[xhexk]

Hello everyone. I've just made my purchase for the x1 along with a V-MODA BoomPro wire/mic. I'm curious on whether or not my Vi Hero on-board sound (don't kill me) will be enough to enjoy these cans? I don't have the funds for an amp/sound card at the minute.

 

[mandrake50]

Hello everyone. I've just made my purchase for the x1 along with a V-MODA BoomPro wire/mic. I'm curious on whether or not my Vi Hero on-board sound (don't kill me) will be enough to enjoy these cans? I don't have the funds for an amp/sound card at the minute.

I find the X1 to be pretty easy to drive. I have run them directly out of a Sansa Fuze and quite enjoyed them.
I know nothing of the Vi Hero, but if it is at all adequate, you should enjoy the X1 quite a bit.

Why not give it a chance? See what you think and let us know. I am interested!

 

[xDezor]

  Hello everyone. I've just made my purchase for the x1 along with a V-MODA BoomPro wire/mic. I'm curious on whether or not my Vi Hero on-board sound (don't kill me) will be enough to enjoy these cans? I don't have the funds for an amp/sound card at the minute.

Yes, you will very much enjoy that combination. These headphones are extremely easy to drive. They're 32 ohms so you wont have any problems powering them off of a computer, or a cellphone/iPod for that matter.. Later down the road you might want to invest in a different DAC/Soundcard but for now don't sweat it, this should be a very good combo! Make sure you break them in for ~40 hours playing music at a reasonable volume before you pass judgement on them. New they sound kinda off, or at least I thought so. Enjoy your new audio!
 
I myself have a Maximus V [edit: V, not VI] Gene (similar to your motherboard), and it sounds great. The only thing I would say is that you might have to play around with the audio settings/drivers to get your desired results. I ended up just uninstalling all the Asus crap and using the realtek drivers that were available for my specific audio chipset.

 

[xhexk]

That's very re encouraging to hear! I'll sure let you all know what I think of them when I get them tomorrow; got to love Amazon prime lol.
 
xDezor are you aware at all if the Maximus Vi series feature Dolby headphone? I'm going to be using these for competitive play and the Virtual Surround Sound would be a great asset.

 

[xDezor]

  That's very re encouraging to hear! I'll sure let you all know what I think of them when I get them tomorrow; got to love Amazon prime lol.
 
xDezor are you aware at all if the Maximus Vi series feature Dolby headphone? I'm going to be using these for competitive play and the Virtual Surround Sound would be a great asset.

 
Let us know how it goes. I kinda wish I had a PS4 just because this setup would be too perfect for it! I'm pretty sure prime was a contributing factor to why I purchased as well. That damn one click ordering - so easy! 

 
I made a typo in my post, I actually have a Maximus V Gene, so it's a generation older. This version doesn't come with Dolby Headphone - instead it has THX TrueStudio Pro and SoundBlaster X-Fi MB2. I don't particularly like the surround "enhancements" it provides - especially when listening to music. I think Dolby Headphone or CMSS-3D is better for  the games I play. I also don't play very many newer games - usually just Counter Strike: Source...
 

Spoiler: Asus Maximus V Gene Marketing Jargon:

SupremeFX III

Supreme Sound

The SupremeFX III™ onboard audio solution is an 8-channel HD audio equipped with a carefully selected 1500uF capacitor which provides clean, ripple-free audio power and – perfect for enveloping gaming environments. With a metallic EMI cover and special layout design on the PCB, advanced SupremeFX Shielding™ technology isolates analog audio signals from digital sources for exceptional clarity and high fidelity, while a gold-plated jack ensures rich notes reach your ears with minimal distortion.

A bounty of industry standards are supported, including EAX® 5.0 Advanced HD, Creative® ALchemy and THX® TruStudio™ PRO, so the same great audio experiences found in live performances, films and recording studios are reproduced faithfully right on the PC. When bundled with the Sound Blaster® X-Fi MB2 suite, the SupremeFX III™ is the perfect choice to provide an exceptional gaming experience with realistic sound effects.

 
Never the less, it still sounds fine. I did upgrade to a new DAC/AMP after a few months, but these headphones are very pleasant and fun to listen to, regardless of what you pump into them. I routinely walk around the house with them plugged into my HTC One streaming Google play music - they don't require the best audio source to be enjoyable - which isn't something you can't say for some "higher end" headphones. 

 

[Panzo]

Hi,
I already asked this in help section but I think you guys would give a better advice. So I bought these headphones and they should arrive next week but I heard the stock cable isn't that great. Should I buy new cable from a local supermarket which isn't nothing fancy or just play with the stock one? I'm not willing to pay much for the cable because the headphones took my monthly payment (in army).
I will run these straight out of my computer or ipod/android phone without amp so I need a 3,5mm to 3,5mm (I assume the stock one is 3,5mm too?)
Thanks in advance

 

[wigglepuff]

Hi,
I already asked this in help section but I think you guys would give a better advice. So I bought these headphones and they should arrive next week but I heard the stock cable isn't that great. Should I buy new cable from a local supermarket which isn't nothing fancy or just play with the stock one? I'm not willing to pay much for the cable because the headphones took my monthly payment (in army).
I will run these straight out of my computer or ipod/android phone without amp so I need a 3,5mm to 3,5mm (I assume the stock one is 3,5mm too?)
Thanks in advance

theres nothing wrong with the actual sound quality of the stock cable, I also tried using the cable of the sony 1r and other headphone cables on it and didn't notice any huge or major difference. so stick to the stock one or if you find the very long cord to be annoying then you can get a shorter 1m cable for convenience.

