[Evshrug]

With the X2s and their 35.mm jack, I'd get the V-moda Boom mic instead.  Cleaner setup than the modmic.

And NO, I believe most PC soundcards won't accept a 5.1 DD input from a console and thus won't work as a surround processor for an external console.  Most are 2 channel inputs on the optical in.

OMG man, it's been a few months since you were here!!! How've you been? Did you end up with the most awesome computer build in your life?
What do you need to know, need help catching up on anything?

Btw, good advice/info!

 

[Evshrug]

Wait a minute.. For passive speakers, you need an amp and a power supply for that amp? This just keeps getting more complicated.

TLR version.
I suggest skipping a projector unless you can afford a NICE one, because problems with detail in darks and daytime visibility. Most times LED displays with low input lag win the Darwin Award.

If you live in an apartment/dorm, I suggest a nice PC monitor with extra inputs for console, a Soundblaster Omni for PC use so you have volume dial and nice output options for future upgrades, a TurtleBeach DSS from EBay real cheap for your EXISTING console as the new ones as-yet have few compelling advantages aside from graphics or black-Friday sales, an AKG K612 as a great value all-round purpose home headphone with no glaring flaws, and an inexpensive 2.1 desktop speaker setup from Logitech or Creative.

That setup above covers the basics until you find stuff worth spending more money on, and the Omni has lots of outputs so if you want to splash big on an optical DAC upgrade (or connect your PC to a receiver) you can have the Omni pass along headphone virtual surround (or various speaker options like 2-speaker surround or DDL5.1 output), or even if you want a budget 5.1 speaker setup made of computer speakers.


I mentioned on NamelessPFG 's thread that I liked the X7 also for powering my passive speakers... Two types of speakers, passive which you have to wire to an amp (built for speakers, the kind with wire taps where you thread in bare copper wire tips or make banana plugs), or active speakers which come with their own built-in amp. If you want passive speakers, an X7 or receiver with a discrete headphone amp and headphone surround start to make sense.

If you want powered/active speakers, I suggest looking at Paradigm and Audioengine. Bookshelf/monitor speakers are probably the most prevalent speakers, so of course there are many many options.

Consider your goals... Separate them into short-term and long term. That way, you don't throw money away. Don't rush to buy cheap speakers or something you won't actually enjoy just because it "completes your system." Consider capable components that allow for modular component additions to extend their value and lifetime, so that you can upgrade over time when you know what will be an upgrade.

M$ exclusives are like Gears of War and Halo, GoW is a slow unimmersive cover shooter with smoker-lung voice acting, and as much as I LOVED Halo the series is stretching out like a soap opera and we cannot go back to 2001 where a console FPS with good controls (and neat music, 2 gun system, vehicles) was enough to blow our minds... Halo is the only exclusive draw to the XBOne for me, and much as I liked halo it continues to not be enough for me to choose the XBone, if you love Forza/Sunset Overdrive then YMMV, I'm hoping for more story driven stuff (or multiplats) the Playstation brand is known for. The X7 has a built-in beamforming mic for USB connections like the PS4... I wonder if XBOne has Bluetooth headset support like the 360 did, and if the X7 could "look like" a Bluetooth headset to the XBOne and play optical and Bluetooth audio simultaneously... would solve problems in an awesome tidy way. Those are unconfirmed "if's" however.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I want you to GTFO.


No. Yes. I'm tired.

 

[rudyae86]

I mentioned on NamelessPFG 's thread that I liked the X7 also for powering my passive speakers... Two types of speakers, passive which you have to wire to an amp (built for speakers, the kind with wire taps where you thread in bare copper wire tips or make banana plugs), or active speakers which come with their own built-in amp.

If you want powered/active speakers, I suggest looking at Paradigm and Audioengine. Bookshelf/monitor speakers are probably the most prevalent speakers, so of course there are many many options.

Dude, what do you want?
Do you live in a dorm/apartment? What are your space requirements? Is there a reason you want a projector, and headphones/speakers in the same room? Are you sharing often with guests/family? What is your budget? Can you afford a more modular approach to eventually build a full system, or do you have a set budget that you need to use to buy a full setup now before the holidays or something?

Dude, I so want the Audioengine A5+
 
So much want that my wallet will wait for those until next year lol
 
I think thats another reason why I kind of want to get the X7 but next year though lol
 
Sometimes or most of the time, I dont want to watch my movies wearing my headphones or listening through my monitors speakers (which are bleh)
 
I live in a small room, so no Surround Sound set up for me (physical)

 

[chicolom]

OMG man, it's been a few months since you were here!!! How've you been? Did you end up with the most awesome computer build I your life?
What do you need to know, need help catching up on anything?

Btw, good advice/info!

