Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

[Nemiyen]

I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD 700 headphones (2nd hand - eBay) connected to my PC using USB to a Chord Mojo and using the EQ here:

Sennheiser HD 700 Flat Frequency Response Preset

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sen...ualizerapo-config-preset-siblence-fix.738496/

Listening to this, it sounds great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zFvGxiYwoc

The difference between standard and the EQ settings are massive. I like the sound being "brighter" but not sure if that's how it's meant to be but hey-ho!

 

[The_Arbiter]

thanks for trying that and replying. was checking out the beyers too and the only thing putting me off the 702 is that headband since am a skinhead decisions, decisions.

fiio e10k amp be good enough for either?

I guess so, never used a Fiio myself but have known the cheaper ones to be quite reputable. Should bring out some bass, and there's plenty of reviews with headphones of the same level which should help you decide. Though it's a DAC also so *should* improve your sound over the motherboard, but the reviews say it has helped significantly. But if you have a high end motherboard you may have a good dac/amp already?

I just did a quick test in Stalker through my DAC (Arcam rpac) which i normally use for music (not gaming as it's stereo), and with Windows Sonic for Headphones turned on i noticed some directional improvement. This was with my DT990s 32ohm, (they come in different power requirements, 32ohm is lowest, K702 is about 55ohms IIRC?). I could test with the K702s but no need in this regard. I switch between the two headphones now and again. Prefer the Beyers, and really like the high end Beyers for music also.

However, if this is primarily gaming i'd be inclined to go with a USB or internal soundcard that supports surround decoding. Typical, all the ones on OC website are out of stock! This will really bring out the soundstage and positioning of either headphone.

And just for reference, the DT990 Premium (not the pro), has an upgraded headband for more comfort. I don't any issue with any headbands for bald people tbf. Comfort will be personal preference due to headsize, bald or not.

When i game with headphones or watch a movie, it will always be with a surround decoder.

 

[Ree]

I guess so, never used a Fiio myself but have known the cheaper ones to be quite reputable. Should bring out some bass, and there's plenty of reviews with headphones of the same level which should help you decide. Though it's a DAC also so *should* improve your sound over the motherboard, but the reviews say it has helped significantly. But if you have a high end motherboard you may have a good dac/amp already?

I just did a quick test in Stalker through my DAC (Arcam rpac) which i normally use for music (not gaming as it's stereo), and with Windows Sonic for Headphones turned on i noticed some directional improvement. This was with my DT990s 32ohm, (they come in different power requirements, 32ohm is lowest, K702 is about 55ohms IIRC?). I could test with the K702s but no need in this regard. I switch between the two headphones now and again. Prefer the Beyers, and really like the high end Beyers for music also.

However, if this is primarily gaming i'd be inclined to go with a USB or internal soundcard that supports surround decoding. Typical, all the ones on OC website are out of stock! This will really bring out the soundstage and positioning of either headphone.

And just for reference, the DT990 Premium (not the pro), has an upgraded headband for more comfort. I don't any issue with any headbands for bald people tbf. Comfort will be personal preference due to headsize, bald or not.

When i game with headphones or watch a movie, it will always be with a surround decoder.

think i'll go for the beyers as that leather strap just doesn't look comfortable imo for sitting for hours on end so to speak would deffo prefer something padded. i have the realtek 1200 on my mobo if i remember correctly no idea if thats good enough.

 

[The_Arbiter]

think i'll go for the beyers as that leather strap just doesn't look comfortable imo for sitting for hours on end so to speak would deffo prefer something padded. i have the realtek 1200 on my mobo if i remember correctly no idea if thats good enough.

Not sure if allowed to link to other forums, but searching Realtek 1200 i found a thread which says the 1200 is alright/okay for virtual surround sound with headphones, and better than mine. So make sure those drivers up to date. But a dedicated dac will still improve the sound, again that thread i read mentions it.

Few last possibly helpful points.
The headphones weigh about the same, i just weighed them on a digital scale as best as i could.
The 990 premiums also have a straight cable as opposed to the coiled pro cable. The k702 is detachable however. But the 990 comes with a real nice case. The 990 has adjustable cups, k702 doesn't as uses a stronger clamp- less weight on top of head. Softer and smaller pads on 990.
990, more solid quick bass
K702, more soundstage

See if you can borrow, buy/demo/return an external soundcard.

