[untouchablemike]

Hi, I was recommended here by Mad Lust Envy on his main gaming audio thread.  I was wondering what sound card everyone here would recommend for a basic Dolby Headphone setup.  My cans of choice are Denon D-2000 and I already own a FiiO e17.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi, I was recommended here by Mad Lust Envy on his main gaming audio thread.  I was wondering what sound card everyone here would recommend for a basic Dolby Headphone setup.  My cans of choice are Denon D-2000 and I already own a FiiO e17.

You can get a used Xonar DX or D1 for around $50, just run a male mini-jack to male mini-jack cable from the line-out/headphone jack of the Xonar to the line-in on the E17.

 

[Evshrug]

You can get a used Xonar DX or D1 for around $50, just run a male mini-jack to male mini-jack cable from the line-out/headphone jack of the Xonar to the line-in on the E17.

From my research, and you're on a Windows PC, 2x what PurpleAngel said. Creative offers a better performance in gaming at a higher price, but the difference is diminishing and apparently people complain about driver updates being slow to release and independent efforts at patching were shut down (Daniel K). Edit: one review I read stated it used to be that Gamers would go for Creative while Audiophiles would get an Asus card, but Asus blurred that line when they reverse engineered Creative's advancements to EAX tech. The DX also measured better than Creative's ExtremeGamer card (which is not the model Nameless is talking about). Source: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/05/26/asus-xonar-dx-pci-express-soundcard/5

So yeah, Asus Xonar DX is probably the best value for PC gaming and a great performer.

 

[NamelessPFG]

At $50, I'd be a bit more inclined to recommend the X-Fi Titanium (non-HD) if available at that price (even used/refurbished), but if and only if you put as much priority on DirectSound3D and OpenAL support as I do.
 
Otherwise, the price premium (usually around $70-80) for any of the X-Fi cards below the Titanium HD's caliber just isn't worth it when you're not making use of the X-Fi DSP.

 

[Evshrug]

Refurb X-Fi Titanium from trusted seller:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102043
I recently saw a refurb Xonar DX, but I guess it got sold and you might have to look if you wanna buy a used/refurb sample. Here is a good price on a new Asus Xonar DX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

 

[giantmeatwad]

I want to play with Dolby Headphone vitural surround and I am tempted to get an Essence STX and an amp(M-stage or Objective2) for my K701. But then I heard that the Essence STX can not output any Dolby Headphone virtual surround through the RCA outputs and it can output Dolby Headphone surround sound through the S/PDIF output. Is there a way to output Dolby Headphone to the amp(M-stage or Objective2) then to my K701?
 
Thanks for any and all help.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

I want to play with Dolby Headphone vitural surround and I am tempted to get an Essence STX and an amp(M-stage or Objective2) for my K701. But then I heard that the Essence STX can not output any Dolby Headphone virtual surround through the RCA outputs and it can output Dolby Headphone surround sound through the S/PDIF output. Is there a way to output Dolby Headphone to the amp(M-stage or Objective2) then to my K701?

 
Get one of the Xonar D1, DX, D2, or D2X if you need Dolby Headphone and no built-in headphone amplifier. These cards have only line outputs.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I want to play with Dolby Headphone vitural surround and I am tempted to get an Essence STX and an amp(M-stage or Objective2) for my K701. But then I heard that the Essence STX can not output any Dolby Headphone virtual surround through the RCA outputs and it can output Dolby Headphone surround sound through the S/PDIF output. Is there a way to output Dolby Headphone to the amp(M-stage or Objective2) then to my K701?
 
Thanks for any and all help.

Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card (used $50).
Just connect your amplifier to the line-out (headphone out) 3.5mm jack.
You will then have Dolby Headphone surround sound.

 

[giantmeatwad]

Quote:

Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card (used $50).
Just connect your amplifier to the line-out (headphone out) 3.5mm jack.
You will then have Dolby Headphone surround sound.

 
Is the chipset in Xonar DX/D1 as good as the one in Essence STX?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
Is the chipset in Xonar DX/D1 as good as the one in Essence STX?

They use the same audio processor, C-Media HD Oxygen CMI8788.
The Xonar DX/D1 are just like the Essence STX, except the DX/D1 not come with a headphone amplifier, replaceable op-amps, and coaxial output).

 

[giantmeatwad]

Quote:

They use the same audio processor, C-Media HD Oxygen CMI8788.
The Xonar DX/D1 are just like the Essence STX, except the DX/D1 not come with a headphone amplifier, replaceable op-amps, and coaxial output).

Thanks for the help! I'm going to get a Xonar DX.

 

[Evshrug]

I have zero experience with the Recon3D, but for $70 it seems a good value.

Guess what. The USB version is on sale for $70 today. Reading the reviews, it seems like most of the negative comments were from people who couldn't figure out how to use it.

I'm sorely tempted to pick it up so I won't have to reinstall OS X fresh every time there is an update, just to keep sound, and the Recon3D works with so many devices while being a lot cheaper than a Mixamp. I am able to pay my bills just fine, but I worry that I'd be better off just leaving the $70 in savings :/
Any reasoning for buying or saving?

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Guess what. The USB version is on sale for $70 today.

 
Are you serious? Holy crap, you're not kidding. Good until the 26th, too.
 
I may end up ordering it for review purposes.

 

[Tane]

Noobie question. I am completely lost when it comes to audio. I just ditched my Astro A40s and mixamp to my brother and bought a pair of Q701. Now I am planning to buy a sound card maybe the xonar stx? Not sure where to start with them is there a cheaper option? Also will it be enough to drive the Q701s or will I need an external dac amp? I want to play around with Dolby Headphone virtual surround, should I get the mixamp back from my brother? This is mainly going to be used for all gaming and light music. Thanks for the help.

 

[Evshrug]

Are you serious? Holy crap, you're not kidding.

 Good until the 26th, too.

I may end up ordering it for review purposes.

Yup, for serious. I had been looking at it in that ruminating, obsessive way, so I saw the sale. Took me 24 hours to decide to pull the trigger, but I think it will be well worth it for my devices.

Not sure why J&R cites a $40 instant rebate as the cause for the sale price because they were selling it at $90-$100 before, but still the sale is nice. Wish I could compare with a Mixamp, but the Recon3D will be more functional with my Mac than the Mixamp would be anyway. For $60 cheaper.

Noobie question. I am completely lost when it comes to audio. I just ditched my Astro A40s and mixamp to my brother and bought a pair of Q701. Now I am planning to buy a sound card maybe the xonar stx? Not sure where to start with them is there a cheaper option? Also will it be enough to drive the Q701s or will I need an external dac amp? I want to play around with Dolby Headphone virtual surround, should I get the mixamp back from my brother? This is mainly going to be used for all gaming and light music. Thanks for the help.

Well, there were some suggestions just one page back with links to good prices, and an overview of sound card lines on the first post. I assume you're playing on a windows computer? Nameless knows best, might recommend specific models for you, but I'd say look at Creative's Sound Blaster lineup and Asus' Xonar line, compare feature offerings, and your price bracket will be defined by the features you decide you don't need.
Make sure you take a hard look to see if the card offers hardware processing rather than software, as this benefits your system resources and fidelity, and makes for the biggest difference between built-in motherboard audio (usually) and actually having a dedicated piece of hardware.