[Evshrug]

Meant to post this before, but I forgot the actual link, lol.
Thought you guys might enjoy this. This is from the Ultrasone Demo CD that came with the Pro 900s (and I assume others like the Pro 2900). It's a binaural recording, and sounds like the band is playing right around you.
Just put on your headphones and enjoy. Those with open headphones should appreciate it even more.
[VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQRrCVosJs[/VIDEO]
The video clips at times, however.

I expected it to clip a lot more, lol, barely noticeable. And now I'm strangely hungry.

I had to quote your message to see the video link on my iPad, i don't think videos embedded in Head-Fi show up on iOS devices.Here's another video - cheesy but the positioning and depth are very distinct.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwDa7TWHHc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Just got my Monster Turbines. They'll do, though not exactly highly detailed. The bass isn't bloated though. Strong, but nothing I can't handle. Mids seem right in the same level as the highs. Had to order some tips, because these are very uncomfortable.

I guess the KSC 35 weren't "doing it" for ya in all portable situations, eh? I still prefer my Ety's, though I never got to hear the ultimate ears when they were good for the price. I think it's odd that I prefer the larger silicone tips on the Ety's, but the edges on the small tips are very noticeable and hurt after a short while.I ought to order replacement small foam tips, they were the best but so earwax-y now.

 

[NinjaSushi2]

Just set it to 44.1/48, Dolby Digital 5.1. Uncheck everything else.
What's wrong with the O2?

Thanks.

As a fellow Q701 owner (who got to play BF3 campaign a bit last night, setting "headphone" and "Enhanced Stereo On" in audio prefs sounded nothing like ES: Oblivion through Yamaha's Silent Cinema), I'm very curious about your opinion that the O2 sucks. Was it like what WiR3D said in his recent review of the VAMP amp, that having one pleasantly colored element in your audio chain creates the best experience and the Q701 and O2 aren't a good match because they're both transparent, or do you have a basis for comparison and you don't think the O2 stands up to the other amp for musicality? What amp would you like?
And is DAO that star trek MMO? I wouldn't expect an MMO to have the highest sound quality, especially one that takes place in a vaccum

No it's Dragon Age Origins.

The O2 sucks imo for two reasons. I hate the design. Having all my hookups in the front makes managing cables with this mixamp a pain in my ass. Also I think the Q701 would benefit from a warmer amp that can drive the bass a bit more. (Any ideas).. Now I am partially deaf too but I also have a hard time picking up footsteps. For music the O2 sounds great because it streamlines music more or less linear. Mostly mids and some highs but doesn't drive lows. Once again I'm deaf from my years in the army; that and I haven't yet compared anything to it yet. I might go to the music shop tonight but again this setup just seems empty.

But above all the biggest pet peeve is all the wiring in front. Does anyone have this setup and find it lacks something. On a scale of 1-9, 4-6 is great but 1, 2, 3, and 7, 8, 9, lack.


Edit: watched the video and highs sound great, I'm starting to realize it's my source. That and I need an ear cleaning! Badum dum tsssh...

Still needs a warm amp imo, off to the guitar world music store place. Hastings I think is the one I'm heading to, haven't been there. I'll post again tonight. I'll bring my amp and headphones too.

 

[Dirksqjaw]

I just heard 'Angel' - Massive Attack on a $300 car subwoofer for the first time while on vacation. While calling it boomy and loose compared to the Q701 is an understatement, it was interesting to hear the transformative emphasis on the song's bass as the impact scaled much much more dynamically than possible on headphones. Little scary TBH, LOL!

Ok off topic but that is freaky. I'm reading your post with my MD's on, listening to that very same song!

Love massive attack and they sound brilliant with the MD's

 

[TMRaven]

Are we talking wiring for just regular usage, and not gaming?  At first I thought I'd have a big issue with the wiring on the front, but thanks to my desk's wire holes, it's a relative non-issue, in fact I have less wire clutter now than I did before.
 

 
 
 
I think we should distinguish here between 'not driving lows' and 'driving lows, but not to the coloration of other amps.'  I think it's a big paradigm split on head-fi too.  All too often I hear people saying a certain headphone isn't being driven properly, and that amps add bass are amps that drive them properly.  The reality of it is I think they're not using neutral/thin headphones to begin with, then relying on a colored amp to make their  bass in-line with the rest of their sound.  I think the rightful approach is getting a neutral headphone to begin with and getting a neutral amp to go with it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, the O2's inputs all being in the front is a major reason why I dismissed it. I'd personally wait for the ODA which should be more conventional. Yes, the O2 is very transparent , and not exactly musical in that it doesn't add or take anything away in terms of the individual frequencies. The Q701 isn't exactly musical until paired with certain colored amps (it is SO finicky). I can easily understand how the Q701 and O2 would be a mostly analytical pairing.

