[High Fidelity]

Quote:

For me, yes.  The mixamp can drive them past what I consider ear-damaging levels, especially without chat mixed in.  With that said, I do double amp with my M-stage, but only because it boosts the soundstage.  I don't need the extra volume. 

 
Does the K701 have a larger soundstage with an extra amp, say the FiiO E9, than the AD700 with just the mixamp?

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
Does the K701 have a larger soundstage with an extra amp, say the FiiO E9, than the AD700 with just the mixamp?

 
The E9 didn't improve the soundstage when double amping.  It made the sound a little warmer and boomier, which made the soundstage seem smaller.  So I would cross the E9 off your list in terms of improving the mixamp soundstage; Look at different amps instead.
 
The M-stage + mixamp does improve the soundstage.  I can't say for sure as it's been too long since I've heard the AD700.  I still don't think it's bigger than the AD700s though.  Going of memory the AKGs have a taller soundstage.
 
Of course the sound signature and bass of the AKG's severely pwns the AD700s.

 

[calpis]

@chicolom
Is your mstage modded at all? Also a little OT but how well does the e10 pair with your mstage? I've been thinking about upgrading from a hifiman hm101.
 
I'm going to have to downgrade soon and start using a mixamp for console gaming instead of my hk receiver.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I would think the HK receiver would be more beneficial, assuming yours has Dolby Headphone. Better amp section, multiple optical inputs? Seems like less of a hassle compared to the Mixamp, aside from the lack of voice chat.

 

[calpis]

I would like to keep it since it does have DH but I'll be moving soon and I'll have less room than I have now. For my mic, I would just connect it directly to the controller and adjust the volume in the xbox preferences. Also, had no need for opticals since mine has 2 hdmi inputs.
 
I'm going to miss it unless I can find a way to fit everything inside the room.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Oh I see. Yeah, I would probably say the Mixamp is probably gonna sound inferior if you A/B them.

Its a damn hassle if you have multiple optical cables fighting for the sole optical input. Its SO stupid of them to have one input, when they should realize gamers that would buy their product would more than likely own multiple consoles.

You can gamble on an optical splitter/switcher,but all the ones I've tried have failed miserably. Leaves me with having to manually unplug the cable for the other whenever I switch consoles. So for now I usually just leave one of the console's sound playing off the soundbar, and whatever gets most use gets the Mixamp. Lately, that's been the PS3. Though the soundbar gets all sounds from the TV's optical out anyways, whenever I feel like not wearing cans.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

@chicolom
Is your mstage modded at all? Also a little OT but how well does the e10 pair with your mstage? I've been thinking about upgrading from a hifiman hm101.
 
I'm going to have to downgrade soon and start using a mixamp for console gaming instead of my hk receiver.

Not really.  Stock m-stage still boosts the soundstage.  Opamp rolling is either extremely subtle or possibly placebo IMO =\
 
E10 is pretty good.  Pretty open sounding.  My HRT DAC is more detailed and what not.  If you just need a DAC you could also look at the FiiO D3 which is cheapo.

 

[calpis]

I used to use that one black monoprice optical splitter when I had an xbox pioneer HTiB that didn't have a headphone jack. I used that splitter to split the signal between that and a sony virtual headphone box. I didn't have any hiccups even when I used my 5.1 and headphones at the same time.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I bought that one on two separate occasions, and both had audio drop outs, crackling, and just rage inducing sound issues. Then I bought the one with the knob, and it worked half the time. I just need a simple powered box that has like 4 optical inputs, one output, with no conversions. Powered so as to push a button and not a damn knob that could mess up whatever is inside...

 

[calpis]

I see that monoprice has a 4x1 hdmi switch w/ an optical out. I may have to give that one a shot. I wish my oppo hdmi switch had an optical output too :/

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

You have to make sure the optical out doesn't convert the signal to PCM (my TV does, so I can't get Dolby Digital through its optical out).

 

[calpis]

Good call. I completely forgot to check that. Reading through the reviews leads me to believe that it does in fact work but the people claiming that it does send a 5.1 signal out the optical forget to mention if it's DTS or DD.
 
Here's the switcher in case you're interested:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=7974&seq=1&format=2

 

[mahmoud]

What's the difference between the turtle beach dss 1 and dss 2? or should i just get a mixamp? By the way, do laptop onboard sound cards have that virtual surround dolby thing? O listened to some dolby surround tests on youtube, but i am not really sure about how it should sound like. My solution currently is to get the av sound output of rca audio to jack 3.5 cables, this gives stereo sound

 

[Mcarter3]

Quote:

maverick, I know this will sound disappointing, but I ended up going with the Audio GD NFB 5 as my DAC/AMP. It has a lot of power and has a DAC. Assuming I like it enough for the D7000, it will keep me from getting something considerably more expensive, and opening funds for the Q701.
I don't have golden ears, so assuming it's 'good enough', I'll be happy with it. I'm more interested in headphones anyways.
With the 2 ohm output impedance (perfect for anything above 16 ohms)
3500mW/25 ohm (D7000 + LOTS of powah)

1800mW/50 ohm
900mW/100 ohm
300mW/300 ohm
150mW/600 ohm (almost twice the power of the E9 at 600ohms).

It's gonna cost me around $400 in total, compared to 2x as much as I was going to spend on the other, less powerful equipment. I know power ain't everything, but it should help with something like the AKGs, or even Orthos (with that power)...

MLE-   How do you like the nfb over the fiio e7 e9 setup. I have the fiio setup with d5000's and a couple of the nfb's are on my short list for an upgrade
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

What's the difference between the turtle beach dss 1 and dss 2? or should i just get a mixamp? By the way, do laptop onboard sound cards have that virtual surround dolby thing? O listened to some dolby surround tests on youtube, but i am not really sure about how it should sound like. My solution currently is to get the av sound output of rca audio to jack 3.5 cables, this gives stereo sound

I'm 99% sure your laptop does not have Dolby Virtual Headphone.
I'm guessing the Dolby surround tests on youtube are already pre-processed for Dolby Virtual Headphone.
where as 99.99% of the audio in the world does not come pre-processed with Dolby Virtual Headphone.