[natashaful]

I have a X-fi, I can find people all the same using the Fiio E7 the directional noise of the players, 3D sound is built in the game depending on which way your gun is pointing you don't really need a fancy sound card for it.
 
Natty.

 

[cuad]

they eat me alive when I say that on OCN.

 

[eaglerock]

I was looking to buy Musiland 02 Monitor US instead of Asus xonar essence, with DT8800 2003. The question is, Can i use dolby for gaming with this setup?

 

[PumpuliKivi]

-Sennheiser HD 201, closed
http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/wired-headphones-hd201-stereo?Open&path=private_headphones_hifi_wired-headphones
 
-Sennheiser HD 407,open
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/11912234/Sennheiser-HD-407-Open-Headphones/Product.html
 
-Creative SoundBlaster Tactic Alpha, closed
http://www.creative.com/soundblaster/tactic3d/alpha/
 
-Sony MDR-XD200,closed
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/haa-home-entertainment-headphones/mdr-xd200
 
Whitch one of these should i take? I play on ps3 and plug them in to my tv.

 

[BlutoSlice]

Quote:

I was looking to buy Musiland 02 Monitor US instead of Asus xonar essence, with DT8800 2003. The question is, Can i use dolby for gaming with this setup?

Well no because the dolby headphone processing would be done by the essence. The musiland DAC is pretty decent so I here but the inbuilt amp is basic.

 

[eaglerock]

Every one is saying that it is better than the essence for music but it is for games ?

 

[BlutoSlice]

Quote:

Every one is saying that it is better than the essence for music but it is for games ?

 
Musiland 02 better than Essence ??? not sure about that myself , I cant be sure as I have not heard an 02. 
 
Games will sound great with either device but if you are a FPS gamer I'd go for the essence as the DH will allow for virtual 5.1 audio through headphones.
 
The essence also has a better integrated amp than the Musiland and will give you more headphone options before you look at standalone amps.
 

 

[SpecG]

I need some help regarding the footstep in Bad Company 2.
 
My problem is that I cant hear footstep/gun reloading sounds. The enemy callouts is the only audio cue that I can use to locate the enemies. It isn't like the footstep sounds doesn't exists altogether.. but its VERY quiet. I can only hear guys footsteps when they're about 2-3ft away from me (Like I'm shooting some one, *footstep noise very close*, *turns around* *gets knifed*). When I'm firing my gun or sporadic gunfire going on around me, then even that little bit of footstep noise vanishes. Gun reloading sounds of my enemies os non-existent for me.
Yesterday, when there wasn't many players on the server (8-10 players), I noticed that when my squadmates spawn on me, I can hear their footstep pretty loudly when they're about 2-3ft away from me. But after that the sound is very quiet as I said before.
It's really frustrating when I rush to some undefended M-COM, knowing that there might be a guy walking just behind the wall although I cant hear him. Sometimes I've heard guys walking around me when it's really quite in a big map.. and ambushed them. But without the footstep sometimes it's really frustrating.
I've looked around on the net and it seems that footstep noises work for most of the guys (some also claim they can hear reload sound!) but there are people who have problem hearing footstep like me. I've tried few things like using speakercount=2, quality=high, no X-fi enhancements etc. I've also tried WarTapes (I use Headphone settings as I use my Headphone!) but it doesn't improve the footstep problem.. if anything it adds more echo to everything and more difficult to locate people by their callouts.

HW: X-Fi Titanium HD + FiiO E9 + DT 880.
Game Settings: SpeakerCount=2, Quality High, SoundSystemSize=2, Settings: Headphone. [CMSS-3D Enabled]
 

 

[Dsnuts]

You try Eqing on your EQ?.. I use a similar set up with a Titanium HD and I use many a cans myself... My favorite to mention a few... Samson SR850.. Panasonic Rp-HT770...Pioneer Se-Mj5.. Ultrasone HFI780 .Ad700. All of em are excellent for gaming with X-Fi CmSS-3D... For being budget portables the Pioneer Se-MJ5 was completely a surprise as they have a wide sound stage and sound great for music but in games they perform even better.. 
 
