[SaLX]

  Does anyone with a Creative Titanium HD know where the equalizer is? I installed one today and the only thing I can find are the bass and treble sliders under the Windows headphone properties. Even my old $20 Xonar DG had an equalizer in its software (when using the Unified drivers, anyway). I'm using Windows 8 with the new drivers that were released by Creative this month.

You ought to have an extensive Creative control panel installed. Look in your programs under Start > All Programs > Creative.. it may have failed to autostart. If not, then do a good clean and reinstall.

 

[randir14]

  You ought to have an extensive Creative control panel installed. Look in your programs under Start > All Programs > Creative.. it may have failed to autostart. If not, then do a good clean and reinstall.

 
This is what I have: http://i.imgur.com/xsk45e1.jpg
 
I've been through all the tabs and different modes and I cant find an equalizer anywhere.

 

[SaLX]

You ought to have this (there's a equaliser in there):
 

 
Uninstall, clean and reinstall. I've been there before. You'll get there.

 

[randir14]

Still no luck. However I decided to test the Pax drivers, and it comes with something called Creative Console Launcher which looks like the same thing that you posted, and includes an equalizer. I wonder if Creative forgot to include it in the new drivers they released this month.

 

[SaLX]

Rand... honestly... the control panel is there (or will be there if you do as I indicated). I can't hand hold for you, but I've seen this problem before personally. Fart around and you'll fix it.
 
It's got zero to do with PAX drivers or any other 3rd party efforts. Creative Console Launcher is what you want mate and it comes with the vanilla drivers.

 

[randir14]

Thanks for your help, I finally figured it out. On the Titanium HD's support page Creative Console Launcher was listed under "applications" which allowed me to download it separately. Now I'm able to use the official driver and the console launcher.

 

[LB Felipe]

MrSpeakers Alpha Dog (AD002) <- Schiit Vali <- bundled w/ ZXR stereo RCA male to stereo 3.5mm male cable <- bundled w/ ZXR 3.5mm jack to 6.35mm plug adapter <- Creative Sound Blaster ZxR
 
AntLion ModMic 3.0 <- bundled w/ ZXR 3.5mm jack to 6.35mm plug adapter <- Creative Sound Blaster ZxR
 
2 x ADAM F5 w/ Desktop Stands <- Monoprice 654s <- Creative Sound Blaster ZxR
 
Come on guys, is there some way to go wrong with that?

Have you any regard?
 
For the F5s, do you recommend anything as volume control or preamp?
 
Thanks.

 

[kidboy17]

Hello everyone, I was told I should post in this thread as I might be able to get better help regarding about what sound card I should get if I were to get either the Philips Fidelio X1 or the Sennheiser HD 598 and which headphones out of the two would be better for my needs.
 
I would be using these headphones for listening to video game music, like what is played on GFTO Awesomeness, being immersed in games like Skyrim, playing emulators like N64 and playstation, watching Netflix and sometimes playing FPSs like Red Orchestra 2/ Rising Storm.

 

[Slayn]

So having read the original post, would the best performance for gaming and music be getting a cheap sound card with positional audio, and then an external DAC, using the sound card for positional audio, but the DAC as... well, a DAC?

So for instance, I have a cheap pair of Samson SR-850's and an older sound card, one of the Titanium ones, it has CMSS-3D. Should I get a DAC and use the sound card to output to it? Would I get anything? Did I even read that correctly?

 

[PhillipJFy]

  So having read the original post, would the best performance for gaming and music be getting a cheap sound card with positional audio, and then an external DAC, using the sound card for positional audio, but the DAC as... well, a DAC?

So for instance, I have a cheap pair of Samson SR-850's and an older sound card, one of the Titanium ones, it has CMSS-3D. Should I get a DAC and use the sound card to output to it? Would I get anything? Did I even read that correctly?

I have been trying to wrap my head around this as well. I think what you're doing is getting a recording device to listen to your sound card, then sending that audio stream to your USB connected DAC. This retains positional audio over a USB connection.
 
I think that is the theory behind it...still a bit fuzzy how how you actually get that to work right though...anyone have a picture guide? (kind of joking but kind of serious)
 
Also, could this theoretically work with something like Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 software suite?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So having read the original post, would the best performance for gaming and music be getting a cheap sound card with positional audio, and then an external DAC, using the sound card for positional audio, but the DAC as... well, a DAC?

So for instance, I have a cheap pair of Samson SR-850's and an older sound card, one of the Titanium ones, it has CMSS-3D. Should I get a DAC and use the sound card to output to it? Would I get anything? Did I even read that correctly?

Is it the Titanium HD or other Titanium sound card?
 
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card.
Comes with the CS4398 DAC chip and a decent headphone amplifier.
Newegg is selling them for $57 (free shipping).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102054
 
Might consider selling off the SR850 and put all your "audio" budget for better headphones.
(The Samson SR850 are good headphones, for it price range)

 

[Slayn]

  Is it the Titanium HD or other Titanium sound card?
 