 
Haha.  Hi!! 

 
I'm still around - I check the forums once a week or so, I just don't post much.  My only new headphone purchase is a pair of HyperX Clouds.  I was in need of some cheap and well isolating closed headphones for live music.  They're pretty good!
 
I may pick up the X2s though at some point though.  Have there been any other new mid-fi headphones released worth taking note of??
 
....Oh, and YES, my PC is awesome (IMO).  I love it.  I just put a new GTX 970 in it, just cuz. 

 

[Evshrug]

Well, have you heard what headphone I just picked up last week for mid-Fi prices? It's not a new headphone... But the value is exTREMELY high. Also I've read reports of the more mid-centric HE-400i which seems appealing to me, I was very pleased at the value of the K612 (which I bought), and I for one am excited about soundblaster' upcoming X7 due sometime next month.

Good times were had playing Destiny, but so much good times and addiction that we've pretty much explored all the content besides upcoming DLC. XBOne setups continue to be a PITA with adapters and limited options. Oh, and someone asked what the best headphone for gaming is.

 

[chicolom]

Well, have you heard what headphone I just picked up last week for mid-Fi prices? It's not a new headphone... But the value is exTREMELY high. Also I've read reports of the more mid-centric HE-400i which seems appealing to me, I was very pleased at the value of the K612 (which I bought), and I for one am excited about soundblaster' upcoming X7 due sometime next month.

Good times were had playing Destiny, but so much good times and addiction that we've pretty much explored all the content besides upcoming DLC. XBOne setups continue to be a PITA with adapters and limited options. Oh, and someone asked what the best headphone for gaming is.

 
 
Hmm.  From looking are your post history, some kind of electrostat??

  That's all I know....
 
Also, what are the TLR highlights of the X7? 
 

Oh, and someone asked what the best headphone for gaming is.

 
HAHA. 
 
Classic Head-fi. 
 
...At least it only happens 3-4 times per day though...

 

 

[Evshrug]

www.soundblaster.com/x7
External soundcard for PC's (Mac & Win), consoles (including PS4 & XBO), and smart devices.

USB supporting PC, Playstations, host mode for iOS devices and some android.
Optical input and output, supporting DDL5.1 input and SBX headphone or speaker out.
Analogue inputs and outputs, including two headphone outs, 5.1 powered speaker outputs, and stereo passive-speaker (!) outputs with bare-wire or banana plug support.
Bluetooth, 4.1 supporting simultaneous two paired devices and NFC pairing.
Same DAC and (swappable) OpAmp as the ZxR, though they're advertising 127 dB S:N for the DAC.
Analogue mic in with ADC boasting 123dB S:N
All supporting up to 24/196
Beamforming mic
Front width and height is less than 6"
iOS and Android apps for changing settings.

Oh, and if that's not enough, integrated headphone stand, LOL!

 

[chicolom]

One Question....
 
How do you guys who game on PC with an external DAC/amp have your mic hooked up? 
 
 When I game single player, I run optical out from the soundcard -> to an optical DAC -> then line out to a headphone amp - and it's nice and clean sounding.  However, as soon as I plug the y-split mic jack portion of my v-moda boom cable into my PC soundcards, I get a bunch of annoying fuzzy electrical noise (where you're hearing the PC components electrically inside the case - where you move the mouse and it sounds "fuzzy" and stuff) all over the audio and mic signals.  If I remove the audio jack from the external amp and plug both audio and mic jacks straight into the soundcard it's clean sounding again, but as soon as I move the audio jack away and back to the external dac/amp I get a ton of electrical noises. 

 
 
I tried moving the power plugs all to the same outlet, in case it was a grounding issue, but that didn't change anything.
 
Even if I disconnect all sources from the headphone amp, it still picks up all the electrical noises inside the PC via that y-split mic cable going to the PC.  All the internal PC noises are getting to the amp through that Y mic cable.
 
I imagine that using the modmic will fix it, as that will isolate and separate the mic signal from the amplifier.  But aren't there other people here who are successfully using a single cable y-split style headset on PC with an external amp and not getting electrical noises??
 
I'm kind of stumped ATM....

 

[chicolom]

www.soundblaster.com/x7
External soundcard for PC's (Mac & Win), consoles (including PS4 & XBO), and smart devices.

USB supporting PC, Playstations, host mode for iOS devices and some android.
Optical input and output, supporting DDL5.1 input and SBX headphone or speaker out.
Analogue inputs and outputs, including two headphone outs, 5.1 powered speaker outputs, and stereo passive-speaker (!) outputs with bare-wire or banana plug support.
Bluetooth, 4.1 supporting simultaneous two paired devices and NFC pairing.
Same DAC and (swappable) OpAmp as the ZxR, though they're advertising 127 dB S:N for the DAC.
Analogue mic in with ADC boasting 123dB S:N
All supporting up to 24/196
Beamforming mic
Front width and height is less than 6"
iOS and Android apps for changing settings.

