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Best settings for Sennheiser HD595s and Xfi?
- Thread starter Compddd
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insanarchist
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The best settings for anything sound-related are the highest sampling/bit rate your sound card/computer can produce, with no extra effects of any sort!
You should use whatever bit-depth and sampling rate your source audio is.
CDs are 44.1kHz and 16-bit so you should use that. If you output at a higher bit-depth or sample rate then your sound card has to re-sample the audio which can add unnecessary noise and artifacts into the audio.
Music and video games are 16/44.1 for the vast majority. DVDs are often 16/48, 24/48 and BluRays are often 24/96.
I would also +1 to a flat EQ. You shouldn't ever use EQ with headphones. EQ was designed to correct audio response to fix problems in the environment and room, and not to fix the the actual speaker drivers.
I would also recommend using Dolby Headphone for movies and video games to get a surround sound experience.
Set it to whatever the bit depth & rate is of the source. HDMI to your receiver means that you should be able to handle a 24/96-192 but unless you're listening to some damn good vinyl ripped audio or blu-ray then it's fairly pointless.
CDs are 16/44.1. SACDs and DVD-Audio can be 16/48 or 24/44.1 or 24/48 or 24/96.
BluRays can be anything but are usually 24/96.
Video games are probably always 16/44.1 I have never seen a game that used sound effects that were stored at any higher quality.
There is no real way to check other than going into the game folder and looking for the sound clips. They are usually packed up inside a proprietary archive and would take some work to be extracted.
But like I said, games are probably all 16/44.1 for size reasons. High quality recordings would really not be noticeable by 99.9% of users anyways and would make the game assets be much larger than it was worth.
BluRays can be anything but are usually 24/96.
Video games are probably always 16/44.1 I have never seen a game that used sound effects that were stored at any higher quality.
There is no real way to check other than going into the game folder and looking for the sound clips. They are usually packed up inside a proprietary archive and would take some work to be extracted.
But like I said, games are probably all 16/44.1 for size reasons. High quality recordings would really not be noticeable by 99.9% of users anyways and would make the game assets be much larger than it was worth.
SirMaster
So I should be fine setting my bit and depth to 16/44.1, I only play games and listen to MP3s and ripped DVDs and blurays that are mkv or avi format usually.
Right now I have it set to 24/96, that is just making windows re-sample the audio which can add unnecessary noise and artifacts into the audio if I am understanding correctly?
Thanks for all the help so far, you are most knowledgeable audio guy on the forums!
So I should be fine setting my bit and depth to 16/44.1, I only play games and listen to MP3s and ripped DVDs and blurays that are mkv or avi format usually.
Right now I have it set to 24/96, that is just making windows re-sample the audio which can add unnecessary noise and artifacts into the audio if I am understanding correctly?
Thanks for all the help so far, you are most knowledgeable audio guy on the forums!
Yes, I would set it to 16/44.1.
Are you using digital out HDMI or S/PDIF for your movies? Or are you still using analog for all that.
If you are Bit-Streaming Dolby Digital or DTS then the bit-depth and sample rate settings wont even matter. But they still matter for MP3s and games so 16/44.1 would be right all the time.
Thanks, I used to just be on EVGA forums but there weren't enough computer audio and home theater discussions and questions to answer so I came here for that. So I'm on both now
Are you using digital out HDMI or S/PDIF for your movies? Or are you still using analog for all that.
If you are Bit-Streaming Dolby Digital or DTS then the bit-depth and sample rate settings wont even matter. But they still matter for MP3s and games so 16/44.1 would be right all the time.
Thanks, I used to just be on EVGA forums but there weren't enough computer audio and home theater discussions and questions to answer so I came here for that. So I'm on both now
I'm using the HDMI digital out from my GTX 580 to my receiver.
I loaded up a DVD ISO in Daemon Tools and it won't allow me to control the audio volume in Windows, only from my receiver, so I think I am bitstreaming. It said PLII engaged on my receiver and had DD listed in red. I think that means the DVD I loaded up isn't true DD? PLII means it's being split into surround sound right
I loaded up a DVD ISO in Daemon Tools and it won't allow me to control the audio volume in Windows, only from my receiver, so I think I am bitstreaming. It said PLII engaged on my receiver and had DD listed in red. I think that means the DVD I loaded up isn't true DD? PLII means it's being split into surround sound right
Dolby Digital means it's bit-streaming (and therefore the bit-depth and sample rate settings wont matter)
But Pro Logic II shouldn't usually be on when Dolby Digital and DTS are being bit-streamed. Pro Logic II is an algorithm that re-mixes stereo audio into 5.1. It's great for Movies and TV rips that only come with stereo audio and things like YouTube.
I suppose it might have been 2 channel Dolby Digital.
You also might like it for music if you want your music in surround (lots of people still prefer stereo for music).
Also, Pro Logic II should have settings like PL II music and PL II movie. These settings change the algorithms to work better for music vs movies/tv.
Your receiver should also say something like multi channel PCM when gaming in 5.1.
My Receiver says HDMI PCM MULTCHL when I'm gaming
The DVD I loaded up was just a workout DVD (P90X), so maybe it really just is 2 channel DD? I'll test some actual movie DVDs.
Now I'm confused, how often should my receiver be bitstreaming things? Even when I'm watching YouTube videos online? When I watch stuff on YouTube the receiver says HDMI PCM MULTCHL and I can control the volume via Windows.
The DVD I loaded up was just a workout DVD (P90X), so maybe it really just is 2 channel DD? I'll test some actual movie DVDs.
Now I'm confused, how often should my receiver be bitstreaming things? Even when I'm watching YouTube videos online? When I watch stuff on YouTube the receiver says HDMI PCM MULTCHL and I can control the volume via Windows.
You should only be bit streaming when playing a movie with DD or DTS.
PCM isn't really a bit stream cause it's just RAW WAV audio, uncompressed and windows can interact with the volume and such.
As a side note, whenever you are using a digital interface like HDMI, the volume in Windows should always be at 100%. Or else you are truncating the bits and losing quality. It's not the same as Analog. Your receiver controls the analog amps and is the only volume you should ever use.
Your mp3 player software should also be set at 100% which should be 0dB like in foobar2000.
PCM isn't really a bit stream cause it's just RAW WAV audio, uncompressed and windows can interact with the volume and such.
As a side note, whenever you are using a digital interface like HDMI, the volume in Windows should always be at 100%. Or else you are truncating the bits and losing quality. It's not the same as Analog. Your receiver controls the analog amps and is the only volume you should ever use.
Your mp3 player software should also be set at 100% which should be 0dB like in foobar2000.
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Wow I am learning a lot, I didn't know any of this stuff, thanks for taking the time to explain!
I will keep Windows, Winamp, and Windows Media Player all at 100% then and use the receiver control.
This is probably why I was hearing buzzing static noise when using my computer, I had my receiver all the way up to 45 volume and Windows down to 20% volume
I will keep Windows, Winamp, and Windows Media Player all at 100% then and use the receiver control.
This is probably why I was hearing buzzing static noise when using my computer, I had my receiver all the way up to 45 volume and Windows down to 20% volume