[Murder Mike]

Just picked up a set of Fidelio X1 headphones. Using Realtek motherboard audio until I can get something more fitting.

My goal is to have good surround gaming and good amplification.

Should I get soundblaster z with external amp, soundblaster z by itself, or soundblaster Zxr?

The X1 headphones are 32 ohm, is the impedance of 22+. Ohms of the soundblaster z going to impact the sound quality?

Budget is about 100-200.

Get the Z for now and see if you like it. The Omni is another option. You can add an amp later if you want more oomph. 

 

[imrazor]

Just picked up a set of Fidelio X1 headphones. Using Realtek motherboard audio until I can get something more fitting.

My goal is to have good surround gaming and good amplification.

Should I get soundblaster z with external amp, soundblaster z by itself, or soundblaster Zxr?

The X1 headphones are 32 ohm, is the impedance of 22+. Ohms of the soundblaster z going to impact the sound quality?

Budget is about 100-200.

The Z is an excellent card, for gaming or music. The rear headphone port supports headphones up to 600 ohms, if you're concerned about the impedance. It drives my 200 ohm TDK ST800s beautifully. At least in theory, you shouldn't need an external amp with the Z.
 
One caveat: for whatever reason, surround gaming is completely lost on me. I can tell little difference between the surround mode and standard stereo. But that goes for any soundcard/headphone combo I've tried.
 
One gotcha with the Z: don't even bother trying to get it working with Linux. It sounds better than Windows when it works, but it's way too much trouble.

 

[Silverwind]

Thanks, that is a good idea with the OMNI. I like the USB, I can use it on desktop or laptop. I will be using win7 mainly.

Is the sound quality identical from the sound blaster z to the OMNI?

 

[Terror Twist]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone here could help me out. I live in Canada and I want to get some new headphones and a DAC/AMP or sound card for around $500 in total give or take. And I am having a difficult time figuring out what I should be getting.
 
I will be using this set-up primarily for PC gaming, music, movies and just general computer use. Headphones I have had my eye on are MA900, Fidelio X1, hifiman he 400, hd600 and akg 712 pro. Are these what I should be looking for or are there better options for my needs? Also I am really unsure on the whole sound card vs dac/amp thing. Like what is the better option for what I will be using them for and what sound card or dac/amp should I be looking to get? Someone told me the claro halo is the best sound card and it's better then any dac/amps in it's price range but I have heard from other people that a dac/amp is the way to go such as the Aune t1, o2 odac or the modi/magni. What should I do!? Any help at all would be much appreciated.

 

[genclaymore]

The first thing you should ask your self is what sound signature are you looking for, like explain the type of sound you want to us, so we can help you better.  As for sound card's the only reason to get one is if you want the features of the sound card like  surround headphone, and other features.  If you don't care for any of that. Then you can just get a external dac amp or a all in one unit. If you do want the sound card features then a sound blaster Z is a good choice as it usually goes for 60-65 dollars on ebay, But I don't know how much that is in Canadian.
 
 If you want the gaming functions that badly, I would just say grab a cheap sound card that has optical with the option to send stereo mix to optical and then spend the rest on the headphones and then external dac and amp or all in one unit. That way you get your basic functions for gaming while you get the audio performance for your general and over all listening. This what I currently do now with my DGX sending dolby headphone to my Bifrost uber which I using a LD MK2 2.0 tube amp with my beyerdynamic T90's when I game. I have used the Audio-GD NFB15.32 which the NFB15 replaces and i found it to be a good dac/amp combo unit which does a good job with amping headphones. besides usb, it does have optical and coaxial inputs. You might be able to find a older NFB12.0 or the 15.32 in the sell section for cheap if your lucky. The Aune T1 is a good choice and you have the optional choice to change the tube to a different sound to change the sound signature.
 
Sounds like the said person never used any other sound cards other then the claro halo or don't realize there been other sound cards to come to the market since that card came out, like the Z series including ZXR. The claro halo is using the same chip as the Xonar STX and ST with optional H6 board which offers the same outputs as the claro as well Headphone amp and at some cases can be found cheaper like the STX and both have op-amp sockets for rolling op-amps if you are into that.
 
As for it being better then the dac/amp in the price range, which ones has he been looking at as there plenty in the claro price ranges that can out perform the card sound performance wise and ones that can't. The only thing the claro has going for it really is Dolby headphone and muiti channel output. Which the Razer surround software can do for external dac/amp's and it free. If your gonna spend that much on the claro halo you might as well add a tad more and get a ZXR at this point or time unless you find a ZXR that is the same price as the claro halo.

 

[Terror Twist]

If I had to guess I think the "balanced" sound signature might be what I want. Especially since I hear the balanced sound signature is good for gaming in addition to being good for music and such or no? At the same time I don't want a headphone that's boring to listen to and such. For the record the type of music I listen too for the most part is rock, alternative rock, pop, techo, and trance. I listen to other genres also but those are the ones I probably listen to the most if I had to guess. Also comfort is very important to me in headphones I hate headphones that clamp and put pressure on my head. I honestly am starting to feel like the MA900 are for me since they seem to fit the criteria I want and they are the cheapest of the headphones I mentioned in my previous post. I found some for $236 with free shipping on ebay.ca not sure if that is a good price for them or not though. So I am wondering if these MA900 are the right choice for me based on my needs or are there much better options available to me that I am not seeing?
 