The samsons are the best gaming cans overall that I use... You want to throw an upside down smile like eQ.. Boost the mids and lower your Bass and up the Mids and highs = foot steps and gun sounds/ reloads..  Too much bass can bleed into your other sounds that are more important.   Try this next time you play...I don't use an extra amp as this provides perfect precision for me. I can tell from which direction at what part of the game level enemies are shooting from with my eyes closed... Exact position actually.. I can tell if anyone is entering the building I am in. .It is scary how good the set up is and Eqing only helps.
 
Everyone that plays BC2.. Look up my clans server..=SOC= 24/7 Oasis..and Chaos Conquest.. They both are highly ranked servers and a blast to play online... 

 

[Hellbishop]

Quote:

I have a X-fi, I can find people all the same using the Fiio E7 the directional noise of the players, 3D sound is built in the game depending on which way your gun is pointing you don't really need a fancy sound card for it.
 
Natty.

I recently noticed that myself recently when playing FALLOUT 3 and F.E.A.R. 3 using my Koss Pro 4AA. As i turned from one side of the street to face the other i could actually feel my audio space turning with sounds fading out and others fading into attention. It was a pretty eerie moment when it first happened. This was with just plain old onboard pc sound and my headphones through the Onkyo TX-8555 stereo reciever. No X-fi or Fiio E7.
 
 
 

 

[SpecG]

I wasn't using any EQ settings. I'll try and see how it goes.
Regarding the amp, since I use the 600ohm version, the HP requries the amp to power it properly. Do you suggest that I should run the HP directly from Titanium HD?
 
Quote:

You try Eqing on your EQ?.. I use a similar set up with a Titanium HD and I use many a cans myself... My favorite to mention a few... Samson SR850.. Panasonic Rp-HT770...Pioneer Se-Mj5.. Ultrasone HFI780 .Ad700. All of em are excellent for gaming with X-Fi CmSS-3D... For being budget portables the Pioneer Se-MJ5 was completely a surprise as they have a wide sound stage and sound great for music but in games they perform even better.. 
 
The samsons are the best gaming cans overall that I use... You want to throw an upside down smile like eQ.. Boost the mids and lower your Bass and up the Mids and highs = foot steps and gun sounds/ reloads..  Too much bass can bleed into your other sounds that are more important.   Try this next time you play...I don't use an extra amp as this provides perfect precision for me. I can tell from which direction at what part of the game level enemies are shooting from with my eyes closed... Exact position actually.. I can tell if anyone is entering the building I am in. .It is scary how good the set up is and Eqing only helps.
 
Everyone that plays BC2.. Look up my clans server..=SOC= 24/7 Oasis..and Chaos Conquest.. They both are highly ranked servers and a blast to play online... 

 

 

[Dsnuts]

@ SpecG
 
I can understand why you want/ need  to throw on an extra amp in top of your Xfi card.. I am thinking maybe this could be the root of your issue.. You should try throwing your headset directly onto your card and see what happens...However this is something I can actually prove.. I know here at Headfi.. One would assume Highend headphone= better in game... This is simply not the truth...  The reason why I say the SAMSON SR850 is the best gaming cans I use is because for one.. It has the same dynamics in sound as more expensive cans and arguably some of the best acoustics for the cash.. The Samson being a monitor style headphone it is accurate beyond belief in acoustics.. I am 100% certain the Superlux HD 681 Amazon sells for $40 will do the EXACT same job as my Samson as they made the SAMSON SR850.. .
 
The AD700 you noticed was on the bottom of my list of phones I use for gaming.. Well I will tell you, the problem with sound positioning using that phone is..It is too open.. I find that sometimes when you want to hear direct bullet fire and want to know what direction that phone is a little too spacy and too light on the bass sounds. For example if the actual gun fire is 20 ft away it will portray the sound at 25ft away. A tad farther than it actually is...
 