 

[Ree]

Not sure if allowed to link to other forums, but searching Realtek 1200 i found a thread which says the 1200 is alright/okay for virtual surround sound with headphones, and better than mine. So make sure those drivers up to date. But a dedicated dac will still improve the sound, again that thread i read mentions it.

Few last possibly helpful points.
The headphones weigh about the same, i just weighed them on a digital scale as best as i could.
The 990 premiums also have a straight cable as opposed to the coiled pro cable. The k702 is detachable however. But the 990 comes with a real nice case. The 990 has adjustable cups, k702 doesn't as uses a stronger clamp- less weight on top of head. Softer and smaller pads on 990.
990, more solid quick bass
K702, more soundstage

See if you can borrow, buy/demo/return an external soundcard.

yeah i could always return the sound card if the difference isn't that noticeable which is probably unlikely. thanks for all your input it's appreciated and sorry to op for hijacking your thread.

 

[EsaT]

Currently Sound Blaster ZxR, which I got second hand, feeding...
>
Objective2, or actually also second one for when having two different headphones connected or comparing between them.
>
Primarily using Beyer DT990 Edition/Premium, after using couple years AKG K712, which isn't as comfortable.
For neutral reference I have also second hand bought K702.
(+ retired tape keeping parts from falling Sennheiser HD595)

With Creative having B-stock at nice price recently ordered Sound BlasterX G6, so probably going to retire that ZxR.
Customizable HRTF would sure be nice, but Sound Blaster X3 is rather pricy for level of its DAC/headphone output.
And who knows if especially PS5 brings audio back into focus in gaming and there will be new products shuffling.
Sound aspect of PC gaming is currently like graphics in start of 3D graphics cards before 3Dfx Voodoo...

what would some of you guys recommend for about £150 headset wise used only for gaming. been seeing the akg 702 mentioned a lot on here but dunno if i'd need to get a amp to run them as i only have onboard. should mention am no audiophile.

Unless wanting above neutral bass, K702 is as about as good as it gets for gaming.
Though like any headphone they need binaural sound to give proper immersion and are also more power hungry than average headphones.
Impedance doesn't tell anything concretic about that and they actually need about twice the electric power per dB than 250 ohm Beyers.
If wanting good balance between fun bass and details then Beyer DT990 is major amount better.
Good old manually adjustable head band is also more likely to fit different heads.

But if you have noisy environment these open headphones aren't good:
Except for higher frequencies they let environment's noise completely through.
So for noisier environment closed headphone like Beyer DT770 is lot better.

yeah i could always return the sound card if the difference isn't that noticeable which is probably unlikely. thanks for all your input it's appreciated and sorry to op for hijacking your thread.

Once having headphones it's easy to test binaural sound simulation with gameplay recordings in Youtube.
Like first couple minutes of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_20T8x_OI

Stereo from game:
https://youtu.be/Y6ROujJ8Ae8?t=50s
Binaural sound simulation:
https://youtu.be/Y6ROujJ8Ae8?t=6m20s

Though if your head shape differs more from average that's major complication:
We hear in 3D because shape of the head (+pinnae) causes direction dependant changes to signal received from sound source by both ears.
Hence binaural cues modeled for average head shape might be inaccurate for you decreasing positional accuracy.

So far Creative's Super X-Fi is only customizable HRTF available for average consumer and even that is found only in Sound Blaster X3.
Also its configurability is somewhat lackluster.

 

[Ree]

Currently Sound Blaster ZxR, which I got second hand, feeding...
>
Objective2, or actually also second one for when having two different headphones connected or comparing between them.
>
Primarily using Beyer DT990 Edition/Premium, after using couple years AKG K712, which isn't as comfortable.
For neutral reference I have also second hand bought K702.
(+ retired tape keeping parts from falling Sennheiser HD595)

With Creative having B-stock at nice price recently ordered Sound BlasterX G6, so probably going to retire that ZxR.
Customizable HRTF would sure be nice, but Sound Blaster X3 is rather pricy for level of its DAC/headphone output.
And who knows if especially PS5 brings audio back into focus in gaming and there will be new products shuffling.
Sound aspect of PC gaming is currently like graphics in start of 3D graphics cards before 3Dfx Voodoo...



