[illram]

Nice, I'm not a competitive gamer, just a streamer of fps games. Bought some k702's and deciding on an amp. I dont have a huge budget right now, can change that later. For now I'm after something like a g6 or maybe fiio k3/schiit fula woth software for vss. Leaning to the g6.

Darin Fong's Out of Your Head software is free to try for 7 days and is basically a bunch of different Realiser room recordings. Despite the fact you are not getting the full Realiser experience because it is not using your personal tuned HRTF (the main benefit of the Realiser) the $24.99 (price last time I checked) "Game" preset room is very very good, and it is coming out of your computer so you can use it with whatever you want. Way better than Windows Sonic or Atmos for Headphones or DTS or Dolby Headphone.

 

[Mmoyeti]

Ah nice! Yeah i'm now learning back to a pure dac/amp and software solution, especially as my main game already outputs binaural stereo sound @illram.

Thanks for your tip.

I'm unsure if my onboard sound which is a couple of years old (Realtek® ALC887) supports 7.1 output.

In the online manual it says "The ALC887 is a 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio Codec with two independent SPDIF outputs. Featuring eight channels of DAC support 7.1 sound playback, and integrates two stereo ADC that can support a stereo microphone, and feature Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Beam Forming (BF), and Noise Suppression (NS) for voice applications."

So does that mean i could use a usb dac/amp with hesuvi or other software and set it to 7.1 in windows? If i set the speaker config to 7.1 at the moment with my headphones in, I don't hear anything other than L and R. Is that just because my headphones only have that, but software would work with it?

 

[PurpleAngel]

I'm unsure if my onboard sound which is a couple of years old (Realtek® ALC887) supports 7.1 output.
In the online manual it says "The ALC887 is a 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio Codec with two independent SPDIF outputs. Featuring eight channels of DAC support 7.1 sound playback, and integrates two stereo ADC that can support a stereo microphone, and feature Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Beam Forming (BF), and Noise Suppression (NS) for voice applications."
So does that mean i could use a usb dac/amp with hesuvi or other software and set it to 7.1 in windows? If i set the speaker config to 7.1 at the moment with my headphones in, I don't hear anything other than L and R. Is that just because my headphones only have that, but software would work with it?

USB bypasses sound card (onboard or add-on) features.

 

[illram]

Your onboard is irrelevant and all these 7.1 software solutions basically just create new "fake" speaker outputs which you then select as your sound device to output to whatever dac/amp you want.

 

[mindbomb]

So does that mean i could use a usb dac/amp with hesuvi or other software and set it to 7.1 in windows? If i set the speaker config to 7.1 at the moment with my headphones in, I don't hear anything other than L and R. Is that just because my headphones only have that, but software would work with it?

You might want to buy just a headphone amp with no dac, because the 7.1 support of the onboard audio is convenient for hesuvi. Generally, games are going to check the windows setting to decide what to output. So you are supposed to set it to 7.1, and then hesuvi can take that 7.1 from the game and convert it to binaural.

When you buy a dac, most of the time they only support 2 channels. So you have to do an extra step where you make a fake sound device that supports 7.1.

 

[MEGALADON]

What's a realiser? And people are gaming with headphones and speakers? Man, I've been away for a while.

 

[Mmoyeti]

When you buy a dac, most of the time they only support 2 channels. So you have to do an extra step where you make a fake sound device that supports 7.1.

Thanks for the info. So that's what something like the g6 does with sbx? Basically makes a fake sound device. Makes sense now.

My concern was that the onboard sound just isn't great for 702's and a dac would give me better quality sound. That's why I looked at the g6 as it had the amp/dac and virtual surround. Or I also looked at the ae5 initially as well.

Your onboard is irrelevant and all these 7.1 software solutions basically just create new "fake" speaker outputs which you then select as your sound device to output to whatever dac/amp you want.

Ah so if I had an amp/dac it can give me the increased sound quality from the fake 7.1 device still?

I'm so confused on what to go for lol.

Can't decide what's best. G6/ae5 or something like a fula/k3

 

[mindbomb]

Thanks for the info. So that's what something like the g6 does with sbx? Basically makes a fake sound device. Makes sense now.

My concern was that the onboard sound just isn't great for 702's and a dac would give me better quality sound. That's why I looked at the g6 as it had the amp/dac and virtual surround. Or I also looked at the ae5 initially as well.

I mean, no, the g6 actually supports setting windows to 7.1. So you wouldn't have to use workaround to do that. What sbx does is converts the 7.1 into binaural audio like you have in The Hunt. Making a fake sound device is the workaround for dacs that don't support 7.1, so that you can feed 7.1 audio into a binaural converter. The reason you want to do this is that 7.1 is a format with more information where front and back sounds are separated.

Even if you buy just a headphone amp, the sound quality goes up because with the analog volume control of the headphone amp, you can put out a larger signal from the onboard audio, which will result in a better signal to noise ratio.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Ah so if I had an amp/dac it can give me the increased sound quality from the fake 7.1 device still?
I'm so confused on what to go for lol. Can't decide what's best. G6/ae5 or something like a fula/k3

Connecting a DAC (DAC/amp) to the optical output of your motherboard will allow you to use any headphone surround sound feature your on-board audio offers.
For $30 you can get Creative Labs headphone surround sound software (SBX Headphone), that will work off your onboard audio.
Me, I would buy a used Creative Labs AE-5.

