (I reached #1 in my division today, first time ever Whooray!); the background noise didn't bother me, and what I DID hear was much "fuller" and... more... intense and involving, making my old $80 Sony computer speakers sound laid-back and thin by comparison. Bass presence was much better. The low-mids may seem a little sucked out or overshadowed (not as evenly rich/full through the freq range as the Q701), but overall if the mid-bass is boosted then the mids are "neutral" ish and the low-trebles slightly lifted.

The only thing I would say against it, is perhaps the Koss' sound isn't as relaxing and may be tiring to listen to music with for a longer duration (probably done after an album's worth). That said, I played music and games with them for 3.5 hours today, maybe I got used to it but the Koss never seemed harsh or painful. Physically, the clips didn't bother me even though I was also wearing glasses, the way they rotated behind my ear didn't interact much with my glasses stems, and they didn't hurt (though taking them off was kind of like the relief I feel after taking off socks from my feet).

The biggest come-away is how worthy these sound, even fun. Their price begs the question: if you're enjoying yourself and having fun, why pay more? There are reasons, but still I think EVERYONE ought to own one, even if it's just to reference if an upgrade is worth the money.

I had very similar initial impressions. For 9.99, they were an absolute steal. The clips are a little loose for my tastes and bending the arms didn't seem to help too much so I might consider the parts express mod - or whatever the other headband that allows you to snap the drivers on.

 

[Evshrug]

How do I find out if it can?

Well, if your motherboard has an optical port built-in like my Gigabyte MoBo, then you can get stereo just by plugging in and selecting it from the list of devices. As far as sending DDL encoded 5.1 audio out through there, I haven't figured it out myself. You can select 5.1 speakers in Windows preferences I think, then in your game select 5.1 output (and the optical line-out again, if necessary). That may work, but I'm not the expert since I used the Creative software on my Mac connected to the Recon3D through USB. It may NOT work, because they want you to pay for the license to encode in DDL, which may not have been included in the stuff you've bought. I believe a plug-in for Foobar can allow Dolby headphone for movies and music, but not games.

If you have a desktop with a spare PCI slot, the Xonar DG would also be my recommendation instead of the U3 USB thumbstick.



Kellte,
The clips did feel weird at first, the left one doesn't seem to fit as snugly as the right, but I just got back from a walk while wearing them (and adjusted my impressions), and they don't bother me for their looseness. I also tugged my earlobe through/between the part where the clip and earpad almost meet near the bottom, and they feel more secure now.

Update 1: I noticed the sub bass extension isn't very special... You probably wouldn't notice if you didn't know better, but the lowest notes are decidedly weak and sharply rolled-off after the midbass hump. There's a part of Muse's "Undisclosed Desires," for example, near the end (3:36) where there's like a cello BVreeew and an answering sub-bass atmospheric Thooooom; with the Koss, you might not even notice the Thooooom as not just being part of the background rather than a note in response. One of those things that, when you get really high-end, "you hear things you've never heard before."

Update 2: Kanye West's "Gold Digger" is sonically hard to listen to...

 

[Zaruk]

Quote:

Then the Xonar DG will work, as it is PCI, and is the cheapest option!

Hmmm... Good, then. Is the sound quality significantly better compared to a PC's standard audio built-in sound card? I do have a spare PCI.
EDIT: My PC doesn't even have any optical ports; I just realized that. My older PC did, but this one apparently doesn't. Oh well, I guess I'll get the Xonar DG or something along its lines, and then upgrade from there.
I apologize for any weird formatting the forum does, as about half of my posts (a specific post: the one about what open slots I have) are made on my phone. Sorry.