[genclaymore]

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Have not gamed with them yet. but movies and music are great.
Wings a little too week for me, slides down, rests on top of ears.

How are there sound imaging?

 

[l00l]

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Hey, guys.  I wanted to ask for some advice on what to buy.  I've never owned anything beyond very basic headphones and headsets, but I have always wanted to upgrade.  From the original guide and a lot of the comments, I really wanted to get the Sennheiser PC 360s and the Mixamp to go with them.  However, I was wondering if the Sennheiser X 320 made for the Xbox 360 (I'll be playing on the 360 mostly, and maybe some PC gaming) or even the Tritton AX 720 might be a better choice for someone just starting out?  I searched around a bit, but I haven't been able to find much on the X 320s and the 720s had some good things said about them.  I really appreciate this thread.  All the posts have really helped me to narrow down my headset choices.  Thanks Mad Lust Envy and everyone else.  It's a big help.

 
You are better off just buying a stereo headset + a mixamp. If you don´t have the money - or just don´t wanna spend it right now - get a decent stereo headset for now and buy the mixamp later.
I had the AX720s and returned them since I thought they sounded pretty lousy.

 

[NamelessPFG]

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That's a very informative post, thank you!
 
Generally speaking, I'll want to play the newer games that are being released. As such, since most ( if not all ) have moved to software processing, then it does seem like the EAX cards are a bit pointless? 
 
On your point about the Headphone amps, I thought the THDs supported up to 600ohm? 

 
It's rendered EAX support pointless for anything based in software, yes. It's pretty easy to do reverb/chorus/occlusion/etc. effects in software without too much stress on modern CPUs. (I should stress that my issue with audio in modern games is primarily the lack of a binaural mixing option, and not the lack of support for EAX at all.)
 
As for the headphone amps, taking PurpleAngel's advice would be the safe bet, but it should be noted that impedance is NOT sensitivity, which is the true measure of how easy a headphone is to drive. For instance, the AKG K701 has a low impedance, but also low sensitivity, thus it's unwise to run it without decent amplification.
 
If you're wondering how good the Titanium HD's built-in amp circuit (technically, all analog audio outputs are amplified in some manner) is, I can't tell you unless someone's willing to lend me some really demanding dynamic/moving-coil and orthodynamic headphones along with a good dedicated headphone amp that's proven to drive them properly, which I can compare against.

 

[Mehdi]

The T-HD (Titanium HD) does not come with a true headphone amplifier, but still does a good job of driving headphones.
I would "guess" around 150-Ohm to 200-Ohm you should do fine with the T-HD, at 250-ohm the T-HD is still decent(?).
At around 250-Ohms (and higher) the Xonar Essence should be doing a better job of driving headphones.

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It's rendered EAX support pointless for anything based in software, yes. It's pretty easy to do reverb/chorus/occlusion/etc. effects in software without too much stress on modern CPUs. (I should stress that my issue with audio in modern games is primarily the lack of a binaural mixing option, and not the lack of support for EAX at all.)
 
As for the headphone amps, taking PurpleAngel's advice would be the safe bet, but it should be noted that impedance is NOT sensitivity, which is the true measure of how easy a headphone is to drive. For instance, the AKG K701 has a low impedance, but also low sensitivity, thus it's unwise to run it without decent amplification.
 
If you're wondering how good the Titanium HD's built-in amp circuit (technically, all analog audio outputs are amplified in some manner) is, I can't tell you unless someone's willing to lend me some really demanding dynamic/moving-coil and orthodynamic headphones along with a good dedicated headphone amp that's proven to drive them properly, which I can compare against.

 
Oh man, looks like I got more thinking to do then and should cancel my THD and Q701 amazon order
 
From what I'm gathering here, I have two options to do this right...

• THD + external amp + Q701
  For this, I may be able to use my MixAmp that I already own OR I'll want to get another external amp which will cost me a good $100-200?
   
• ST/STX + Q701

 
Of course, my other option here is to consider a headphone other than the Q701 that is less, high maintanance Or, I let amazon deliver it to me and I see how it is. Alternatively, I can order the 598s as well (which i think dont need an external amp to drive?) to use to compare: Does the Q701 sound good semi-driven, compared to the 598?
 
If I do end up compromising by not fully driving the Q701, what would I be losing along the way? Volume of course. What about SQ?

 

[PurpleAngel]

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How are there sound imaging?

Just watched some Amadeus on Blu-ray, audio was very nice. like in a movie theater.

 

[PurpleAngel]

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Oh man, looks like I got more thinking to do then and should cancel my THD and Q701 amazon order
 
From what I'm gathering here, I have two options to do this right...

• THD + external amp + Q701
  For this, I may be able to use my MixAmp that I already own OR I'll want to get another external amp which will cost me a good $100-200?
   
