PC Audio - Dolby headphone AKG k702

[mvs2]

Hi Guys

I purchased the AKG K702 headphones to replace my PC gaming audio setup ( Astro A40 + Astro Mixamp ) I used the Dolby headphone button on my Mixamp all the time and I'm quite used to it. Currently I'm running my AKG K702 through the onboard soundcard to the Astro mixamp and I can get the dolby headphone to work but its fairly quiet.

So in turn I've ordered the Mayflower Desktop Objective2 AMP to help with the audio levels. My plan is to use the AMP along with the astro Mixamp so I can still have my dolby headphone setup.

I also have a Xonar DGX soundcard and it does have the option for dolby headphone etc but it does nothing when I click it. I'm guessing this is because I need to run through the spdif into a DAC ( which right now is the Astro A40 ). I would like to sell the Astro setup but I don't want to lose my dolby headphone option.

Is a DAC required for dolby headphone to work? There is a version of the Objective2 amp that is also a DAC -- it's not too late for me to switch.

The help is much appreciated !


Thank you !


EDIT : 1) My on-board soundcard doesn't have the dolby headphone option in the software but I'm able to get the DH through the mixamp -- Is the sound card sending the audio signal to my Astro mixamp ( DAC ) and the Astro mixamp is creating the dolby headphone?

2) Which means since my soundcard doesn't have dolby headphone I would need to use the Xonar DGX soundcard with the dolby headphone turned on and connected via spdif (optical) to a DAC which would send the dolby headphone audio through?


In conclusion, if #2 is the correct way it works is there really any reason for me to purchase a DAC if I can just keep the Astro Mixamp that will do the same thing? The audio quality of on-board vs xonar might be a slight difference but probably not too much. I might be able to just return the xonar DGX and use my on-board sound with the astro mixamp.

Thanks again all !

 

[YJX94]

The first thing a gamer with an audiophile headphone is going to tell you is not to use VSS software like Dolby or Windows Sonic or etc. Especially not with an open back headphone with a huge soundstage and great imaging like the K702. I have an AKG K712 Pro and I have experimented with lots of forms of VSS and NONE of them beat simple Stereo mode. When gaming competitively I can hear everything going on all around me, exactly where things are coming from and exactly how far they are from me all in Stereo mode, it's far superior to VSS for me since VSS just affects sound quality WAY too much by adding unrealistic amounts of reverb making things sound too distant and tinny.

Therefore If I were you I would personally not use an Astro Mixamp and get something like an O2+ODAC or a Schiit Stack or whichever is cheaper and stick with Stereo ONLY and it's all happy sailing from there.

A DAC is required for VSS software to work. If you absolutely want to keep Dolby headphone/VSS then you might want to use the Astro Mixamp as a DAC alone and output that to the Objective2 Amp which will power your headphones with ease. This way you can still use Dolby VSS (which comes from the Mixamp) and power your headphones easily with the Objective2.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Asus Xonar DGX can send Dolby Headphone surround sound thru it's headphone (Front speaker) jack.
Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you installed the Xonar DGX?
Have you tried the Unified Xonar drivers?
http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

 

[YJX94]

Since you've already placed the order for the Objective2 you can do just do this:-

• PC onboard > Mixamp (turn on Dolby) > Objective2 > K702

 

[mvs2]

The Asus Xonar DGX can send Dolby Headphone surround sound thru it's headphone (Front speaker) jack.
Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you installed the Xonar DGX?
Have you tried the Unified Xonar drivers?
http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

Yeah I did a full uninstall and disabled the on-board audio in the bios. The only way I could get Dolby headphone was through the mix amp. Clicking the settings in the Xonar software for Dolby had no change in audio quality. Although I only connected through the Astro mix amp which might explain why the Dolby headphone wasn't working from the sound card until I pressed the Dolby button on my astro mix amp -- however there was zero difference in audio quality between on board vs Xonar sound card when using the astro DAC ( I guess it has its own sound ). To get the Xonar Dolby to work I guess a different DAC would be needed. From what I understand I can't connect using a basic 3.5mm headphone jack to get the Dolby headphone and that's why a DAC is required. is that correct?

Since you've already placed the order for the Objective2 you can do just do this:-

• PC onboard > Mixamp (turn on Dolby) > Objective2 > K702

I think this is the route I'll go with. I seem to get the same end product this way as I do going Xonar > Any DAC > Objective2 > K702. I was confused as to why I couldn't get Dolby headphone to work without the Astro mix amp but now I know its a DAC. If I wanted to use a different DAC I would need the Xonar sound card to enable the Dolby since the On-board card does have Dolby capability it just doesn't have the options to turn it on or off ( you can do it but its a whole process I read about - Realtek dolby enabling - google if anyone is curious ).

The first thing a gamer with an audiophile headphone is going to tell you is not to use VSS software like Dolby or Windows Sonic or etc. Especially not with an open back headphone with a huge soundstage and great imaging like the K702. I have an AKG K712 Pro and I have experimented with lots of forms of VSS and NONE of them beat simple Stereo mode. When gaming competitively I can hear everything going on all around me, exactly where things are coming from and exactly how far they are from me all in Stereo mode, it's far superior to VSS for me since VSS just affects sound quality WAY too much by adding unrealistic amounts of reverb making things sound too distant and tinny.

