[Piemonkey]

Checking back in about the DT 900 Pro X's I picked up last June.

They have been amazing for gaming. Every game I have thrown at them sounds and feels amazing. The soundstage, the imaging, the bass, the fun. It's all there. It's everything I could have hoped for. I can't imagine how anything above these headphones would not suffer greatly from diminishing returns. 3D Audio is especially fantastic with it. I do not have the "missing rear" that plagued the DT 880s for me.

The true test, of course, is Counter-Strike and thanks to the timely release of Counter-Strike 2, I've had dozens upon dozens of hours of trying these headphones out in many situations that require very precise sound queues, in both moments of silence and chaos. These cans are amazing at it all. In fact, they've introduced an extra layer of enjoyment in CS2: players in casual complain about other players who "must" be wallhacking... but I can tell they've just got good headphones too. They're not cheating, they just are paying attention to the sounds. It's been endlessly entertaining to hear a dead player freaking out in voice comms because they haven't clued into this.

 

[knivek]

I too am on the fence about what to get DAC/Amp wise for PS5 paired with my Ether C Flow 1.1 cans

I was hoping someone had experience with the X5 as it has iOS capable EQ tuning but have heard it doesn’t power headphones well..

 

[JdeFalconr]

I too am on the fence about what to get DAC/Amp wise for PS5 paired with my Ether C Flow 1.1 cans

I was hoping someone had experience with the X5 as it has iOS capable EQ tuning but have heard it doesn’t power headphones well..

For what it's worth the X4 didn't do so well with headphones despite Creative shouting from the hilltops about how it would handle up to 600 ohms of impendence. Based on my amateur reading of the output of the X5 it doesn't look much better. I now run X4 --> Atom+ DAC --> Asgaard and I'm very happy. Depending on how you plan to use it and how its features will work with various outputs (i.e. whether you are ok with using the analog or optical Line Out) you probably could do similarly.

 

[knivek]

I think the X5 would power the Ether C Flows, they aren’t that power hungry from what I have read.

 

[Chastity]

Picked up a Liquid Spark today, and just a FYI, it puts out more power than my Asgard 3, and I prefer the sound signature of the LS too.

 

[evanft]

Has anyone here used a USB to Optical converter with the PS5 that actually worked? I've tried three so far and they either have noise or constant drop outs. I'm trying to get audio into the optical port of my Modi 3E, which is a UAC2 device.

 

[knivek]

Has anyone here used a USB to Optical converter with the PS5 that actually worked? I've tried three so far and they either have noise or constant drop outs. I'm trying to get audio into the optical port of my Modi 3E, which is a UAC2 device.

Had the same issue. Going to end up just waiting for the Hel+ to be back in stock or splurge on an Element III Mk2

 

[Rozzko]

What’s about Sony Pulse Elite? For ps5. Is it good?

 

[OneEyedHito]

What’s about Sony Pulse Elite? For ps5. Is it good?

Just ordered yesterday. Will compare to my Maxwell with Freeze cups and report back in a few days.

 

[OneEyedHito]

Just ordered yesterday. Will compare to my Maxwell with Freeze cups and report back in a few days.

@Rozzko

OK spent a day with them & played a few hours of CoD WZ last night.

PS5 Pulse Elite Vs Audeze Maxwell Pros/Cons for FPS only (wouldn't use either for music right now based on my situation and other Headphones and IEM's I have)
Pros:
Sound Great for FPS especially with the Sony "Shooter" EQ setting engaged in Audio Setup, equal to Maxwell to my ears, additional info on this is that I am running @GadgetryTech EQ settings from his Squig.link on my Maxwell and I felt like the Elite matched them in auditory cues. Also if you haven't checked out his Youtube channel you should, Joe is absolutely killing it with his tech and audio updates, I follow a few hundred folks channels and his is one of the few that I have the notification bell turned on for!
Lighter on the head than Maxwell, and the headband system is more comfortable, not a single hot spot last night.
Microphone sounds great and on par with the Maxwell according to the guys I was playing with, but the Elite Mic is better to me because it is more out of the way than the Maxwell mic.
Pads are more comfortable than the Dekoni Freeze pads I have on the Maxwell.
Charging station mount saves me some hassle on how I had to manage the charging on the Maxwell.

Cons:
If you rest your head on a headrest or against a chair back as is my case with both of my gaming setups then there is alot of sqeaking noise from the cups/headband, this is due to the plastic I believe and could lessen over time, will edit this if so.
Right side has connectivity switch and during gameplay I somehow activated a blue light on the right side that was flashing in my peripheral while playing and I could not get it to stop without a complete shut down and restart of the headset, in the middle of a game that was not ideal.

