[themunce]

  Oh, I am surely getting TAC. But Q701>>>> any wireless/wired Turtle Beach headset. 90% of commercially acclaimed headsets are crap.

when it the TAC coming out? I sure hope to see some comparison's to the Mixamp. I'm fine with my mixamp, tried TB mixers before, but would always like to see something beat out the mixamp at some point.

 

[grumpy1471]

So the AKG Q701's aren't compatible with the V-moda boom mic?

Nope. The K/Q7xx line use Mini XLR connectors for the headphones. Zombie_X is currently working on getting the XLR to 3.5mm adapters tested and ready to sell. Those will work with the Boom Pro and any other 3.5mm cord.

 

[grumpy1471]

Hey guys,

Any solid recommendations for closed back, over the ear headphones? I'm looking into some good headphones for portable gaming and music use. I'm not sure as to which closed headphones will have a good enough soundstage while still being great for music. I'm looking into foldable headphones for portability.

So far, the V-Moda M100, PSB M4U 1 or 2 and Mad Dogs seem pretty decent.

 

[themunce]

Nope. The K/Q7xx line use Mini XLR connectors for the headphones. Zombie_X is currently working on getting the XLR to 3.5mm adapters tested and ready to sell. Those will work with the Boom Pro and any other 3.5mm cord.

ETA?

 

[grumpy1471]

ETA?

Sorry, no clue. You may have to ask Zombie_X directly. You can check back periodically on the testing thread as hopefully it will be updated as the testing gets done. Here's the link: http://www.head-fi.org/t/717192/custom-akg-v-moda-boom-pro-adapter-testers-wanted

 

[NamelessPFG]

For all the talk this TAC thing gets, an HDMI input/video passthrough would be nice.
 
Also, we're making an awful lot of assumptions about its performance and DTS Headphone:X's performance in particular. While I'd like to test it out myself, I can't rule out the possibility that it might actually end up being worse.

 

[Fegefeuer]

It's AC3 -> DTS: Headphone X?
 
No DTS?

 

[Evshrug]

For all the talk this TAC thing gets, an HDMI input/video passthrough would be nice.

Also, we're making an awful lot of assumptions about its performance and DTS Headphone:X's performance in particular. While I'd like to test it out myself, I can't rule out the possibility that it might actually end up being worse.

There are a couple iOS apps with Hans Zimmer soundtracks in pre-baked DTS Headphone X (and of course Zimmer saying "Left-front speaker..."), not interactive like a game but I thought it sounded good. Well, I say not interactive, but you can switch on/off DTS headphone X mode live while the batman or superman music is playing. Historically, DTS encoding is less compressed than Dolby too, though like anything in this hobby there are people who prefer one over the other... There was an episode of Big Bang Theory where a pretty new girl moves in upstairs and has Leonard set up a home theater for her; Leonard set it to use DTS "...because it has more bass" and Sheldon says "I hate you."

 

[dakanao]

Hey guys, how would the Soundmagic HP100 be for gaming?

 

[Evshrug]

Two people in this thread use it and rave about it often.

 

[Yethal]

As far as I know PS4 uses AMD audio software which is supposedly awesome and badass etc. So, a question has to be asked, is there a way for PS4 to output virtual surround through optical as two channel pcm stream so we can have both positional accuracy and audiophile level sound quality?

 

[benbenkr]

You got it wrong.
 
PS4 has AMD APIs and the hardware DSP for hardware-level processing, however there hasn't been a single game that is being mixed or developed this way yet. There ware some ramblings about Sony trademarking some names for use with their products (not nessasarily justthe  PS4, which many got their pants wet over nothing), this could mean the ability to just enable virtual surround with a flick of an option button.
 
Then again, the only game that has been released with AMD's TrueAudio is Thief on the PC and that sucked horribly (or is there another now?). So... yeah, whatever. We're still at a state where virtual surround isn't a thing for the vast majority.

 

[Yethal]

Damn, and here I thought I can have virtual surround without relying on dolby digital.

 

[Stillhart]

Hey guys,

Any solid recommendations for closed back, over the ear headphones? I'm looking into some good headphones for portable gaming and music use. I'm not sure as to which closed headphones will have a good enough soundstage while still being great for music. I'm looking into foldable headphones for portability.

So far, the V-Moda M100, PSB M4U 1 or 2 and Mad Dogs seem pretty decent.

 
I tried the Denon AH-D600, the Mad Dog 3.2 with Alpha Pads and the SoundMAGIC HP100 before I settled on the HP100.  The sound signature is really similar to that of the Q701, but you know... closed instead of open (smaller SS, more bass, etc).  They're super easy to drive, they come with a nice case and a removable cable too.  I got a refurb for $135 shipped and at that price it's a no-brainer.  Fantastic headphones!
 
Note:  I've never gamed with them yet!  I'll have to do it at some point so I can stop saying that...

 

[AUserName501]

I've used a lot of different virtual surroud sound software and listened to a lot of binaural audio. I've come to the conclusion that IEMs are the best for gaming due to sharper imaging than full sized open headphones. Most notably imaging in front of the head is better which is the hardest part to localise sounds.
 
I'm currently using the Etymotic ER-4PT and the only full sized headphones that have come close to that level of sharpness in imaging is the Sennheiser HD800. While full sized headphones sound 'airy' that isn't as important for competitive gaming where the position of sounds is more important. Another important aspect is the sound isolation that IEMs bring is amazing for LAN events, tournaments and their small size means they are really portable. I use a Giant Squid Lavalier Omni mic and just clip it on to my shirt.
 
My personal opinion is that the best full sized gaming headphones are the Sennheiser HD800 (possibly SR-009 too) and the best IEMs for competitive gaming are the Etymotic (HF5 and ER-4PT). No doubt there are CIEMs that are even better but I don't have the disposable income to test them.
 
 
I would recommend the HF5 simply because it measures almost identically to the Etymotic ER-4P and is considerably cheaper. The benefit of the Etymotic ER-4PT is that the drivers are matched to each other but that isn't really worth it to me.
 
ER-4S is as detailed as the ER-4P but the ER-4S is brighter. This may mean the ER-4S is better for competitive gaming because there is little useful information in bass but that would also mean it is less fun.
 
I'd recommend that MadLustEnvy does a review with the Etymotic HF5 and expands out into IEMs.
 

---

 
On another point I'd say that using virtual surround extensively with music listening will improve your ability to localise sounds in front of your head. At first I used to have a huge amount of trouble localising sounds in this area but after listening for such a long time I can now localise sounds much better. However, if you switch to another pair of IEMs with a different frequency response you will no longer be able to localise sounds in front of your head anywhere near as well.
 
What this means is that you should find the Virtual Surround Sound software you like, set it up as you like and stick to the same pair of IEMs for a long time. If you constantly switch between IEMs you're going to find this much harder to do.