Unless wanting above neutral bass, K702 is as about as good as it gets for gaming.
Though like any headphone they need binaural sound to give proper immersion and are also more power hungry than average headphones.
Impedance doesn't tell anything concretic about that and they actually need about twice the electric power per dB than 250 ohm Beyers.
If wanting good balance between fun bass and details then Beyer DT990 is major amount better.
Good old manually adjustable head band is also more likely to fit different heads.

But if you have noisy environment these open headphones aren't good:
Except for higher frequencies they let environment's noise completely through.
So for noisier environment closed headphone like Beyer DT770 is lot better.

Once having headphones it's easy to test binaural sound simulation with gameplay recordings in Youtube.
Like first couple minutes of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_20T8x_OI

Stereo from game:
https://youtu.be/Y6ROujJ8Ae8?t=50s
Binaural sound simulation:
https://youtu.be/Y6ROujJ8Ae8?t=6m20s

Though if your head shape differs more from average that's major complication:
We hear in 3D because shape of the head (+pinnae) causes direction dependant changes to signal received from sound source by both ears.
Hence binaural cues modeled for average head shape might be inaccurate for you decreasing positional accuracy.

So far Creative's Super X-Fi is only customizable HRTF available for average consumer and even that is found only in Sound Blaster X3.
Also its configurability is somewhat lackluster.

am definitely going for the beyers i'll have a look at the 770 but think the 990 will be fine as no noise here really and i had no idea creative did b stock. just had a look and they have a few listed with the g6 being £120 i'd need to get the pennies together for that although they do have the x-fi surround 5.1 which is in my budget range at £55 or should i just wait and get the money together for the g6 instead. thanks for your input.

 

[EsaT]

am definitely going for the beyers i'll have a look at the 770 but think the 990 will be fine as no noise here really and i had no idea creative did b stock. just had a look and they have a few listed with the g6 being £120 i'd need to get the pennies together for that although they do have the x-fi surround 5.1 which is in my budget range at £55 or should i just wait and get the money together for the g6 instead. thanks for your input.

Even keyboard noises come through loudly, if you have mechanical keyboard.
And while I haven't done any longer or side by side comparison, DT770 certainly sounded impressive for closed headphone with gaming recordings when trying it in shop year ago.
(before that I also tried Amiron Home)
Though during gaming you mostly don't go around keyboard hitting every key and hence "noise pollution" isn't as high as in writing text.

That definitely isn't Creative's B-stock price. (search "b-stock" in their UK site)

 

[Ree]

Even keyboard noises come through loudly, if you have mechanical keyboard.
And while I haven't done any longer or side by side comparison, DT770 certainly sounded impressive for closed headphone with gaming recordings when trying it in shop year ago.
(before that I also tried Amiron Home)
Though during gaming you mostly don't go around keyboard hitting every key and hence "noise pollution" isn't as high as in writing text.

That definitely isn't Creative's B-stock price. (search "b-stock" in their UK site)

yup my mistake its £75 with delivery that is much better think i'll just go ahead and get it all now. am mostly a controller user anyway so noise really isn't an issue unless the dog is barking its balls off counts lol.

 

[bazzabear]

I've got a GSX1000 feeding a set of Edifier 2000's for speakers, and Steelseries Siberia v2's for headphones.

I went with the GSX1000 because I wanted something that could seamlessly switch between speakers and headphones without issues. My previous Soundblaster Zx was a bit of a pain, and you would often have to restart a game to get the change to take effect.

So that I can use the speakers sometimes and still be able to converse with friends I also have a 3.5mm splitter cable with from the headphones socket, with the headset and a cheapo desk mic plugged into it. This works well, as I just mute whichever mic I'm not using with the hardware switch.

I would quite like a better desk mic though, it occasionally suffers from interference from my mobile. There doesn't seem to be much available though between the £10 rubbish ones and the £60 expensive streamer ones.

 

[The_Arbiter]

I would quite like a better desk mic though, it occasionally suffers from interference from my mobile. There doesn't seem to be much available though between the £10 rubbish ones and the £60 expensive streamer ones.