I just think the O2 is an ideal amp sound wise, precisely because it lets your headphones do all the talking.

 

[seanmcloughlin7]

Quote:

.Here's another video - cheesy but the positioning and depth are very distinct.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwDa7TWHHc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 

I love these. I think more games should try utilise stuff like this more. It's very convincing. Imagine a horror game with perfect binaural recording and you walk down a hall and something touches you shoulder or whispers in your ear, would really freak you out

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I love these. I think more games should try utilise stuff like this more. It's very convincing. Imagine a horror game with perfect binaural recording and you walk down a hall and something touches you shoulder or whispers in your ear, would really freak you out

Corpse Party on the PSP is binaural. Can also be downloaded for the Vita.

Youtube vids seem to have the headphone option turned off in the game, so I dunno what it sounds like.

 

[Evshrug]

Ok off topic but that is freaky. I'm reading your post with my MD's on, listening to that very same song!
Love massive attack and they sound brilliant with the MD's

Haha, yeah Massive Attack has a unique sound that is easy to crave every once in a while, like Chinese food or Chipotle. Which brings "Paradise Circus" to mind, I'm a have to go listen to that for the first time on my Q's ^__^
What are the MDs? My mind is stuck thinking Magnetic Drive...

Generally speaking, any game that uses DirectSound3D or OpenAL will have proper positional audio, which covers most releases from 2006 and prior. I just happen to prefer stuff like the earlier Battlefield games and Unreal Tournament because of my tastes in FPSs. (It also helps that BF2 and BF2142 were designed with the X-Fi DSP in mind in addition to using proper 3D audio APIs, as the highest sound quality settings can't be enabled without a proper X-Fi card.)

If we weren't talking multiplayer FPSs specifically, then the Thief series sets the benchmark for sound design and positioning in video games, in no small part due to how sound is so integral to the gameplay. Do note that all are DS3D (need ALchemy) and that some versions of ALchemy will act up with 1/2 or Deadly Shadows, while other versions work perfectly fine with both. (Thankfully, the ALchemy version included with the X-Fi Titanium HD's drivers falls into the latter category.)

You know, I think the Aleph One port of the Marathon series uses OpenAL in addition to OpenGL. That game should be about as old as the Descent series, but I remember thinking it was so cool reading in the manual that the game supported VR headsets, LOL. After MS bought Bungie and Ambrosia Software stopped developing games, I really did not have much reason to game on my Macs that I also used for artsy-fartsy crap. Crying shame most devs have given in to Microsoft's DirectX.

X-Fi Titanium HD... Not sure I'm $100 PC gaming audio curious, but at least with the games you mention I wouldn't have to upgrade from the NVIDIA GTS 250 graphics card I got for $70.

If I wanted to play BF2142 and Thief Gold or Deadly Shadows, what sound card and downloads would I need? Is there a capable step down from the Titanium HD that would still be equipped with the hardware 3D processing?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

MD = Mad Dogs, which is a modded T50RP by the Headfier Mr. Speakers. Apparently it sounds about 90% like the LCD2, but closed, and 1/4 of the price. Too bad it uses pleathers. Very highly regarded.

 

[Evshrug]

Way cool!
I had heard of the Thunderpants special before, hilarious name but so many people talking about it as the end-all audio producing experience when it was first released.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

They're the only commonly available closed planar magnetic headphones out too (the Fostex T50RP).

Right now, I believe there are 3 modded versions that are very popular.

Smeggy's Thunderpants
mrspeaker's Mad Dogs
And LFF's Paradox

The Thunderpants are the most well known of the modded ones.

 

[TMRaven]

Paradox. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Thanks... I wasn't ever considering the T50RPs, until now. I could use a closed planar...

Still, not until some legit modded T50RPs are done with velours.

 

[Evshrug]

Paradox. 

Every headphone purchase comes with a lacquered "Jumbo Shrimp" plaque emblazioned with the words "Yes, we did it."
Ps do you have any words to say on O2 vs Little Dot amp?

And Mad, perhaps you feel strongly enough about velours that you can blaze the trail? You may not be really into DIY, but you aren't satisfied with the stock experience anymore, either.

 

[TMRaven]

Perhaps besides some slight variances due to tube coloration and subtly better instrument separation/clarity on the O2 perhaps due to a way better damping factor-- the two were virtually the same.  The most major and most appreciable differences for me: the O2's volume pot doesn't create noise when adjusting the volume, and the O2 also doesn't get hot.