[YT-MrEleven1181]

SB Z or SB Omni should be practically the same at optical output, so I'd say whichever is cheaper.

The DACs built into those aren't bad, so I'd disagree with Rudy and say connecting the Vali to the headphone outs should be fine/better than the Mixamp setup you already use. You could always start SB>Vali>Q701 to start off with and buy an optical DAC later if you want, see if you can hear a difference. The DAC in the Optical Modi (1st gen) and Omni sound extremely similar through headphones.

The X7 basically serves as Sound Processor, DAC, and Amp, so you wouldn't need the Vali at all in that setup (unless you wanted to for flavor). That said, the X7 also has a ton of inputs, so you could feasibly use it instead of the Mixamp with your console too. You choose! It was on Massdrop for a week at $300, not sure if the drop ended yesterday...

Yea I think I'll start of with the sound blaster z > vali > q701 and see how I go.

I'm selling my ps4 plus mixamp so wouldn't get the use of x7 on PC and console.

 

[YT-MrEleven1181]

Just been looking at x7 I thought they were £400 for some reason there £280 on Amazon, I just going to order 1. So do I still need the sound blaster z sound card or will the onboard audio from my msi gaming 5 motherboard be ok ? I have no experience with PC sound at all.

 

[rudyae86]

SB Z or SB Omni should be practically the same at optical output, so I'd say whichever is cheaper.

The DACs built into those aren't bad, so I'd disagree with Rudy and say connecting the Vali to the headphone outs should be fine/better than the Mixamp setup you already use. You could always start SB>Vali>Q701 to start off with and buy an optical DAC later if you want, see if you can hear a difference. The DAC in the Optical Modi (1st gen) and Omni sound extremely similar through headphones.

The X7 basically serves as Sound Processor, DAC, and Amp, so you wouldn't need the Vali at all in that setup (unless you wanted to for flavor). That said, the X7 also has a ton of inputs, so you could feasibly use it instead of the Mixamp with your console too. You choose! It was on Massdrop for a week at $300, not sure if the drop ended yesterday...

Well I didnt say they are bad Evs, what I meant to say to not double amp since that can sometimes bring in some not so lovely stuff into the sound...sometimes. As you said before, modi DAC ~ SB Z DAC. They should practically be the same, Im just trying to avoid him doing double amping, but I mean if he does not care about double amping, thats fine for him. I have issues double amping, hence thats why I prefer not to double amp. I guess its preference

 

[rudyae86]

Just been looking at x7 I thought they were £400 for some reason there £280 on Amazon, I just going to order 1. So do I still need the sound blaster z sound card or will the onboard audio from my msi gaming 5 motherboard be ok ? I have no experience with PC sound at all.

Honestly, like I said, your motherboards sound is probably poo comapred to dedicated sound cards. Even if it has creatives software, its just software and Im not sure but i think your motherboard still uses realtek audio chipset.
 
With the X7 you dont need an SB Z anymore. X7 is all you need. The X7 is run through USB for PC and optical for consoles and should be better than your mix amp and your onboard audio.

 

[YT-MrEleven1181]

Honestly, like I said, your motherboards sound is probably poo comapred to dedicated sound cards. Even if it has creatives software, its just software and Im not sure but i think your motherboard still uses realtek audio chipset.

With the X7 you dont need an SB Z anymore. X7 is all you need. The X7 is run through USB for PC and optical for consoles and should be better than your mix amp and your onboard audio.

Ok sounds good and the x7 will be good enough on its own ?

 

[rudyae86]

Ok sounds good and the x7 will be good enough on its own ?

From what I have read, yes.
 
I had the SB Z at one point and like the quality. The problem was that the amp that my SB Z had was defective and returned it. Right now I only have an Asus xonar DG which does dolby headphone and its okay but I do like the SB Z better. I would expect better from the X7 on its own.
 
I do plan on getting an X7 later on this year, as soon as I have more money lol.
 
But if you want to get the X7 and offset the cost, sell your Astro Mix amp. You wont need it once you have the X7.
 
