[Impulse]

double post, not double the pleasure unfortunately

 

[Impulse]

Question - Using my PS3 as source mainly, for competitive gaming - I've decided to go for AKG Q701 and DX Mini clip-on with Astro Mixamp 2013. My question is, will this all work out with the ps3 without requiring anything else? Will the Mixamp have enough power to drive the Q701 and the DX voice boom?

Will the Q701 work off the Mixamp? Yes. Will they sound ok? Yeah. Will you be getting the most out of them? Not really... If you're at the limit of your budget already you could always go with it and add an amp later tho, or consider other headphones.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

So the Mixamp is definitely on it's way.

 
Cool. 
 
I'm interested to see a Receiver + HP amp Vs. Mixamp + HP amp comparison.
 
Did you already try the receiver HP out jack alone Vs. receiver + HP amp comparison and come to any conclusions?

 

[chicolom]

Hmm...how do you change your avatar to one you've used in the past and is already uploaded to your "avatar gallery"?  Is there an easy way to do that or do you have to reupload every time?
 

 

[Evshrug]

First, I want to apologize, buuuuuuuuut I want to respond to a number of posts, lol

I primarily play Battlefield 3 and Natural Selection along with the occasional Space title that usually comes with an epic soundtrack (Endless Space).
...
I had to sell the setup to fund my college education *sadface*, also, space constraints and drunk college students prevent me from building a rig of those proportions.

With that in mind, you could say that I like my music signature to be neutral, with a touch of warmth and a little hot on the treble.

I'm looking for headphones and/or DAC/Soundcard which are:
1. Combined cost of below $400; buying used would be great
2. I'd like my computer rig to be in the ITX form factor and thus, won't have space for a decent soundcard, all I will have is the Realtek ALC892 Integrated chipset. If you guys feel strongly about getting a decent soundcard instead of a DAC/Amp combo, I am willing to move to an ATX motherboard so I can add that in
3. Able to wear comfortably for long hours

Also, if you have advice on a decent pair of PC speakers equally adept at gaming and music, please share it.
I'm looking at the (in ascending order of price), Logitech z623, Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, Corsair SP2500 and Swan m50w (which are out of stock everywhere).

Am I too late to chime in too?
Chewynuts, my first college roommate was from Singapore, he was a real stand up guy who was kind of like an older brother to me, and came to college later because he had to serve in the military for a while (did you?). When I say roommate, I was in a double room with him, and there was another double as part of our suite. Sadly, even though I was in the honor's dorm, the other two guys connected to our space were also into being stupidly drunk, and they were always leaving our door open, crowding lots of people in for parties, and the rich one tried to pin me down and force me to drink a shot because I was uncomfortable and not wanting to drink yet. Luckily for me he was too drunk to keep a good hold, but then I started waiting to come home every night until 4:30 am... A big part of why I dropped out before transferring to a new school later. Always lock your door, and if you have roommates agree on a time the door shuts.

But enough history! For your ITX desktop (I understand dorm desks can be tight sometimes), couldn't you fit a low-profile sound card, like Asus' entry-level gaming cards (like the DX)? If not, you should still be able to accommodate a mini-ATX computer, which gives you more room for expansion and long-term upgrading. I would like to see some reviews of creative's new Z-series lineup too, but if soundcards are out you can at least get an Asus Xonar U3 or Creative X-Fi Live! Go thumb drive sound processor.

If you can afford it, the AKG Q701 is welcome to come home to, and is a great all-rounder, especially nice for gaming. Another option, if you want more bass and hot treble, the DT990 seems to fit your taste perfectly. Some people don't like how hot the Dt990 treble goes, though. Cheaper, the closed AKG K272hd is supposed to sound warm with a nice midrange, if you want more bass the DT770 or KRK-something-beyer-clone delivers. I really like the AD700 as a great bang for the buck, but people may find it bass lacking, and lately I've seen more people recommend Superlux and Samson models (see previous page), but I also like the JVC HA-RX900 (with the effective TopPop mod) at that price range because to my ears it has good soundstage but more bass than the AD700 (it's semi-closed). Just some ideas.

