[ComradeDylie]

I just got my AD700 headphones in and am currently modding them up.  Im thinking though that I will need to do some additional set up to get them functioning to the best of their ability. 
 
I am currently using the on-board sound, and as on-board sound goes it is really quite good, but I am doubting that will suffice.
 
I would like to really take advantage of the huge soundstage the AD700s have.  What is the best way to go about setting up a 5.1 set up for them or is it even necessary?  
 
I could go grab a new sound card, astro amp, or audioengine D1 DAC but am not sure which is the correct purchase.
 
What do you guys recommend?  I will also be using the set up for music quite a lot, but its main purpose is to thrive as a gaming tool.  I looked at the FiiO E17 but thought it would make more sense to get either the astro amp or the audioengine D1 but hey I could be wrong about that as well.
 
I do not plan on hooking my AD700s up to my PS3 but I might use a portable with my ipad so the D1 or FiiO would be good for that. 

 

[NA Blur]

Surround sound like 5.1 is for 6-channel setups.  As there are only two channels to a headphone this really does not make any sense.  Any other added effects from a soundcard or other device are playing with phase, crossfeed, and possible EQ to get the large soundstage effect.
 
I think on-board sound is pretty poor and was one of my primary reasons for getting into hi-fi.  I could not stand all of the "bleep-bloops" of the internal workings of my PC which is where I do most of my listening.  A good external USB DAC/Amps is a great purchase and would be my first recommendation.

 

[cel4145]

If you have a desktop computer, internal sound cards like the Creative Titanium HD offer an advantage in that they can work with sound drivers with the games to offer DSP for improving positional audio for FPS play.

I don't know anything about the astro amp, but I would choose the E17 if you want portability. Has a built in headphone amp that can be used with phones, tablets, and mp3 players. FiiO also makes the L9 LOD for use with Apple devices so that you get line out direct, rather than amping the headphone amp signal. A little better SQ.

The D1 would be my choice for solely desktop use. I like the volume knob on it better than the stepping button style volume on the E17, and it's setup a little better for hooking up a pair of powered speakers to the back if you ever want that for your setup. The E17 can do that if you buy a special adapter, but the cable situation doesn't work very well for me because you have a cable's coming out of it from multiple directions (kind of awkward).

 

[ComradeDylie]

Thanks for the initial input guys!  I have done a lot more research into this now and I have a better set of questions to ask now I think.
 
Soundcard?
 
The three that I am considering would be the Xonar Essence STX, Xfi Titanium and Xfi titanium HD.
 
I would also say that I am now considering the Pico Amp/DAC combo. 
 
My main issue here is that if I want a sound card present to process the audio effects from a game is there any way to feed that digital signal into my Pico and have the DAC and amp do its magic?  I am thinking that connecting via USB would bypass the sound card altogether.  I am thinking that the only way to connect the two would be to go from the line out on the sound card into the Pico, but if I were to do that the DAC inside of the Pico would not get a chance to shine as the line-out is already analog and it is just being amped by the Pico.
 
If I were to go with no DAC or Amp I would definitely grab the Xonar, but I feel that it would be rather pointless to have the Xonar connected to a Pico.  The same is basically true of the Titanium HD only that an amp would still be reasonable, although idk if I would want just an amp with no DAC since the performance on phone and ipad would be a big drop off. 
 
The best solution would be to use the non-HD card and the Pico but as I say I do not think that would be possible.
 
Anyone have suggestions on how to get me set up properly?

 

[cel4145]

You can access the game audio effects by getting an external DAC that can be connected to the internal card via optical (but not USB DAC connections).

In that instance, you can also buy the cheapest Creative or Xonar card that has the game support you want because the cheap DAC/headphone amp built into the card doesn't matter. Xonar DG is often recommended for this in the Xonar line. Not sure about Creative.

 

[ComradeDylie]

Oh ok, so you are saying that it is possible as long as I buy an external DAC/Amp with an optical in.  Thats reasonable, so the signal coming out of Optical will be digital instead of analog like a line out? 
 
I dont guess there is any chance that I can somehow go from optical to mini USB?  That way I would still be able to pick up the Pico...
 

 

[cel4145]

Yep. As long as the sound card has an optical out. Alternatively, you might be able to find both a sound card and a DAC that have coaxial digital in and out (not the same as RCA, but the plug looks similar).

I've seen USB to optical converters. Not sure about the other way around and/or how any of them work.

You might look into audio-gd products, For instance, the NFB-11.32.

 

[ComradeDylie]

So I went with a NFB 11.32 like you suggested. The NFB 11.32 and a pair of K702 Annie's arrived today and so far it has been kicking ass! My sound card hasn't come in yet though so I can't speak to how it will function in gaming. I also don't have desktop speakers yet so Im not fully utilizing this bad boy yet. Anyways, it was a great recommendation and will accomplish exactly what I wanted to do! Thank you so much! Are there any recommended media software for FLACs? Im just using my MPC-HC to play them now...

 

[cel4145]

Wow! You definitely got the kickass setup

A lot of people like foobar as a media player for how configurable it is. I've recently been experimenting with MusicBee and like it. Be sure to set either media player to wasapi and set windows to let devices have control for best sound. Bypasses windows affecting the sound:

http://dailykermit.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/windows-7-exclusive-device-control/
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/computer-based-music/how-tosetup-foobar2000-to-use-wasapi
http://www.head-fi.org/t/580715/using-wasapi-with-music-bee