[tank]

OK, I am currently using a set of ad700's and I have ordered but not yet received some ms1i's (for rock music) and I am looking at possibly getting this DAC/amp combo from the rave reviews I have heard about the sound for music. However, as a semi-competitive PC gamer... I need to know a couple of things about this piece of hardware compared to the x-fi xtreme gamer sound card I currently run.
 
1. Will I still get the wonderful "sound hacking" sound stage I have now? i.e. with the ad700's sound stage on my x-fi I can often hear people I need to shoot before I see them (I love being able to hear someone's reload from around the corner.... it's the sound of a free kill!!) 

 
 
2. Is there going to be any more significant lag compared to what I experience now? If my sound is lagging behind the action, I am diminishing my competitive edge... even if it does sound better. 
 
 
3. If questions 1 and/or 2 above are true, how easy will it be to switch between my x-fi (for the gaming) and the Musiland Monitor 02 US (for the sweet, sweet music)? Will it be plug and play or will I have to keep reinstalling/uninstalling drivers?
 
Thanks for the input and the great community

 

[KnightK]

Before my responses, I would like to qualify that I use the Musiland for gaming, too. I have played many versions of Counterstrike, Left4Dead, Call of Duty, Team Fortress, Battlefield, etc.
 
1. Yes, in fact, the soundstage actually will improve a bit, depending on the headphones used. (The amp on the Musiland is not the best, but the DAC section's amazing for the price.)
 
2. No lag whatsoever in my experience. (At least no audio lag. I can't guarantee your reaction times lag, lol

)
 
3. No lag so there's no need to switch between the x-fi and Musiland but you can easily switch if you want, too, through the volume control panel. I can definitely say the Musiland is a step up in clarity and fidelity. The only thing that might suffer is impact of explosions, etc. because of the post-processing that x-fi uses. (Even that, I doubt, though.) The drivers are easy to install and work in Windows (32/64bit). There is no need to constantly update drivers. (unlike graphics drivers, huh?

)

 

[ROBSCIX]

Why not use a X-fi attached to the Musiland by S/Pdif -If you can as I am unsure if the 02 allows S/Pdif input.
This way you get all the gaming routines of the X-fi but the sound quality of the external device.

 

[tank]

I believe that the only input on them is the USB from what i have been reading... I think everything else is outputs....
 
Also been reading about the Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1... anyone know how the two compare? 

 

[KnightK]

Musiland i/o:
 
USB In Only
 
Digital Out (Coax and SPDIF) for digital transport purposes
RCA out (L and R channels)
1/8" headphone outs (Low-impedance and High-impedance)
 
 
Not sure about the Tube Magic and how it compares.

 

[tank]

Ordered the Musiland... thanks for the help

 

[Uri Cohen]

The Monitor is more than enough for gaming.  I just finish some gaming rounds with it. 

 

[tank]

F@ck my life...
 
I've been reading these forums for the past 4 days straight basically all day long... work, home, lunch, staying awake way to long at night.......
 
Now I'm considering getting a tube amp to power my ad700's and MS1i's through my Musiland Monitor 02. The MS1i's and DAC haven't even gotten here yet.....
 
I'm getting a serious case of Pokemonitus ("gotta catch um all") and now I'm reading that I can change out the tubes to change the types of sound around?!?!?!?!
 
Head-fi is going to make me so poor.... but tell me honestly.... do you think I will hear a difference between the amp on the Musiland and a "cheap" ($300 or less) tube amp? Right now I simply want a tube amp because I like the idea of "discovering" new tubes

 

[DarkScythe]

I think there's a reason this forum's slogan is "Welcome to Head-fi - sorry about your wallet."
 
If you spend all your time reading here you'll always want to get new gear, it's just how it is.
In the end though, as some wise forumers have said, what matters is the music and your enjoyment.
Don't get so bogged down about spending money that you forget about the music.
 
I'd say do a bit of research, think about what you want your rig to look like in the end, and get it piece by piece.
 
I'm relatively new to the audio world as well (coming from gaming as well) but I'm happy enough with the gear I have that I don't care I'm "missing out" on $2000 amps and headphones.
As far as hearing a difference, it really depends on your hearing. From people here who do this all the time, they will talk about "night and day" differences, but that term is open to interpretation.
Someone's "night and day" could be another person's "minor difference" if you get what I mean. I personally struggled to hear many of the differences in higher end gear, but I also put that down to me being inexperienced and not knowing what to listen for.
 
Don't forget, with certain amps you can also do op-amp rolling, which I'd imagine is similar to tube swapping.
 
That said, I believe these USB DACs do not have all the nifty X-fi audio processing stuff like EAX and CMSS 3D, so if those are important to your gaming, you may want to take that into consideration.

 

[tank]

Lol, yeah, my wallet is quickly deflating
 
As far as EAX and CMSS though... I have read this post: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/483802/quest-for-holy-grail-of-gaming-sound
Aparently the Asus STX > X-fi
 
 
And from this post and other reviews: http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards-computer-audio/594406-musiland-02-monitor-us-asus-essence.html
Musiland > STX (for sound quality in general.. no specifics on gaming as far as I can read)
 
 
So I'm THINKING Musiland > STX > X-fi for gaming too 

 

[DarkScythe]

The Asus Essence STX, as far as I know (it was on my radar too, the STX and ST) have their own emulation of EAX. Auzen's offerings have an actual X-fi chip licensed from Creative for full EAX (only on some models though, and I believe only up to EAX 4 - someone correct me if I'm wrong.) These external DACs will sound better (how much better is subjective, but there will probably be an improvement) but they don't normally have any kind of "gaming" or 3d/surround emulation like EAX.
 
That said, Valve's source games don't even support EAX, as far as I know. But again, if that stuff is important to you, you should take it into consideration. The Asus/Auzen cards are no slouches from what I can tell, but they seem to be a compromise if you want something better than an X-fi while still retaining some measure of EAX. There may be other things that matter, but honestly as a gamer, the only thing I ever bothered with and felt made a difference back in the HL1 mod days was EAX.