Also it should pair well with your AKGs since the X7 matches quite well with its warmer sound signature.

 

[oncdoc]

Is there a sound card in the alienware Area 51 R2?  I noticed I have Sound Blaster Recon3DI installed.  Is that an actual sound card or is it integrated sound?  If so, what type of headphones will it support? hd650? 
 
I have an x7 creative but did not open it yet, since I may already have a decent sound card or integrated sound in my desktop?
 
Anyone know? thanks. 

 

[rudyae86]

  Is there a sound card in the alienware Area 51 R2?  I noticed I have Sound Blaster Recon3DI installed.  Is that an actual sound card or is it integrated sound?  If so, what type of headphones will it support? hd650? 
 
I have an x7 creative but did not open it yet, since I may already have a decent sound card or integrated sound in my desktop?
 
Anyone know? thanks. 

its probably software based and uses the same realtek sound chip. Im not sure but from what I have seen, alot of motherboards do that. But the X7 will be better than any on board audio. What motherboard does the Alienware Area 51 R2 have? And honestly, this is my opinion but why buy an alienware? I use to think they were cool but when I started learning about PCs and actually building one myself....Alienware are overpriced for what they offer

 

[oncdoc]

Thank you for your post.
 
I cant tell what motherboard it is from the specs.
 
The reason I bought this as opposed to building is time constraints and deal on a refurb I got the below for $3081.81  after 100 additional credit negotiated with Dell. It included 3 year complete accidental protection as well. The onboard audio sounds good, but I wish I knew what the deal with the sound chip type?
 

Alienware Area 51-R2 Windows 8.1 Pro	$3,181.81	1	$3,181.81	04/30/2015
WR1CC Alienware Area 51-R2 211VX Triple 12GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI 28HF0 USB Optical 2-Button/Wheel Mouse 2RV8X Service Software 33RD8 Documentation 359TY Placemat 3E476 Certified Refurbished 3Y2JX Windows 8.1 Pro (64Bit) 4F9D1 Label 51RVX CyberLink Media Suite 61F2H Windows 8.1 64BIT 65XVX Alienware Multi-Media Keyboard 6HT1P Label 76YNW Shipping Material 85Y47 Software 8C2D1 Office 365 - 1 Month Trial (Internet access required to install & activate) 95TPJ 32GB Quad Channel DDR4 at 2133MHz CRMYP Software CRV33 Intel 7260AC Dual-Band 2x2 802.11 ac WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 DHC1J Information GV0CP Wave Systems Software HT7M4 Centauri CPU heatsink JJJ92 Power Cord K74D7 Screw M3GVR Office 365 - 1 Month Trial (Internet access required to install & activate) M4PJ3 Software NG6N4 Software P6XPR Software PNNWT Shipping Material PYXX4 Screw RXPC8 Information T2X8C Windows 8.1 Pro TJXMD 4TB 6kRPM SATA 6Gb/s Storage TPFWY Alienware(TM) 1500 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply TT72D Software V5G7F Slot-Load Dual Layer Blu-ray Combo (BR-ROM, DVD+/-RW, CD-RW) XMJ7F Processor: Intel Core 5th Generation i7-5930K Processor (6-cores, 15MB Cache, Overclocked up to 3.9 GHz w/ Turbo Boost) XP3GF 256 GB Mobility Solid State Drive
AL Area 51 R2 : 3 Year Protection Plan (In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis + Accidental Damage Service)

 

[rudyae86]

Only way you could probably tell what kind of chip it carries is by checking the playback devices, then clicking on your audio source and click on properties and in there, there should be more details of what is running.
 
As for time constraints......thats just an excuse lol.
 
I could have easily built something similar for about 2k to 2.5k and brand new. Paying that much for a refurb, even if it has 3 year warranty on it. Although that PC will last quite a while though. I mean, if you have money to spare, then by all means you can buy what you want but many people at overclock.net would be shaking their heads.
 
But yeah, check your playback devices and click on properties on the device that is being used for audio.
 
