Xonar DGX vs SBZ to drive Philips Fidelio X1?

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sunchaser

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Hi people,

I´m on the verge of a pc-upgrade.
As gaming sound and music is very important to me, headphones and soundcard will also be replaced.
My decade-old Sennheisers HD 580s are literally falling apart (bless them) and i had enough (driver) problems with my Soundblaster Audigy Gamer that it´s going too (adding to that it doesn´t have a dedicated headphone port).
The choice of headphones is set to the Philips Fidelio X1.

My question is : which soundcard is best to drive the X1 for gaming?
My current choice is the Asus Xonar DGX but also read good things about the Creative Sound Blaster Z.
Does the SBZ have a better headphone amp?

I mostly play FPS games (though not on a competitive level) and always via headphones.
What´s important to me is that the headphone amp is suficient to drive the X1 (don´t want to buy a separate amp) and that the gaming sounds and music are immersive, cinematic and bassy enough (though no overwhelming bass).

Thanks on any advice,
Joseph
 
Thanks on your input.

Could you explain exactly why the Z is better?
Is it true that it has a better headphone amp?

Thanks.
 
It has a better headphone amp. It sounds better, and it has much better positional audio in games.

The Xonar DGx is good, just the Z is better.
 
reaper12 said:
Have both sound cards. Creative Z is way better, especially for gaming.
Click to expand...

I can also verify that Asus soundcards lack a warranty like most of their equipment. Even more reason to buy a Creative card.
 
Thanks on the heads-up, have a few more questions.

- Impedance :

The Fidelio has 30 Ohm.
The DGX´s headphone amp is optimized for 32-150 Ohm.
The SBZ´s can go up to 600 Ohm.
How do all these numbers relate to each other?
In other words, what is Impedance and how much does my soundcard need for the Fidelio?

- Positional audio :

Forgot to mention this but is pretty important to me too since i play a lot online (CSGO, BF) and on lan parties.
Can anyone confirm this feature works better on the SBZ?

- Higher-end cards :

Both SB and Asus have higher-end cards with better circuitry/amps but they´re generally much more expensive.
For someone only playing games with headphones, would buying one of these bring a noticeable improvement to justify their higher price tag?

Cheers!
 
Sb zxr has no issues driving my 600 ohm cans and drives them clean with great detail. Get the version with headphone amp and you'll be a happy camper.
 
sunchaser said:
Thanks on the heads-up, have a few more questions.

- Impedance :

The Fidelio has 30 Ohm.
The DGX´s headphone amp is optimized for 32-150 Ohm.
The SBZ´s can go up to 600 Ohm.
How do all these numbers relate to each other?
In other words, what is Impedance and how much does my soundcard need for the Fidelio?

- Positional audio :

Forgot to mention this but is pretty important to me too since i play a lot online (CSGO, BF) and on lan parties.
Can anyone confirm this feature works better on the SBZ?

- Higher-end cards :

Both SB and Asus have higher-end cards with better circuitry/amps but they´re generally much more expensive.
For someone only playing games with headphones, would buying one of these bring a noticeable improvement to justify their higher price tag?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Sorry, you don't seem to be reading my posts.

Creative Z is better than the Asus DGx in everyway.

I specifically mentioned the positional audio in my last post.

No point in going for the higher models if you are just gaming. You will notice no difference.
 
Hey reaper,

Did read your post and appreciate your input, thanks again.
Just wanted to see if there are more people to confirm.
I´m still in the dark on Impedance though :confused:

Cheers,
Joseph
 
sunchaser said:
Hey reaper,

Did read your post and appreciate your input, thanks again.
Just wanted to see if there are more people to confirm.
I´m still in the dark on Impedance though :confused:

Cheers,
Joseph
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry to much about impedance. It's basically a measure of hard it is to drive the headphones. Your Fidelio's are pretty easy to drive so even onboard audio would be able to get decent sound from them. It's not something that you should worry about at all when it comes to gaming.

In fact, if you are only gaming, I would not have bought the Fidelio's at all. They are a good headphone just not the best headphone for gaming.
 
They are AMAZING for positional audio and can still double for watching movies and music (they have some "fun sound" in them), I'd say they are the best option if you have the money to spend. I tried a few other headphones that were slightly more accurate for positional audio but its the kind of stuff that really only comes up in testing and would only matter if you were a professional counter strike player (do those still exist?).

I'd rather have slightly more bass and a warmer experience then a harsh more accurate headphone since I only keep one pair of headphones.
 
Creative all day long. They have plenty of power for those headphones. The Z series is the best source for gaming atm. They just do positional audio for headphones better than anything in their price range.
 
I´ve done quite some research on the headphones and the X1s look ideal for my purposes.
It remains a subjective decision of course.
Can always return them if i´m not content.

As for the soundcard, i´v changed my preference from Asus to the SBZ.
Reasons besides the better (positional) audio :

-dedicated headphone port so you can keep your headphones plugged in all the time and your speakers as well, changing between them with a single mouse click.
- up to 600 ohm (vs 150 on the DGX)
- comes with a good mic

I´m thinking going for the SBZx because of the included extension module with volume control and built-in beam-forming microphone.

One final question : would the extension interfere in any way with the sound coming to my headphones?

Thanks on you help guys, appreciate it.
 
