[Skippman]

Hi Gang!

 
I'm new to the forum as you can tell by my extremely low post count. I've been an audiophile for as long as I can remember and have traditionally gone with loudspeakers over headphones for a variety of reasons. Now that we're planning to start a family I've decided I should start gearing up to use headphones with my desktop PC for gaming as not to wake the future baby.
 
I came to this form by searching for a guide to the differences between 5.1, 7.1, and stereo headphones. I've always thought that when it came to headphones stereo should be all you need for proper positional audio as you only have two ears anyway. Reading a bit of The Nameless Guide to PC Gaming Audio I was left a bit confused.
 
My current PC is using a Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming-7 motherboard with it's onboard RealTek ALC1150 chip and X-Fi MP3 gaming suite of software to drive a set of Creative Labs Gigaworks G500 THX certified speakers. Now, in reading the guide I'm getting the impression my positional audio quality would improve vastly by installing the X-Fi Titanium which to my understanding uses the EMU20K1 processor.
 
Given my goal is to swap out to a set of quality headphones I think starting with the best quality processing I can get is the right thing to do. So am I correct that the X-Fi Titanium has much better sound processing capabilities than the ALC1150 I've been using?
 
 
Thanks for your help.
 
- Skip

 

[PurpleAngel]

 

Hi Gang!

I'm new to the forum as you can tell by my extremely low post count. I've been an audiophile for as long as I can remember and have traditionally gone with loudspeakers over headphones for a variety of reasons. Now that we're planning to start a family I've decided I should start gearing up to use headphones with my desktop PC for gaming as not to wake the future baby.
I came to this form by searching for a guide to the differences between 5.1, 7.1, and stereo headphones. I've always thought that when it came to headphones stereo should be all you need for proper positional audio as you only have two ears anyway. Reading a bit of The Nameless Guide to PC Gaming Audio I was left a bit confused.
My current PC is using a Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming-7 motherboard with it's onboard RealTek ALC1150 chip and X-Fi MP3 gaming suite of software to drive a set of Creative Labs Gigaworks G500 THX certified speakers. Now, in reading the guide I'm getting the impression my positional audio quality would improve vastly by installing the X-Fi Titanium which to my understanding uses the EMU20K1 processor.
Given my goal is to swap out to a set of quality headphones I think starting with the best quality processing I can get is the right thing to do. So am I correct that the X-Fi Titanium has much better sound processing capabilities than the ALC1150 I've been using?

 
Are you talking about the Titanium-HD or Titanium (non-HD) sound card?
The Ti-HD (Titanium-HD) should offer improvement (audio quality, headphone surround sound, etc) in a lot of ways, over the Realtek ALC1150.
But as your current G500 speakers require a 6-channel (5.1) analog audio feed and the Ti-HD only comes with 2-channel analog audio speaker output, you can not use your G500 with the Ti-HD.
The Titanium (non-HD) would work with your current speakers, but audio quality might not be any better then the current on-board audio.
Also the Titanium (non-HD) uses the same output port for both the headphones and front speakers
A Creative Sound Blaster Z or Zx or ZxR sound card would work with the G500s and they come with a separate amplified headphone jack.

 

[cel4145]

What headphones are you planning on getting?

 

[Skippman]

   
Are you talking about the Titanium-HD or Titanium (non-HD) sound card?
The Ti-HD (Titanium-HD) should offer improvement (audio quality, headphone surround sound, etc) in a lot of ways, over the Realtek ALC1150.
But as your current G500 speakers require a 6-channel (5.1) analog audio feed and the Ti-HD only comes with 2-channel analog audio speaker output, you can not use your G500 with the Ti-HD.
The Titanium (non-HD) would work with your current speakers, but audio quality might not be any better then the current on-board audio.
Also the Titanium (non-HD) uses the same output port for both the headphones and front speakers
A Creative Sound Blaster Z or Zx or ZxR sound card would work with the G500s and they come with a separate amplified headphone jack.

 
Thanks for the advice. I was hoping to avoid that but honestly it's not a huge deal if I need to get a new sound card. As this will be used 95% for gaming the reviews I've read seem to put the Sound Blaster Zx over the Xonar in terms of positional audio. That's going to be the deciding factor for me as I'm attempting to avoid getting a 5.1 or 7.1 headset in favor of a good quality stereo set.
 
 

What headphones are you planning on getting?

That's an excellent question. Honest answer is I don't know yet. I figured I should first start with a good sound card that can give me the positional audio I want and go from there. Currently I use a set of NuForce NE-600X ear buds for most of my non loudspeaker listening. I also have a set of wireless Logitech H800's I use at work that are OK at best.
 
Loudspeaker wise I prefer warmer sounding speakers and have all KEF iQ series speakers in my home theater. In my 2 channel setup I use a set of Mirage OmniSat V2's paired with a Mirage 10 woofer. PC speaker wise I have the aforementioned Creative Gigaworks G500's that I love and a set of AudioEngine A2's that I ran for about 2 weeks before deciding they sounded to flat.I'd rather use my home theater for most music if for no other reason than that's where my SACD player is.
 
