[rage3324]

My set up as of now is:

-ATH-AD700
-Winamp (w/ ASIO plugin) w/ DFX Enhancer to add some bass and sometimes 1 notch of fidelity
-SB X-FI sound card w/ bit-matched playback using 2.1/2.0 output

1) Should I be using bit-matched playback if I dont have an external dac? (I dont like crystalizer and I dont use the equalizer either)

2) Is there a way to use DFX and crossfeed?

3) What is a good budget amp?

Thanks in advance

 

[j0shimi]

Firstly I would suggest using Foobar (Beta v0.9.5.1 came out today) with Creative's native ASIO as opposed to Winamp and non native ASIO.
Unless I am mistaken and it uses Creative ASIO.

I used Bit-Matched purely because I prefer the sound that way, try out a few things and see what sounds best for you.

I'm not sure what the best amp for your 'phones would be, I really liked the Gilmore Lite with my Senns.

 

[rage3324]

I have foobar as well. Both foobar and winamp use Creative ASIO. If I don't have an amp or dac, should I turn off bit-matched playback (and leave off crystalizer and eq of course)?

 

[j0shimi]

I currently have no DAC just my GL Amp, I prefer to listen in Audio Creation Mode with Bit-Matched playback on, 44.1khz, 2/2.1 speakers and no effects.

Audio Creation ensure's you are using the latest ASIO and the most natural sound with your card. What plugin did you use to get native ASIO in Winamp?

 

[rage3324]

I used out_asio(dll) v0.67 from some Japanese site.

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying my sound a lot. Huge upgrade from my sens hd280, especially in soundstage. Just trying to figure out the best settings for me before I hopefully get an amp

 

[j0shimi]

Thanks, I'll check it out that Winamp DLL.

As for getting the best settings, you just have to experiment.
Try not to get caught up in what people say are the best or correct settings, find out what sounds good for you and enjoy it.

Ignoring what I just said heres another tip

I mute all the sounds and recording options I don't use in the volume panel just to get rid of any potential noise they might generate.

 

[rage3324]

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Smeed]

Ive got the same setup as you and was going to ask the same question. This sounds sweet with bit-matched playback and all of that. I cant wait to try it on a prelude.

 

[j0shimi]

Yeah the Prelude is great, I used to have the X-Fi Elite Pro but upgraded to the Prelude.
The improvement is subtle but it's definitely there, the bass had the biggest improvement I noticed.

 

[rage3324]

Would I get better sound if I hook up my sound card directly to a mid-range sony receiver and connected my headphones to that?

 

[IronMaiden]

X-fi can drive the AD700s fine, they don't need an amp, AD900 w/ xfi > AD700 amp w/ xfi.

 

[j0shimi]

If you are connecting to your X-Fi via a computer speakers mini-jack then I would definitely recommend you try out your Sony receiver.

 

[rage3324]

Well if I connected my receiver directly to my x-fi and used bit-matched playback, would my receiver boost the sound quality?