GSX 1000, bad sound?
- Thread starter Samhfx
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I've found some games don't like higher than 24bit 96KHz - stuff like Spotify plays fine with higher quality but some games the audio becomes fuzzy (might be a limitation of WIndows 7 versus 10 though).
I've not had any problems with volume really - 1-2 of the acoustic engine settings seems to make sound a bit loud and harsh if you aren't careful though.
Just having surround on default ~67, crystalizer on about 20 and bass on 10 and everything else off seems to work quite well with the 7.1 to headphone mode for games (make sure speakers in Windows are setup correctly for surround as well and games set to home cinema and any other appropriate surround sound) - positional cues are pretty close to if not as good as the GSX just comes with a bit of "echoeyness" that the GSX manages to avoid. It works fairly well without the enhancements on but you can hear it as if the sound is jumping from virtual speaker to virtual speaker as you turn around without the enhancements.
I've not had any problems with volume really - 1-2 of the acoustic engine settings seems to make sound a bit loud and harsh if you aren't careful though.
Just having surround on default ~67, crystalizer on about 20 and bass on 10 and everything else off seems to work quite well with the 7.1 to headphone mode for games (make sure speakers in Windows are setup correctly for surround as well and games set to home cinema and any other appropriate surround sound) - positional cues are pretty close to if not as good as the GSX just comes with a bit of "echoeyness" that the GSX manages to avoid. It works fairly well without the enhancements on but you can hear it as if the sound is jumping from virtual speaker to virtual speaker as you turn around without the enhancements.
Can an admin make a ae-5 owners club and move these posts?
So if I click between headphones 7.1 and the other headphone one, the device under windows audio disappear and reappear.
Things are then reset, and you lose any settings under Windows.
Do you set sonic virtual surround and enable 7.1? I notice the surround test in connect becomes really jumpy. That setting is one that is reset when you switch between headphone options.
So if I click between headphones 7.1 and the other headphone one, the device under windows audio disappear and reappear.
Things are then reset, and you lose any settings under Windows.
Do you set sonic virtual surround and enable 7.1? I notice the surround test in connect becomes really jumpy. That setting is one that is reset when you switch between headphone options.
7.1 HP and Direct HP are different devices - probably goes without saying but one intercepts multi-channel audio from the OS and tries to process it into a representation of having multiple speakers in headphone mode the other works purely in stereo. Unfortunately that does reset some settings as you need to change the OS from working in surround channel mode to stereo output.
I enable the 7.1 HP mode then turn on the acoustic engine and enable some virtual surround as that seems to make surround sounds flow around more seamlessly without seeming to jump from spot to spot as you turn then make sure Windows and games are setup for surround output. Unfortunately there isn't really a way to preserve settings between switching which is one of the reasons I often ended up just using stereo with my X-Fi rather than using CMSS-3D with games.
I enable the 7.1 HP mode then turn on the acoustic engine and enable some virtual surround as that seems to make surround sounds flow around more seamlessly without seeming to jump from spot to spot as you turn then make sure Windows and games are setup for surround output. Unfortunately there isn't really a way to preserve settings between switching which is one of the reasons I often ended up just using stereo with my X-Fi rather than using CMSS-3D with games.
If you are using something like 7.1 HP mode then in sound settings in Windows the output device should be set to a multi-speaker configuration - it should be done automatically when you change to that mode but sometimes isn't - you might find changing the full/limited range settings for the speakers useful subject to taste as well.
The Sonic stuff basically does the same thing as enabling 7.1 HP mode and enabling the surround option in the acoustic engine in the Sound Blaster Connect software so those two would probably conflict with each other.
With 24 bit depth signal Windows volume setting can be lowered quite freely.
There's simply "so many decimals" that there's very little risk of rounding errors becoming significant.
It's certainly true that if bit depth used in digital signal chain isn't enough using software to lower volume can decrease sound quality, but even 16 bits isn't strictly limited.
So that all went over my head.
Although it remindr me I've not looked at the quality drop down and changed that. So I should explore that I guess.
Is that in connect as well?
For the quality settings change it in the properties of the device in the Windows sound settings.
Have to say overall pretty impressed by the ae-5 - for pure music listening there are a few tweaks I'd like to make but for gaming and mainstream headphones it is really well done - probably the best consumer level implementation of the ESS Sabre DAC and LM4562s I've encountered so far.
Have to say overall pretty impressed by the ae-5 - for pure music listening there are a few tweaks I'd like to make but for gaming and mainstream headphones it is really well done - probably the best consumer level implementation of the ESS Sabre DAC and LM4562s I've encountered so far.