 

[mindbomb]

Connecting a DAC (DAC/amp) to the optical output of your motherboard will allow you to use any headphone surround sound feature your on-board audio offers.

Will it? To me, it is uncertain that the motherboard software will have a feature to copy the processing to the optical output. And I haven't vetted motherboard solutions to make sure they are configured properly with windows set to 7.1.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I mean, no, the g6 actually supports setting windows to 7.1. So you wouldn't have to use workaround to do that. What sbx does is converts the 7.1 into binaural audio like you have in The Hunt. Making a fake sound device is the workaround for dacs that don't support 7.1, so that you can feed 7.1 audio into a binaural converter. The reason you want to do this is that 7.1 is a format with more information where front and back sounds are separated. Even if you buy just a headphone amp, the sound quality goes up because with the analog volume control of the headphone amp,
you can put out a larger signal from the onboard audio, which will result in a better signal to noise ratio.

There is the faked virtual 5.1 or 7.1 headphone surround sound.
Then there is Creative's SBX, that can take in a 5.1 (6-channel) from the source (game or movie) and convert it in 2-channel of headphone surround sound, that 2-channel audio is then sent to the headphones.
Dolby Headphone will basically work the same as the Creative SBX.

 

[illram]

Ah so if I had an amp/dac it can give me the increased sound quality from the fake 7.1 device still?

I'm so confused on what to go for lol.

Can't decide what's best. G6/ae5 or something like a fula/k3

I don't know much about the AE5 but the G6 is a competent little device and not a bad amp/dac in its own right, even if you don't use SBX. Give it a shot, and if the SBX doesn't work for you try something else. You can still use the G6 as your headphone source for whatever surround software you decide to feed it from your PC and it will sound just fine with most headphones. It even has a nifty equalizer if you're into that.

Alternatively if you want to save $50 and are confident something like HeSuVi will be sufficient, just get the fulla.

 

[Mmoyeti]

Thanks @PurpleAngel @mindbomb and @illram thats helped a lot. Why ae5 over g6 purple?

Also it seems there is now the ae5 plus. Any of you seen that?

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blasterx-ae-5-plus

I am crap at deciding on things. I know my onboard won't drive the 702's and not sure I want an internal card, although if that's best then sure (have to dig out a spare molex).

A friend kept saying I don't need 7.1. I mean I don't need it for hunt showdown but other games might benefit in future. Especially as I like to play fps often.

Just a tough choice between the g6/ae5 and the k3/fulla 3. Or maybe internal vs external and then vss support via software or via hardware.

It does sound like the g6 is a good fit as it does all that the ae5 does and has the benefit of an external easy to use setup (as I won't be needing speakers). Plus the fact it allows Windows to be set to 7.1 and sbx handles that. Would I have to set windows to 2.0 if playing a game like hunt that outputs binaural already?


I'm honestly going back and forth all day. My headphones will be here before I order an amp lol.

 

[Wintersun2015]

For stereo gaming(FPS) w/ DT 1990s should i get the Schiit Magni 3+ or Heresy ? Does it makes any a difference ?

Thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

Will it? To me, it is uncertain that the motherboard software will have a feature to copy the processing to the optical output. And I haven't vetted motherboard solutions to make sure they are configured properly with windows set to 7.1.

Thanks @PurpleAngel @mindbomb and @illram that's helped a lot. Why ae5 over g6 purple? Ae5 needs a molex connector I think internally, I'd have to dig out my spare cables lol. Also it seems there is now the ae5 plus. Any of you seen that?
https://us.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blasterx-ae-5-plus
I think for my use case as in work as well as home gaming, an external is prob best.

A sound card plugged into the motherboard's PCI-E slot will have access to more power, like for driving headphones.
But if you prefer to go with a Creative Labs USB sound card (AE-5 or other), go for it, as it seems to have more of what your looking for anyway.
The newer AE-5 plus comes with DDL (Dolby Digital Live) and DTS-Connect software, which can encode (compress) up to 6 audio channels (5.1) of digital audio, allowing that audio to pass thru S/PDIF (optical/coaxial).
The compressed audio is maxed out at 24-bit/48K, which is still very practical for most uses, but the device receiving that encoded audio would also need DDL or DTS-Connect to decode the audio back to PCM.
Otherwise S/PDIF optical/coaxial will only pass 2-channels of un-compressed (PCM) digital audio, but that audio can be 24-bit/96K or 24-bit/192K.
If you connected a optical DAC/amp, for headphone use, you would only need the 2-channel to pass thru S/PDIF anyway.

For stereo gaming(FPS) w/ DT 1990s should i get the Schiit Magni 3+ or Heresy ? Does it makes any a difference ?
Thanks

The Magni 3 is a headphone amplifier only, the Heresy is a USB DAC/amp.
But if your only going to be working with stereo (2.0) audio, USB is fine.
If you went with the Magni 3, you would also need a DAC, unless your going to use your motherboard's built in DAC function.