[NamelessPFG]

 
Quote:

Nah... you are cool if you already have optical output
 
The decoding will be done by mixamp... you just need a toslink cable to connect optical -> mixamp -> k702

 
Wouldn't that require the S/PDIF output device to have Dolby Digital Live so everything's encoded on-the-fly to begin with? A lot of games apparently keep their channels in PCM and can't encode into Dolby Digital in real-time. S/PDIF only has enough bandwidth for stereo PCM. If Dolby Headphone only gets stereo, I just don't see it working as intended.
 
On the other hand, the Mixamp does have a mini-USB port on the back. Maybe it doubles as a USB audio device for PCs?
 
Quote:

Need a little guidance, for best sound card under $100.  Never bought a sound card before.
 
Found this for $40, the asus xonar u3:  http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_U3/#specifications
 
Is there something else better I should get, that is under $100?  Will use for 80% gaming, 10% movies, 10% music. 

First off: Does it need to be USB, or can you get an internal sound card?
 
Second off: Which games do you play? If you still like older titles, you'll probably want EAX 3-5 support. With newer titles, it's more of a matter of what binaural surround HRTF tech suits you better.

 

[obazavil]

Quote:

 
 
Wouldn't that require the S/PDIF output device to have Dolby Digital Live so everything's encoded on-the-fly to begin with? A lot of games apparently keep their channels in PCM and can't encode into Dolby Digital in real-time. S/PDIF only has enough bandwidth for stereo PCM. If Dolby Headphone only gets stereo, I just don't see it working as intended.
 

 
Hmm.. yeah.. that's true.. mixamp supports USB I have never tried my mixamp attached to my computer, 100% is with my ps3 only.
 
Regarding optical and games... well, that depends on the game, isn't it?
If the game only sends stereo, mixamp will receive stereo. If the games can send encoded signal to the digital (dolby), mixamp will process it and turn it into dolby headphone.
 
I use the optical of my macbook to send dolby 5.1 to my HT when watching 720p movies without any problems at all.

 

[jm78]

Quote:

First off: Does it need to be USB, or can you get an internal sound card?
 
Second off: Which games do you play? If you still like older titles, you'll probably want EAX 3-5 support. With newer titles, it's more of a matter of what binaural surround HRTF tech suits you better.

It doesn't have to be USB, I can use a regular pci slot.  Although, my PCI-e slot is covered by a graphics card, so that's unusable.
 
I play mostly newer titles.  Have no idea which binaural surround HRTF I would like better.  Actually, I don't even know what HRTF stands for.  Is dolby headphone not the best option for most gamers?
 
This pci card seems to have better specs and is cheaper than the u3 i mentioned earlier, asus sonar dg:  http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_DG/#specifications
 
Seems useful as it has a headphone amp like the asus u3.
 

 

[jm78]

Hmm, seems like the nicer sound cards all use the PCI-e slot.  Wonder if the asus xonar dg will be lacking.

 

[NamelessPFG]

 
 
Quote:

Hmm.. yeah.. that's true.. mixamp supports USB I have never tried my mixamp attached to my computer, 100% is with my ps3 only.
 
Regarding optical and games... well, that depends on the game, isn't it?
If the game only sends stereo, mixamp will receive stereo. If the games can send encoded signal to the digital (dolby), mixamp will process it and turn it into dolby headphone.
 
I use the optical of my macbook to send dolby 5.1 to my HT when watching 720p movies without any problems at all.

Most PC games I'm aware of keep their channels in uncompressed PCM to begin with. Some might have the ability to send Dolby Digital on-the-fly without a sound card that has Dolby Digital Live, but most don't to my knowledge. If they insist on using PCM, and S/PDIF only has enough bandwidth for two channels in PCM...you see where this is going.
 
This was likely done because PCs went with extra analog channels for surround speaker setups instead of making like the home theater market.
 

Quote:

It doesn't have to be USB, I can use a regular pci slot.  Although, my PCI-e slot is covered by a graphics card, so that's unusable.
 
I play mostly newer titles.  Have no idea which binaural surround HRTF I would like better.  Actually, I don't even know what HRTF stands for.  Is dolby headphone not the best option for most gamers?
 
This pci card seems to have better specs and is cheaper than the u3 i mentioned earlier, asus sonar dg:  http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_DG/#specifications
 
Seems useful as it has a headphone amp like the asus u3.

HRTF = Head Related Transfer Function. It's the term used to describe your head's physical effects on incoming sounds. For binaural surround techniques, matching up the HRTF used with your own would be ideal, but technologies like CMSS-3D Headphone and Dolby Headphone use a generic or average HRTF for the most part.
 
I use X-Fi cards (still play a lot of older games and want the EAX), so I use CMSS-3D Headphone. It's practically an aural wallhack for me, but there's been so many debates about how it compares to Dolby Headphone that I can't really chime into because I don't have any means of using Dolby Headphone in games. Some prefer one, others prefer the other. That's all I can say, really.
 
Given that the Xonar DG costs only $20-30 these days, it's worth a shot. Look into these drivers if that's what you choose.

 

[jm78]

Yeah, just ordered the xonar dg.  Hopefully will work good, will let you guys know how it sounds.

 

[Timbeh]

I just ordered the old- fashion wired mixamp. I´m a PC gamer, with titles like WoW, Red Orchestra and in the future BF3, naturally. I currently have Sennheiser HD555 and HD600 headphones, and i´m wondering how much of the capability i´m getting with these phones out of the mixamp? Do i need fast upgrade to the phones mentioned in first post, how big is the difference? 