I am not too familiar with the features of sound cards but the surround sound feature does sound appealing to me. But that depends if it's actually good though and not just some gimmick. I have no idea though since I have never tried it. As far as the whole sound card vs dac/amp thing what I mainly want is the best sound quality I can get with my budget. And from what I have heard dac/amps are better for overall sound quality or no? But at the same time I also want the surround sound feature of the sound card if it is actually good and truly is worth it.

 

[Razer X]

Long time reader, first time poster. I just want to make sure I am following along. I have the Xonar DGX and I'm planning to get the AKG 712 Pros, primarily for gaming/movies but also for music. I'm thinking I will want an amp (and maybe a dac?) to help power the AKGs. I had been looking at the Magni as it seems to be highly thought of here, but now I'm wondering if I should get something that uses optical? I definitely want to make use of the Dolby Headphone. Would it be best to go for something like the X-fi HD or can someone recommend an amp and/or dac for this setup?

 

[genclaymore]

If you want the features of the DGX, then get a Modi optical connect it to your DGX optical and enable PCM in your Asus panel to send over Dolby headphone to the Modi dac them  connect it to either a magni amp or Vali amp. Its the same thing I do with my DGX and my Bifrost uber+ LD MK2 2.0 setup.

 

[Razer X]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I think I will do just that.

 

[Gamer-Fi]

Hey peeps,
 
So I finally caved in and got the fidelio x1s after extensive reading. I have the mixamp pro 2013 to go with them for the ps4.
 I am thinking about buying the Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1 external usb soundcard for my pc. If I used the optical out on the soundcard could I plug that into the mixamp pro?
When im using the pc for gaming or High def movies I would prefer to use the SBX Prostudio than the Dolby Headphonewhich the astro mixamp uses. Although I would like to use the mixamp as a kind of bypass amp so I could control the volume without walking to the pc.
Does the mixamp have an option to let the SBX sound pass through it without changing the signal to dolby headphone?
And finally does anyone know of a better external soundcard which will allow me to game and watch movies in 5.1 on my home cinema setup, as well as in virtual surround on my fidelios?
 
Basically i cant be bothered getting up and walking over to the omni by the pc to adjust the volume when im on the couch using my tv as a monitor for games or movies.

 

[RXShadow]

Hey guys,
 
Is the Xonar U3 still worth considering or is it frowned upon? I was considering pairing it with the E17. It felt like a good option to start with as I'm not much into Competitive FPS and was looking into a setup that would work well with gaming and movies in one package.
 
Also, is SBX or DH any worth going for movies or are they specifically meant for gaming only?
 
Considering my case, would you guys recommend any other sound card or DAC/Amp, preferably something external? I currently have an HD558 and I've been looking into a setup that is worthwhile and dependable without needing to upgrade much further, as I plan on saving for different headphones later down the road (currently considering the K701 or Q701 for the moment until anything better shows up later). Would be appreciate to see your recommendations.

 

[genclaymore]

I don't know if you are in the USA or outside of it but you can find Sound blaster Omni at amazon and ebay between 40-60 dollars which would be a better choice then the U3. I also seen sound blaster Z's for around 50ish on ebay if your lucky. I have had a Asus Xonar DG and a DGX both are good card's but there better options which will help you in the long run since the Z and the omni headphone amp will be able to handle more headphone's giving you more choices. Where the DG/DGX headphone amp wont do justice to say headphones like DT770/880/990 pro-250 even tho some people like the combination, Where orders like them more with something that able to handle them more. If you do decide to get a AKG K701/Q701 it should do fine with the DG and DGX it just that later down on the road you might get something else that may not pair well with the DG/DGX.
 
Dolby headphone does work when it set up correctly, but at times i can find it bland in alot of game's where others it work nice and both depends on what headphones you are using. it worked nice with the AKG K702 and DT880 premium 600 for me, it didn't for A900X and DT880 pro-250 and T90 and the results can be very different for different people.Also Dolby headphone has echo even the ref mode has some echo while the mode 2 has alot of it and it uses echo to do virtual surround and you might not like that. SBX surround headphone may be a better bet for you since it doesn't use any form of echo, But you won't know for sure til you try it, as you might actually like dolby headphone or you might like SBX surround headphone, But both work correctly when the windows speaker settings and games are set to 5.1 with the control panel for either cards set to headphone.
 
The good thing about going external dac/amp that you can use a cheap sound card optical output to send something like Dolby headphone or SBX surround headphone into the dac and have both world's and that is a very common setup that people tend to do, if they want both Great audio and the Gaming function's.But most people tend to just pick one and the other.

 

[Orihalcon]

On the topic of the omni. I was considering getting a SB-Z, but only being on a M-Atx motherboard this limits future SLI/CF options I was looking at the omni. I see it connects via USB, so my question is is there any sound distortion or interference from the USB source?

In my case the omni would feed via optical into a Schiit Modi and from there to a Schiit Vali into a pair of Q701's.

Anyone here running a similar setup? I would love to hear your opinions and experience.

 

[genclaymore]

I have a omni going next week, I let you know if i have any issues with it.

 

[Orihalcon]

I have a omni going next week, I let you know if i have any issues with it.

Thank you! Would really appreciate it.