The Speedlink one on OC ain't bad tbf, hard to be disappointed at the price.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/speedlink-spec-clip-on-metal-microphone-sl-8691-sbk-sp-037-sl.html

I have that modded to fit my headphones. It's noticeably not expensive quality sound wise, but it ain't bad bad.

 

[bazzabear]

The Speedlink one on OC ain't bad tbf, hard to be disappointed at the price.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/speedlink-spec-clip-on-metal-microphone-sl-8691-sbk-sp-037-sl.html

I have that modded to fit my headphones. It's noticeably not expensive quality sound wise, but it ain't bad bad.

Cheers, but really looking for a stand mic - and one with a mute switch/button too.

 

[The_Arbiter]

Cheers, but really looking for a stand mic - and one with a mute switch/button too.

Search for "desk mic" in shopping. I saw a few that *looked* okay for £20/30. But given you're paying for a stand and long cable, maybe a guard even, the actual cost of the voice processing unit will lightly be low still. I'm making a presumption there based on other hardware and you get what you pay for attitude.

 

[bazzabear]

Search for "desk mic" in shopping. I saw a few that *looked* okay for £20/30. But given you're paying for a stand and long cable, maybe a guard even, the actual cost of the voice processing unit will lightly be low still. I'm making a presumption there based on other hardware and you get what you pay for attitude.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right. At some point I'll just bite the bullet and buy an expensive one. Or ask for it as a birthday present if I can't think of anything else.
The other difficulty is I'd still like it to be relatively low profile, not one of those massive cantilever arm things the streamers use.

 

[foster grant]

I dont have a "setup" when it comes to gaming I just use headphones no mic or gaming headset either just headphones.

 

[Tiny Clanger]

With Creative having B-stock at nice price recently ordered Sound BlasterX G6

Interesting.... So, if I was minded to replace my Xonar D1 - would this be a good purchase / significant upgrade for my AKG702 & Steljes NS1 setup? Or....would I be better saving for the X3? I like the idea of customisable HRTF - but is it still in it's infancy with the X3?

 

[EsaT]

Interesting.... So, if I was minded to replace my Xonar D1 - would this be a good purchase / significant upgrade for my AKG702 & Steljes NS1 setup? Or....would I be better saving for the X3? I like the idea of customisable HRTF - but is it still in it's infancy with the X3?

SBX G6 is definitely overall better package than SB X3.
In HW quality X3 is clearly behind especialyl in headphone output and when you take G6's B-stock price into account there's no competition.
And Creative's fixed HRTF algorithm wins old bass bloaty and really echo prone Dolby Headphone of that Xonar.
First time listening of Dolby Headphone gameplay recordings was rather shocking experience and can well understand why lots of people have deemed binaural sound simulation as bad idea.

Infancy seems indeed fitting word for Creative's customizable HRTF.
It's like they don't know what to do with it basing on product selection.
Though for truly shining it would also need to be done directly from game's original 3D sound data with accurate sound source locations etc.
Let's hope PS5 succeeds and sounds are brought back into development focus in gaming like they were 15-20 years ago.

 

[EdwardTeach]

I have a xonar dg sound card and some sennheiser 598's, and I also have a couple of audioengine a2's which have been lovely desktop speakers.
The sound card is about 10yrs old, so I don't know how it compares to modern stuff.
I don't really play multiplayer on pc, but if I wanted to I have a clip on mic or could use my Sony golds.

 

[Tiny Clanger]

Thanks EsaT - appreciate your guidance. One further question though - on the Creative website the picture of the back of the G6 shows a Line/Optical Out port - which is it? Can I use a 3.5mm aux cable to connect to my speakers or is it solely an optical out - which is a problem as the NS1's don't have an optical input...

 

[Marsman]

Thanks EsaT - appreciate your guidance. One further question though - on the Creative website the picture of the back of the G6 shows a Line/Optical Out port - which is it? Can I use a 3.5mm aux cable to connect to my speakers or is it solely an optical out - which is a problem as the NS1's don't have an optical input...

It's a dual purpose 3.5mm connection that is selectable between 'line out' and 'optical out'. There is another for 'line in' and 'optical in'. For those who want to use optical, they'd use a mini toslink cable. Some sounds cards have same connection, such as Xonar D1/X.