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Sound upgrade time, need advice

A

Anime_Fan

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
1,207
Ok so I know I asked about the Chaintech AV-710 with the optical audio not to long ago. I am going to finally go to Microcenter now that I have some money and buy it tonight I hope. Anyway I am going to use that to hook up to my Logitech Z-680s that I use for my surround system in my apartment living room so that I can enjoy my anime fans and also my DVDs that I play through my PC.

However I have come to the realization that:

#1 My headphones suck. They are surround headphones that I bought on a budget after I read a couple average reviews on them. They are the Kinyo KY-100's and it comes with an amp. Well the amp is total garbage and receives interference for cordless device such as cell phones and cordless phones and things like this. I live in a big apartment complex so people are always on their damn phones causing non stop interference which is unbearable while playing games or anything for that matter.

#2 I listen to a lot of music while I do my homework. So I am thinking of purchasing a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music card. I think this will be beneficial for me as it does all the latest EAX stuff and has good audio sampling as it seems to me. I always have my headphones on when I am doing my homework to drown out my room mates noise so I can concentrate better on my homework. I also game with headphones on all the time so I can talk with my team mates and not give feed back through the mic.


So anyway....Will these cards play nice together? Can somebody recommend a good pair of surround head phones that wont get interference? I really want the surround headset for gaming. EAX pretty much needs some kind of surround setup to really be effective...at least thats my understanding? Perhaps a nice pair of stereo headphones can do good 3D positioning? Would an audigy 2 value perform just as well for music play back?

Thanks for your help :)
 
The new CMSS-3D VirtualSurround Headphone mode will be more than adequate on that X-Fi that you could use quality headphones and still pinpoint a fly shooting at you. :)
 
Right. Buy any of the good stereo headphones recommended on this forum (from Sennheiser HD201s at the budget end through to HD595s or A-T A900s at the higher end), use the CMSS Surround mode on the X-Fi, and you'll be happy, and you'll also have great headphones for regular stereo music etc.
 
Chastity said:
The new CMSS-3D VirtualSurround Headphone mode will be more than adequate on that X-Fi that you could use quality headphones and still pinpoint a fly shooting at you. :)
Click to expand...


Really? Sweet!

Yeah I was browsing the budget headphones at headphone.com . I didn't know there was a CMSS-3D VirtualSurround Headphone mode at all. I am such an audio newb! I can't afford 300 dollar headphones so I am probably looking at like HD-497s if I can scrape up enough $$$ Otherwise I might have to settle on something like the HD-201 or 202. Any other brands besides Sennheiser that somebody could recommend?
 
Ok so I think the Sennheiser HD-212's look like they fit my style and budget. I think I will throw down on these and an x-fi xtrememusic. I hope the cmss 3d surround headphone setting works out for me! :)
 
Let me help you from making a big mistake. Don't spend 110$ on a sound card and then 30$ on headphones, for the love of all that is good and holy!

Anyways, let me just say a few things.
DVD playback though headphones is tough. Some DVD's its fine, because they have a very good dolby 2.0 stereo setting, others are not so good.
Games and music playback are where headphones really give you a huge advantage for the amount of money you spend on them.
With high quality headphones, you can hear the percision of the 360º "field of view", especially in first person shooter games.

Personally, I own the HD497, and im not impressed with them (although i got them for 28$ a while back, still not impressed). It has a cord for each ear piece, which gets all tangled up. That ticks me off. The cord on mine is a little loose already with very mild use. The fake leather gets your ears warm, and the sound aint all that special.

You asked if there was a company other then sennheiser, and indeed there is. check out headphone.com for some others. Personally I'm very very imrpessed with my Beyerdynamic DT231 for 60$us. It has the same sonic signiture as the more expensive DT990pro, which makes it an amazing entry level headphone for the price.http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-manufacturer/beyerdynamic/beyerdynamic-dt-231.php
There is no comparison between the HD497 and the DT231 in my book, the DT231 wins by a long shot.

So, if you can muster up about 150-170$, spring for a x-fi and a pair of 60$ headphones to top it off. If you can't spare that much money, ide say go for the headphones first, and let the sound card come down in price as it shall. Then spring for the sound card.

<Edit> With headphone.com 's 30-day money back guaranty, you can feel confident that you will either get what you want, or have the option of returning them for the price paid. Can't beat it!</edit>
~Hope this helps
 
Well I mustered up $130 dollars last night and purchased the Creative X-FI Xtreme Music at best buy on my way home from work. I found out i was getting a $1500 dollar tax refund so I just went out and bought it last night :) Anyway I got it installed and I have to say "Sweet mother of god is it better than my onboard sound!!" I am not an audiophile by any means but the clarity and quality was immediately apparent to me.

Anyway I also found that if you get a stereo mini to rca converter I can hook up the digital out port to the digital coax connector on my receiver. So I am going to buy one of those later today and go that route rather than just a cheap optical audio out solution. Anyway I think I can now afford to buy a better pair of headphones with my tax refund but I still refuse to spend some obscene amount of money on them.

I am also feeling a little overwhelmed at all the options that are available now. What are some of the tweaks I should look for? What is the main application for the 24bit crystalizer? Is the CMSS-3D Stereo Surround the virtual headphone surround the others were talking about? So far I am very happy with my purchase :)
 
Oh, im very glad to hear you enjoy the new sound card! Just wait until you pair it with a nice headphone!
Other's can chime in on the software features of the X-fi, but from what many people have said, the crystalizer is to make "cheap" speakers and headphones sound better. Once you start talking about high quality audio setups though, people tend to shun the crystalizer.

You are right though, a cable such as this http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/RCA-mini-spdif.html can connect the digital output on your sound card to a receiver. They call this a mini mono to RCA cable.
With S/PDIF passthough, and a receiver that can decode DD and DTS, you can have a nice little setup!

I'm not sure how much you wanted to bump up your budget to for headphones, or what you still consider to be an "obscene amount of money", but what I can tell you is this. If you plan on keeping these headphones for years to come, and you plan on using them a lot, I recommend you spring for the good ones right from the start. That way you won't be one of the oh-so-many people who get cheap ones, then say..... hm..... I wish I went for the better ones from the start because im not happy with the sound of these. In the long run, you save money, and enjoy good headphones right from the start. Perhapse you want to start a new thread on which headphones to get. There are many people here who can recommend some for your needs.

~Hope this helps
 
Anime_Fan said:
I have to say "Sweet mother of god is it better than my onboard sound!!" I am not an audiophile by any means but the clarity and quality was immediately apparent to me.

I am also feeling a little overwhelmed at all the options that are available now. What are some of the tweaks I should look for? What is the main application for the 24bit crystalizer? Is the CMSS-3D Stereo Surround the virtual headphone surround the others were talking about? So far I am very happy with my purchase :)
Click to expand...

The XFi is a solid card... enjoy! As for the other little applications - just play with them. I dont suggest using any of the Crystallizer, CMSS, or EQs... just turn them all off. They mess with the source signal and you're not getting anything remotely hifi with those applications "on".

Good purchase btw... I have the same card.
 
Well I will probably use the CMSS-3D VirtualSurround mode for gaming when I purchase a good pair of headphones.
 
I went with the x-fi platinum and a pair of 595's and i don't even use my speakers anymore since i got them. I like the 595's personally, but the other ones are good also...You will notice a lot of difference with a good headphone imho....
 
Yeah I think I am going to go throw down on a pair of HD-485s at a local electronics store that has a 30 day no questions asked refund policy. Otherwise I am considering purchasing the HD-515s online but I dont feel like waiting for a return if I am not satisfied.
 
Don't bother with the 515s, they're not a sensible choice (I seem to recall reading they use HD497 drivers and sound the same as 497s - not bad, but you may as well buy 497s and save the money). Generally the advice is to either go with 4xxs or jump to 555s, don't bother with the 515s.
 
Anime_Fan said:
Update:

I bought my 485s today and OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG AMAZING!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
I always find it nice when people buy budget headphones and are amazed by their sound quality. That just goes to show the quality of those other things out there :( :(

~Enjoy them
 
By the way you guys weren't kidding about the CMS-3D Headphone Surround mode. I find it better than the 5.1 headphones I had.

Creative EAX 5.0 helps too :)
 
towert7 said:
I always find it nice when people buy budget headphones and are amazed by their sound quality. That just goes to show the quality of those other things out there :( :(

~Enjoy them
Click to expand...

yeah.. you mean .. enjoy them "while you can".. at least until he get's the head-fi bug... then he'll be upgrading every couple weeks :D
 
magnetik said:
yeah.. you mean .. enjoy them "while you can".. at least until he get's the head-fi bug. :D
Click to expand...
Haha, yea. Well said!

Half the time I wonder how many people buy headphones in ther budget (especially sub 100$)........ and just keep them for any length of time.
Once you know what's out there.... well........... it's a sickness.
 
towert7 said:
Haha, yea. Well said!

Half the time I wonder how many people buy headphones in ther budget (especially sub 100$)........ and just keep them for any length of time.
Once you know what's out there.... well........... it's a sickness.
Click to expand...


Hehe I dont have the $$$ to keep upgrading every couple weeks :)


Battlefield 2 sounds amazingly different in EAX 5.0 with these headphones. I feel like I am on a real battlefield or something. Also all the guys I play with sound different when we use teamspeak lol
 
Anime_Fan said:
Hehe I dont have the $$$ to keep upgrading every couple weeks :)
Click to expand...

hehe.. that's the problem... soon you will see yourself eaten ramen noodles, skipping out on lunch, and not super sizing your combos. :D
 
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