• ST/STX + Q701

 
Of course, my other option here is to consider a headphone other than the Q701 that is less, high maintanance Or, I let amazon deliver it to me and I see how it is. Alternatively, I can order the 598s as well (which i think don't need an external amp to drive?) to use to compare: Does the Q701 sound good semi-driven, compared to the 598?
 
If I do end up compromising by not fully driving the Q701, what would I be losing along the way? Volume of course. What about SQ?

On eBay, external add-on solid state headphone amplifiers (AC powered) start at around $65 (shipped from China).

 

[chicolom]

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Of course, my other option here is to consider a headphone other than the Q701 that is less, high maintanance Or, I let amazon deliver it to me and I see how it is. Alternatively, I can order the 598s as well (which i think dont need an external amp to drive?) to use to compare: Does the Q701 sound good semi-driven, compared to the 598?
 
If I do end up compromising by not fully driving the Q701, what would I be losing along the way? Volume of course. What about SQ?

 
Q701 semi-driven mainly has a little smaller soundstage (and less seperation), a little more muddiness, and a little looser sound.  Probably a smaller difference between driven and semi-driven than you think though.

 

[Mehdi]

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Q701 semi-driven mainly has a little smaller soundstage (and less seperation), a little more muddiness, and a little looser sound.  Probably a smaller difference between driven and semi-driven than you think though.

That makes me very happy. I just didn't want to be stuck with a sub-par ( and sub-par compared to other headphones this price range) listening experience, until and up to, when I get a amp paired with the Q701. Which I definitely plan to do eventually. I just don't want to blow too much money at once.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, the Q701 sounds fantastic off the NFB5 which feeds like two watts to the Q701. Yet, the E9 which only reaches a watt to a 16ohm headphone (probably not even half a watt at 64ohms in the Q701), sounds fantastic in it's own right for the price.

To anyone looking at the E9, I'll be completely honest: the E9 likes neutral to slightly warm headphones (which the Q701 is). You got a LOT of bang for buck with neutral to warm headphones and the E9. The D7000 sounds fantastic off it.

Bright headphones will sound pretty harsh off it, which is why more expensive amps that flesh out the sound will be better than the E9 for BRIGHT headphones no matter what.

 

[genclaymore]

Yea I end up changing the op-amps in my E9. tho my E9 had a op-amp socket before they removed it from newer E9 and place the op-amp directy to the PCB without the dip-8. Because it was the first thing  I did as soon I got the right screw driver for the E9. Which was opening it and changing it OPA2134 Op-amp/

 

[NamelessPFG]

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Oh man, looks like I got more thinking to do then and should cancel my THD and Q701 amazon order
 
From what I'm gathering here, I have two options to do this right...

• THD + external amp + Q701
  For this, I may be able to use my MixAmp that I already own OR I'll want to get another external amp which will cost me a good $100-200?
   
• ST/STX + Q701

 
Of course, my other option here is to consider a headphone other than the Q701 that is less, high maintanance Or, I let amazon deliver it to me and I see how it is. Alternatively, I can order the 598s as well (which i think dont need an external amp to drive?) to use to compare: Does the Q701 sound good semi-driven, compared to the 598?
 
If I do end up compromising by not fully driving the Q701, what would I be losing along the way? Volume of course. What about SQ?

 
If you've already placed the order, I say just let it go through and at least try the gear you've ordered for a bit before returning it. Only then will you know if it's truly satisfactory or not.
 
The Mixamp probably isn't that good of a dedicated headphone amplifier (people have already mentioned hissing at higher volume settings), but it should work in a pinch if what Mad Lust Envy says is true about the game/voice chat mixing knob (which you don't need for PC use) being set all the way to the game side. At least you have something to compare the Q701 without a dedicated amp against.

 

[genclaymore]

Also dont forget to swap out the generic Amp thats in the X-FI HD PCi-E with either 2x LME49720NA's or 2x LT1213ACN8's. As Jrcs are in the X-Fi HD PCi-E's i/v socket.

 

[harryyeo]

This thread is truly dangerous for my wallet, all the talk about Q701 makes me really want to buy one to try gaming with it while I have FA-011 still being used.

 

[calpis]

Hey guys, the Q701 and DH work really well together. Like really well. Just thought you guys should know.
 
Thanks MLE for the loaners

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Why would you doubt me?

But honestly, I'm just glad others can chime in and verify what I've said of the Q701s. I know a lot of you take what I say into consideration when spending serious cash, so I breathe a sigh of relief when my opinions have some merit, even if its a little.

Man, after having heard the Pro 2900s, I really wanna try the Pro 900. If it has the same type of bass, just more of it... I WANT them. I don't care about the reduced soundstage. I just want an alternative to the D7000 for music when the D7000 pleather gets hot and sticky. Though I doubt the bass qould be similar to the Pro 2900, since I bet that Pro 2900's bass is so great quality-wise due to the open design of the headphones.