[PacoTaco]

 
That is a really simplified dismissal of a dude that's probably touched more gear then anyone here.  I don't agree with all of Zeo's reviews but I have no doubt at all that he reports what he hears.  Which is a whole lot better then a lot of the powers that be even on places like Head-Fi.  
 
Dude isn't making any money of 20k youtube subs and amazon affiliate links.  Trust me on that.  Also he hates the M50s and his review is a bit more nuanced then that.  
 
The fact of the matter is that unless you are using extremely expensive gear it's not all that likely you are going to hear any difference between any Schiit DAC and the ODAC.  Why do you think DAC reviews are so nebulous in the first place.  They measure past the point of being audible and any differences you do hear more then likely are from the analog stage anyway.
 
Anyway I respect him for the same reason I respect MLE.  I feel comfortable knowing he reports exactly what he hears and I know he's used a lot of gear.  Not much more you can ask for.

He use to hang out on the headphones subreddit recommendation thread and only post headphones he linked to his amazon affiliates crap. That's the issue with it. It's a very large ethical issue. I also hate the M50s, but because they're incredibly V-shaped and not neutral at all, which is the complete opposite of what he stated (and my opinion is by far the more prevalent one...not to mention the more measured one.) Because he provides affiliated amazon links for headphones he listens to, that brings to question the actual authenticity of his reviews (because no one can say 100% he doesn't have a slight positive bias if he's going to end up trying to post an amazon link to the headphone.)
 
I won't even go into the DAC thing, because that will lead to a whole huge argument that is completely unnecessary in this thread. But, nonetheless, he is not a reliable resource, despite how much gear he's listened to.

 

[KhaledM]

  hey guys, i know im being that jack ass that doesnt read all the comments but man theres a lot and i have found that the more i read the more i end up at square one.
basically im a console gamer (xbox one) and i remember the day i got my turtle beach x41's my got it was glorious, every footstep, reading the review on the sound baster x7 sounds like it delivers the same result but that is quite a price tag and im hoping its a bit overkill for console gaming. im just so overloaded with information atm im at my wits end and about to say stuff it all im just gonna buy astro a50s.
 
can anyone give me a straight answer
for xbox one gaming what is the best set up for immersive gaming on a $500 budget, it can be pushed slightly.
 
thanks heaps for anyone that chimes in and i know im asking a headslapper question im sorry ! haha

Check out the Philips X2, but be careful and buy it from a seller with a good return policy because there are some defective units. 

 

[lenroot77]

Can anyone be comment on the durability of the v-moda? Thanks

 

[rudyae86]

 
Zeos has odd opinions and his recommendations are often questionable. He use to hang out on the headphones subreddit and make recommendations with amazon links to his affiliated store dealio to make money off of it. When he got banned from said subreddit for it, but bitched enough to get unbanned and make his own subreddit.
 
HE also, more or less, believes the AT M50x is a neutral headphone and the ODAC is perfect (and that the Bifrost MB is no different from the ODAC.) Sooo take **** he says with a large grain of salt. He usually has no idea what he's talking about, or is trying to make money off you.

I follow him and I agree with some of his reviews...some, not so much but he does know his stuff when it comes to Speakers and A/V units. Like the Sennhieser HD 380 Pro, which I think the PC350 SE and G4ME Zero are based of from....he mentions that it doesn't sound as great as the HD 280 and so on and so on while other people say that the 380 Pro is a well worth upgrade from the 280 Pro. I have a pair of PC350 SE headset and used it for a while for FPS games and honestly, it does really well for a closed back while doing competitive gaming.

But Zeos in general doesn't think otherwise and he loves his custom HD600 to death. So yeah, some things he knows very well....headphones, I think he is biased with some headphones

 

[rudyae86]

Can anyone be comment on the durability of the v-moda? Thanks

Have had mine for over a year, so far so good. Using it with Philips Fidelio X2.

 

[lenroot77]

Have had mine for over a year, so far so good. Using it with Philips Fidelio X2.

Cool might have to check it out as just picked up a pair of X1's recently.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So I just got the sound blaster Zx.  I am looking for a good pair of headphones to go along with them.  I am looking at Sennheiser HD 558, 598 or 600.  I have a Bluetooth set I use for general listening at the office through my phone so need to worry about driving them on the phone.  Will be playing WoW, BF4, Final Fantasy 14 as well as some communication (already have an external mic).  
I am new to this so I can't really say that I have a specific preference on sound yet.  I can say that very high treble like in Bose headphones overtime starts to wear on my ears as well as bass.  So I guess something a bit more neutral.
Would the 600 need a different amp/dac considering the sound blaster Zx already has all that built in?  Or would one of the others be better.

 
The HD558/HD598 should do a better job (or at a minimum match), for FPS gaming, compared to the Sennheiser HD600 (or HD650).
The HD558 and HD598 use the same 50-Ohm driver.
Buy a used HD558, remove the black rubber tape from inside the cups, making the HD558 more open, more like the HD598.
 
If your more into music, then the HD600 (or HD650) would be the better choice.

 

[lenroot77]

One other question... Can anyone recommend a quality 1/4 to 1/8 (3.5mm) adapter? Say under 25 bucks. Seems to be a lot of cheap ones on Amazon... I'm just looking for something a little better.