So I guess I'd want something that sounds warmer than monitors as I find most monitors like B&W's to "flat" for my personal taste.

 

[cel4145]

Well, the HD598s might be a good choice for you, and they are fairly easy to drive. So a Soundblaster Z would work well with them.

 

[Skippman]

I ended up ordering the Sound Blaster Zx on sale for $100 at Amazon. I'm hoping this will fix a lot of my positional audio issues. 
 
 
cel4145, I like the look of those headphones but there's no option for a mic. Can you recommend something with a mic? I've been looking at the Audio Technica ATH-PG1 and ATH-PDG1 headsets as I like the option of the removable mic and I have a contact who can get them for me at a discount. I've also considered the M500's from KEF as I love KEF speakers.

 

[cel4145]

Get a mod mic and you can install it on whatever headphones you want: http://www.modmic.com/collections/frontpage. Or for something cheaper, many head-fiers use a Zallman mic: http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I ended up ordering the Sound Blaster Zx on sale for $100 at Amazon. I'm hoping this will fix a lot of my positional audio issues. 
 
 
cel4145, I like the look of those headphones but there's no option for a mic. Can you recommend something with a mic? I've been looking at the Audio Technica ATH-PG1 and ATH-PDG1 headsets as I like the option of the removable mic and I have a contact who can get them for me at a discount. I've also considered the M500's from KEF as I love KEF speakers.

 
The ACM module might have a slightly negative effect on audio quality, so you might try comparing headphone audio quality with and with out the ACM module hooked up.
 
The Audio Technica ATH-PG1 seems to be a ATH-M40X headphone ($99) that has a new headband and a mic added.
 
You might consider getting the ATH-AD900X (open) headphones ($170) an get any add-on mic you like.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261822695208?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[Skippman]

   
The ACM module might have a slightly negative effect on audio quality, so you might try comparing headphone audio quality with and with out the ACM module hooked up.
 
The Audio Technica ATH-PG1 seems to be a ATH-M40X headphone ($99) that has a new headband and a mic added.
 
You might consider getting the ATH-AD900X (open) headphones ($170) an get any add-on mic you like.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261822695208?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 
I misspoke. It's the Sound Blaster Z, without the extra module. My plan was to run a high grade cable between the headphone output on the sound card and my desk for when I'm using it. My G500's also have a line out for a headphone but that's to many connections in the loop for my tastes. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
I misspoke. It's the Sound Blaster Z, without the extra module. My plan was to run a high grade cable between the headphone output on the sound card and my desk for when I'm using it. My G500's also have a line out for a headphone but that's to many connections in the loop for my tastes. 

 
6' "premium" 3.5mm extension cable,$1.74.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021813&p_id=5587&seq=1&format=2
 
Or 3', $1.70
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021813&p_id=5586&seq=1&format=2

 

[Chancho2]

I had a similar setup: asus z87 hero with the SupremeFX audio (ALC1150) and the SoundBlaster Z. Don't stone me, but doing a side by side with Shure 940 headphones they sounded pretty much the same with the SB being a bit louder (I was running off the rear ports). I'm not big into the whole emulating surround sound so I didn't test that part out but I could tell where sounds were coming from just fine on both.
 
I used the microphone that comes with the SBZ that you put on your monitor. That worked just fine for me and it didn't pick up too much background noise so try that out first before going the headset route. Upper tier headsets you'll spend an extra $100-$150 for the mic and cord that's built into $100 headphones. That's why the modmic or zalman are frequently recommended as you can get better headphones for the $$. 

 

[Skippman]

No stoning going to happen here. This was pretty much an impulse purchase for me. I'm hoping I can get better performance out of my 5.1 speakers than I do with the onboard sound. 
 
Love MonoPrice. I have a ton of their cables at home. I also hear good things about their headphones.

 

[Skippman]

Ok gang, it's been a while. Other projects had me shelve the new headphones until now. I'm to the point where doing multiplayer gaming just won't work without a mic anymore so this brings me back to the headphone debate. I'm still running the Creative Labs Z series card in my machine and it's working great with my desktop speakers. 
 
Having read the updates to MLE's thread on this topic I'm considering the Skullcandy PLYR1 or the SLYR. I don't really need any extra processing amps in the loop given my sound card so I was wondering if you guys had any updated recommendations for a headset in the sub $200 range.

 

[Chancho2]

I like the Kingston HyperX Cloud Core but don't use the microphone with it, buy a a dynamic cardioid microphone (with an on-off switch and add a windscreen - like what singers use), a xlr to 3.5mm cable, and whatever boom mount you prefer.
 
If if you really want it to be with a mic I'd go for the Kingston HyperX CloudX Pro (yes the one for the x-box, it's got inline controls) or the Sennheiser Game Zero.