Therefore If I were you I would personally not use an Astro Mixamp and get something like an O2+ODAC or a Schiit Stack or whichever is cheaper and stick with Stereo ONLY and it's all happy sailing from there.

A DAC is required for VSS software to work. If you absolutely want to keep Dolby headphone/VSS then you might want to use the Astro Mixamp as a DAC alone and output that to the Objective2 Amp which will power your headphones with ease. This way you can still use Dolby VSS (which comes from the Mixamp) and power your headphones easily with the Objective2.

I hear ya, I've read loads on not using the Dolby headphone. I don't know why it sounds so clear to me but my ears hear it as an upgrade over basic stereo. When I click off the Dolby headphone button the sound seems cheaper to me ( backwards isnt it? ) I thought I had a keen ear for audio but I just can't enjoy the basic stereo audio anymore. However for music I will say I like the dolby headphone turned off.

In games I find the directional audio works very well, I hear the sort of distant audio you described as well but I think I'm just so used to it now it feels " normal ".


I appreciate all the help from you guys big time.

 

[YJX94]

Yeah I did a full uninstall and disabled the on-board audio in the bios. The only way I could get Dolby headphone was through the mix amp. Clicking the settings in the Xonar software for Dolby had no change in audio quality. Although I only connected through the Astro mix amp which might explain why the Dolby headphone wasn't working from the sound card until I pressed the Dolby button on my astro mix amp -- however there was zero difference in audio quality between on board vs Xonar sound card when using the astro DAC ( I guess it has its own sound ). To get the Xonar Dolby to work I guess a different DAC would be needed. From what I understand I can't connect using a basic 3.5mm headphone jack to get the Dolby headphone and that's why a DAC is required. is that correct?




I think this is the route I'll go with. I seem to get the same end product this way as I do going Xonar > Any DAC > Objective2 > K702. I was confused as to why I couldn't get Dolby headphone to work without the Astro mix amp but now I know its a DAC. If I wanted to use a different DAC I would need the Xonar sound card to enable the Dolby since the On-board card does have Dolby capability it just doesn't have the options to turn it on or off ( you can do it but its a whole process I read about - Realtek dolby enabling - google if anyone is curious ).



I hear ya, I've read loads on not using the Dolby headphone. I don't know why it sounds so clear to me but my ears hear it as an upgrade over basic stereo. When I click off the Dolby headphone button the sound seems cheaper to me ( backwards isnt it? ) I thought I had a keen ear for audio but I just can't enjoy the basic stereo audio anymore. However for music I will say I like the dolby headphone turned off.

In games I find the directional audio works very well, I hear the sort of distant audio you described as well but I think I'm just so used to it now it feels " normal ".


I appreciate all the help from you guys big time.

No problem dude, if Dolby works for you then it's hurting no one. I will say though that I always started with VSS on and when I went to Stereo for the first time it sounded WAY off and I didn't like it but I gave the new sound signature time to break-in mentally and now Stereo is the only thing that sounds good to me because when I go back to VSS I don't like it all and my ears have been trained on both for hundreds of hours each. Give Stereo a try for like 50-100 hours then go back to VSS and see what the difference is.

Also I wanted to ask you something about your K702's. Did you buy them recently? if so what's the material of the stock pads, is it a kinda stiff material or is it a soft velour memory foam material?

I ask because the original K702's had the stiff pads and the rape headband with the rape bumps on it and I think AKG made a revision of it where they got rid of the rape bumps on the headband where it's now just a soft leather headband and they also upgraded the pads to the K712/Annie pads.

 

[mvs2]

No problem dude, if Dolby works for you then it's hurting no one. I will say though that I always started with VSS on and when I went to Stereo for the first time it sounded WAY off and I didn't like it but I gave the new sound signature time to break-in mentally and now Stereo is the only thing that sounds good to me because when I go back to VSS I don't like it all and my ears have been trained on both for hundreds of hours each. Give Stereo a try for like 50-100 hours then go back to VSS and see what the difference is.

Also I wanted to ask you something about your K702's. Did you buy them recently? if so what's the material of the stock pads, is it a kinda stiff material or is it a soft velour memory foam material?

I ask because the original K702's had the stiff pads and the rape headband with the rape bumps on it and I think AKG made a revision of it where they got rid of the rape bumps on the headband where it's now just a soft leather headband and they also upgraded the pads to the K712/Annie pads.

I'll give the stereo audio a shot again its odd because I feel like the only way I noticed a difference between any headphones I used is when VSS was turned on. I'll have to compare it again tonight with my Astro A40s, maybe I'm just remembering wrong after all, this audio stuff has been making my brain wonky for a few days now.

The headphones thankfully don't have the bumps I read a lot of negative reviews about that ! The ear pads are are a fuzzy suede material but I'm not confident its memory foam. Instead of slowly decompressing when I squeeze them like memory foam would, these kind of pop back up rather fast. I imagine they are the simple foam pads. I wonder if we can purchase the K712 memory foam pads that would be nice.

