[GoldenboyXD]

Hi aKeio, how much is the Titanium HD? Seems you had a good deal. PM me the details. 

 

[Exodus121]

Hi everyone so I just picked up AKG q701's and I'm looking for a proper setup for gaming and music.
 
I have nothing except onboard sound from realtek so I will be needing a new soundcard I assume?
 
I have something of an idea that I need to get a soundcard, a dac, and an amp but I don't know what kinds I should be looking for to pair with the q701's.
 
Titanium HD seems to be the thing to get?

 

[Murder Mike]

  Hi everyone so I just picked up AKG q701's and I'm looking for a proper setup for gaming and music.
 
I have nothing except onboard sound from realtek so I will be needing a new soundcard I assume?
 
I have something of an idea that I need to get a soundcard, a dac, and an amp but I don't know what kinds I should be looking for to pair with the q701's.
 
Titanium HD seems to be the thing to get?

 
Read this post. 

 

[Stillhart]

   
Read this post. 

 
I love that post.  Nameless should really add that info to the front page...

 

[Exodus121]

   
Read this post. 

 
 
Thanks Mike, I guess the information overload really put me in a place of confusion.  
 
Thank you for the information!

 

[Murder Mike]

For your specific scenario, I would grab a sound card with whatever VSS you like best and then add an amp like a Magni/Vali, E09K, O2, etc. 

 

[genclaymore]

Its exactly what I do with the Xonar DGX when I plug it into my NFB 15.32 thru optical and switch back to usb input when I'm done. So I dont have to mess with the sound card settings.

 

[NamelessPFG]

I love that post.  Nameless should really add that info to the front page...

 
Duly noted for whenever I get around to entirely re-writing this guide so that people don't keep repeatedly asking the same questions all the time.
 
That will most likely have to wait 'til next month, however. There are tests and final exams coming up.

 

[aKeio]

  Just picked up a Titanium HD the other day for a good deal and I've been running into some issues, hopefully someone here could help me out.


In game mode, sometimes I'm experience static/sound distortions through my audio. This more or less happens the most often when I am alt-tab'ed out of the game I'm in and there is audio from a background application, i.e. Skype. It generally resolves itself when I alt-tab back into the game, though I've had it happen when I accidentally left it in game-mode and watched some videos on YouTube. I was playing around with the settings when it does occur and toggling OFF CMSS-3D seems to resolve the issue, but I kind-of bought the card for CMSS-3D so disabling is kind of against the point.

Anyone?

FWIW:

Windows settings are set to 5.1
X-Fi settings are set to headphone, game mode, CMSS-3D ON, 

Anyone?

 

[watsaname]

I tried doing the trick by SniperCzar, where you enable "What U Hear" to output the sound to my Fiio E07k and it was working at first. However after taking a short break and coming back to my desk it just plain stopped working. I've gone back and forth switching on/off the "listen to this device" check box, disabling the "What U Hear" device, checked if the usb port still worked, switched usb cables, switched to the headphone out to make sure it was playing sounds, restarted my computer, and I have no idea how to get it to work again. I feel like I've tried everything. Really unfortunate because I thought this was going to be a cool way of getting around only being able to use spdif dacs.
 
EDIT: I should also note that I was doing this on my Soundblaster Z and was switching around between sbx surround, regular stereo, and EAX in BF2142. Everything was working beautifully until I got back home... Never leaving home ever again.

 

[rooted]

Hey folks,
 
I can't believe this thread is 190 pages!!! I've haven't read them all, but maybe someone (possibly the OP) could do an overview?? :-D
 
I'm new to the forum but I've used Head-Fi quite a bit in the past as a resource for various reviews, info, etc., etc.. I've probably read a bit of this thread as well.
 
As a VR (Virtual Reality) developer/ sound designer / audio engineer, I started researching this subject last year when I first tried a modern VR HMD (Head Mounted Display.) I instantly knew that spatialised sound would be important for a higher level of "presence/immersion." The history of binaural audio for games is pretty interesting but also disappointing due to the downfall of aureal and creative's lack of support/development with CMSS-3D etc., etc.. It seems today's defacto standard is Stereo on up to 7.1 which I think is a regression.
 
