The last upgrade I made to my computer was to replace my Audigy 1 and Revo 7.1 with an X-Fi XtremeMusic that runs to my Klipsch Pro-media 5.1 Ultras.
Since then, due to both further research and discerning my own tastes, I have come to appreciate the benefits of a true stereo setup for music. I don't really watch movies on my computer anymore, or at least it's not a major priority, so I am pretty evenly split between music and gaming, but I usually try to avoid making sacrifices for one or the other (hence my previous setup with 2 soundcards).
I've been considering ditching my 5.1 setup for some time as I have done extensive research at HeadFi this summer and am considering replacing my 5.1 for gaming with some good headphones, specifically the HD-595's. I like to have the best competitive edge in FPS gaming, in particular, by having the best audio positioning available. It seems like headphones are better, if not equivalent to, my Klipsch 5.1, using the X-Fi and its supposedly vastly improved CMSS3D-Headphone.
I'm basically at a crossroads now because just a few days ago my Klipsch amp died (I am another casualty in a higher-than-average failure rate). This is after I already made Klipsch replace my old 5.1 THX's with Ultras because they failed also. Due to supplier issues, Klipsch cannot actually repair the amps right now and I've read that people have had their stuff at Klipsch's repair center for over 2 months. I think it costs around $100 to repair. I found a guy who is legit who will not only repair it but will upgrade the amp with cooling fans which might help prevent further failures for probably around $75 with shipping back and forth.
So now I have to decide if I want to repair the amp, and if I want to keep the repaired 5.1 system. Looking on Ebay, the profit margin would be non-existant for me to get the guy to repair it and send it back to me and have me sell it. Likewise, for me to sell it to him to have him sell. Although we did discuss selling things part by part.
I could replace 5.1's with:
Music: Swans M-200 2.0 Speakers
I heard these are just fantastic and I have been thinking of giving up on CMSS3d and other matrixing solutions for 5.1 music for a more kickass stereo setup. I've read that these speakers basically blow away anything in the powered multimedia market (and sound like HT speakers) and in particular are a big improvement over my Klipsch sats for music. I'd love to get rid of my subwoofer b/c I am not a basshead and live in an NYC apartment and usually have my bass at -6 on my control dial anyway. I'm sure it makes enough bass for me on the Swan's woofer. I also considered getting an amplifier and passive bookshelfs but decided I'd rather not go that route if I can avoid it with the Swans, and reserve that for a true HT setup, which this is not.
Gaming: Sennheiser HD-595 Headphones + LDM Headphone Amp
This is the headphone that seemed to be the best intro to good headphones without breaking the bank. I liked the HD-600 and HD-650 but eventually realized that it was just too much pressure to start spending money on amp, dac, cable upgrades -- which I'm not interested in. The 595 seems to be a solid headphone for gaming and a music backup for when the GF gets upset. The amp is about $60 bucks and I've heard it's both good and has decent synergy with my headphones.
Misc:
I need either a switch or a splitter to have the Swans and HD-595's connected at the same time. I've also read that it might be possible to use X-Fi's audio creation mode to remap one of my now-unused line-out's to another front left and right for headphones. I don't know what the drawbacks are to this (I use Kernal Streaming with Foobar2k anyway). For switches, I found the MK-2 switch which seems do do what I need. Anyone know if this will degrade the sound like some suggest a simple splitter might do? I have a splitter already so I can test it out.
I would use 2.0 speaker in speaker setup for music, either in Entertainment Mode or Audio Creation Mode (to enable bit-perfect playback, the benefits of which are dubious to me right now). I would use headphone setup for gaming, in X-Fi Gaming mode, with CMSS3D-Headphone enabled for better positioning.
So I guess this boils down to:
1. Is this a good plan to move on from 5.1? What would you do differently? Only thing that pained me was the new Auzentech card because I have to admit DDL and DTS seemed cool but my speakers aren't digital so that would require me to buy digital decoder for my speakers. I have been watching the debate to see if DDL/DTS makes up for the lack of EAX.
2. One of the problems justifying the expenditure, which is about $480, is not making any return on the 5.1's. I can either pursue selling them piece by piece on Ebay, or I can salvage them. If I get them repaired, is there an easy way to set them up, for say, a crappy TV I have, or for room-wide music listening? I would imagine they suck for anything but near-field listening but one can only hope.
Ouch, sorry for the long post... As you can see I am quite anal about this stuff.
-Chad
Since then, due to both further research and discerning my own tastes, I have come to appreciate the benefits of a true stereo setup for music. I don't really watch movies on my computer anymore, or at least it's not a major priority, so I am pretty evenly split between music and gaming, but I usually try to avoid making sacrifices for one or the other (hence my previous setup with 2 soundcards).
I've been considering ditching my 5.1 setup for some time as I have done extensive research at HeadFi this summer and am considering replacing my 5.1 for gaming with some good headphones, specifically the HD-595's. I like to have the best competitive edge in FPS gaming, in particular, by having the best audio positioning available. It seems like headphones are better, if not equivalent to, my Klipsch 5.1, using the X-Fi and its supposedly vastly improved CMSS3D-Headphone.
I'm basically at a crossroads now because just a few days ago my Klipsch amp died (I am another casualty in a higher-than-average failure rate). This is after I already made Klipsch replace my old 5.1 THX's with Ultras because they failed also. Due to supplier issues, Klipsch cannot actually repair the amps right now and I've read that people have had their stuff at Klipsch's repair center for over 2 months. I think it costs around $100 to repair. I found a guy who is legit who will not only repair it but will upgrade the amp with cooling fans which might help prevent further failures for probably around $75 with shipping back and forth.
So now I have to decide if I want to repair the amp, and if I want to keep the repaired 5.1 system. Looking on Ebay, the profit margin would be non-existant for me to get the guy to repair it and send it back to me and have me sell it. Likewise, for me to sell it to him to have him sell. Although we did discuss selling things part by part.
I could replace 5.1's with:
Music: Swans M-200 2.0 Speakers
I heard these are just fantastic and I have been thinking of giving up on CMSS3d and other matrixing solutions for 5.1 music for a more kickass stereo setup. I've read that these speakers basically blow away anything in the powered multimedia market (and sound like HT speakers) and in particular are a big improvement over my Klipsch sats for music. I'd love to get rid of my subwoofer b/c I am not a basshead and live in an NYC apartment and usually have my bass at -6 on my control dial anyway. I'm sure it makes enough bass for me on the Swan's woofer. I also considered getting an amplifier and passive bookshelfs but decided I'd rather not go that route if I can avoid it with the Swans, and reserve that for a true HT setup, which this is not.
Gaming: Sennheiser HD-595 Headphones + LDM Headphone Amp
This is the headphone that seemed to be the best intro to good headphones without breaking the bank. I liked the HD-600 and HD-650 but eventually realized that it was just too much pressure to start spending money on amp, dac, cable upgrades -- which I'm not interested in. The 595 seems to be a solid headphone for gaming and a music backup for when the GF gets upset. The amp is about $60 bucks and I've heard it's both good and has decent synergy with my headphones.
Misc:
I need either a switch or a splitter to have the Swans and HD-595's connected at the same time. I've also read that it might be possible to use X-Fi's audio creation mode to remap one of my now-unused line-out's to another front left and right for headphones. I don't know what the drawbacks are to this (I use Kernal Streaming with Foobar2k anyway). For switches, I found the MK-2 switch which seems do do what I need. Anyone know if this will degrade the sound like some suggest a simple splitter might do? I have a splitter already so I can test it out.
I would use 2.0 speaker in speaker setup for music, either in Entertainment Mode or Audio Creation Mode (to enable bit-perfect playback, the benefits of which are dubious to me right now). I would use headphone setup for gaming, in X-Fi Gaming mode, with CMSS3D-Headphone enabled for better positioning.
So I guess this boils down to:
1. Is this a good plan to move on from 5.1? What would you do differently? Only thing that pained me was the new Auzentech card because I have to admit DDL and DTS seemed cool but my speakers aren't digital so that would require me to buy digital decoder for my speakers. I have been watching the debate to see if DDL/DTS makes up for the lack of EAX.
2. One of the problems justifying the expenditure, which is about $480, is not making any return on the 5.1's. I can either pursue selling them piece by piece on Ebay, or I can salvage them. If I get them repaired, is there an easy way to set them up, for say, a crappy TV I have, or for room-wide music listening? I would imagine they suck for anything but near-field listening but one can only hope.
Ouch, sorry for the long post... As you can see I am quite anal about this stuff.
-Chad