EDIT: I like how they say on one of their PCs it says 2x gtx 970s give you 8GB of GDDR5 Ram when in reality, its still 4GB total, even if you use 2 video cards. SMH I wonder if you can sue them for false advertisement.

 

[robster2]

Hi all
 
I have a Creative Titanium HD sound card connected to Audio-Technica AD900 headphones. I am interested in purchasing a headphone amp/dac to compliment my desktop setup for virtual surround sound in games. My question is when selecting a headphone amp/dac for the purpose of virtual surround sound should I be looking at models of headphone dac/amps which excel in the soundstage department? Will a dac/amp with superior soundstage be more effective at positional cues than a dac/amp weaker in the soundstage department? I will be using the dac/amp together with Creative X-Fi CMSS-3D if I can connect it all properly.

 

[NinjaMilez]

  Hi all
 
I have a Creative Titanium HD sound card connected to Audio-Technica AD900 headphones. I am interested in purchasing a headphone amp/dac to compliment my desktop setup for virtual surround sound in games. My question is when selecting a headphone amp/dac for the purpose of virtual surround sound should I be looking at models of headphone dac/amps which excel in the soundstage department? Will a dac/amp with superior soundstage be more effective at positional cues than a dac/amp weaker in the soundstage department? I will be using the dac/amp together with Creative X-Fi CMSS-3D if I can connect it all properly.

 
I use Sennheiser HD 700 headphones with a Schiit Asgard 2 amp and Bifrost Uber DAC and a X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) and have to say they work incredibly well with CMSS-3D. The main game I use it with is Halo: Combat Evolved and, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Painkiller. I can pinpoint location of an enemy from the sound of their footsteps extremely well. I can even position myself so my gun is pointing right at them as I'm going around a corner, it honestly feels a VERY unfair advantage. 
 
I wouldn't worry about amps and DACs with better soundstage. The soundstage that you experience mainly comes from the headphones. You're going to get good positional audio with CMSS-3D with nearly any above-average setup. It will be amplified as you spend more, to a certain point. 
 
A tip with CMSS-3D if you're gaming competitively. I turn the sound-quality and sound variety all the way down to minimum in the in-game audio settings when I play multiplayer. When you do this you will only hear the important sounds in the game such as gunshots, explosions and footsteps. Effects, such as ambient sounds are removed, much less aural distractions that way.
 
I bought the HD 700s mainly for their sound-stage, and they work brilliantly. The Schiit equipment I got because of their value and performance (and because the Bifrost has an optical-in for the sound-card).

 

[mindbomb]

   
I use Sennheiser HD 700 headphones with a Schiit Asgard 2 amp and Bifrost Uber DAC and a X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) and have to say they work incredibly well with CMSS-3D. The main game I use it with is Halo: Combat Evolved and, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Painkiller. 

 
Just want to add that for older win-xp era games, you can benefit from using creative alchemy or asus GX mode and enabling game options for hardware acceleration. I know tf2 and counterstrike source (possibly cs go too) have a command you can enter - legacy surround something or other.

 

[liraop]

Hi guys,
 
I tried to read this thread entirely and some others related to my doubt but I really can't make up my mind. 
 
I got the Schiit M2U combo and Fidelio X2. I think it's end of the road for a few years for me. 
Modi 2 U has USB, optical and SPDIF inputs. I use USB for plain stereo and I was thinking about using one of the others two inputs with a sound card for immersive movie and gaming audio. 
Notice that I don't play competitively so.. I would like to have a immersive sound with ambience and nice sounding, not thin nor treble-ish. I don't care much about positional clues. 
I rater feel and enjoy the experience. 
 
Have anyone been using something like this with satisfiable results? =) 

 

[genclaymore]

I have sent plenty of sound cards to external dacs thru optical for years. As long you config the sound card's Virtual headphone up correctly as in setting windows and games to 5.1 with the Sound card panel to headphones. Dolby Headphone,CMSS3D and SBX surround will work very well. Just remember to unselected Full range in the check boxes when you setting the speakers to 5.1 in windows sound options  in control panel so they will work correctly.