Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

mrk said:
People with older amps that sound great but want to add modern connection then something like these DDC re clockers seem a great inexpensive option:

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I've never used one of these re-clockers, but can confirm jitter and clock timings make a difference.

My Yamaha CD-S2100's have DPLL (Digital Phase-Locked Loop) bandwidth adjustment that adjusts signal timings for each source and small adjustments in audio quality can be made. Basically you match the timings to best suit the digital source.

Also staying on the CD-S2100 I use ASIO to connect to PC's / HTPC's and ASIO sounds better and does not suffer jitter the same as say optical out from a PC into the same device.
 
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I’ve been using the Focusrite solo USB with the AT2020 mic as I like the direct audio it does so you can hear yourself through the headphones.

Just out of curiosity, can I do any better for audio quality without spending a fortune?

I also have the BeyerDynamic 1990 Pro headphones.
 
Just seen that Sennheiser have released a £40 gaming microphone for HD500 / HD620s (also now on offer for £200).

For £240 total it should be a pretty amazing gaming headset.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Just seen that Sennheiser have released a £40 gaming microphone for HD500 / HD620s (also now on offer for £200).

For £240 total it should be a pretty amazing gaming headset.
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Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

I might have to eat my words....Apple music do sound different....is it better? Well, I was listening to Gracie Abrams still and I thought I would use Apple Music today, walking home with Apple dongle and Hexa....One of the songs I have listened to a lot of times in the past 2 months playing...
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk

HD 500 BAM | Sennheiser United Kingdom

Sennheiser HD 500 BAM – boom mic for headphones, delivering outstanding voice clarity, easy plug-and-play setup, and perfect compatibility for superior audio.
www.sennheiser-hearing.com www.sennheiser-hearing.com
 
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On that note I need to try a pair of HD620s for gaming - though I don't generally rate closed back for gaming but they supposedly have a decent soundstage.
 
Rroff said:
On that note I need to try a pair of HD620s for gaming - though I don't generally rate closed back for gaming but they supposedly have a decent soundstage.
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I need closed for late night noise. My Sennheiser PC363D's are still going strong, though they must be well over 10 years old now. Replaced the cushions earlier this year and that's all.
 
I sold the black K13 R2R and ordered myself a silver one because colour coordination on the desktop is important :cool:

I'm also going to be using it as the main DAC/amp until the X9 Special edition arrives probably December time.

I guess this highlights just how good the K13 R2R is, I'm not using any EQ or processing modes on either amp, just letting the DAC/Amp stages do their thing via pure hardware tuning alone and it's great. How little desk space it takes up is also remarkable, even if stacked with the new linear power supply and then sat next to the Topping power amp they combined will still be more compact than the X9 lol

Still hopeful that Luxsin do an integrated amp that has everything so no need to have a dedicated power amp, retain the specs of the X9, add passive outputs, call it a day. Yes I am still annoyed the K13 has no 12v triggers... Although maybe that new linear PSU will have 12v trigger.
 
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No info yet but it might be black and it might have a window on the lid to see inside, that's all that was mentioned previously
 
Assuming it ocmes in black only and not silver too, but the K13 R2R with the linear power supply is probably going to be my end goal as I'm a fan of the R2R sound
 
Only one way to find out, remember this is a pre-amp too with a fairly decently powered headphone amp stage so quite a bit of balanced amplification at play regardless of the DAC stage. The low noise power supply from iFi on the K11 R2R did make a small difference to soundstage for example too.

Edit*

The silver shade of the K13 R2R is slightly brighter silver compared to the other silver items which is slightly annoying,. but it is not a major annoyance lol.

2025.11.06_1908-56_00027.jpg


That space saving though...
 
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So tonight I watched a full movie via the K13, previously I did not do this, just music and TV shows. Swapping between X9 and K13 revealed something interesting, in NOS mode on the K13 (with EQ set to Off) and full bypass mode on the X9 inc the DAC filters, the K13 seems to have a deeper handle of the low end FR in cinematic through my speakers with a noticeably (though not hugely) different stereo image presentation. Whilst the cinematic bass certainly lends better for movie watching (and gaming).

For stereo image it seems to be doing the mix decoding differently to the AKM Velvet DAC in the X9 which is resulting in this observation. Neither is better or worse than the other, it's just different, I think I prefer movies via the K13 as a result and I think this is due to the movies being naturally 5.1 or 7.1 and being down-mixed into a stereo stream via LAV decoder (example, tonight's movie was Atmos 5.1 eac3 source being mixed to 2.0 PCM for, same sample rate and same 32-bit float depth) in the player.

I guess the conclusion is that if you are not using any of the tuning options, DAC filters and so on and just relying on pure hardware, then K13 may be preferred as a DAC and pre-amp vs an AKM (and ESS really since I've had the DX5 II as well). I also think that R2R distortion lends itself extremely well with visual media like movies where the cinematics feel more authentic when accompanied by this kind of sound signature, like film grain in movies enhancing the experience on screen.

I did not notice the same differences when either was used as a headphones amp playing the same things, they still remain too close for one to win over the other outright if we are talking just headphones, and I don't think the X9's headphone output sounds £700 better than the K13 R2R still which is a positive nod to FiiO here given the price, though the X9's price covers all of its features which most amps costing even more don't even have, so people who do use those features will probably get better value out of that side of things.

Still using the same connections, USB (power isolated) from PC, XLR to power amp.
 
Because I’m currently shuffling my main work systems around like musical chairs, a mcintosh 252 and magnepan speakers. Tis a silly setup…
 
I'm quite into my audio so it varies, I'll often use just my technics az100 earbuds, as they sound very good and I can talk with them or use my ifi go or ibasso dc 7 pro with my shure srh1850's with memory foam pads for supreme comfort.

I have my wharfedale rubiance speakers, and denon avr1802 but truth be told it's total overkill for gaming, so it's reserved for music and films really.
 
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Anyone still running the schiit gunnr? I'm still tempted to get one and ditch the G6 as my portable/PS5 setup.

What's the go to IEM for music and gaming these days?
 
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