The opposite,  I tried using many a DJ closed style phones and while they do work for positional sounds you get too much boom and sometimes echo in game that can get distracting.. SO the semi open cans in my own research are just right.... In other words..  I can recommend you and others to order a budget $40-60 samson SR850 and get fantastic results in game.. Plus music don't suck on those phones.. A real hidden gem and better in game than anyone here can even imagine....Comfy, exact, perfect amount of BASS,semi open, wide sound stage, 32ohms 10hz-30khz frequency.. dynamic.. Best of all, Cheap!!. In fact I will go as far as to say this phone will beat out most of what all you guys are using for pin point accuracy. I have gotten similar results with more expensive phones but simply not as accurate.  Semi Open cans the way to go..
 
So while the quest for the holy grail of gaming cans seem counter intuitive when I suggest an Budget Gem.. But for me at least.. I simply haven't found anything that does it better, even over my Ultrasone HFI780 with S logic/ I actually like playing with this once in a while as the sounds are awesome on the cans but nothing tops my Samsons.  . I can whole heartedly recommend getting one of the SAMSON SR850/  Superlux HD 681.. Try em out, you guys will be completely surprised.. Could the holy grail of gaming phones actually cost $40.?..

 

[SpecG]

 
I tried using the HP directly connected to my X-fi. There wasn't any difference in terms of what sound that I could hear. Only the quality seemed a bit bad.. sort of lifeless and less powerful. Had to keep the volume knob on 100% to get the desired level of sound!.
 
I'm very satisfied with the DT 880. I upgraded from Xonar Dx+AD 700 combo and this seems much better.  I mostly play online FPS games(CoD4 Promod, BO, CSS and BC2) and a bit of SP games.  It works flawlessly in all the FPS games that I play except in BC 2. I mean, the sound quality is superb but the footsteps are almost non-exsitent as I've said. For LAN events I use the Logitech G35.
 
It'll be very helpful if you can post your EQ settings and game settings (Speakercount, Soundsystemsize and in-game settings).

 
Quote:

@ SpecG
 
I can understand why you want/ need  to throw on an extra amp in top of your Xfi card.. I am thinking maybe this could be the root of your issue.. You should try throwing your headset directly onto your card and see what happens...However this is something I can actually prove.. I know here at Headfi.. One would assume Highend headphone= better in game... This is simply not the truth...  The reason why I say the SAMSON SR850 is the best gaming cans I use is because for one.. It has the same dynamics in sound as more expensive cans and arguably some of the best acoustics for the cash.. The Samson being a monitor style headphone it is accurate beyond belief in acoustics.. I am 100% certain the Superlux HD 681 Amazon sells for $40 will do the EXACT same job as my Samson as they made the SAMSON SR850.. .
 
The AD700 you noticed was on the bottom of my list of phones I use for gaming.. Well I will tell you, the problem with sound positioning using that phone is..It is too open.. I find that sometimes when you want to hear direct bullet fire and want to know what direction that phone is a little too spacy and too light on the bass sounds. For example if the actual gun fire is 20 ft away it will portray the sound at 25ft away. A tad farther than it actually is...
 
The opposite,  I tried using many a DJ closed style phones and while they do work for positional sounds you get too much boom and sometimes echo in game that can get distracting.. SO the semi open cans in my own research are just right.... In other words..  I can recommend you and others to order a budget $40-60 samson SR850 and get fantastic results in game.. Plus music don't suck on those phones.. A real hidden gem and better in game than anyone here can even imagine....Comfy, exact, perfect amount of BASS,semi open, wide sound stage, 32ohms 10hz-30khz frequency.. dynamic.. Best of all, Cheap!!. In fact I will go as far as to say this phone will beat out most of what all you guys are using for pin point accuracy. I have gotten similar results with more expensive phones but simply not as accurate.  Semi Open cans the way to go..
 
So while the quest for the holy grail of gaming cans seem counter intuitive when I suggest an Budget Gem.. But for me at least.. I simply haven't found anything that does it better, even over my Ultrasone HFI780 with S logic/ I actually like playing with this once in a while as the sounds are awesome on the cans but nothing tops my Samsons.  . I can whole heartedly recommend getting one of the SAMSON SR850/  Superlux HD 681.. Try em out, you guys will be completely surprised.. Could the holy grail of gaming phones actually cost $40.?..