Surprisingly, the SBZ (and the SBZx that I recently bought) are surprisingly potent little sound cards. The change in quality is noticeable and it sounds fantastic. And the headphone amp is surprisingly powerful. I've got a pair of Beyerdynamic T90's at 250Ohms that sound fantastic on the SBZx. I don't notice a difference with the extension, and it does add utility to the card. It looks smart and is useful, so the extra cost may or may not be worth it to you. I think it was. I haven't had a dedicated sound card in ages, and holy crap was this worth it!
 
sunchaser said:
I´ve done quite some research on the headphones and the X1s look ideal for my purposes.
It remains a subjective decision of course.
Can always return them if i´m not content.

As for the soundcard, i´v changed my preference from Asus to the SBZ.
Reasons besides the better (positional) audio :

-dedicated headphone port so you can keep your headphones plugged in all the time and your speakers as well, changing between them with a single mouse click.
- up to 600 ohm (vs 150 on the DGX)
- comes with a good mic

I´m thinking going for the SBZx because of the included extension module with volume control and built-in beam-forming microphone.

One final question : would the extension interfere in any way with the sound coming to my headphones?

Thanks on you help guys, appreciate it.
Click to expand...

You forgot one thing, The SBZ sounds better too.

About the extension, lots of people on various forums have had problem with the extension module. Save your money and if you need a longer lead by a decent 3.5 mm extension cable.

Headphones, Yeah they are a nice headphone. Going to throw a curve ball in because this is probably one headphone you didn't consider and that's the Creative Aurvana Live 2. The First version of the CAL's were amazing phones for the price and were good for both music and gaming. Version 2 improves on the original in every way. I am only mentioning these because gaming seems to be more important than music to you.
 
Since the SBZ was 78€ and the SBZx only 100€ via Creative´s online European store, i went for the SBZx since i like the extension module (a quick search coudn´t reproduce the issues mentioned with the ACM).

Philips Fiddelio X1 ordered here in Belgium for 219€, much cheaper than other countries and even Amazon.
Guess because Philips is so nearby? (Dutch company).

Thanks again all on your input, helped a lot!
 
You're going to love those Philips X1's. Magical for gaming and excellent for everything else. And they look good to boot!
 
@sunchaser

Did you end up getting the Fidelio X1? Which soundcard did you end up powering them with? Let us know your thoughts on it!
 
Initially, I bought the SBZx and coupled it with the X1.
I liked the sound signature of the X1, very cinematic both for games and movies.
But in the end returned them to go back to a Sennheiser, namely the HD 598.
The 598s are more comfortable in my opinion and i like their sound signature a bit more.
It's all personal and some might not even hear a difference but i'm happy i did, maybe i was just so used to the Sennheiser signature after a decade of use that it was hard to change.
Both headphones highly recommended though.

Cheers,
Joseph
 
you dont notice and extremelly highter volume with SB-Z and Fidelio ?

SB-Z you cant set the amplification, u will have evertytimes 600ohm permamently.
 
yes, the SBZ amp is very strong but all you have to do to counter that is set your sound level low in windows.
i have it at about 25% most of the time and then use the included SBZ volume switch (or via my K70 keyboard) to increase/decrease ingame volume.
imo, it´s better to have a too strong sound amp since that you can set lower as you please, than to have a too weak sound amp since in that case you can´t do anything about it.

no problems at all so far, great combo, great sound
i´m glad i switched to the HD598 as they´re also great for movies
 
Ok but if you move the keyboard roller you can have a good volume range or just touch the key roller the volume can be too high in one instant ?

And the extreme amplification dont change the sound ? I know that using an extreme amplification the bass and mid-bass of the HP should be different than natural sound.
 
no, it works perfectly,
both on the Corsair K70 as on the included SBZ volume controller

the amp doesnt change the sound no.
if it´s too loud and distorted all you have to do is turn down the volume bro :)
 
I stream to Twitch.tv sometimes, so I set my maximum volume at 80% for their benefit. For me listening to headphones, this is entirely too loud, but perfect for my audience. Then I use the control module to turn the volume down to say 20% for my headphones. My audience gets 80% volume which is distortion free and makes them happy. I get the ability to adjust the full volume spectrum with the control module independent of the volume level in Windows.

Win win for me.
 
sunchaser said:
the amp doesnt change the sound no.
if it´s too loud and distorted all you have to do is turn down the volume bro :)
Click to expand...
22ohm permanent is good only for hp with around 150-170ohm ( 22 * 8 ).
for a 30ohm is too high and make bass and mid bass loose and boosted.

Windows mixer you keep to 25% with Fidelio or with actually Sennheiser ( 50ohm, almost the double of X1 ) ?
Many people keep it around 10%, not so wonderful to use.

if you have an HiFi ( High Fidelity ) headphone like X1 is a shame to use this sound card because the sound will no longer faithful.
it is like to buy an IPS professional display and use with a wrong color profile.
 
dude i've told you enough times the sound is great, no distortion at all.

if you know things better without even having the hardware yourself,
i don't see any more reason to give further advice
 
sunchaser said:
dude i've told you enough times the sound is great, no distortion at all.

if you know things better without even having the hardware yourself,
i don't see any more reason to give further advice
Click to expand...

have you compared the audio with and without SB-Z ?
 
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