 

[YJX94]

I'll give the stereo audio a shot again its odd because I feel like the only way I noticed a difference between any headphones I used is when VSS was turned on. I'll have to compare it again tonight with my Astro A40s, maybe I'm just remembering wrong after all, this audio stuff has been making my brain wonky for a few days now.

The headphones thankfully don't have the bumps I read a lot of negative reviews about that ! The ear pads are are a fuzzy suede material but I'm not confident its memory foam. Instead of slowly decompressing when I squeeze them like memory foam would, these kind of pop back up rather fast. I imagine they are the simple foam pads. I wonder if we can purchase the K712 memory foam pads that would be nice.

If you've ever used your A40's in Stereo mode then I can understand why it may not sound as good as with VSS on. I like to think it's because these "gaming headset" companies don't know that much about audio and they prioritise features like VSS, Wireless, RGB and all that to which the average gamer who doesn't know any better responds with "TAKE MY MONEY". As for AKG, it is an ACTUAL legendary professional audio company and has been around for decades so they know their crap and they know it VERY well.

So it seems that the K702 revision only gets rid of the bumps but doesn't change the pads, that's not so bad though. If you can get the K712 pads for it then I HIGHLY recommend it. My belief is that the K712 is the best headphones hands down in the K7-- series. I've heard many people say that the K712 pads on the K702 make it sound closer to the K712. The K712 pads are fantastic with the soft velour memory foam, the K702 Annies and the K7XX both use the K712 pads because they're so good.

 

[mvs2]

If you've ever used your A40's in Stereo mode then I can understand why it may not sound as good as with VSS on. I like to think it's because these "gaming headset" companies don't know that much about audio and they prioritise features like VSS, Wireless, RGB and all that to which the average gamer who doesn't know any better responds with "TAKE MY MONEY". As for AKG, it is an ACTUAL legendary professional audio company and has been around for decades so they know their **** and they know it VERY well.

So it seems that the K702 revision only gets rid of the bumps but doesn't change the pads, that's not so bad though. If you can get the K712 pads for it then I HIGHLY recommend it. My belief is that the K712 is the best headphones hands down in the K7-- series. I've heard many people say that the K712 pads on the K702 make it sound closer to the K712. The K712 pads are fantastic with the soft velour memory foam, the K702 Annies and the K7XX both use the K712 pads because they're so good.

Come to think of it I did try the Xonar U3 ( usb sound card ) with regular Stereo mode and it did sound quite a bit different than the Astro Stereo mode. I didn't think much of it until you mentioned it now. Maybe when I get my AMP I should try connecting the amp to my On-board or the Xonar DGX sound card for Stereo and see how it is.

I should look into the K712 pads I like the idea of memory foam. Truthfully I read so many reviews for the K612, K701 / 702 / 712 I actually though the K702 & 712 both came with memory foam. I didn't look closely enough until you asked lol. I just got the AKG's yesterday evening.

 

[YJX94]

I should look into the K712 pads I like the idea of memory foam. Truthfully I read so many reviews for the K612, K701 / 702 / 712 I actually though the K702 & 712 both came with memory foam. I didn't look closely enough until you asked lol. I just got the AKG's yesterday evening.

If you can return the K702's for a full refund and can afford the K712 then go for it, if not then get the K712 pads for the K702. The K712 pads will improve the bass response and soften up the treble and make it a smoother and richer sounding headphone. If you decide to get the K712 pads then make sure when you look them up they aren't angled, the K702 uses angled pads but the K712 does not.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yeah I did a full uninstall and disabled the on-board audio in the bios. The only way I could get Dolby headphone was through the mix amp. Clicking the settings in the Xonar software for Dolby had no change in audio quality. Although I only connected through the Astro mix amp which might explain why the Dolby headphone wasn't working from the sound card until I pressed the Dolby button on my astro mix amp -- however there was zero difference in audio quality between on board vs Xonar sound card when using the astro DAC ( I guess it has its own sound ). To get the Xonar Dolby to work I guess a different DAC would be needed. From what I understand I can't connect using a basic 3.5mm headphone jack to get the Dolby headphone and that's why a DAC is required. is that correct?

Anything connected to the Xonar DGX's S/PDIF optical port has nothing to do with the DGX's Dolby Headphone feature
The DGX can send up to 6-channels of compressed digital audio (using DDL), thru the optical port, so the Astro can create headphone surround sound, but that has nothing to do with the DGX itself creating headphone surround sound.

To get Dolby Headphone from the DGX (assuming your audio source (movie or game) is outputing 6 channels of PCM (uncompressed) audio.
For the Xonar's control panel,
Audio Channels should be set to 6-channel
Sample rate does not matter, but i think 48K is a safe setting to use.
Analog out should be set to Headphone.
S/PDIF should be unchecked
Dolby Headphone should be checked.
Headphones plugged into DGX, or an external headphone amplifier's input should be connected to the DGX's headphone output jack, headphones plugged into ext head amp.