Whelp - took me 6 hours to get the AE-5 outputting to headphonesold issue with Realtek software from awhile back hosed something audio wise on my Windows install and I didn't want to reinstall just for one little issue - I managed to work around it with my X-Fi by forcing the headphone device to exist as a separate entity but same work around point blank refused to work on the AE-5 so a lot of dabbling with repairing registry and system files by hand got headphone detection working properly.
I know right- onboard might have the on paper stats these days but almost every implementation just sounds dry and lifeless. The AE-5 is very clear and punchy in comparison.
As an aside - I disabled everything in the Connect engine - some might be useful for certain things but I like my audio free of that level of processing for the most part but some people's tastes will vary. (EDIT: Having a play they do work fairly well when using mainstream/gaming headphones without too much in the way of negatives from things like surround effects though I still wouldn't use them when listening to music with higher end headphones).
Now for the real (non-gaming) test - will it drive my HD600s to a level of performance I consider acceptable.
EDIT: To be fair they do very well at driving the 600s - better than probably 99% of devices in this class - managing to combine both volume and some control over the drivers with some pretty decent depth to the sound - but let go a little in the bass at times and as I was unsurprised to find with the LM4562s the treble is a bit cold and intense - which isn't a bad thing for gaming type purposes where it makes the soundscape clearer and easier to pick out individual sounds positionally but isn't pleasing to listen to in a musical context especially when paired up with headphones like these.
I do wonder how the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude holds up to the AE-5 with the AKG K702. As everywhere I’ve read they’ve said it’s been night and day. The problem is those people that said this hasn’t heard the Auzentech Prelude in many years.
I’m just curious how much of a jump it would be for a 11 year old card.
I've not used one in years either - looks like stock it uses the same opamps for the headphone output though personally I prefer the ESS DAC to the AK4396 but both aim towards very similar goals so largely I expect they'd be pretty similar - though going on memory this AE-5 seems to have a good bit more micro-detail and resolution.
I think one problem though is that if you have a 10-11 year old Prelude it probably doesn't sound as good as the day you first used it - one of the reasons I got this AE-5 is that I was starting to think my X-Fi wasn't sounding as good as it used to - probably capacitors drying out or something if nothing else and definitely swapping it out for the AE-5 resulted in a noticeable jump in resolution - though some of that could be down to the JRC 4556 opamp used in the X-Fi which I've never been a big fan of.
On balance I think I actually prefer the fake surround on the AE-5 to CMSS-3D - though it has more echo there is a better representation as to whether a sound is behind or in front of you and a smoother transition when setup properly as sounds move around - doesn't quite have as good ability to tell how near or far a sound is but the position around the head is pretty good.
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You appear to have discovered that the GSX 1000 is the dumbest product Sennheiser has ever developed and that they basically crapped on their own reputation by releasing it. It is an overpriced piece of trash. It sounds terrible. There is nothing "wrong" with yours, it just blows. Hot garbage product.
Harsh - it does what it sets out to do - as far as gaming goes setup properly you get great surround without a lot of the problems of other solutions - it is unfortunate they paired it up with a DAC that is more suited to mobile stuff than PC audio and then paired it up with a price north of £100 as well.
Regarding the DAC there are actually some limits there in terms of the off the shelf solutions available that can both work with multi-channel audio and take side band DSP from an external module in such a way to accomplish advanced multi-channel processing and also at a consumer price point so their hands might have been tied somewhat - though at £200 it is approaching the point where more professional grade solutions aren't far off.
Regarding the DAC there are actually some limits there in terms of the off the shelf solutions available that can both work with multi-channel audio and take side band DSP from an external module in such a way to accomplish advanced multi-channel processing and also at a consumer price point so their hands might have been tied somewhat - though at £200 it is approaching the point where more professional grade solutions aren't far off.
I can't say I'm really suffering that using it with bitmatched playback set and 24/96Hz with the AKG K702 going through the SMSL sApII AMP in stereo with Audio Creation mode. I'm pin pointing people very easily coming through corridors and hallways. Or on the other side of the map with gunfire for the exact direction.
This card was never really used a great deal until the past 9 months. No distortion or weird things in game either.
Music is truly amazing on this setup though with stuff like:
I don't suffer the transition effect in Stereo. I'm no longer keen on CMSS-3D.
I'm still intrigued about this AE-5 though... Though with the Prelude it seems to tell you how close an enemy is. I should maybe at some point try out some new opamps for the Prelude that so many recommended.