Gamers, What's Your Audio Set Up?

Just recently switched from using t50rp mk3s and a mayflower arc to an Audioquest Nighthawk paired with a Schiit Asgard 3 + Topping E30 combo and I'm loving them. The Nighthawk feels so much better for both gaming and my types of music :)
 
I have my PC hooked up to a Marantz SR7012 with a 5.1.4 atmos set up with monitor audio silver 200 l/r, c150 centre, silver fx surround and 4x Kef R50s for atmos. Sub is an Arendal Sub 3.
 
I've sold my Essence STX, Creative G6, HD650's, DT1990's, AKG702's, Mod Mic and whilst I'm left with HD598Cs / DT770's they are just for casual use.
The issue I had with gaming is I could never get accurate positional audio, I didn't realise how bad all the above are until I found something that surprised me completely and whilst mainly only useful for gaming, I have a speaker/amp/sub combo that sounds significantly better than the HD650 and DT1990 (seems to offer the best of both worlds) so have a split setup.

Gaming: Lucid Sound LS35X (with Win 10 Xbox Wireless Adapter)
Music: Teac A-H01 / Dali Zensor Pico / BK Elec Gemini II

Of course there is room for 'upgrading':
Gaming: I will probably always look out for something with the excellent positional audio of the LucidSound that has the musicality of the other headphones.. I don't know what it is with the Lucidsound, but the positional audio is just surprisingly good.. If I back to back with any of the other headphones it's not as sharp, I can literally tell within about 15 degrees exactly where someone is coming from in PvP games and I instantly miss this. This is when not using Windows Sonic / Dolby, they make it worse. Also the mic is surprisingly good, better than the V-Moda Boom Pro and people even prefer it to my Mod Mic (now sold), it's a shame that it's just OK for music (I can't use it due to the music setup being so much better).

Music: Not sure where to go, I'm 99% happy, but I do want to audition the KEF Q350's (a bit large for my desk) and possibly the more analytical Elac Debut 2's (the B5.2 is a reasonable size) just to see if spending more can improve on something I'm already super happy with and stop me wondering what if..
 
sHo0sH said:
I've had a bit of journey with mine:

Setup 1: Astro Mixamp 5.8 > Beyerdynamic DT990 > Antlion mod mic - This was a fantastic setup great soundstage and solid bass from the Beyers even with them being an open backed set of headphones. I then decided to try some Denon D7100 which were fairly similar, but a slightly reduced soundstage and tighter bass. I also used some Sennheiser HD650's with this and some Audeze LCD2's. The latter of which was my favourite, but I just couldn't justify keeping such an expensive pair of headphones for gaming.

Setup 2: Decided to go for a console friendly setup with less wires, as whilst the mixamp 5.8 was wireless, it still needed a mic cable and chat cable for the PS4, I went with the Arcits Pro Wireless which have been great but I have now started gaming on PC again, so have just ordered

Setup 3: Hyperx Cloud Orbit (essentially Audeze Mobius, without the bluetooth or 3d head tracking) which I hope will be somewhere close to the LCD2's (arriving Thursday)
Click to expand...

Setup 3 is great. THe headphones are brilliant for music, the positional audio is great and the mic is very clear. This is the setup I would recommend after messing around with all sorts - the Ease/Price/Performance ratio is perfect (for pc gaming and hopefully the new consoles will support usb headsets)
 
Music

SDAC + Asgard 2 + LCD-2F

Picked this set up as I really couldn't justify the LCD-4 with uber expensive amps so I sold it, this LCD-2 I own I came across it by chance and made an offer after hearing it and feel I won the LCD lottery with it, fairly resolving better than the 2016 variant I had a while back and better than the LCD-2C and 2.1 I previously owned with a good timbre.

Gaming

G6 with the K612 pro, sometimes DT880 depending on which headphones are nearest. Sold the HD800 as purely for games, they didn't emulate an open environment in the same manner as a 612 due to the mid bass so were more bothersome. Music wise the 2F got more head time.


I've got some phones that just sit around

Porta pro
KSC75
AD900X
Game Ones
 
Captain said:
Swapped from AKG K702 to some DT 990 Pros and they are much better, tighter fit, more comfortable, better sound positioning too.
Click to expand...
Popped in to post my set up as it's the first time it's changed in years and this is the most recent post, uncanny.

I have been running a Beresford TC-7520 DAC and opamp rolled to a Lm4562NA with AKG Q701's for years and loved them, especially for their positioning with regards to the Q's.