I also understand the interest in speakers. Nice to relax to without fuss, great to share a movie or tunes with friends. I loved when people liked to visit me. The reality of a Dorm, though, is you may not be able to have a subwoofer. Size matters, yes, but subwoofers are impolite to your neighbors all around you. I'd read great things about Audioengine's monitors, though now I'm interested in Samson's Cheaper is better though, you will be in a small room and you never know if you'll have to replace everything. Though not hi-Fi, I found the $30 Logitech speakers adaquate for sharing movies and casual listening.
If you want a whole kit with passive speakers... I suggest an Asus U3, Audioengine N22 integrated amp, HA-RX900 (modded), Pioneer SP-BS22 LR passive speakers (newegg.com sometimes has a pair of these for 50% off!), forget a subwoofer until you can afford an apartment and a model from PSB. The Audioengine amp has a great headphone amp, but also drives speakers well. You probably have your own ideas about speakers, but the Pioneers (and the previous SP-BS41 LR model) deserve some research.

I was on desktop but idk. But I love and hate this thread so much! It's the reason I got my hd558s which I love but I already want to spend the money on Annie's! Lol damn head'fi. I say instead of making our wallets lighter, we are stimulating the economy! It makes me feel better. And speaking of spending money, what is a good budget Dolby receiver for headphones?

Budget? Erm... Used vintage model I guess. We just went over how Marantz (and one receiver mentioned on Dolby's page) are the only current-production receivers with specifically DH.

Aw, you all are one big happy family Notice anything btw? lol

He has met with Buddha, and now seeks zen balance! Ommmmmmmmm...

Question - Using my PS3 as source mainly, for competitive gaming - I've decided to go for AKG Q701 and DX Mini clip-on with Astro Mixamp 2013. My question is, will this all work out with the ps3 without requiring anything else? Will the Mixamp have enough power to drive the Q701 and the DX voice boom?

Yes. Will sound like an improvement to your Trittons. Nice thing is, in a semester or two, you can add an amp and enjoy an upgrade with your Q's. There will be more headphone amps out by then too, hopefully the reviews will shed light on a good one. I like the FiiO E12 I'm testing, it's like having an E9 in your pocket. It's a very neutral amp, with very clean output.

 

[eNemy-]

Anybody have an idea if AKG K512/K514 MKII any good for gaming?

 

[Evshrug]

eNemy,
Here's the "best for gaming surround" checklist.

1. Open-backed
2. No bass bloat
3. Good soundstage and a sense of "Air"
4. Detailed upper-mids and treble, to reveal footsteps and positional cues more accurately
5. Good separation/layering, so you can easily focus on reloads and footsteps/breathing even amongst gunfire & explosions

I haven't heard the AKG K512 or variants, but do you think it fulfills the checklist?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Hmm...how do you change your avatar to one you've used in the past and is already uploaded to your "avatar gallery"?  Is there an easy way to do that or do you have to reupload every time?

 

I think once you look up one of your old avatars, there is a link on the bottom right that says 'original'. It will open up the image in a gray background. Copy that link and paste it when wanting a new avi. It will keep it from popping up multiple times (I learned this the hard way).

Cool. 

I'm interested to see a Receiver + HP amp Vs. Mixamp + HP amp comparison.

Did you already try the receiver HP out jack alone Vs. receiver + HP amp comparison and come to any conclusions?

I actually haven't bothered attaching the Compass 2 to the Receiver. I feel the receiver does just fine for gaming purposes. I may eventually try it, but it's not a priority.

I know it's been a long time coming, but I'm gonna start writing the Annie review today.

 

[Evshrug]

I thought you could use an old avatar by clicking your avatar (to get to your profile), clicking view avatars, and then there's a bubble that'll let you pick an old one again.

Anyway, wish me luck... Starbucksks interview.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I think once you look up one of your old avatars, there is a link on the bottom right that says 'original'. It will open up the image in a gray background. Copy that link and paste it when wanting a new avi. It will keep it from popping up multiple times (I learned this the hard way).


