Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?
- Thread starter Random Guy Esq.
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Man of Honour
Got the NAD
Not quite sure what to say other than how can NAD justify £699 for an all plastic solid state when this Topping is all metal, £219, and sounds on par?!
The really cool part is the remote can control whatever media is playing on the PC, and there are lots of settings to play with too. I like that it remembers the volume for both headphones out and speakers, so you don't have to faff around changing levels when plugging in headphones.
Like with all solid state amps, gotta leave it on for 30 mins so it warms up, that's when the sound is optimum
Not quite sure what to say other than how can NAD justify £699 for an all plastic solid state when this Topping is all metal, £219, and sounds on par?!
The really cool part is the remote can control whatever media is playing on the PC, and there are lots of settings to play with too. I like that it remembers the volume for both headphones out and speakers, so you don't have to faff around changing levels when plugging in headphones.
Like with all solid state amps, gotta leave it on for 30 mins so it warms up, that's when the sound is optimum
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Asus Xonar D2X(£30) -> Fosi BT30D(£63) -> some old Sony speakers I saved from scrapyard(£5), 3-way, really nice and balanced sound, + 200W Jamo subwoofer(£0) - turned all the way down 
So my sound system cost me £98
So my sound system cost me £98
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My PC audio is the most ridiculous thing ever atm
1200€ RME ADI-2 into some 20€ Logitechs, or occasionally I'll use my Hifiman Sundara. Has to be said, you'll never hear 20€ sound so good..
Eyeing up either Genelec 8010 or iLoud Micro Monitors as an upgrade.
1200€ RME ADI-2 into some 20€ Logitechs, or occasionally I'll use my Hifiman Sundara. Has to be said, you'll never hear 20€ sound so good..
Eyeing up either Genelec 8010 or iLoud Micro Monitors as an upgrade.
Get the iloud MTM monitors not the normal micro monitors as they are so much better and much better than the Genelec 8010's.
iLoud MTM MKII
iLoud MTM MKII high-resolution compact studio monitor with more efficient drivers and twice the processing power to turn any space into the ideal mixing and mastering setup
www.ikmultimedia.com
Soldato
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- 6 Sep 2016
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Fit them to the side of the monitor. Speakers low down will sound crap
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My latest purchase is a S.M.S.L C200 DAC/AMP (£175). I have enough inputs where I need more than one DAC/AMP and I felt this was good choice (Windows PC, MiSTer, TV Opt. and now a Linux PC) and can relegate my SBX G6 to be more of a floating device when required (or sell on).
Crystal clear output. My gut feeling based on the reviews is that the C200, Topping DX3 Pro+, iFi Zen DAC V2 and Fiio K7 are all largely interchangeable where it's just about features and the sound is reasonable indistinguishable. There's probably other DAC/AMPs in this category too (i.e. the Fiio K5 Pro).
Did test with the PS5 which is advertises working with and whilst it does it still suffers from the 50%-less power issue so volume has to be run much higher (not that I bought it for this). Negatives are that a lot of controls are remote dependant with no easy way to change them without (i.e. input selection) and the power lead (a simple kettle lead) is stupidly short. Bit of a pain to make that work.
Overall impressive though.
Crystal clear output. My gut feeling based on the reviews is that the C200, Topping DX3 Pro+, iFi Zen DAC V2 and Fiio K7 are all largely interchangeable where it's just about features and the sound is reasonable indistinguishable. There's probably other DAC/AMPs in this category too (i.e. the Fiio K5 Pro).
Did test with the PS5 which is advertises working with and whilst it does it still suffers from the 50%-less power issue so volume has to be run much higher (not that I bought it for this). Negatives are that a lot of controls are remote dependant with no easy way to change them without (i.e. input selection) and the power lead (a simple kettle lead) is stupidly short. Bit of a pain to make that work.
Overall impressive though.
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Bought my third gaming headset of the year as they were so cheap (forth if you include the HD 560S, which is getting a bit silly).
Anyway the Epos H6Pro (open); which I managed to get for £54.99. I know these aren't audiophile and have some tuning issues but having already got the EPOS + Drop PC38X & H6Pro (closed) earlier in the year I thought why not. One thing I love about the H6Pro line is the comfort & build quality. The lack of clamp, comfort, good stock pads, reasonable weight and perfect length cable means I pick these up a lot in comparison to my better sounding headphones. It's one of the things which don't tend to get flagged enough in review of headphones/headset, namely just how important comfort is when gaming. Recently I've been playing a lot of Steam Deck and Switch and these work so well with those (i.e. easy to drive, no Amp required, keep the USB-C ports available for charging and don't have to worry about wireless) and sound good enough. Games like Brotato don't require the best soundstage, separation or detail.
Anyway the Epos H6Pro (open); which I managed to get for £54.99. I know these aren't audiophile and have some tuning issues but having already got the EPOS + Drop PC38X & H6Pro (closed) earlier in the year I thought why not. One thing I love about the H6Pro line is the comfort & build quality. The lack of clamp, comfort, good stock pads, reasonable weight and perfect length cable means I pick these up a lot in comparison to my better sounding headphones. It's one of the things which don't tend to get flagged enough in review of headphones/headset, namely just how important comfort is when gaming. Recently I've been playing a lot of Steam Deck and Switch and these work so well with those (i.e. easy to drive, no Amp required, keep the USB-C ports available for charging and don't have to worry about wireless) and sound good enough. Games like Brotato don't require the best soundstage, separation or detail.