Recently I built myself a WHAMMY class A headphone amp and have been loving it, this pushed me to invest in some new cans, I wasn't interested in replacing the Q's for gaming so went for some Thieaudio phantom planars. The phantoms are fully modded and i enjoy the sound but the airiness of the Q's was so missing, the Q's sound so clean and open and the Phantoms just lacked this, while telling a friend about my purchase he reminded me he had some DT990 250ohm's he didnt use any more that had barely any runtime on them and i was fortunate enough to get them for the price of a beer (when the bars open). First listen didn't inspire me, they sounded boomy, mids got lost in the bass and it felt like the driver just couldn't keep up with everything that was going on when the sub bass hit hard with them sounding closed in and not what I expected from anything even remotely open back'd. Being someone who can't leave well alone and getting them for free I immediately ripped them open and gutted them, I removed a large solid white plastic disc form the inside of the housing, a foam disc from in front of the driver which I placed back inside the housing where the white disc used to be and a small disc of foam back infront of the driver where the larger used to be, I have to say I love them now, makes me kinda wish i didn't drop 330 for the Phantoms if I'm honest.

They have plenty of punch without being boomy, they sound more open and airy though not on par with the Q's though they do fill in the gaps that the Q's lack with regards to bass and have tons of detail. I wouldn't advise someone with new ones to try this but anyone with an old pair that fancy's trying something new definitely give it a shot, warranty will be void, be warned.

So I run, a WHAMMY the DAC in the TC7520 and some modded DT990's for gaming and music, some Q701's for CSGO only and some Thieaudio Phantoms modded for music.
 
LOL, Sound blaster AE-5, via optical cable to a Sony STR-DN1080 AV Receiver to 2 x TDL Studio 10 Floor standing speakers, just too keep the neighbours happy.......its also how all of my music is played, I dont think I own a CD anymore, its all MP3 on a separate drive on my PC.
 
RME HDSPe AIO pro audio interface via optical to a Marantz AV7701 AV processor/pre amp to an InterM R300+ power amp to 2x Tannoy Super Red monitor 10B's or split off to an old HH VX150 power amp and 2x JBL control 1 pros. Sub is a home made 10" SEAS L26ROY in a 38L ported cabient with a 250W plate amp. I rarely use headphones, but currently I use either AKG K601 or Beyer DT770 pro directly out of the pre amp.

Currently in the process of building my own valve monobloc power amps to replace the interM power amp.
 
Yaayuh! said:
Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> HD650
Or
Schiit Bifrost -> Yamaha AS500 -> Wharfedale 9.1 + SW150

I have an Asus Essence STX in a box, used to use it for gaming but couldn’t be bothered to switch between stuff, wasn’t worth the hassle.
Click to expand...

Moved the HD650 over to strictly music only and bought DT880 and a ModMic.
New purchases incoming include Dynaudio BM5 MKIII and Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO, but for now when gaming I use:

Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> DT880 + ModMic USB
or
Schiit Bifrost -> Yamaha AS500 -> Wharfedale 9.1 + SW150
 
I see Razer have released their THX Spatial Audio software for everyone, at £20.

I'm guessing not many here have tried it as previously it only came with their own headphones/speakers. But I'm kind of curious. I may download the trial in the next couple of days.
 
Random Guy Esq. said:
I see Razer have released their THX Spatial Audio software for everyone, at £20.

I'm guessing not many here have tried it as previously it only came with their own headphones/speakers. But I'm kind of curious. I may download the trial in the next couple of days.
Click to expand...
Interesting I may have to give it ago I paid for Dolby Atmos the other day but im not overly impressed by it
 
I've been very happy with my setup.

JDS Labs USB OL Dac -> JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amplifier -> Presonus Eris 4.5 Speakers or Headphones (AKG 7XX, HifiMan 400 Planar, Sennheiser 580X's).
 
I'm using Sennheiser GSP 550 USB headphones. My only complaint is a slight background buzz so I started looking at USB soundcards, no room for an internal one in my ITX build.

G6 B-stock are back in stock so I've ordered one, hopefully it's an improvement.

I already bought the cable required, same as the GSP500/600 use. It's annoying that they don't bundle it in from the factory.
 
Yaayuh! said:
Moved the HD650 over to strictly music only and bought DT880 and a ModMic.
New purchases incoming include Dynaudio BM5 MKIII and Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO, but for now when gaming I use:

Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> DT880 + ModMic USB
or
Schiit Bifrost -> Yamaha AS500 -> Wharfedale 9.1 + SW150
Click to expand...

Dynaudio arrived, I couldn't be happier! Actually that's a lie, they should have turned up on Friday but UPS are in shambles at the moment.

Gaming
Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> DT880 + ModMic USB
or
Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> Dynaudio BM5 MKIII

Music
Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> HD650
or
Schiit Bifrost -> Schiit Asgard 2 -> Dynaudio BM5 MKIII
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom