Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

Timber said:
Will be interesting to see the reviews of the new Gynnr although I'm sure it will review very well. The problem will be most of those reviews won't be from videogamers actually using the device.
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I hope YouTubers Badseed Tech and Gadgetry Tech get review units. They seem knowledgeable, and are gaming focused. And there's always Mad Lust Envy's thread on Head-Fi. I expect a few regulars there will buy and post their thoughts.
 
von Humboldt said:
I hope YouTubers Badseed Tech and Gadgetry Tech get review units. They seem knowledgeable, and are gaming focused. And there's always Mad Lust Envy's thread on Head-Fi. I expect a few regulars there will buy and post their thoughts.
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Yea, I'm sure they'll be reviewing. Badseed Tech is PC only though, so it'll be on Joe@GadgetryTech to speak about PS5 use. He does have tools to measure total db output on PS5 and PC and has recently incorporated into reviews.

Albeit what he doesn't do which is a very simple test is try the same soundtrack (say Horizon Zero Dawn or similar - only issue being Nixxie ported on PC so not sure of the impact on audio) and play it at the same vol level on both platforms. Very quickly you can discern whether the PS5 has the 50% volume issue on that DAC/AMP which will then impact dynamic range and potentially sound. It's kinda of annoying because when he did a summary of DAC/AMPs with PS5 about a year ago where he didn't even mention the UAC 1.0 performance or USB issues. Even massive channels like Hardwarre Cannucks have touched upon the PS5's audio problems but never actually done any proper research as to why this is, or even bothered reaching out to Sony for some official specs, or confirmation on what the issue actually is (i.e. lack of drivers/APIs).
 
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I believe the G6 has this audio limit also from what I had read which is why I was looking elsewhere. I do like the thought of the quadelix 5k but as it has a battery, I'm not allowed to travel to offshore installations with it which is why I've never bought one.
 
michty_me said:
I believe the G6 has this audio limit also from what I had read which is why I was looking elsewhere. I do like the thought of the quadelix 5k but as it has a battery, I'm not allowed to travel to offshore installations with it which is why I've never bought one.
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It does.

I'm sad enough to have done a lot of A-B testing between the DAC/AMPs on PS5 and all the Creative Sound Blasters I've owned are all impacted; SBX G6, GC7 and X1. The GC7 when used with 'Smart Volume' can mitigate the issue but it's still there. Ultimately you're using more amplification on the headphone so for some that isn't even going to be heard. But when I tested the G6 on my DT 770 Pros (250 ohms) the G6 had to run in high gain (vs low for the same vol on PC) and did sound slightly 'grainy' as a result. I also find the Sound Blaster X1 (AKM 4377 chip) to be quite clean although it is definitely more 'tinny', with more apparent treble when compared to PC use. I don't know if this is an impact of UAC 1.0 vs 2.0 but it doesn't do this when used with a Switch, which is a cleaner output with no volume issues.

The S.M.S.L. C200 (when I owned it) also has the same issue. The Fiio K11 got very close in volume but tbh I need to retest as it was quickly hooked up when I first bought it. The Qudelix 5K 'host volume override' feature works. Albeit you have to reboot the device every time if you're been using it for UAC2 mode or something for music. Which can be annoying. Also interestingly they removed the term 'host volume override' from their latest version of their mobile app and just called it 'USB Mode' with 3 options Normal, PS5 or Switch.

The other area where I am unsure if there is any correlation is whether there is an impact on microphones used over the same USB connection for audio. The G6 is seemingly impacted when comparing the quality of the microphone on PS5 vs PC. Which makes me wonder if PS5 mic input is improved where it uses its own USB port (i.e. GC7 when used with Optical from the TV or HDMI splitter). The Gynnr will be able to use it's own power brick, USB C and optical inputs but will likely be limited to using one input at a time, so it won't have the trick up it's sleeve of being able to route the microphone over USB whilst playing audio via optical (something the G6 and GC7 can do). That *might* also impact microphone quality with the Gynnr with PS5. Particularly when compare to using with PC. Again it may be unlikely anyone tests to this level of detail, or if the microphone quality being likely perceived (rather than measured) as 'good enough'.

My experience is that it is harder to notice this with easier to drive headphones that have less demanding ohm ratings or higher sensitivity (SPL).
 
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Timber said:
It does.

I'm sad enough to have done a lot of A-B testing between the DAC/AMPs on PS5 and all the Creative Sound Blasters I've owned are all impacted; SBX G6, GC7 and X1. The GC7 when used with 'Smart Volume' can mitigate the issue but it's still there. Ultimately you're using more amplification on the headphone so for some that isn't even going to be heard. But when I tested the G6 on my DT 770 Pros (250 ohms) the G6 had to run in high gain (vs low for the same vol on PC) and did sound slightly 'grainy' as a result. I also find the Sound Blaster X1 (AKM 4377 chip) to be quite clean although it is definitely more 'tinny', with more apparent treble when compared to PC use. I don't know if this is an impact of UAC 1.0 vs 2.0 but it doesn't do this when used with a Switch, which is a cleaner output with no volume issues.

The S.M.S.L. C200 (when I owned it) also has the same issue. The Fiio K11 got very close in volume but tbh I need to retest as it was quickly hooked up when I first bought it. The Qudelix 5K 'host volume override' feature works. Albeit you have to reboot the device every time if you're been using it for UAC2 mode or something for music. Which can be annoying. Also interestingly they removed the term 'host volume override' from their latest version of their mobile app and just called it 'USB Mode' with 3 options Normal, PS5 or Switch.

The other area where I am unsure if there is any correlation is whether there is an impact on microphones used over the same USB connection for audio. The G6 is seemingly impacted when comparing the quality of the microphone on PS5 vs PC. Which makes me wonder if PS5 mic input is improved where it uses its own USB port (i.e. GC7 when used with Optical from the TV or HDMI splitter). The Gynnr will be able to use it's own power brick, USB C and optical inputs but will likely be limited to using one input at a time, so it won't have the trick up it's sleeve of being able to route the microphone over USB whilst playing audio via optical (something the G6 and GC7 can do). That *might* also impact microphone quality with the Gynnr with PS5. Particularly when compare to using with PC. Again it may be unlikely anyone tests to this level of detail, or if the microphone quality being likely perceived (rather than measured) as 'good enough'.

My experience is that it is harder to notice this with easier to drive headphones that have less demanding ohm ratings or higher sensitivity (SPL).
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This is a golden response and I thank you for it! I'll hold off until it's out in the wild for a large portion of people.
Good effort though in doing all that testing!
 
michty_me said:
This is a golden response and I thank you for it! I'll hold off until it's out in the wild for a large portion of people.
Good effort though in doing all that testing!
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No worries, it's just what I deduced over the years. The PS4 exhibited similar behaviour although it could do VSS or 3D over USB but only with Sony's official headsets. However it too had the massive db drop-off over USB with UAC 1.0.

Infuriating that Sony (and Microsoft) gave this generation a huge amount of audio power in terms of the AMD GPU compute units they used (Tempest 3D) but then gave it really poor connectivity; lack of proper USB Audio Class support, 'paywalled' wireless (i.e. PS Link over low-latency BT) and OS support, no support for optical and no pass-through of 3D audio over HDMI. For headphone/headset users this means you're always hitting the boundaries of these on-purpose decisions, particularly with audiophile class gear. Also because Sony didn't utilise Dolby Atmos or DTS they've made things harder for a developer to support the same standards across PC, Xbox & PlayStation. I don't think there'll ever be a perfect solution for the PS5 it's just finding something that works whether that be Sony's own proprietary offerings, using optical instead of USB or making do with whatever solution you choose. It's just mind-boggling that there's never been someone with the power to do so (i.e. Digital Foundry or similar) look into the situation much more closely. But probably reaffirms just how much audio is secondary to the visuals for so many.
 
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Timber said:
No worries, it's just what I deduced over the years. The PS4 exhibited similar behaviour although it could do VSS or 3D over USB but only with Sony's official headsets. However it too had the massive db drop-off over USB with UAC 1.0.

