[Stillhart]

 
Thanks for the reply I am convinced. I will have the omni sitting next to my pc and I watch movies and so from the couch as my pc is hooked up to my hdtv. i am not that keen on getting up and walking to the computer to adjust the volume so i was hoping that i could use the mixamp without it changing the SBX signal, purely to adjust the volume.
i might have to run some longer cables and  put the omni next to me instead.
Would the omni also work with ps4 if i connected it via optical(obviously without the chat)?

Get something like this:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Ortek-Windows-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B00224ZDFY
 
I assume you have some kind of universal remote already; throw away the one you just bought and just use the USB IR receiver to control the volume on your movies.  It's what I do on my XBMC box and it works great.
 
I don't believe the Omni will work on your PS4 at all, but I don't know for sure one way or the other.  Maybe @Evshrug can help there.

 

[Gamer-Fi]

  Get something like this:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Ortek-Windows-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B00224ZDFY
 
I assume you have some kind of universal remote already; throw away the one you just bought and just use the USB IR receiver to control the volume on your movies.  It's what I do on my XBMC box and it works great.
 
I don't believe the Omni will work on your PS4 at all, but I don't know for sure one way or the other.  Maybe @Evshrug can help there.

looks good.. What program would i have to use to play my movies with this? I currently use media player classic with ac3 filter because it allows me to use the optical out and use my home theatre to decode.

 

[Gamer-Fi]

 
looks good.. What program would i have to use to play my movies with this? I currently use media player classic with ac3 filter because it allows me to use the optical out and use my home theatre to decode.

i guess movies i can use my wireless mouse but games might be more difficult

 

[Stillhart]

 
looks good.. What program would i have to use to play my movies with this? I currently use media player classic with ac3 filter because it allows me to use the optical out and use my home theatre to decode.

This works with Windows Media Center with no configuration.  I'm not sure if it will easily work with MPC.  For XBMC and such, you'll need to configure appropriately.  
 
If you watch movies off your computer a lot, I'd recommend using XBMC to play your movies/shows and something like Media Center Master to organize your files and grab metadata.

 

[imac2much]

  I almost got the DT770 before I got the HP100.  I was told by a couple people that I wouldn't like the DT770, given my preference for the Q701's sound signature.  I'm sure they're great, they just sound different; once you have a better idea of the sound signature you like, it'll make decisions like this easier.  Unfortunately, that will only come with experience.  
 

Thanks for your thoughts as always!  You're right, I have NO idea what type of sound signature I'm looking for, as this is my first foray into actual headphones.  Currently I'm still debating the x1, HP100 and HP200.  I like these three for their looks, comfort, supposedly well-balanced sound, similar cost, and the fact none would REQUIRE an amp (though I know all three would scale well with a good amp, I can possibly purchase a portable amp like an E17 at a later date).
 
Fidelio X1: Higher price, but I kind of want to try velour pads as the pleather on my Sony Pulse Elite headphones get hot and make my ears sweaty after a while.  I've read that the x1 has really balanced sound and good bass for an open headphone.  I've also read that it has a large soundstage which is something I am looking for right now.  I don't like that it doesn't come with a carrying case (extra if I want to buy one) and the headphones don't seem to collapse well for travel.  I don't exactly need a portable headphone since I'm not really going to be using these while walking around, but I need to bring my headphones with me on the plane to China so I think I'd need a case and the more "compact" the better.
 
Soundmagic HP100: I like the fact that it is closed in case my wife gets tired of noise leakage  I like the looks a bit more than the x1, though the glossy cups sorta turn me off... the headband looks more comfy.  Pleather kinda annoys me, and I'm not sure if I feel comfortable replacing earpads on my very first pair of real headphones; even if I do, it would cost extra and make the price comparable to the x1.  Ugh and I don't like the coiled audio cable (that isn't swappable unless I splurge on an HP200 cable).  I love the fact that these headphones fold and come with a convenient carrying case.  Apparently has a great soundstage for a closed headphone (like DT770?).
 
Soundmagic HP200: I think these are some of the sexiest headphones I've ever seen.  I really like the metal grill on the cups a lot more than the glossy ones on the HP100, and the straight cable is a big improvement as well.  I'm a bit nervous that people say the bass sounds not as "full" as the x1 or HP100, and that the soundstage isn't actually very improved from the closed HP100.  I've also read that replacing the pads make the highs retreat a bit which makes me nervous.
 