 

[vi Josh]

  Check out the Philips X2, but be careful and buy it from a seller with a good return policy because there are some defective units. 

thanks man appreciate it do i need a dac for these?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Looking for gear recommendation for headphone immersive gaming 3d/2d and music. Currently my PC:
X-Fi titanium PCI-E >> amp: C&C BH (temporary) analogue 3.5mm >> Beyerdynamic custom one plus (16 Ohms) 
Recommendations for my PC:
X-Fi titanium PCI-E needs changing into anything more modern? Should I just get SB X7 for those headphones without any amps to gain quality and keep virtual surround?
Amp or no amp? O2, Schiit Magni/Asgard2/Bifrost seem to be most common
Using TOSLink from X-Fi or keep analogue?
Any other closed headphones compatible with v-moda mic? (Alpha Dog seems overkill)
Do I need anything else?
My current impressions and budget
Sound on my headphones seems better with my AMP, I am looking for alternative though (noise while charging):
I have another 500 USD to complete setup, I can return Beyerdynamic headphones but couldn't find closed headphone option out of linked choices.
So far what I found out by digging through 235 pages of Nameless thread:
Build-in amp in SB X-Fi PCIE would be enough for 16 Ohms headphones
Also X7 might be interesting option without any other elements in chain

 
Hopefully you disabled the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you installed the Titanium card.
 
Is your Titanium sound card the Titanium-HD or regular Titanium card (non-HD)
(I'll assume it's the regular Titanium)
 
Can't see a good reason for getting the Creative Labs X7, not the best way to spend your audio budget.
 
You could just hook an external headphone amplifier to the Titanium's Front Speaker/Headphone jack.
Leaves a lot of your audio budget for headphones
Or you could just keep using the Titanium card and connect an external (optical) DAC to it and a headphone amplifier to the DAC.
The DAC might not help for gaming, but should improve audio quality for music and movies (and make games sound better).
 
Another option is to replace the Titanium with a Sound Blaster Z,
better DAC chip and decent headphone amplifier, compared to the Titanium (non-HD)
The Titanium uses CMSS-3D headphone, the SB-Z uses SBX Headphone.

 

[KhaledM]

  thanks man appreciate it do i need a dac for these?

Sorry, my knowledge in audio is not that great honestly, and I hate to give imprecise information

, so I will leave this technical question to other members with a better idea about this matter, hopefully someone else will give you a reliable answer.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  hey guys, i know I'm being that jack ass that doesn't read all the comments but man there's a lot and i have found that the more i read the more i end up at square one.
basically I'm a console gamer (xBox one) and i remember the day i got my turtle beach x41's my got it was glorious, every footstep, reading the review on the sound baster x7 sounds like it delivers the same result but that is quite a price tag and I'm hoping its a bit overkill for console gaming. I'm just so overloaded with information atm I'm at my wits end and about to say stuff it all I'm just gonna buy Astro a50s.
can anyone give me a straight answer
for xBox one gaming what is the best set up for immersive gaming on a $500 budget, it can be pushed slightly.
thanks heaps for anyone that chimes in and i know I'm asking a headslapper question I'm sorry ! haha

 
Do not need to spend $500 for headphone audio with any gaming console.
 
Astro Mix-amp (maybe find used off eBay)
Sennheiser HD558 headphone (used off Amazon or eBay) or Audio Technica ATH-AD700(X) headphone.
Any add-on mic you like.
So you might end up spending around $200-$250.
Maybe under $200 if you can find good deals on used.

 

[PurpleAngel]

One other question... Can anyone recommend a quality 1/4 to 1/8 (3.5mm) adapter? Say under 25 bucks. Seems to be a lot of cheap ones on Amazon... I'm just looking for something a little better.

 
I've had good luck with Hosa products
Hosa

MHE-100.5, $3.95​

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/408065-REG/Hosa_Technology_MHE_100_5_Stereo_Mini_Angled_Male.html

 

[Helvetica bold]

Im really curious about PlayStation VR's 3D object audio. Will this be like Dolby Atmos and why
not license it?

"It carries out object-based 3D audio processing ("really good and important to VR")."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-what-does-playstation-vr-external-processor-unit-actually-do

 

[jthom320]

  He use to hang out on the headphones subreddit recommendation thread and only post headphones he linked to his amazon affiliates crap. That's the issue with it. It's a very large ethical issue. I also hate the M50s, but because they're incredibly V-shaped and not neutral at all, which is the complete opposite of what he stated (and my opinion is by far the more prevalent one...not to mention the more measured one.) Because he provides affiliated amazon links for headphones he listens to, that brings to question the actual authenticity of his reviews (because no one can say 100% he doesn't have a slight positive bias if he's going to end up trying to post an amazon link to the headphone.)
 
I won't even go into the DAC thing, because that will lead to a whole huge argument that is completely unnecessary in this thread. But, nonetheless, he is not a reliable resource, despite how much gear he's listened to.

One headphone review out of 100+ isn't worth hanging on.  There's no point even engaging in that with you on that.  I don't agree with Tyll that the X2's are as good as HD 600's.  Oh well.
 
I don't know anything about the affiliate links but what is the conspiracy?  Affiliate links on amazon are a legit way of earning money for people in on youtube or other public facing businesses.  There's no way you could spin that to being biased.  I could buy a tooth brush with his affiliate link and he'd get a cut.  Who cares?  And if you do care research the program there's no conspiracy.  There's no ethical issue, lol.  I use Linus Tech Tip's link sometimes because I like to support them when I can remember and I'm not joining patreon.
 
Fair enough on the DAC thing.