[Craggles]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to upgrade my audio for gaming I use an Audio Technica ATH-ADG1 with the supplied DAC, will I get better sound in games If I use an amp+dac or a sound card I also want to keep using the microphone on the ATH-ADG1.
I have been looking at these products what do you think of them:
Fiio e10k
Mayflower Objective 2 amp+dac
Mayflower ARC (Soon to be released has a microphone port on it)
Sound Blaster Z

 

[cossix]

I had the E10K and it was a great little guy. Very good deal for the price

 

[Craggles]

Thanks cossix, I bit the bullet and pre ordered the Mayflower ARC seems like a good unit where I can plug in my headphone & mic in the front and speakers at the back.

 

[snip3r77]

Smsl idea

 

[Meetite]

Upgrading your amp/DAC (usually) greatly increases SQ from my experience.

Consider looking at some stuff from Schiit (Magni + modi combo works wonders for the price).
IMO you should avoid sound cards. It's better to take anything audio-related outside of the computer in order to avoid EMI/RFI noise. Sound cards are convenient but you will probably get a better audio experience with a separate unit.

As a side note, be careful when trying to put a headset through an amp. Since the ATH-ADG1 uses a 3.5mm TRRS connector (combo audio) that means that the left and right drivers in addition to the microphone all share the same ground wire/contact. In theory nothing is wrong with this, but in practice if you split the combo connector to two separate mic and headphone connectors you get problems when plugging the headphones into a separate source or amp from where the mic is plugged in. To simplify; plugging the headphones into an amp and the mic into your computer directly if both the mic and headphones share a ground can cause significant audio quality problems. In order to avoid this you either need to buy a ground loop isolator (which can be costly) or to buy an amp that has both a headphone output and a microphone input. As such a Mayflower ARC may be your best option.

Hope this helped!

 

[Craggles]

Thanks heaps Meetite very informative, the Schiit stack is expensive here in Australia and the mayflower products are much cheaper I just need to use an adaptor plug for the power. Also is virtual surround sound just a gimmick or does it have some value in gaming?

 

[Meetite]

Thanks heaps Meetite very informative, the Schiit stack is expensive here in Australia and the mayflower products are much cheaper I just need to use an adaptor plug for the power. Also is virtual surround sound just a gimmick or does it have some value in gaming?

I'm glad to hear I was of help.
On the topic of virtual sound, it is a complete gimmick. Usually surround causes a serious decrease in sound quality (not all the time though). It can be useful, but tends to cause more confusion than it helps. Usually a better pair of headphones with good soundstage work out significantly better than virtual surround.