Infuriating that Sony (and Microsoft) gave this generation a huge amount of audio power in terms of the AMD GPU compute units they used (Tempest 3D) but then gave it really poor connectivity; lack of proper USB Audio Class support, 'paywalled' wireless (i.e. PS Link over low-latency BT) and OS support, no support for optical and no pass-through of 3D audio over HDMI. For headphone/headset users this means you're always hitting the boundaries of these on-purpose decisions, particularly with audiophile class gear. Also because Sony didn't utilise Dolby Atmos or DTS they've made things harder for a developer to support the same standards across PC, Xbox & PlayStation. I don't think there'll ever be a perfect solution for the PS5 it's just finding something that works whether that be Sony's own proprietary offerings, using optical instead of USB or making do with whatever solution you choose. It's just mind-boggling that there's never been someone with the power to do so (i.e. Digital Foundry or similar) look into the situation much more closely. But probably reaffirms just how much audio is secondary to the visuals for so many.
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I only really got into better audio when I switched back to PC gaming in 2019 so I've not really tested out much of my equipment on playstation or other consoles. I should maybe start playing about with everything and see how it all sounds.
 
Delighted to see this thread is still going, some four and a half years later! I'm going to be building a new gaming PC in early 2025, and I think I'll change up my gaming audio while I'm at it. I might simplify things, go software-free, get rid of the PS5 etc. So maybe a Drop PC38X into a small DAC/amp then.
 
Random Guy Esq. said:
Delighted to see this thread is still going, some four and a half years later! I'm going to be building a new gaming PC in early 2025, and I think I'll change up my gaming audio while I'm at it. I might simplify things, go software-free, get rid of the PS5 etc. So maybe a Drop PC38X into a small DAC/amp then.
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:thumbs up:

I think your set-up from the first post is still very relevant.
 
Random Guy Esq. said:
Cheers. It would be if the G6 hadn't died a couple of years back! One of the drivers on the Jubilees has started to give trouble now as well, so some new kit is in order.
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Indeed that's very much a reason to upgrade/change.

Funnily enough I've only recently got hold of the 58X and have been using them for odd gaming, casual PC use and music. Love the comfort and lightness of these. I suppose that's one of the downsides of the 58X is that spare parts (beyond earpads, headband padding etc.) aren't as available as the other HD 6x0 headphones and it's obviously economically less viable given their lower price. That said you can buy complete driver units for both the HD 600 & 650 for £60 currently (not including grills or the pads). So for double that you could essentially turn the 58X into either a 600/650 (6XX).
 
Timber said:
Indeed that's very much a reason to upgrade/change.

Funnily enough I've only recently got hold of the 58X and have been using them for odd gaming, casual PC use and music. Love the comfort and lightness of these. I suppose that's one of the downsides of the 58X is that spare parts (beyond earpads, headband padding etc.) aren't as available as the other HD 6x0 headphones and it's obviously economically less viable given their lower price. That said you can buy complete driver units for both the HD 600 & 650 for £60 currently (not including grills or the pads). So for double that you could essentially turn the 58X into either a 600/650 (6XX).
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Actually hadn't thought of that. I do like the comfort of the 58Xs, I must say. Something to ponder!
 
Any recommendations for Wireless Headset with mic for FPS games - cs, bf etc?

I'm happy G Pro X owner but earpads are gone and can't get replacement earpads.

Was thinking of G Pro X 2 Wireless or Audeze Maxwell '24 or something similar.
 
j4ska said:
I'm happy G Pro X owner but earpads are gone and can't get replacement earpads.
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I did a quick look and there are definitely third-party pads available for the G Pro/G Pro X from the likes of Geekria & Wicked Cushions etc. c. £15-25.

So if you just want to renew the existing pair then you should be able to.
 
I used to buy a decent addin card like a sound blaster but these days the buuilt in sound on the high end boards with an optical out made them redundant and I get a pci slot back.
 
Timber said:
I did a quick look and there are definitely third-party pads available for the G Pro/G Pro X from the likes of Geekria & Wicked Cushions etc. c. £15-25.

So if you just want to renew the existing pair then you should be able to.
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Tried both, and both are very poor - both affect sound quality :(. Was going back and forth with creative cs but can't get genuine replacements anymore.
 
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