Oh, and if that's not enough, integrated headphone stand, LOL!

Wow. That's a pretty impressive list.

I saw that Turtle Beach mixamp lookalike box with the DTS Headphone X support too. Kind of interesting since it's one of the first to use that DSP.

I wonder what ever happened to the AMD True Audio powered middlewares like the GenAudio AstoundSound...

 

[Toxos]

Owner of the CAL! here and I had originally bought them for gaming but then I went for pc360s for bigger soundstage. By an accident, I noticed that CAL!2 was released and I am wondering if it is worth the upgrade. The in-line mic and supposed increased soundstage is ideal for my ps4 right now since I do not have connections for better sound... yet... (X7 may change that if it is worth the premium). Any thoughts? I thought it would be a good choice for LANs and music for work.

 

[Stillhart]

  One Question....
 
How do you guys who game on PC with an external DAC/amp have your mic hooked up? 
 
 When I game single player, I run optical out from the soundcard -> to an optical DAC -> then line out to a headphone amp - and it's nice and clean sounding.  However, as soon as I plug the y-split mic jack portion of my v-moda boom cable into my PC soundcards, I get a bunch of annoying fuzzy electrical noise (where you're hearing the PC components electrically inside the case - where you move the mouse and it sounds "fuzzy" and stuff) all over the audio and mic signals.  If I remove the audio jack from the external amp and plug both audio and mic jacks straight into the soundcard it's clean sounding again, but as soon as I move the audio jack away and back to the external dac/amp I get a ton of electrical noises. 

 
 
I tried moving the power plugs all to the same outlet, in case it was a grounding issue, but that didn't change anything.
 
Even if I disconnect all sources from the headphone amp, it still picks up all the electrical noises inside the PC via that y-split mic cable going to the PC.  All the internal PC noises are getting to the amp through that Y mic cable.
 
I imagine that using the modmic will fix it, as that will isolate and separate the mic signal from the amplifier.  But aren't there other people here who are successfully using a single cable y-split style headset on PC with an external amp and not getting electrical noises??
 
I'm kind of stumped ATM....

 
I actually don't use my Boompro on the PC.  I have an Omni, which is external and has a mic built-in.  Same setup of optical out to DAC/Amp and everything works fine.
 
I strongly suspect using any mic that isn't a Boompro will fix your issue.  And since you're on a PC, you don't really need a Boompro... (or a Modmic).

 

[Evshrug]

Wow. That's a pretty impressive list.

I saw that Turtle Beach mixamp lookalike box with the DTS Headphone X support too. Kind of interesting since it's one of the first to use that DSP.

I wonder what ever happened to the AMD True Audio powered middlewares like the GenAudio AstoundSound...

Yeah, I was just looking for a console-compatible processor with optical output for my Bifrost DAC, but I saw the X7 and... basically it can replace a table full of junk, lol.

Dunno what happened to TrueAudio other than (I think) it hasn't had a game enabled with it on PS4, though Lichdom has been released I don't know if it's still using the tech. Thanks for reminding me.

I should learn more about the new TB unit, just because I know about pretty much all the others (even the earlier TB one that came with the zero seven or whatever).

I actually don't use my Boompro on the PC.  I have an Omni, which is external and has a mic built-in.  Same setup of optical out to DAC/Amp and everything works fine.

I strongly suspect using any mic that isn't a Boompro will fix your issue.  And since you're on a PC, you don't really need a Boompro... (or a Modmic).

Right, the Omni's beamforming mic is perfectly capable, though I think I prefer the warmer tone from my Neweer clip-on plugged into the Omni's mic port.

 

[Stillhart]

Right, the Omni's beamforming mic is perfectly capable, though I think I prefer the warmer tone from my Neweer clip-on plugged into the Omni's mic port.

 
You can't hear it anyways, what do you care?  
 
But yeah, separate mic plugged into the Omni works fine too.  I might have to test the Boompro with Chicolom's setup to see if it's giving me problems too, but unfortunately, I don't have an AKG adapter so I can't really test it with anything.

 

[Mista Freeze 74]

I'm super excited. I finally pulled the trigger on a Mixamp 5.8 on eBay. Couldn't duplicate the $40, but I got one for $50 so I'm happy. Now I'm wondering what else I need, including a mic solution, to make this work with my Q701s, X-Box One and PS4 (in the future). I know I need the X-Box One chat adapter and I haven't purchased my amp yet (going with FiiO E11 or E12), but I'm not sure what else I need to make this work. Thanks in advance for any response.