Stereo and multi-channel audio is great with a well setup speaker system, playing in a casual gaming environment. But it's true spatialised sound that is the best fit for VR IMO. With the recent reemergence of VR, binaural/spatialised audio is also seeing a comeback. The main things that makes spatialised sound an attractive choice for VR, is the ability to do head tracking coupled with a wide FOV (Field Of View.) This produces a high level of immersion, much more than any static binaural audio demo because the sound is now linked with visual queues. This resembles how we hear in reality. Much of how we localize and differentiate front and back sound sources is through visual queues and slight head adjustments.  
 
I've experimented with quite a few possible solutions and finally created a VR demo for the Oculus Rift using this technology. The solution I came up with also does a great job of generalizing the filter profile so that most everybody hears the same effect! If you have a Rift and would like to try the demo, just PM me. I think the future is bright for binaural audio!

 

[Razz7]

Hi people, I have connected my Soundcard (Soundblaster Z) to the Astro mixamp via optical toslink, Then to my AKG's, do you know if I am hampering sound quality by doing this? Should I connect my AKG's to the 3.5mm jack on the Soundcard instead?

 

[benbenkr]

  I tried doing the trick by SniperCzar, where you enable "What U Hear" to output the sound to my Fiio E07k and it was working at first. However after taking a short break and coming back to my desk it just plain stopped working. I've gone back and forth switching on/off the "listen to this device" check box, disabling the "What U Hear" device, checked if the usb port still worked, switched usb cables, switched to the headphone out to make sure it was playing sounds, restarted my computer, and I have no idea how to get it to work again. I feel like I've tried everything. Really unfortunate because I thought this was going to be a cool way of getting around only being able to use spdif dacs.
 
EDIT: I should also note that I was doing this on my Soundblaster Z and was switching around between sbx surround, regular stereo, and EAX in BF2142. Everything was working beautifully until I got back home... Never leaving home ever again.

 
This happened to me previously on the E17. I had no idea how I fixed it, but all I did was left it alone and one day I just decided to try it again then it worked.
 
Weird, huh?
 
 

  Hi people, I have connected my Soundcard (Soundblaster Z) to the Astro mixamp via optical toslink, Then to my AKG's, do you know if I am hampering sound quality by doing this? Should I connect my AKG's to the 3.5mm jack on the Soundcard instead?

 
Uh... yes you are. Well rather, what's the point of the SBZ if you're using your Mixamp? Even, what's the point of the Mixamp if you are already using the SBZ? If you are trying to use Dolby Headphone through the Mixamp, then I guess  if that's what you want, that's up to you. Could have just gone with a cheaper Xonar U3 and get DH though.
 
I don't know which AKG you are refering to because you know, AKG has dozens of headphones in their catalogue. But the SBZ amps just as well as the Mixamp does.

 

[Chubtoad]

I know this is primarily a thread for headphones, but I'm hoping someone could help me by answering a few questions.
 
I am planning to purchase a pair of active studio monitors, the JBL LSR305 to be exact - http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/recording-broadcast/3-series/lsr305#Specs
 
My soundcard is a Creative X-FI Titanium HD and I have the Schiit Asgard 2 headphone amp which has pre-amp outs. I was planning on connecting the speakers to the Asgard 2 by using an RCA to XLR cable since the speakers have only XLR and TRS inputs on the back of them. Would this be the correct way to hook them up?
 
Also, If I wanted to add the matching subwoofer the LSR310S - http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/recording-broadcast/3-series/lsr310s#Specs would It be as simple as hooking the sub to the Asgard 2 and then the speakers directly to the subwoofer? I would not want to damage anything by hooking up something that shouldn't be hooked up.
 
If It's that simple, would it also be possible then to substitute the soundcard for the Astro mixamp If I wanted to use these with a console?
 
I have never owned a pair of studio monitors so I'd like to know from people who have if they have done anything similar?

 

[Razz7]

Uh... yes you are. Well rather, what's the point of the SBZ if you're using your Mixamp? Even, what's the point of the Mixamp if you are already using the SBZ? If you are trying to use Dolby Headphone through the Mixamp, then I guess  if that's what you want, that's up to you. Could have just gone with a cheaper Xonar U3 and get DH though.

I don't know which AKG you are refering to because you know, AKG has dozens of headphones in their catalogue. But the SBZ amps just as well as the Mixamp does.
[/quote]

I have akg q701's and I was using the mixamp as it's alot easier to control game audio and voip.