I can't seem to make up my mind, though I don't think I'll have to make my decision immediately.  I can probably purchase some headphones later in China which will remove the requirement for a travel case anyway.  I really wish I could try some open headphones myself first to see if the sound leakage is as bad as I fear; some videos online make open headphones like the DT990's sound like miniature audio speakers, while others make the leakage sound very subtle indeed.  I also briefly considered the AKG K545's but couldn't find enough feedback on these in this thread, so I wasn't sure if they would be good for gaming.
 
Another problem is that sometimes I wonder if I should just splurge on a good set of DAC/Amp... and maybe increase my budget... and look at the AKG K712... haha.  This is a dangerous hobby, and I haven't even really started.

 

[Stillhart]

  snip
 
Another problem is that sometimes I wonder if I should just splurge on a good set of DAC/Amp... and maybe increase my budget... and look at the AKG K712... haha.  This is a dangerous hobby, and I haven't even really started.

QFT!
 
Seriously though, at this point you shouldn't be agonizing so much.  All three are great headphones and you'll probably be happy with any of them.
 
Regarding sound leakage outward:  it's SERIOUSLY not as bad as people make it out to be.  Only in a completely silent room will you notice it enough to make much difference.  Even computer fans running will drown it out enough that you'll barely notice it.
 
Now sound leakage INWARD can be much more of an issue.  For example, I don't like using my Q701 at work because all the background noise washes out the fine details, which is where the Q really excels.  Closed cans at work are much nicer.  Also on a plane.  If you plan on using these on-the-go at all, you'll want to go closed.
 
It sounds like you've done all your homework and it's just a matter of pulling the trigger now.  I'd say stick with open cans if you know you won't be using them on the go.  Between the X1 and the HP200... flip a coin and enjoy your awesome headphones.

 

[AUserName501]

  Probably using a card that has optical input, then run optical out from console to optical in in audio card then set optical in as a main audio source on pc, then apply dolby headphone encoding and output through headphone jack. To be honest, just buy a mixamp or dss, less hassle.
 
Also, I know You guys advised me to go with K612 and not hd598 but I found used hd598 for an equivalent of 70 usd so I bought them immediately.

 
I need optical input or HDMI input. With optical input I'm going to need a DTS decoder and no creative sound cards do this. I can get a really old Creative Audigy sound card that can decode Dolby Digital but that is a real pain.
 
This is such a massive pain. I need a sound card with HDMI input and can decode Dolby Digital but such a thing doesn't exist. I don't know how I'm going to get a PCI sound card to work when I only have PCI-E.

 

[Yethal]

   
I need optical input or HDMI input. With optical input I'm going to need a DTS decoder and no creative sound cards do this. I can get a really old Creative Audigy sound card that can decode Dolby Digital but that is a real pain.
 
This is such a massive pain. I need a sound card with HDMI input and can decode Dolby Digital but such a thing doesn't exist.

Why DTS all of a sudden? Set Your console to dolby digital, asus cards decode it afaik, just find one with optical in. If You want to go hdmi route You can just use 7.1 lpcm and derive virtual surround from this (marantz receivers can do this, I don't know if there are any other devices on the market that can too)

 

[Evshrug]

E12 and E17 are portables.  E17 is a DAC too, which will work for your non-gaming (like taking with your iphone or whatever).

The E17 is indeed a DAC, with USB & optical inputs (and analogue if you just want to use it as an amplifier), but just FYI it won't natively connect to an iPhone without a lightning-to-USB adapter (and perhaps a small USB hub to "hide" the power requirements). Just saying. E17 is still a good/practical portable.

Wow, thanks dude!  That's kind of you and I appreciate it.  

Regarding the Creative E3, it doesn't look like it'll work with a console directly.  Seems similar to a crossbreed of the E17 and the SBZ/SB Omni with a little bluetooth thrown in.  I doubt you'll be able to use it wirelessly with something like a Mixamp.  I'm gonna keep my eye on that device, thanks for the link.

Hey man, you've been keeping the thread alive, you deserve the recognition. I'm trying to come back too, miss talking to the regulars Maybe I'll even finally make my surround setup YouTube playlist public

I'll have to look into this E3 as well!

Q701 (and K712) will want an amp so I would stay away from it if you don't plan on getting one.

I don't think a Recon or Omni will give you too much improvement over the U3, but I haven't heard the U3 so I dunno.  I wouldn't worry too much about the new E3... I suspect it's more marketing than value; I get suspicious of anything that claims to have so many bells and whistles in a small portable inexpensive package.

Oh c'mon, you liked the Q701 even before you got an amp, you just liked both your headphones better when you added an amp. The Q701 just scaled up more

I use my AKG's off the Omni most of the time when I'm on PC, I wanted an amp to clean things up when I used the Recon3D USB, but the Omni has a decently capable amp. MAKE SURE TO UPDATE ITS FIRMWARE!!!



I dunno about you, my Omni is usually set to around 20% with my Q701 and K712 while playing games, surround is perfectly adequate for gaming (though I prefer adding a tube amp for music or when I want the "ultimate" experience). The Omni has more amping power than a FiiO E17 or Mixamp. Also, the U3 has an amp that's pretty weak and dirty, relatively speaking. The main redemption for it is that it's cheap for adding surround sound processing, and it allows optical output to better sounding gear (like an E17, Bifrost, whatEv).

With the above said about the Omni and AKG's, I would like to re-recommend the AKG K612. For iMac2Much, the comfort of a full-sized open headphone (of high quality) will be a bit of a revelation, it's a tad less lively in the highs than the Q but has an overall engaging sound that evenly presents bass-mids-treble and is a bit cheaper. I borrowed Change's old one, sounded quite good for gaming off of the Omni, really great off of my Schiif Bifrost and custom SET Class-A tube amp playing FLAC music files (very near K712, if you never had a good headphone before you'd have to listen to both for a while to hear the difference). Q701 or K702 have the benefit of removable cables though.

Probably using a card that has optical input, then run optical out from console to optical in in audio card then set optical in as a main audio source on pc, then apply dolby headphone encoding and output through headphone jack. To be honest, just buy a mixamp or dss, less hassle.

Also, I know You guys advised me to go with K612 and not hd598 but I found used hd598 for an equivalent of 70 usd so I bought them immediately.

Eh... The only creative soundcard I know of that can process optical surround input is the Recon3D USB, it's a licensing issue rather than hardware limitation. I would agree about just using a console surround processor (like the Recon3D USB, powered off console's USB port), much less hassle and electricity waste (DEM UTILITY BILLZ!).

On a budget, that deal you went for was a no-brainer! However... Long term, I'd still want the K612

I did Order a pair of DT880, exited about that but I've never heard a Soundmagic yet I personally tend to prefer lively but balanced headphones, I can only listen to v-shaped frequency responses (like HE-400, V-MODA LP) for a little while.

 

[imac2much]

I dunno about you, my Omni is usually set to around 20% with my Q701 and K712 while playing games, surround is perfectly adequate for gaming (though I prefer adding a tube amp for music or when I want the "ultimate" experience). The Omni has more amping power than a FiiO E17 or Mixamp. Also, the U3 has an amp that's pretty weak and dirty, relatively speaking. The main redemption for it is that it's cheap for adding surround sound processing, and it allows optical output to better sounding gear (like an E17, Bifrost, whatEv).

With the above said about the Omni and AKG's, I would like to re-recommend the AKG K612. For iMac2Much, the comfort of a full-sized open headphone (of high quality) will be a bit of a revelation, it's a tad less lively in the highs than the Q but has an overall engaging sound that evenly presents bass-mids-treble and is a bit cheaper. I borrowed Change's old one, sounded quite good for gaming off of the Omni, really great off of my Schiif Bifrost and custom SET Class-A tube amp playing FLAC music files (very near K712, if you never had a good headphone before you'd have to listen to both for a while to hear the difference). Q701 or K702 have the benefit of removable cables though.
Eh... The only creative soundcard I know of that can process optical surround input is the Recon3D USB, it's a licensing issue rather than hardware limitation. I would agree about just using a console surround processor (like the Recon3D USB, powered off console's USB port), much less hassle and electricity waste (DEM UTILITY BILLZ!).
 

