[nightlook]

Hello!
 
I've been spending the last weeks trying to decide on a setup for gaming audio.
I recently got the Astro A40 + MixAMP Pro 2013 bundle, but due to faulty hardware and firmware, I'm returning it.
 
I'm not an audiophile. I've previously used a Steelseries Siberia V2 headset with internal soundcard from my mobo.
My main use for this setup is 80% gaming with voicecomms(mainly FPS, which is why I need good directional sound), and 20% music/movies. Again, I use Spotify for music, not FLAC.
 
For a headset I've decided to go for the Beyerdynamics DT 770 Pro 80's with a clip-on microphone.
 
 
To go along with this, I've chosen the Creative Xi-Fi Titanium HD sound card. I prefer this over the STX due to support, drivers, software to easier switch between presets and reviews. It appears to have a cutting edge over the STX for directional gaming. It also seems to have better shielding,
 
Now to my question:
 
From what I can see, the Titanium HD has a built-in amp with 300 ohm.
This means I can power the DT 770 Pro 80's just fine(even the 250ohm, but I see no reason for getting them).
 
However, many claim that I need to use an external amp for the DT 770's even with the Titanium HD.
 
Could someone please clarify this and help me understand this?
Why would I need an external amp when the sound card goes up to 300 ohm?
 
As a bit of extra information(not sure if relevant); I know the amp on the Titanium HD can be swapped, but I'm never going to do this, since I'm.. realistic.
 
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

 

[nightlook]

After reading some more, I've come to question if the X-fi Titanium HD actually has an amp, or just allows you to run headphones up to 300ohm.
 
My main goal here is to play FPS games with virtual surround. I thought I could do this with the DT 770s plugged into a Titanium HD. Would I be better off with the Asus STX (which features an on-board amp) ? Or would I need an external amp no matter what sound card I choose?
 

 

[nightlook]

No one with some helpful information on this matter?  

 

[xnor]

The Titanium HD is a Creative product, not ASUS.
 
Most soundcards have a high output impedance, so you won't get the tightest bass with dynamic headphones.
 
Titanium HD is around 35 ohms, STX about 11 ohms. With both cards a headphone amp can be an improvement.

 

[NamelessPFG]

The Creative X-Fi Titanium HD has the edge in gaming audio support, but the Asus Xonar Essence STX has a FiiO E9 sort of amp (same IC) built-in, which the DT770s might appreciate.
 
As a Stax user, sound card amps are useless to me to begin with, but even for more conventional headphones, I'd still prefer having an external amp with a nice volume control knob on it. Then you know for sure your headphones are being powered properly if you picked a good amp, regardless of what source you're using.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

After reading some more, I've come to question if the X-fi Titanium HD actually has an amp, or just allows you to run headphones up to 300ohm.
My main goal here is to play FPS games with virtual surround. I thought I could do this with the DT 770s plugged into a Titanium HD. Would I be better off with the Asus STX (which features an on-board amp) ? Or would I need an external amp no matter what sound card I choose?

I'm an Xonar fan and STX user.
I've never used the TiHD (Titanium HD), but I would think the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm would at least work decently plugged straight into the TiHD.
Chances are the DT770 Pro plugged into the TiHD headphone jack will give you a slightly bloated bass.
Down the line you can always invest into an external headphone amplifier (Schiit Magni) to improve the DT770 Pro's audio quality.
 
The Essence STX's headphone amplifier matched with the DT770 Pro sounds fine to me.

 

[nightlook]

Thank you so much for your replies.
Yeah, I noticed I wrote "Asus X-Fi", I of course meant Creative. Spending 10+ hours reading about these two cars isn't healthy.
 
Due to the fact that I've been using internal soundcard with poor gaming headsets(like Siberia V2) previously, I suspect I won't notice the bloated bass from using TiHD + D770 Pro. I think I'll try this combination, and then I still have the option to get an amp later on, like the Magni.

 

[Honkytime]

having recently purchased bought Beyer dynamic dt 770 pros and a titanium HD sound card, i would have to say that sound card will drive those headphones no problem i can turn them up loud enough to make your ears ring with no aftermarket amp i did swap out the jrc op-amps in my sound card as i found they didn't have enough bass for my liking. As for gaming the CMSS-3D feature on the card is crystal clean and there's no one sneaking up on me in FPS game's.

 

[nightlook]

Quote:

having recently purchased bought Beyer dynamic dt 770 pros and a titanium HD sound card, i would have to say that sound card will drive those headphones no problem i can turn them up loud enough to make your ears ring with no aftermarket amp i did swap out the jrc op-amps in my sound card as i found they didn't have enough bass for my liking. As for gaming the CMSS-3D feature on the card is crystal clean and there's no one sneaking up on me in FPS game's.

Thank you, this is what I was hoping to hear. I suspect I won't miss any bass due to not being a particular basshead, but nice to know about the op-amps.
 
Cheers!  

 

[spaark]

This is a good reason to get the 250 ohm version. The output impedance won't affect it as much.

 

[nightlook]

Quote:

This is a good reason to get the 250 ohm version. The output impedance won't affect it as much.

But then there's the question if the TiHD can actually run the 250 ohm version..

 

[Honkytime]

Yes the 250 ohm version is powered by the Titanium HD just fine. my only grip with the titanium HD is that if you have computer speakers and head phones you have to unplug the headphones from the back of the computer to make the speakers work there is no switch on the drivers programs like the asus xonars 

 

[spaark]

Quote:

But then there's the question if the TiHD can actually run the 250 ohm version..

Did you not say they could in your original post? As Honkytime said, they can. 1 Vrms output is enough.

 

[nightlook]

I said that Titanium HD claims it can run headphones up to 330 ohm yes, but I was looking for confirmation from someone actually trying The DT770 pro 250 with TiHD - and I got this on a PM from Honkytime. Apparently the TiHD has several modes, and as long as you use Audio Creation Mode or Game Mode, it lets you play louder than you need. 
 
I'm ordering this combo then, I'll let you know what I think from a newbie's point of view.

 

[nightlook]

Oh my. I didn't notice that the 250 ohm version has a coiled cord - I thought it was straight. The coiled cord isn't working for my, as it's connected to the back of my stationary computer below my desk. I could always use an extender-cable, but I'm sceptical to this in terms of distortion/power loss - could anyone comment on extending with say 1meter? 
 
If extending is a bad idea (considering I'm running it on a Titanium HD without external amp), I'll just return the DT 770's 250.
 
I can't seem to find a 250ohm version with straight cord, it seems only the 80 ohm version comes with a straight chord. Any comments on this?
I could always just settle for the 80 ohm version.