[hbuus]

I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD 600 headphones which I'm using with a 12,5 year old M-Audio Delta 44 sound card and a Behringer HA4700 headphone amp.
I used to make music with this setup but nowadays I'm just gaming (Battlefield 4).
 
I'm considering getting a gaming sound card like the Sound Blaster Z, since I've read that virtual surround sound like the SB Z's SBX Pro will let you pinpoint more easily where enemies etc. are coming from in Battlefield 4 before you actually see them just by listening to audio cues like footsteps.
But is this virtual surround really working / necessary or would I in fact be better off getting a decent DAC + headphone amp instead and just use stereo (via digital out from my motherboard)?
That's my first question.
 
Then I just bought the Razer Surround Pro software and have briefly tried it in BF4.
Both in stereo and with Razer Surround Pro I can pinpoint the location of the airplane flying overhead in Test Range just from listening to the audio and using my SRAW + explosions + starting the engine in vehicles like jeeps etc. clearly sounds superior with Razer Surround Pro.
Inside the game however (I play Conquest on 64 player maps), I still cannot predict where enemies will attack from just from listening to audio cues - not with stereo and not with Razer Surround Pro.
 
Therefore a second question:
Is the virtual surround sound in Sound Blaster Z or for example Xonar Essence STX better than Razer Surround Pro - have anyone done the switch and noticed any change (good/bad)?
 
Hope someone can help.
 
Thanks!

 

[PoisonHeadcrab]

I was looking for advice on a similar topic, as I am planning a big computer audio as well and need features like virtual surround but also want great sound quality. What I found is that probably the best (although not the most cost-efficient) solution to that is to use a sound card and connect it via its digital out to a good external DAC and Amp, like the Schiit Modi and Magni. That way you can use all the digital processing features of the sound card like virtual surround sound, and still benefit from an external DAC of your choice.
About surround sound, I heard that Razer Surround is quite inferior to Dolby Headphone and SBX Pro. SBX Pro is said to perform better for positioning but some people seem to find Dolby Headphone more "natural" sounding.
 
Keep in mind, everything I said is purely based on research and not my own personal experience.

 

[castleofargh]

the thing is, all of them will depend on what headphone you use(frequency response of the headphone), so with your hd600 you might very well disagree with others opinions on some product.
personally, my lazy quest of nice surround (I wonder what's new every other year ^_^) led me to think that what I seek is a comfortable experience more than something that will really improve my results. the reason why I think like that is because however crappy your headphones and soundcard, you will usually best someone who has less experience of the game(or less experience of FPS in general). audio cues, realistic or not, you can train to identify what they mean. the same way you train anything in gaming.
and how realistic something is, will still ultimately depend on the developers efforts in making the game sound right.
 
I won't pretend that all you need is a 5$ IEM, because as I said comfort is very much important to me when I play, and a nice sound is part of that comfort. but I stopped looking at gears as a mean to improve my gaming stats.
 
I suggest as a first move, something like viper4windows(free) that let you EQ and do various tweaks to sound on anything that doesn't use exclusive modes like wasapi or asio. so it works with lots of games, watching movies ...
on any game that doesn't crash when you alt-tab

it's fun to mess around with it.

 

[hbuus]

Thanks for the response.
 
What's up with all the love for Schiit Modi & Magni - isn't that just the HIFI fans flavour of the month?
I mean no offense but it seems like every few months, people on HIFI forums have a new favorite when it comes to DACs and other electronics?
After all we're talking about two products at $99 each so exactly how good can they really be?
Just wondering and like I said I mean no offense.
It could very well be that the right solution for me is a sound card and then an external DAC and headphone amp.
 
As for not really needing all that 3D sound etc., that is actually very true
It's just that my friend has an Astro A40 + Mixamp and he's able to pinpoint where enemies are coming from before they show up, so I got kind of jealous
In the Razer Surround Pro software there is an equalizer so I could actually start there.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Get a Soundblaster Z -> optical out -> Schiit Modi -> Schiit Magni/Vali 
 
This is a hefty killer setup.
 
Disable anything in SBX Pro Studio except the surround feature. Play with it from 67%-100% depending on your taste. 67% is more distinct, sharp in imaging, pinpointing, towards 100% it'll get more cinematic as the cues blend more in like in a home cinema. Honestly, I always play at 67% with the HD 800.

 

[Babbalas13]

Hi, I currently have a Creative X-Fi titanium HD Pro, have to say the virtual surround of creative cards are very nice and works really well. 

In my opinion for gaming the best cards would come from Creative