[HarryOMalley]

Hi guys,
So i just boyght the AKG K550 headphones for ue with my pc and phone and i love them, all i want to know is what do i need to get to be able to use them with my PS3/Xbox 360, if thats possible. And if this is a device, what is the best one to get for my use, and will it improve the sound if used with my PC. Im a bit of an audio newbie, i purely got my K550s because they are better than my current (broken) turtle beach px21s. So yea, if i could have some advise on this matter.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Instead of a DAC-Amp that may or may not work with the consoles, search for "K550 mods" here or through Google. Those headphones are very efficient, but there is some resonance or cancellation in the cups. Also, there's the headband mod, typically for smaller heads but it should be tight enough to not fly off your head when you headbang to ensure that you get the proper bass response (from the compression on the pads and the added seal, plus the drivers are closer to your ears). I thought it fit fine on me before because I was expecting it should fit like the K701, also the weak clamp made it feel lighter, but while I don't need the mod I realized that wearing it at a tighter setting helps well enough with the bass (and that's before I listened to a modded one with some kind of stuffing in the cups like polyfill, normally used for speaker cabinets).

 

[HarryOMalley]

Yea, im not too bothered with that issue at the moment purely with how tk get them working with consoles, thanks anyway though! Do you know if any devices that convet optical to usb?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yea, I'm not too bothered with that issue at the moment purely with how tk get them working with consoles, thanks anyway though! Do you know if any devices that convert optical to USB?

 
For gaming consoles, get the Astro mix-amp ($130), it will give you headphone surround sound with consoles.
The Xbox one might not support headphone surround sound thru the optical port.
But older Xboxs and PS3/PS4 should be ok.
 
For the PC, get the FiiO E10K USB DAC/amp. $75

 

[HarryOMalley]

Thanks for the reply! So am i right in saying that the astro mixamp will not give surround sound on pc? And equally the fiio will not on console?

 

[HarryOMalley]

Also, it seems like you cant buy the E10k in the UK, but you can the E10, is there much difference?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks for the reply! So am I right in saying that the Astro mix-amp will not give surround sound on PC? And equally the FiiO will not on console?

 
The Astro Mix-amp requires the source (PC or gaming console) to have DDL (Dolby Digital live), to compress up to 6-channels of digital audio which is then sent to the Mix-Amp (optical), the mix-amp has DDL so can uncompress the audio.
Mid to high end sound cards ($60-$225) usually come with DDL.
 
With the PC and K550s, all you would need is a Asus Xonar DG ($18-$28) or DGX ($28-$38) sound card,
which comes with Dolby Headphone surround sound built in.
To do the same job as the Mix-amp.
 
The FiiO E10K will not work with a gaming console (fairly sure).

 

[HarryOMalley]

Ah ok fair enough, well i already have an asus maximus vii hero mobo in my oc, which has their "Supreme FX" audio and that seems good enough so the mixamp is probs best to get the best of both worlds.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

I don't use my xbox as much as I used to but I do have the AKG K550s. I used it with the FiiO E11 and an adaptor.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Cable-Adapter-XBOX-Slim/dp/B002TK1R0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407659562&sr=8-1&keywords=xbox+360+audio+adapter+cable
 
At one point I used the FiiO D03K plugged into the xbox optical out and the E11 plugged into the D03K. That sounded noticeably better that the AV output on the xbox. I think that the ps3 should also have an optical out so should work fine with the D03K.
 
 
 
I have the E10 also and that doesn't work at all with the xbox.
 
Lots of FiiO's little amps will either work with this adaptor that I gave the link to or the FiiO D03k. Just not the ones that use USB as a digital input.
 
I also have the E5 and even that sounds good connected to my FiiO DAC through the xbox.
 
With my PC, that is where I use the E10 and it sounds great there, but strangely I got both the E11 and the D03K for a little less money that the E10 cost me. Connected to my computer, they sound pretty much as good as each other. The E10 is simpler because it is an all in one where as the E11 is just an amplifier and the D03K is just a DAC.

 

[HarryOMalley]

Wow, i already have one of them adapters aswell, i had it for my turtle beaches a while ago. So the Fiio E11 worked, im going to need to research into this a bit more, so i can see what card im going to get. Im also looking at some on the xonar cards from asus, for my pc. Apparently they give out much better sound and give you superior control. Thanks for the reply!

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

  Wow, i already have one of them adapters aswell, i had it for my turtle beaches a while ago. So the Fiio E11 worked, im going to need to research into this a bit more, so i can see what card im going to get. Im also looking at some on the xonar cards from asus, for my pc. Apparently they give out much better sound and give you superior control. Thanks for the reply!

You will obviously need s simple phono to 3.5mm adaptor but they are really easy and cheap to get.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

If you plug your E11 into these good sound cards then you won't need this other DAC that I used with the E11. It was only because my built in sound card wasn't that good. I managed to get my E11 for just £34 and I have had it for almost 2 years I think. Although it feels cheap, it lasts.