rikstaker
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2013
- Posts
- 39
- Likes
- 23
My search for an amp/dac for Ps4 gaming and movie duty just ended.
Setup:
Ps4 optical out>optical to coax converter>fiio e17k>Sony ma900.
I have used Earforce DSS thus far and I always felt the games and movies dont really sound crisp on my MA 900s on occasions. I had always suspected ma900s for this "misbehavior" . This was most evident in COD and Battlefield during explosions(killstreaks grenades etc). The sound would just crap out (distort) during these bass heavy sounds. The problem would be worsened when too much was going on at the same time. The explosions were rendered in a very "crashy" clumsy sort of way..boomy and crashy for the lack of better words. I read posts on reddit about someone noticing the same issues with mixamp and he switched to fiio e17 (not e17k) and was amazed.
The distortion happens on dolby headphone and bypass modes (slightly more in bypass). I chalked it upto the sound engine in cod, but I did notice the explosions sounded better when I had the output set to my Sony soundbar. I thought it was the oft talked about sub bass roll off of ma900s..maybe they just cant handle these sub pass region explosions.I was wrong.
After much research and deliberation I bought the e17k, it has no optical in ,so I bought a converter to coaxial as well for 15 cad.I havent read of anyone trying this setup..so I thought I should give this a shot. The conversion is lossless..there is no quality loss as its just 1s and 0s being carried over from optical to coax.
When I set everything up I was firstly taken aback by the total absense of hiss. Total darkness. Dss was atrocious in this area.
First I tried the movie Fury..the tank shells..explosions would at times cause some distortion..now no more. I was shocked at how well the ma900s kept up with increase in volume. I even tried 6db gain on fiio..maxed out the bass and still the ma900s chewed everything up and spat out some gut wrenching heavy shelling sounds..explosions with no distortion. Everything sounded so crisp..punchy..slammy...things I never thought ma900s could do.
Lone survivor was more insane..same delicious goodness. The clarity and seperation of sounds was a huge improvement. Sounds seem to be more tightly defined in the soundstage compared to dss. It was like watching this movie in Cineplex Dolby Atmos. I could hear footsteps of soldiers flanking ..distinct from gunfire and the clearly defined imaging..positioning was just phenomenal.
Then the biggest test.
COD ww2
This brought a huge smile to my face. Firstly I noticed I could pick out more fainter sounds..much much more easily...even during a lot of gunfire. I managed to locate a guy by his grunt as he dropped from a ledge!! virtual..who..surround what?
Footsteps..sparks from generators and naked wires everything sounded more crisper..clearer..sounds seemed less mashed together instead they just seem to obey and stick to their defined position..This was insane.
I realized what an artillery barrage..a grenade or a guided bomb is supposed to sound like in the game engine. No rumbles here..just punchy accurate booms..no matter how big..no matter how many. This really adds to the immersion. Earlier I used to hate it when there were killstreaks in a game. Now I dont mind then at all and dont rush to the volume knob.
Fiio e17k is also able to push the ma900s to a much much higher volume.
Dear or dear...I hate the dss now. Sure it offers dolby headphone and positional audio but the tradeoff in fidelity is way too much for me.
Setup:
Ps4 optical out>optical to coax converter>fiio e17k>Sony ma900.
I have used Earforce DSS thus far and I always felt the games and movies dont really sound crisp on my MA 900s on occasions. I had always suspected ma900s for this "misbehavior" . This was most evident in COD and Battlefield during explosions(killstreaks grenades etc). The sound would just crap out (distort) during these bass heavy sounds. The problem would be worsened when too much was going on at the same time. The explosions were rendered in a very "crashy" clumsy sort of way..boomy and crashy for the lack of better words. I read posts on reddit about someone noticing the same issues with mixamp and he switched to fiio e17 (not e17k) and was amazed.
The distortion happens on dolby headphone and bypass modes (slightly more in bypass). I chalked it upto the sound engine in cod, but I did notice the explosions sounded better when I had the output set to my Sony soundbar. I thought it was the oft talked about sub bass roll off of ma900s..maybe they just cant handle these sub pass region explosions.I was wrong.
After much research and deliberation I bought the e17k, it has no optical in ,so I bought a converter to coaxial as well for 15 cad.I havent read of anyone trying this setup..so I thought I should give this a shot. The conversion is lossless..there is no quality loss as its just 1s and 0s being carried over from optical to coax.
When I set everything up I was firstly taken aback by the total absense of hiss. Total darkness. Dss was atrocious in this area.
First I tried the movie Fury..the tank shells..explosions would at times cause some distortion..now no more. I was shocked at how well the ma900s kept up with increase in volume. I even tried 6db gain on fiio..maxed out the bass and still the ma900s chewed everything up and spat out some gut wrenching heavy shelling sounds..explosions with no distortion. Everything sounded so crisp..punchy..slammy...things I never thought ma900s could do.
Lone survivor was more insane..same delicious goodness. The clarity and seperation of sounds was a huge improvement. Sounds seem to be more tightly defined in the soundstage compared to dss. It was like watching this movie in Cineplex Dolby Atmos. I could hear footsteps of soldiers flanking ..distinct from gunfire and the clearly defined imaging..positioning was just phenomenal.
Then the biggest test.
COD ww2
This brought a huge smile to my face. Firstly I noticed I could pick out more fainter sounds..much much more easily...even during a lot of gunfire. I managed to locate a guy by his grunt as he dropped from a ledge!! virtual..who..surround what?
Footsteps..sparks from generators and naked wires everything sounded more crisper..clearer..sounds seemed less mashed together instead they just seem to obey and stick to their defined position..This was insane.
I realized what an artillery barrage..a grenade or a guided bomb is supposed to sound like in the game engine. No rumbles here..just punchy accurate booms..no matter how big..no matter how many. This really adds to the immersion. Earlier I used to hate it when there were killstreaks in a game. Now I dont mind then at all and dont rush to the volume knob.
Fiio e17k is also able to push the ma900s to a much much higher volume.
Dear or dear...I hate the dss now. Sure it offers dolby headphone and positional audio but the tradeoff in fidelity is way too much for me.