I actually haven't bothered attaching the Compass 2 to the Receiver. I feel the receiver does just fine for gaming purposes. I may eventually try it, but it's not a priority.

 
So you have like 1000 avatars in your "avatar gallery" by now, or what?
 
 
I thought part of the point was to cancel out whatever high output impedance the receiver's jack had with another amp. 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I thought you could use an old avatar by clicking your avatar (to get to your profile), clicking view avatars, and then there's a bubble that'll let you pick an old one again.

Anyway, wish me luck... Starbucksks interview.

 
I see none of those things.  You can click your avatar, which shows your avatar gallery, but there's nothing to do there except look at your past ones AFAIK.  You can also click "replace avatar", but you can only add new files by uploading or importing via url, but not pick old files already uploaded.  That's all I see...
 
Good luck!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

So you have like 1000 avatars in your "avatar gallery" by now, or what?


I thought part of the point was to cancel out whatever high output impedance the receiver's jack had with another amp. 

Yes, but that's if I was using headphones that would be hurt by output impedance. The AKGs and planar magnetics really don't. I'd show the graphs from Innerfidelity, but the site is down.

I figure you followed my intrustions on replacing the avi?

 

[eNemy-]

Quote:

eNemy,
Here's the "best for gaming surround" checklist.

1. Open-backed
2. No bass bloat
3. Good soundstage and a sense of "Air"
4. Detailed upper-mids and treble, to reveal footsteps and positional cues more accurately
5. Good separation/layering, so you can easily focus on reloads and footsteps/breathing even amongst gunfire & explosions

I haven't heard the AKG K512 or variants, but do you think it fulfills the checklist?

 
Well since I couldn't find any detailed review I asked the people who uses them.
AFAIK it has closed design. But someone said "sound very much like an open headphone in a closed design"
Users say that it isn't bass oriented and it has "bright sound with good sound stage". They also told me that "trebles are very very clean and they reach very high frequecies"
I couldn't find any information about speration/layering. I might get the chance to try one this week so...
 
Actually it kinda confuses me why there is not many reviews or users? I mean even here.
Well thanks anyways Evshrug

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Some closed headphones work rather well for gaming (like the Fostex equipped Denons, D2000, D5000, D7000) and DT7770, MMX300. However, most closed headphones tend to choke the soundstage, which hurt it's ability to project souds around you convincingly. This is why an open headphone with a medioum to large soundstage is highly recommended. It's not the final word on whether they'll be good for gaming or not, but it helps.

Also, I don't think an emphasis of treble is necessary. Stuff in the higher range is pretty easy to hear as long as as a headphone has good detail up there. Even the HD650 with it's really smoothed over treble was QUITE detailed for gaming. It was it's soundstage that really hurt it from being as good as it could've been.

The most important thing sound-wise is that the bass not be too powerful, and mids not too pulled back and smothered by bass (like I feel the DT770 Pro 80 tends to do).

 

[Heretic817]

Quote:

Will the Q701 work off the Mixamp? Yes. Will they sound ok? Yeah. Will you be getting the most out of them? Not really... If you're at the limit of your budget already you could always go with it and add an amp later tho, or consider other headphones.

For my two cents... It took a while but with the help of this post I ended up with and bought in this order.
Mixamp Pro (2010)
Q701
Objective2 amp.
 
I absolutely love all three. The Mixamp is a great solution for console with good features. The Q701 is usable with the Mixamp though mixing in the Mic will seriously impact the Mixamps ability to drive the Q701. Without Mic it is adequate. That being said the addition of the Objective 2 was a very noticeable improvement. IMO one should not consider the Q701 unless you are prepared to shell out for an amp at least after a while as I did. I was happy with the Q701 without one but can honestly say that I was missing out before. 
 
I built my O2 for about $80 for all parts and shipping, including some upgrades. However, do not build your own unless you already have some experience, tools, static protection and such or it will end up costing more than a finished unit. Also, even if you have all of the above it's a pain. I only built my own because I knew I could build it properly and I wanted that peace of mind.