[tumama]

Hi, I have an Audio Technica ATH-AD700 connected to the integrated audio of my desktop and watch movies in XBMC.  I tried my Fiio E7 for movies, but couldn't notice a big difference with the integrated audio.  Reading on these forums Id found that the Asus Xonar U3 its a good run for its money.
Is there any other newer alternative for my needs?

 

[AUserName501]

Just use Razer virtual surround sound. It's free.

 

[Costigan95]

I just got a FiiO E10 with my HiFiMAN HE-400's and it performs quite well with movies. My headphones are open as are the AD700 headphones which does mean that bass can occasionally be less than closed cans. The E10 also has a bass boost knob which does help. I am not sure if the E7 has this feature.
 
I have also heard good things about the Asus xonar but can't comment since I haven't tried it. The Xonar is only a sound card and does not feature an amp though. I dont know if the Ad700's are easy to drive but that is also something to consider. Do you have a budget? The Astro Mixamp can do virtual surround and runs about $130. Plus you can use it with a PS3/4 or Xbox 360/One.
 
Hope this helped.

 

[tumama]

Thanks for the replies, I will check both alternatives.

 

[Costigan95]

I forgot to write that the e10 is not portable with phones or iPods. It only works with a USB input.

 

[cel4145]

You should also consider getting a different set of headphones for movie watching. The AD-700s have a great soundstage, but no subbass extension and fairly poor midbass output. It's like watching movies with a surround bookshelf speaker setup and no subwoofer. Adding bass into your movie watching experience could easily be the single biggest upgrade you could make.

Beyerdynamic DT990s should offer a lot of improvement. However, they would need some kind of headphone amp to drive them well.

 

[cel4145]

Here are some posts with measurements so you can see what I mean. The AD700s start rolling off at about 100hz, without significant usable output by the time they get to 50hz:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/611460/measurements-of-audio-technica-ath-ad700
http://en.goldenears.net/17076

Compare them to the DT900s which actually have boosted bass:

http://en.goldenears.net/index.php?mid=GR_Headphones&document_srl=3618&sort_index=readed_count&order_type=desc