Oh man, just what I need: more options!
In all seriousness, I really appreciate your feedback, as I want to make a good purchase that I hopefully won't need to upgrade for a while.  I had no idea that the Omni had a better amp than both E17 and U3.  Is the DAC better as well?  If the Omni can easily drive the AKG K612 and K712, I'll need to look into it a bit more.  I'm getting my U3 + Astro A50 in the mail tomorrow or Saturday (that I stupidly purchased on ebay for cheap before reading this thread), so I was thinking of getting a E17 to complement it... but if Omni can provide, amp, DAC and surround in one solution (and cheaper than E17), perhaps I should look into that after all.  Now what to do with this U3... at least the A50 will be easy to craigslist for gamers who don't know any better (like me last week)
 
So now I'm looking at the K612 and K712 as well.  K612 is the cheapest option of the ones I've looked at (x1, HP100, HP200, K545) and seems to have really good reviews.  From what I can tell, the 612 has good sound but flatter bass than the 712... and it also has less comfort and lack of detachable cable than its bigger brother.  How does it compare with the x1?
 
edit: and I just saw some Sony MA-900 for a decent price on auction, so I wonder if those are good too... wow, too many options! I probably won't bite on these though as they look super fragile and they would probably snap on the way to China, haha

 

[Evshrug]

Why DTS all of a sudden? Set Your console to dolby digital, asus cards decode it afaik, just find one with optical in. If You want to go hdmi route You can just use 7.1 lpcm and derive virtual surround from this (marantz receivers can do this, I don't know if there are any other devices on the market that can too)

Pretty sure Asus only accepts stereo input through Optical too. Pretty much the only way I can think of is an Elgato capture card or something, but basically using a PC to do console stuff is really impractical.

Receivers with surround encoding (some older Denon's and Kenwoods had DH too, Yamaha's silent cinema is nearly as good as DH) would allow DTS or DDL surround decoding, but that's not really a big deal unless you have an XBO or Wii U

 

[Evshrug]

Oh man, just what I need: more options!
**Hey, I think we forgot to say the traditional welcome: "Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet!"**

I had no idea that the Omni had a better amp than both E17 and U3.  Is the DAC better as well?  
**The U3 is good for gamers who want the cheapest way to get surround processing to their high-end optical DAC. Also, the E17 is useful for it's versatility and how many things it can connect to... but Omni is my computer gaming champ right now Did I mention that it has a Mac OSX native software suite, so you can get surround for Mac as well?**

Btw, I haven't heard an E17, I like FiiO products but the Omni has better tech specs.

So now I'm looking at the K612 and K712 as well.  K612 is the cheapest option of the ones I've looked at (x1, HP100, HP200, K545) and seems to have really good reviews.  From what I can tell, the 612 has good sound but flatter bass than the 712... and it also has less comfort and lack of detachable cable than its bigger brother.  How does it compare with the x1?

**I haven't heard the X1 to be honest... K712 has more of a clean midbass hump than the K612, but the K612 has deeper sub-bass extension. Honestly closer than their price difference belies, the main benefit of the K712 is the detachable cables, deeper Earpads of memory foam (nice but not crucial), more premium headband leather (no comfort difference IMO), and a little detail refinement. For first nice headphone I'd just get the K612, you can upgrade it with an amp and new pads later if you want. If you need closed headphones... Well, I don't end up needing them, so I defer to others' opinions. Any headphone will end up uncomfortable during the flight between USA & China, lol.

Btw, the AKG pads are super easy to change, you just twist them off like a bottle cap. I also put up a live practical demo comparing headphone leak on my YouTube channel, also user Evshrug**

 

[Stillhart]

  Oh man, just what I need: more options!
In all seriousness, I really appreciate your feedback, as I want to make a good purchase that I hopefully won't need to upgrade for a while.  I had no idea that the Omni had a better amp than both E17 and U3.  Is the DAC better as well?  If the Omni can easily drive the AKG K612 and K712, I'll need to look into it a bit more.  I'm getting my U3 + Astro A50 in the mail tomorrow or Saturday (that I stupidly purchased on ebay for cheap before reading this thread), so I was thinking of getting a E17 to complement it... but if Omni can provide, amp, DAC and surround in one solution (and cheaper than E17), perhaps I should look into that after all.  Now what to do with this U3... at least the A50 will be easy to craigslist for gamers who don't know any better (like me last week)
 
So now I'm looking at the K612 and K712 as well.  K612 is the cheapest option of the ones I've looked at (x1, HP100, HP200, K545) and seems to have really good reviews.  From what I can tell, the 612 has good sound but flatter bass than the 712... and it also has less comfort and lack of detachable cable than its bigger brother.  How does it compare with the x1?
 
edit: and I just saw some Sony MA-900 for a decent price on auction, so I wonder if those are good too... wow, too many options! I probably won't bite on these though as they look super fragile and they would probably snap on the way to China, haha

I'd say your logic on the Omni is spot on.  It's a great solution for PC gaming.  The DAC is (in my experience) as good as the Schiit Modi, which costs $100 on its own and is very highly regarded on Head-fi.
 
