I'm curious to see what everyone uses, through testing I seem to get more clarity and overall better sound quality when switching the mode to 7.1 speakers rather than stereo.
I'm switching my modes through my Realtek HD Audio Manager
Gaming -> still 2.0 stereo.
I just really don't like all that virtual surround sound mumbo jumbo stuff. It just sounds so artificial and wrong to me. A good pair of stereo headphones will give all the sound I need in games. Perhaps helps that I don't play competitive FPS games, I don't play FPS games period, just don't like those games at all they're all utterly boring to me.
There is no 7.1 headphone implementation in the market which sounds as good as the real 7.1 home theater. So stereo, I've tried 7.1 in gaming headsets and I think they make the quality worse than it should sound.
If you like the processing, good for you, I'm not here to gate-keep... but if you've only got two drivers, you're going to get a cleaner signal and better sound quality (closer to the source) with 2.0. The real issue may be that you're running the headphones off integrated audio (Realtek) that doesn't really have enough power for them. What headphones, what source?
Yes! I have the 4xx with a p20 and grace balanced DAC coming.
But that's interesting to hear how just using the stereo setup is best. So I'm assuming the 7.1 just distorts the original sound and possibly degrades the quality of music?
I did notice that when switching over to my game zeros (50ohm) that I had to significantly raise the volume to reach the same levels of loudness to my 598s. Am I correct in assuming that it's because it's 50ohm compared to 23, therefore are harder to drive
Yes! I have the 4xx with a p20 and grace balanced DAC coming.
But that's interesting to hear how just using the stereo setup is best. So I'm assuming the 7.1 just distorts the original sound and possibly degrades the quality of music?
I did notice that when switching over to my game zeros (50ohm) that I had to significantly raise the volume to reach the same levels of loudness to my 598s. Am I correct in assuming that it's because it's 50ohm compared to 23, therefore are harder to drive
There's two factors in determining how hard a headphone is to drive -- resistance (ohm load) and sensitivity. The higher the resistance, the lower the sensitivity, the harder a headphone (or speaker) is to drive. So yes, the 598 and Game Zero are similar sensitivity but the Game Zero is higher resistance, so it needs more power to get to the same volume.
What are the benefits of having higher resistance on headphones? If it's paired with an amp that can drive them, do they ultimately produce better sound quality?
What are the benefits of having higher resistance on headphones? If it's paired with an amp that can drive them, do they ultimately produce better sound quality?
I'm curious to see what everyone uses, through testing I seem to get more clarity and overall better sound quality when switching the mode to 7.1 speakers rather than stereo.
I'm switching my modes through my Realtek HD Audio Manager
If your ears like 7.1 for headphones.......cool, then stick to 7.1.
Why is sounds better is a mystery
And might need more details about your setup to figure out why?
Every single application is ultimately a personal user experience. Though as a rule we try to have the signal as un molested as possible.
But there are conflicting ideas in regards to rules, like DSD upsampling doing a processing which many find out enjoyable. The proof is normally found after time. Obviously delays and imaging placement can in turn create a lush delay sound which may mask certain frequency responses that are unwanted by the individual. Such a detour is almost like adding harmonic complexity.
The biggest changes in our industry the last ten years have centered around new understanding of room response. Room response is a frequency bump due to sound waves coming from the side of the speakers of a stereo and reflecting off walls to the side and back.
Such an event is one of the inseparable differences between speakers in a room and headphones. Also realize the headphone is an ear-coupler which has added sound to your ear bypassing the myriad of reflections and physical reflective amplifiers on the way to your eardrum. Much of the time these 7.1 process filters will emulate to an extent that processing pathway. Still as nothing is original everything gets looked at as emotional.
Meaning the actual event of the recording is gone. What we are left with is art. There is no way to compare the song file to the original as the original moment has been lost forever. The only judge is emotional.
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