 

 

[BlutoSlice]

 
I use speaker count 6 with s SoundSystemSize=2 and Dolby Headphone, you are losing the multi chanel info by using home cinima and only 2 speakers which could be your issue.,

 
TBH this foostep volume is an issue for everybody, the footstep and reload sounds are generaly quiet in the overal mix and with Rush mode there is a lot of other noise going on making things harder to make out.
 
Play some squad death match this reduces the background / ambient sounds and you can hear footsteps much clearer and you can test differing settings.
 
 
You can play with EQ but the foosteps will never be as loud as CoD. Some people prefer to lower the bass which then clears up the sound / positioning.
 
If you have the ability to adjust the position of each channel I would recommend adjusting the rears as the DT880 is know for having odd rear directional queues use a 6 channel test Wav in windows.
 
alternatively boost the rear volume to better hear approaching stabbers but this will skew you overall positioning.
 
 
Another option is to go all stereo, keep the 2 speakers and set the ingame audio to hifi and disable CMSS3d, this will rely on the bad companys2 in built audio mix. This might work better for you.
 
Quote:

I need some help regarding the footstep in Bad Company 2.
 
My problem is that I cant hear footstep/gun reloading sounds. The enemy callouts is the only audio cue that I can use to locate the enemies. It isn't like the footstep sounds doesn't exists altogether.. but its VERY quiet. I can only hear guys footsteps when they're about 2-3ft away from me (Like I'm shooting some one, *footstep noise very close*, *turns around* *gets knifed*). When I'm firing my gun or sporadic gunfire going on around me, then even that little bit of footstep noise vanishes. Gun reloading sounds of my enemies os non-existent for me.
Yesterday, when there wasn't many players on the server (8-10 players), I noticed that when my squadmates spawn on me, I can hear their footstep pretty loudly when they're about 2-3ft away from me. But after that the sound is very quiet as I said before.
It's really frustrating when I rush to some undefended M-COM, knowing that there might be a guy walking just behind the wall although I cant hear him. Sometimes I've heard guys walking around me when it's really quite in a big map.. and ambushed them. But without the footstep sometimes it's really frustrating.
I've looked around on the net and it seems that footstep noises work for most of the guys (some also claim they can hear reload sound!) but there are people who have problem hearing footstep like me. I've tried few things like using speakercount=2, quality=high, no X-fi enhancements etc. I've also tried WarTapes (I use Headphone settings as I use my Headphone!) but it doesn't improve the footstep problem.. if anything it adds more echo to everything and more difficult to locate people by their callouts.

HW: X-Fi Titanium HD + FiiO E9 + DT 880.
Game Settings: SpeakerCount=2, Quality High, SoundSystemSize=2, Settings: Headphone. [CMSS-3D Enabled]
 

 

 

[Psychochink]

After much agonising, I have just bitten the bullet and ordered a Headzone amp, which I will be pairing with T1s. I had to buy an amp for the new T1s anyway, and given current pricing and favourable exchange rates, I could either have bought a dedicated amp, or for only $200 more, the Headzone. Given my usage habits run TV/movies -> gaming -> -> -> -> -> music it was a relatively easy choice.
 
This is, of course, meant primarily for use as a home theatre system, and is the reason I could justify the cost, as I am currently making do with inbuilt TV speakers, so it was either a proper surround sound amp and 5.1 speaker setup, or headphones - the choice then boiled down to a very basic speaker setup, or a top of the range headphone setup for the same cost...which isn't really a choice.
 
However it will (of course) be pressed into service as my new gaming solution - and I hope it will represent the 'Holy Grail' (it had better

). Once all the gear comes in (which could take a few weeks), I will post my impressions. While most people are unlikely to make this level of investment for their gaming sound, it happens to work for my particular circumstances, and I may as well give what feedback I can in case anyone is thinking about it for themselves.