 

[jTizMLG]

@Mad Lust Envy
 
You should review the Razer Carcharias and SteelSeries Siberia V2.
 
There both highly recommended on the MLG technology forums.
 
I hear the Carcharias or a bit better then the V2 but the V2 has noise canceling which is ideal for LANs.

 

[NamelessPFG]

If we're going to throw review suggestions his way, I'd like to hear his thoughts on the Lambda-series Stax models, even the vintage ones (if anyone can find them for sale; with all luck, you can get one for under $300 with a transformer box).
 
Not quite SR-007 or SR-009-level (he said "high-end Stax", so that's what came to mind), but spending that much for a gaming headphone would be a bit excessive. (Then again, some would say that anything Stax is already high-end.)

 

[Armaegis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA3vUtY7Io8
 
Here's a song I came across that does a pretty good job of showing how strong bass affects your direction sense.The first 20 seconds the sounds are almost binaural as they jump from side to side, and there's a couple brief chord that are almost dizzying the way it warbles back and forth between your ears. Then the bass line kicks in nice and solid. Now listen for the same intro theme, especially when the chord hits. That sense of back and forth between the ears is severely diminished.
 
This song also happens to be a good example of showing how lousy the youtube audio quality is. Find yourself a better version of the song and you can immediately notice the difference in the staging.

 

[RapidPulse]

Just saw that Sennheiser has a new headset coming out for the Xbox 360  (Model: X 320)
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/xbox-360-headset-gaming-x-320-504199
 
Anyone have any details other than what is mentioned there? 
 
The MSRP ($149) is quite a bit less than the PC360 ...and it is amplified.  Probably safe to assume sound quality isn't in same league as PC360?

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

Just saw that Sennheiser has a new headset coming out for the Xbox 360  (Model: X 320)
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/xbox-360-headset-gaming-x-320-504199
 
Anyone have any details other than what is mentioned there? 
 
The MSRP ($149) is quite a bit less than the PC360 ...and it is amplified.  Probably safe to assume sound quality isn't in same league as PC360?

Hm! That's very interesting... I never thought Sennheiser would make a console-only headset.
The "flip-to-mute" mic design sounds like an excellent idea.
 

 

[TruckTurner]

Conclusion (if you'd like to skip the wall of text below): The combo of the Sennheiser HD598's and Astro 5.8 MixAmp is a fantastic one for immersion in gaming.  And the HD598's are absolutely great for music.  
 
I just wanted to come in here and thank all of the posters (148 pages worth!!!) for their insights and recommendations.  I finally copped the Sennheiser HD598's and the Astro 5.8 Mixamp last night and I have to say I'm very pleased with both.  The HD598s are fantastic with music and their gaming immersion is excellent.  I played Crysis 2 last night and had no problems picking out where sounds were coming from even in a 3D space.  For example, I had people shooting at me from multiple directions and a jet/alien/something flew overhead at the same time and I clearly knew what direction each particular sound was coming from. 
 
I also picked up (for the sake of comparison) the AD-700s and the ATH-A700's.  I liked the soundstage (though not the paltry bass) of the AD-700's and they were so big that I felt I was wearing two pie plates on my head.  I don't have a small head (7 3/4 hat size) but they were just TOO big for my tastes.  As for the ATH-A700's the bass was too pronounced (they're closed cans) and it negatively impacted the mids and highs IMHO.  I plan to use the HD598's for gaming and music and in my admittedly limited tests I feel that they'll function very, very well for both.  They're an outstanding multipurpose phone.  And the bass is certainly there as well.  I tested them out with a couple a rap songs (EPMD's classic "So Whatcha Sayin" and a few by Ice Cube) and found the bass to be exactly what I wanted: a good sense of bass without overwhelming the vocals and rest of the track.  I also tested them with some vocal songs, instrumentals, and some jazz and each was a pleasure to listen to as well.  
 
As for the MixAmp 5.8, it works just as well as advertised.  It does a good job driving the HD598's (only have to have it around 30-40% for good gaming immersion and it gets better the more you crank it up.  I compared it to the TB EarForce DSS and even though the DSS is cheaper I decided to go with the MixAmp.  For me it's more about convenience and safety than anything else.  With the TB the volume control is on the module, so it only extends as far as your optical cable (for me that's 6 ft) and if that's farther than your couch (about 10 ft) you're screwed.  Plus I have a 9 month old who is currently fascinated with pulling on all manner of cords which she shouldn't (lol).  So to have the wireless feature and no cords running across the floor was worth the extra $$$ for me.  Plus the only sound difference between the two (wired vs non-wired) was the pronounced hiss in the TB regardless of volume level.  That said, it's not something that would be a deal breaker for me if I had a more convenient way to use it without buying new cables or rearranging my basement.  If you're interested in headset gaming you should at least try out the EarForce because it's just too cheap ($60 on Amazon) not to see if it's good enough for you.
 
 

 

[leng jai]

DICE does it again. BF3 sounds incredible, just like all their other games.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

But it plays like crap. DICE, I am disappoint.

Not to toot my own horn, but I am VERY good in FPS games. BF3 controls like CRAP, looks like crap on consoles (which is odd as I thought Bad Company 2 looked fantastic), and just isn't any fun for me. I dunno... I'm somewhat tired of CoD, but I guess MW3 is gonna have to do. Here's hoping RAGE surprises me.

BF3 is still in Beta, but it's too close to release date to think the final product is gonna be very different. It was lackluster for me, just like Medal of Honor was.