[kman1211]

I can't say for sure on the Q701 yet, I am going off memory on them sadly. I could be wrong though. I always had a little trouble truly grasping the Q701s soundstage and imaging properly while with the MA900 I never did. I will be able to compare them properly when i can borrow my friends Q701. I did hear the MA900 vs HD 598 though.

 

[Black Leg]

Got Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro few days back, please can you suggest some good amps for it.
And how can I get surround sound experience with it, currently I am using Razer Surround for now.

 

[pietcux]

You might want to check this thread:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/593050/the-nameless-guide-to-pc-gaming-audio-with-binaural-headphone-surround-sound
 
MLE's thread is mainly for console gamers.

 

[Black Leg]

thanks for suggestion pietcux 

 

[NoodleBoy91]

Quote:

Concurrent to what I've heard about the T90s and the Beyer Teslas in general, which is why I have no desire in hearing any of them.

Oh no.. i was almost convinced on buying the t90's now after reading around a bit more maybe not.. the reviews seem mixed.. some people really love it while others hate it.. maybe i neet to hear it myself..

 

[pietcux]

What about the Sony MDR - R1? anyone tried this? Im guessing for gaming, only the X1, 990 Pro, and maybe MA900 are the only oneswith good bass and good sound stage for surround sound?

The MDR-R1 is ok, but nothing special. I had it for some moth last year and it got soon more or less unused. Sold it with a substantial loss and don't miss it. The build quality and the comfort are on the good side though. They sounded very mid centric to me.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I mean, trebly headphones don't bother me, but I'm over that phase. So while I love Beyers, they're just not what I look for in sound anymore.

 

[Kromatic]

Hi Mad Lust,
 
Thanks for all the great tips and info! Your thread is so useful. I'm a PC gamer and I play alot of competitive FPS games. I've decided to get a pair of Audio-Technica AD700X. Not alot of reviews out yet for this update on the AD700. I'm hoping I don't have any comfort issues. Just gonna have to try them out. I'm going to be feeding them from an ASUS Xonar DGX card and will definitely be using Dolby Headphone for some virtual surround positioning.
 
Kromatic

 

[Evshrug]

Kromatic,
I used an AD700 for three years, definitely a special headphone with great value. The downside is poor bass extension, so it sounds fairly lean, but the pluses are accurate, out-of-your-head soundstaging that is one of the best with virtual surround, light weight and low fatigue, and easy clarity to pick up on tactical details while gaming. I actually think it responds well to EQ, I used the bass-boost function with my Recon3D and was really impressed playing Metro: 2033, the scene where the anomaly rumbles past actually seemed bassy and powerful.

I would recommend not being afraid to bend the headband (3 places, in at the center then out flatter at 1/3rds areas) so that the ear cups sit more flush with your head (too wide at stock for most European heads), and maybe trying a hair-tie or medium sized rubber band between the "wings" to increase clamping force. They don't require as much special expensive amping as other headphones.

I think you will be quite impressed.

 

[Vader2k]

So it only took me forever, but I finally put up my thread about Marantz receivers with Dolby Headphone processing.  I hope it's useful for anyone looking at going the AVR route for DH.
 
Brief Guide to Marantz AV Receivers with Dolby Headphone & HDMI

 

[firefly89]

With the dss/mix amp, do you have to feed it a Dolby digital (true surround signal) for it to process to Dolby headphone, or can it do it from a stereo source
Because surely optical can only output coded Dolby digital or 2 channel lpcm, so although consoles code output to Dolby digital it wouldn't work on pc unless you're running with Dolby digital live?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It has to be from a true dolby digital signal. There is no way to get proper dolby headphone otherwise. You'll get either a prologic ii version of DH, or just stereo with a bunch of reverb and no advantage whatsoever.

 

[firefly89]

thanks MLE
 
so- on console it outputs Dolby digital, so works fine with the DSS/Mix amp, but on PC you'd need dolby digital live over optical? Or something that had 3 sets of analogue inputs? 
 
I play FPS mostly on ps3, PC and mac (use a mac for work stuff), and trying to get something to work over all 3 platforms. Got the xonar u3 working well on windows with dolby headphone, but doesn't work on console or mac- so might get the earforce dss to use with ps3 and also return the xonar u3 and use optical out on the computer to go to DSS (but would need a soundcard with DDL right, so would have to keep xonar? meaning the DSS would be useless for PC use), I think there's no hope for DH on mac as there's nothing than can output DDL (dolby digital live) in game, although I do get 6 channel discrete over HDMI to my AV receiver, so maybe if I use an av receiver with DH support (marrantz?) that would give dolby headphone on everything that was connected- so 6 channel LPCM over HDMI from macbook pro, optical coded with DDL from PC, and optical with DD from ps3. Neatest solution, but most expensive and i'm happy with my current amp
 
 
also thinking of upgrading my headphones, they're pretty crappy- so not sure if it's worth upgrading headphones first (senn 558 modded) or getting DH first and upgrading later.
 
I never use the mic, so I think it would be better to get good headphones with a seperate DH converter, rather than a headset- but if there was a good headset on the market with built in dolby headphone I could go for that, wireless would be real nice too, there are some newer sennheisers, and the turtle beach but I don't think they will work with mac? (FWIW I only really play CS:GO on mac so it's not a deal breaker but it would be nice, as long as I can actually get sound from them on the mac i'd be happy)
 
 
just want the best bang for my buck, and don't want to waste money
your guide is excellent btw, so helpful 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

​

The Xonar U3's software program has a setting to change the spdif/optical out to send out an untouched dolby digital signal to the DSS. Thats how it would work with the DSS. However, why, when the U3 does the same thing? Use the DSS for non PC use.

I think the 558 is a solid headphone. I really like it.

 

[burritoboy9984]

It has to be from a true dolby digital signal. There is no way to get proper dolby headphone otherwise. You'll get either a prologic ii version of DH, or just stereo with a bunch of reverb and no advantage whatsoever.

You sure about this? Dolby's site doesn't make it sound like that. Also, what about the JVC DH device with DTS? I've listened to a channel check encoded in 5.1 pcm and 5.1 DD, and I'll check again, but I thought they sounded identical with DH enabled.

-Erik