I am not sure if I will keep these as the the light issue and the squeakiness could cause me to stick with the Maxwell long term but if the blue light doesn't continue to happen and the chasis squeakiness subsides then they could be my #1, for now

Hope this helps

 

[Evshrug]

Picked up a Liquid Spark today, and just a FYI, it puts out more power than my Asgard 3, and I prefer the sound signature of the LS too.

I just opened my Liquid Spark yesterday and set it up, it’s incredible people slept on this amp! With my HD 800, high gain is almost at the beginning of the volume pot travel! It’s maybe not the absolute last word in detail, but it feels clear, and it has tube-like soundstage depth and smoothness without the hassle of tube buying or interference.

I think people overestimate power needs, and undervalue the tonal quality of amps and upstream gear. The headphone in my collection that requires the most power is the Fostex + Dekoni Blue (a T50RP mod), that may only have about a 60 Ω impedance (the mods make it slightly harder to drive than a regular T50RP mk III) but really people ought to look at the Sensitivity specs to see how much power they need. Speaking generally, a power calculator can give people an idea of how much power they need to reach a particular sound pressure level (volume measured in decibels), like this one:
https://www.hear.audio/2019/06/01/headphone-power-calculator/

The Liquid Spark was a $99 amp, and a deal at that price (I impulse bought it at the $33 sale!). Apparently, Monoprice is restocking it next month, at least that’s the rumor.

 

[Evshrug]

@Rozzko

OK spent a day with them & played a few hours of CoD WZ last night.

PS5 Pulse Elite Vs Audeze Maxwell Pros/Cons for FPS only (wouldn't use either for music right now based on my situation and other Headphones and IEM's I have)
Pros:
Sound Great for FPS especially with the Sony "Shooter" EQ setting engaged in Audio Setup, equal to Maxwell to my ears, additional info on this is that I am running @GadgetryTech EQ settings from his Squig.link on my Maxwell and I felt like the Elite matched them in auditory cues. Also if you haven't checked out his Youtube channel you should, Joe is absolutely killing it with his tech and audio updates, I follow a few hundred folks channels and his is one of the few that I have the notification bell turned on for!
Lighter on the head than Maxwell, and the headband system is more comfortable, not a single hot spot last night.
Microphone sounds great and on par with the Maxwell according to the guys I was playing with, but the Elite Mic is better to me because it is more out of the way than the Maxwell mic.
Pads are more comfortable than the Dekoni Freeze pads I have on the Maxwell.
Charging station mount saves me some hassle on how I had to manage the charging on the Maxwell.

Cons:
If you rest your head on a headrest or against a chair back as is my case with both of my gaming setups then there is alot of sqeaking noise from the cups/headband, this is due to the plastic I believe and could lessen over time, will edit this if so.
Right side has connectivity switch and during gameplay I somehow activated a blue light on the right side that was flashing in my peripheral while playing and I could not get it to stop without a complete shut down and restart of the headset, in the middle of a game that was not ideal.

I am not sure if I will keep these as the the light issue and the squeakiness could cause me to stick with the Maxwell long term but if the blue light doesn't continue to happen and the chasis squeakiness subsides then they could be my #1, for now

Hope this helps

Very interesting user experience thoughts! Since Sony announced they acquired Audeze right around the time the new Planar Magnetic headphones from PlayStation/Sony were announced, I suspect that the new headphones have a strong relationship with the Audeze. That said, for the price… I was expecting horrible earpads! Glad to hear they’re good! That comfort factor was probably my #1 concern about them.

That blinking blue light may be a Bluetooth notification, either that it’s connected, looking to pair, or something like that. I’m curious if your phone was paired via Bluetooth the same time you were using the lossless/lag-free dongle, or if resetting Bluetooth connections on the headset (and forgetting it on your phone) might make the blinking stop?

 

[OneEyedHito]

.

 

[knivek]

Ether C Flows have been decent through the PS5 controller but I want a bit more volume.

The ability to also have volume control on the fly rather than going into the menu alone will make it worth it haha..

 

[OneEyedHito]

Very interesting user experience thoughts! Since Sony announced they acquired Audeze right around the time the new Planar Magnetic headphones from PlayStation/Sony were announced, I suspect that the new headphones have a strong relationship with the Audeze. That said, for the price… I was expecting horrible earpads! Glad to hear they’re good! That comfort factor was probably my #1 concern about them.

That blinking blue light may be a Bluetooth notification, either that it’s connected, looking to pair, or something like that. I’m curious if your phone was paired via Bluetooth the same time you were using the lossless/lag-free dongle, or if resetting Bluetooth connections on the headset (and forgetting it on your phone) might make the blinking stop?

It’s not paired via Bluetooth. I noticed it’s stays blue though when working correctly now which isn’t ideal but it’s better than flashing. If I keep these I’ll use a sharpie on the led to dim it. I’ve been using them the past two days and am preferring them over the Maxwell still. The squeaking during movement with my head against the seat back has lessened.