I bought some HD660S2 a few weeks ago and the laptop/audio interface I have wasn't driving them. Your review on the Topping + what I've seen online, made me purchase the DX3 Pro+. Total game changer for £200.Got the NAD
Not quite sure what to say other than how can NAD justify £699 for an all plastic solid state when this Topping is all metal, £219, and sounds on par?!
The really cool part is the remote can control whatever media is playing on the PC, and there are lots of settings to play with too. I like that it remembers the volume for both headphones out and speakers, so you don't have to faff around changing levels when plugging in headphones.
Like with all solid state amps, gotta leave it on for 30 mins so it warms up, that's when the sound is optimum
Man of Honour
Not bad at all! I know if I ever get bigger cans down the line then I can just add a DX to the MX3s if I find that I need more amplification. Having the option in this modular way is kinda neat for sure.
Currently running a pair of HyperX Cloud Orbit S aka Audeze Mobius which is pretty decent but prone to breaking. In fairness my first pair which did break in the hinge was replaced without a hassle directly by HyperX so the costumer experience has been stellar, can't say the same for local store where I bought them who refused arguing that I broke them on purpose.. like are you that daft ? Sure I'll just go ahead and risk it and break a 270 pound(at the time) headset for what reason?!?
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A few days on and bad news; I'm sending the S.M.S.L C200 back.
As I've been spending more time with it I've become aware of static noise over USB, when using headphone out. Pops and crackles when waiting between sounds, particularly evident surfing YouTube via the browser. And really evident on low impedance/easy-to-drive headphone/sets like the PC38X. I did try the C200 with my Windows 11 PC and (new) Minisforum UM480 RX (running Fedora 39) and it behaves the same on both. Even tried a USB cable with a ferrite core and that didn't make much difference either. So a massive shame as the S.M.S.L was a big hit otherwise.
Did try my existing SBX G6 plugged into USB (on the Windows 11 PC) and then line out to the Fiio K5 Pro and then became aware of feedback when plugged into my Edifier speakers. I've only ever used the G6 with headphones so this has made me wonder if I just have really noisy USB sockets. Although the Fiio K5 Pro doesn't seem to care what it's plugged into and works flawlessly on headphones or speakers. I don't know if the separate power pack helps with this.
Not sure what to go for next (with two USB inputs and 2 Optical I need two DACs). That said I think the new Fiio K11 is looking the best fit. Replacement for the K5 series, powerful and will easily power my low end stuff, separate power brick again and good early reviews.
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Yea, probably. I would have said no, until the G6 started to do that constant noise over my speakers. Although I tested that very quickly, just using a cheap wire to hand, after having given up on the SMSL.
What's a bit odd is that I did try the SMSL C200 with two different PCs, with different plug sockets, USB leads, moving it around etc. And a ferrite core as mentioned. With the C200 I'd just hear the small pops and ticks between sounds on both PCs and only over headphones not with the speakers. I'd also hear the mobile phone signal (something I haven't heard in years). So hence my suspicion that anything that has an internal power supply is more likely to pick up static and noise in my setup.
Thank you for the suggestion. I did read on head-fi about the iFi Defender (& Silencer) and that might be my next route if the (likely) incoming Fiio K11 exhibits the same behaviour. There is a risk that the SMSL isn't at fault and the issue is my PCs but given it's so new and in a return window I'd think I'd rather just something else for now. At this point given my Fiio K5 Pro and G6 don't exhibit the same behaviour that makes me wonder.
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See how you go I guess.
I had very apparent GPU noise from my setup until I stuck that in. Works like a charm. Probably over priced for what it is and I'm sure you can get something cheaper to essentially split the data and power.
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I found a thread last night on headfi about solutions for eliminating USB noise and many of the solutions didn't look 'cheap'. One of the options was $175.
Noise enters the DAC in two ways, either from the AC (mains) or from the source.
You need to connect your DAC using optical, as this will galvanically isolate the source input. There are also some galvanic USB isolation adapters if staying with USB.
It's also possible the noise you hear is coming from the AC mains. Do you have the DAC connected on the same power strip as the computer? It could be noise generated from the PC's PSU that's injected back into the mains (better quality PSU's solve this), then this noise entering into the DAC via the mains.
Someone mentioned noise only happening when the GPU was at load. To counter this you use Ferrite cores on the internal DC power cables connecting to the GPU, this helps stop noise coming back from the GPU and entering the computers PSU.
Associate
Thanks for the reply.
I did try the SMSL with two different PCs (one has a Corsair RMx Series RM750x & the other is a new Minisforum UM480 RX with 65W external power brick). Both the same. Tried different plug sockets (The PC is on it's own socket different from the DAC/AMP), different usb cables. Not really static but pops and crackles when the sound isn't playing. I do wonder if another possibility is the internal PSU or shielding on the SMSL playing up, which might explain the mobile phone interference too? Quite a few forums posts where internal PSUs on DACs like the SMSL, Topping etc. can misbehave.
The G6 is a 'humming' like static noise on the line out only. It may have always done this but in the 3 yrs or so I've owned it I'be only ever used it with headphones and for this it's fine. So not a big issue.
Ideally I'd solve the USB issue because between two PCs, a MiSTer and my TV I already have enough inputs (2 optical, 2 USB) to fully utilise two DAC/AMPs. A move to a third optical would mean a switcher or another DAC/AMP which isn't ideal.
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