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card.
Comes with the CS4398 DAC chip and a decent headphone amplifier.
Newegg is selling them for $57 (free shipping).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102054
 
Might consider selling off the SR850 and put all your "audio" budget for better headphones.
(The Samson SR850 are good headphones, for it price range)

http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Titanium-Fatal1ty/M/B0018EFGTM.htm
 
It is this one right here. Bought it long ago, when Circuit City was still a thing.
 
I got the SR-850 because like you said, because it was recommended as a good budget set. I think most of what I have read and asked, the general consensus seems to be to replace those at some point.
 
Even then, my question still stands though... so gaming is my main focus. I don't do anything competitive, but I love the whole 3d audio thing. It just sounds very atmospheric when I am playing a single player game, and it makes you feel like you are right there in the action. I do play BF4 but for fun way more than competition. I use my computer for everything between games, music, movies, Netflix, etc.
 
So having said that, what is the best set up for both gaming and crisp, clear sound? I am at the point where I don't mind spending a few hundred for a good set up. I went cheap with the SR-850's and want to step it up. I noticed in the original post that he mentions using the sound card for DSP and then using an external DAC for better audio quality, so this is the best way to set it up?

 

[Murder Mike]

 
So having said that, what is the best set up for both gaming and crisp, clear sound? I am at the point where I don't mind spending a few hundred for a good set up. I went cheap with the SR-850's and want to step it up. I noticed in the original post that he mentions using the sound card for DSP and then using an external DAC for better audio quality, so this is the best way to set it up?

 
There are a few ways to do it. 
 
The most basic - Get a sound card with surround processing and use the headphone out on that. This can vary from ok to great depending on how much you decide to spend on a sound card. The lower end ones like the DG/DGX/Titanium/Z/etc will have everything you need to get started with a basic set of headphones that don't need much amping. If you want to spend more on something like the ZXR or Essence STX, they will have a better DAC and even an amp build in to run some higher end headphones without needing anything external.
 
Upgraded - Get a sound card with your preferred surround processing and then use the DAC build into that and the RCA outs to feed into a discrete amp. This will power any headphone you would like, but the DAC might not be as nice, depending on the sound card you are using. Using the ZXR or Essence STX in this fashion wastes the on board amp on the card. 
 
High end - Get a sound card with your preferred surround processing and then use the optical out to feed the signal to a discrete DAC and then have that DAC being fed into an amp (or get a combo unit like the NFB 15.32 or 11.32). This allows you the most freedom and you have access to a wide range of DACs and amps. You can also run with the basic sound cards as all you will be using on it is the optical out to feed into the DAC. 

 

[PhillipJFy]

   
There are a few ways to do it. 
 
The most basic - Get a sound card with surround processing and use the headphone out on that. This can vary from ok to great depending on how much you decide to spend on a sound card. The lower end ones like the DG/DGX/Titanium/Z/etc will have everything you need to get started with a basic set of headphones that don't need much amping. If you want to spend more on something like the ZXR or Essence STX, they will have a better DAC and even an amp build in to run some higher end headphones without needing anything external.
 
Upgraded - Get a sound card with your preferred surround processing and then use the DAC build into that and the RCA outs to feed into a discrete amp. This will power any headphone you would like, but the DAC might not be as nice, depending on the sound card you are using. Using the ZXR or Essence STX in this fashion wastes the on board amp on the card. 
 
High end - Get a sound card with your preferred surround processing and then use the optical out to feed the signal to a discrete DAC and then have that DAC being fed into an amp (or get a combo unit like the NFB 15.32 or 11.32). This allows you the most freedom and you have access to a wide range of DACs and amps. You can also run with the basic sound cards as all you will be using on it is the optical out to feed into the DAC. 

Would the SniperCzar method of routing your processed audio to a USB connected DAC be viable as well? From my own researching DAC/Amps that support optical are tough to find without putting down at least $300.

 

[PippoXD]

Hi guys,
 
I ordered my Mad Dog's yesterday and i was going to order a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 non-pro but i cant find it or i find it and it turns out to be the pro version. I'm guessing the product is old and companies in portugal just don't care. I was going to order this one because it uses CMSS 3D, it is external and i think its the only one with these attributes. I was also going to get the Magni.
 
Is there an alternative to drive the Mad Dog's that is only the external sound card maybe with a better built-in amp? Atm i dont even care if it is DH or CMSS 3D, as long as it is one of them, from my research those are the best to play competitively and pretty much match each other.
 
So.. Either an external sound card that can drive the mad dog's with CMSS3D or DH
or
an external sound card with cmss3d or dh paired up with an amp like the Magni(recommended to me by Dan aka Mr Speakers)
 
Thanks