And Evs is right, I was perfectly happy with my Q701 and just the Omni.  It's just that it sounded even better once I got an amp too.  Think of it (any of those AKG's) as a great-sounding headphone with room to grow when you're ready to spend more.
 
I've never heard the MA-900, but everyone raves about them.  They're supposed to be super comfortable.  If you can get one cheaper than a K612, that's pretty tempting.
 

**I haven't heard the X1 to be honest... K712 has more of a clean midbass hump than the K612, but the K612 has deeper sub-bass extension. Honestly closer than their price difference belies, the main benefit of the K712 is the detachable cables, deeper Earpads of memory foam (nice but not crucial), more premium headband leather (no comfort difference IMO), and a little detail refinement. For first nice headphone I'd just get the K612, you can upgrade it with an amp and new pads later if you want. If you need closed headphones... Well, I don't end up needing them, so I defer to others' opinions. Any headphone will end up uncomfortable during the flight between USA & China, lol.

Btw, the AKG pads are super easy to change, you just twist them off like a bottle cap. I also put up a live practical demo comparing headphone leak on my YouTube channel, also user Evshrug**

 
Evs has been at this way longer than I have.  He was the one helping me when I was making my first purchasing decision.  I defer to his judgement if he thinks the K612 is the way to go.  Lots of people love it in this thread and it's sort of become the "budget" champion on here.  I'm really going to have to listen to one some day... 
 
Anyways, based on what I know of the K612 vs the Q701 and my experience with the X1, I'd say the K612 is probably a better bang for the buck.  I'm using transitive property here:  People say the K612 is on par with the Q701 sound (some people like it better) and I thought the Q701 sounded better than the X1.  So yeah, there you go.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Why DTS all of a sudden? Set Your console to dolby digital, asus cards decode it afaik, just find one with optical in. If You want to go hdmi route You can just use 7.1 lpcm and derive virtual surround from this (marantz receivers can do this, I don't know if there are any other devices on the market that can too)

 
No sound cards decode Dolby Digital or DTS on their S/PDIF inputs, to my knowledge. Certainly not any PCIe ones. If they get anything other than PCM on those inputs, all you'll hear is silence.
 
Believe me, people have tried, even resorting to AC3Filter and other utilities. It either doesn't work or has such a hideous amount of latency that it's unsuitable for gaming. Right now, you just can't replace a Mixamp sort of device using a PC.
 
It's probably that neither Dolby nor DTS would license such a feature, probably out of fear of piracy or something else stupid.
 
Now, if audio capture and recording wasn't necessary, an AVR with Dolby Headphone would suffice, but that's a lot of bulk and weight for something that's only going to be used with headphones. Really, I'd prefer just a cleaner Mixamp sort of device with an HDMI input in addition to the usual S/PDIF.

 

[Yethal]

   
No sound cards decode Dolby Digital or DTS on their S/PDIF inputs, to my knowledge. Certainly not any PCIe ones. If they get anything other than PCM on those inputs, all you'll hear is silence.
 
Believe me, people have tried, even resorting to AC3Filter and other utilities. It either doesn't work or has such a hideous amount of latency that it's unsuitable for gaming. Right now, you just can't replace a Mixamp sort of device using a PC.
 
It's probably that neither Dolby nor DTS would license such a feature, probably out of fear of piracy or something else stupid.
 
Now, if audio capture and recording wasn't necessary, an AVR with Dolby Headphone would suffice, but that's a lot of bulk and weight for something that's only going to be used with headphones. Really, I'd prefer just a cleaner Mixamp sort of device with an HDMI input in addition to the usual S/PDIF.

Sorry, I was wrong, thanks for correcting my mistake

On a budget, that deal you went for was a no-brainer! However... Long term, I'd still want the K612

I am little short on the money right now so anything pricier just wasn't an option, I'll probably go with AKG per everyone's suggestion but I'm not entirely sold on the AKG's headband. the 598s are so comfy, it would be tough to beat them in that category.