 

[CoiL]

Hi,
I already asked this in help section but I think you guys would give a better advice. So I bought these headphones and they should arrive next week but I heard the stock cable isn't that great. Should I buy new cable from a local supermarket which isn't nothing fancy or just play with the stock one? I'm not willing to pay much for the cable because the headphones took my monthly payment (in army).
I will run these straight out of my computer or ipod/android phone without amp so I need a 3,5mm to 3,5mm (I assume the stock one is 3,5mm too?)
Thanks in advance

I recommend getting aftermarket one especially because Your sources aren`t so good as separate DAC/AMP and this could result littlebit "muddy / overly soft" sound, especially in the bass area. Of course, if You have multimeter, then You can measure stock cable impedance easily and maybe You get one of those good ones
 
If not, there`s plenty of relatively cheap good cables available:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310803988432?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=610248832489&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-5M-3-5mm-to-3-5mm-Jack-Audio-IPOD-AUX-MP3-Gold-Cable/330693416957?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23984%26meid%3D14c2421b29ec4f69bb60567b066c5fe3%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D9421%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D330693416380

 

[Panzo]

Thanks for both of you for fast replies!
I will consider buying a replacement cable either from the first link or any amazon except US.
Also would a xonar dg sound card make a difference in sound comparing to internal sound card? It's under 30€ so I could invest in that.

 

[xhexk]

  Yes, you will very much enjoy that combination. These headphones are extremely easy to drive. They're 32 ohms so you wont have any problems powering them off of a computer, or a cellphone/iPod for that matter.. Later down the road you might want to invest in a different DAC/Soundcard but for now don't sweat it, this should be a very good combo! Make sure you break them in for ~40 hours playing music at a reasonable volume before you pass judgement on them. New they sound kinda off, or at least I thought so. Enjoy your new audio!
 
I myself have a Maximus V [edit: V, not VI] Gene (similar to your motherboard), and it sounds great. The only thing I would say is that you might have to play around with the audio settings/drivers to get your desired results. I ended up just uninstalling all the Asus crap and using the realtek drivers that were available for my specific audio chipset.

Just got my cans today. First impressions weren't impressive... then I uninstalled the ROG Audio control and my God- I was blown away. These are BY FAR the best headphones I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. I'm so glad you told me about the drivers, I was left a bit confused at first. 

 
 
This might sound like a noob question but how do I go about activating Dolby headphone?
 
EDIT: For some reason Installing Realtek HD drivers make the sound really quiet.

 

[CoiL]

Instead directsound use WASAPI, ASIO or KSP. anything else that goes through OS internal kernel mixer is rubbish, imho.
And wait for cans to burn-in properly. Imo they need at least 150-200h playtime to properly open up and settle down. Littlebit amping recommended!

 

[wigglepuff]

It actually depends, different makers make diff quality hardware, for my case my onboard audio on the gigabyte h67 d2b3 which is a fairly old mobo using the alc889 sounds exactly the same with the fiio e07k (using WASAPA, ASIO and the OS kernel with realtek driver) and yes even the coloration(or is it tuning, dunno what you guys call it) which is bass oriented and a little warm on the tremble is the same, the only difference is the front output for headphones on the mobo has a very huge gain and power output which will probably break the x1 which is only 500mw rated, and plus the fact that my mobo picks up emi when my videocard and psu trottles up.
 
I dont see how higher end mobos with better dacs are inferior to mine. especially those new mobos coming out like gigabyte's model with the alc1150 and better pcb layout for clearner and distortion free audio. no wonder the soundcard and lower end audio related gear is dying out.

 

[jodgey4]

Also would a xonar dg sound card make a difference in sound comparing to internal sound card? It's under 30€ so I could invest in that.

I've tested the X1's with standard on-board audio and the Xonar DGX, it really worked well. It really helps unveil the mids and synergizes well. If you get it, don't bother with cable swapping, the output impedance is pretty high from the DG so any small benefits from a new cable will be lost. Cable swapping only makes sense with amps with output impedances less than ~3 ohms probably for these cans.

 

[Panzo]

I've tested the X1's with standard on-board audio and the Xonar DGX, it really worked well. It really helps unveil the mids and synergizes well. If you get it, don't bother with cable swapping, the output impedance is pretty high from the DG so any small benefits from a new cable will be lost. Cable swapping only makes sense with amps with output impedances less than ~3 ohms probably for these cans.

So should I buy the new sound card or replace the cable? Which one would make a greater diffence? Sorry for being such a newbie

 

[tfwnogf]

I'm pretty sure going with the soundcard option will be better

i have the X1 and switching the cables to M-100 cables aint helping much