PS4 Audio setup help (PC Eventually)

Wepohn

Wepohn

Wepohn

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Hi there guys, at the moment I only have PS4 and will be getting a new PC at some point.

I have purchased some Fidelio X2's that I plan to use for both PS4 and PC. I want to be able to use the X2's and voice chat at the same time but from what I've read, this can be tricky. Ultimately I want to be able to connect to both the PS4 and PC without the need to change cables.

I was planning on getting a DAC/AMP with USB and Optical inputs and using a USB driverless Microphone with a splitter and connecting it to the front USB port on the PS4 (PC)

PS4/PC > DAC/AMP > Fidelio X2 (USB Mic to PS4/PC)

Does anybody here have a similar setup? from what I have gathered from threads elsewhere, the PS4 isn't capable of taking audio in from USB and having it output over Optical or HDMI

Thanks for your help.
 
Wepohn said:
Hi there guys, at the moment I only have PS4 and will be getting a new PC at some point.

I have purchased some Fidelio X2's that I plan to use for both PS4 and PC. I want to be able to use the X2's and voice chat at the same time but from what I've read, this can be tricky. Ultimately I want to be able to connect to both the PS4 and PC without the need to change cables.

I was planning on getting a DAC/AMP with USB and Optical inputs and using a USB driverless Microphone with a splitter and connecting it to the front USB port on the PS4 (PC)

PS4/PC > DAC/AMP > Fidelio X2 (USB Mic to PS4/PC)

Does anybody here have a similar setup? from what I have gathered from threads elsewhere, the PS4 isn't capable of taking audio in from USB and having it output over Optical or HDMI

Thanks for your help.
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A simple solution is probably getting a Astro MixAmp:
http://www.astrogaming.co.uk/mixamps

PS4 has Dolby output via Optical, so should work perfectly with the MixAmp for Virtual Surround with headphone:
http://blog.dolby.com/2013/11/set-playstation-4-great-game-sound/

I myself at the moment is using my Fidelio X1 with a MixAmp Gen2 gaming on my PC with Dolby Digital Live, and it works really well in making games feeling more immerse and with a sense of spacious environment.

Can't commend about the mic input quality on the Mixamp though as I don't use it, but reading online it seem to be not that great.
 
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It's a passable quality, a bit static but for general game chat I don't think it's an issue. Some people expect too much from relatively cheap devices.
 
Noxia said:
It's a passable quality, a bit static but for general game chat I don't think it's an issue. Some people expect too much from relatively cheap devices.
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One thing I have noticed is that I can hear static on my headphone using my Mixamp if I let power source be from the USB port of my PC/motherboard; plugging the USB power source into USB adapter to the main instead of the PC solved it instantly.
 
Marine-RX179 said:
One thing I have noticed is that I can hear static on my headphone using my Mixamp if I let power source be from the USB port of my PC/motherboard; plugging the USB power source into USB adapter to the main instead of the PC solved it instantly.
Click to expand...

Yes that is true, sadly you can't do this on PS4 as it has to be plugged in for it to transmit the audio :( Volume seems to affect it as well but as I said, it's hardly terrible. I think people are expecting streaming quality some times.
 
Hey guys,

So I'm not really interested in Virtual Surround sound, I had one of the Astro Mixamps that were available in 2008 and never used the feature. I was planning on getting a Fiio or other amp/dac as I only want stereo but would rather not use the DS4 audio output as my source. Yet I want to use a mic, I was thinking of using a generic USB mic or the Vmoda boom as I felt this would prove to be the better quality option over the Astro Mixamp. I'm concerned that I won't be able to hear people speak.
 
I'm pretty sure the issue would be that you won't be able to control the voice/game balance but I may be wrong. Don't forget the V-Moda will need plugging in to the DS4 + Headphones so at that point it renders your amp/dac useless or will require some very messy wiring.
You don't really need an amp for the X2, I personally think that you have to be a real expert to tell the difference between an un-amped one and one which is. Can you advise me of your budget?
 
Is your console and PC connected to a TV or monitor with optical out?

On my setup PC and PS4 to TV over HDMI. Optical out from TV to Fiio D3 to Fiio 11 to headphones. I use a splitter on the D3 to connect a Sennheiser RS130 wireless transmitter. Allows me to use a wireless or wired headset.

Haven't really looked in to a mic for gaming.
 
Hi, so my budget at the moment is roughly $250/300AUD. I understand that the x2's don't need amped as such but figured an amp/dac would have to offer a good improvement over the ds4 controllers output and offer better sound quality over the PC's onboard sound.

Connecting to a monitor that only has a headphone out.
 
Just a heads up. I plugged my HRT musicstreamer ii+ and a smaller fiio dac into my ps4 via USB. Both had reversed channels. So if I want to use a USB dac I have to swap the headphone cables or if I am using my amp, swap the interconnects over.
 
Ryanr1987 said:
gaming in stereo ewwwww lol
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It takes a while to get used to VSS I think. When I first tried it, I thought stereo sounded better on Tomb Raider because it seemed clearer. It's not until you consistently use it that you appreciate what it adds.
That said, I was playing the division on Stereo and it seemed to have some trickery as directional sound was still good. I just hate the whole sound panning thing.
 
^

Some games create the binaural stream themselves and should be listened to in stereo rather than using Dolby Headphone or SBX. Battlefield 4 is one example and if Tomb Raider has a headphone option it may well be another.

For games that don't have a built in headphone option, sound cards take the 5.1 or 7.1 speaker channel data and create a binaural stream within the DSP, using either Dolby Headphone or SBX.
 
Yeah I think it's always good to listen to surround for about a week then switch back to stereo. Headphone parings are also important for example the HD650 and Nighthawk are not the best paring with Dolby headphone that bumps up the bass. HD650 on SBX is phenomenal and I think it's equally as good as the K702 from the little comparison I did earlier. The K702 isn't the best paring with my Soundblaster because they both lean towards boosted highs and the K702 sound think.


I love how SBX doesn't seem to add any warmth so sounds less dreamy/thick than DH and more dimensional then stereo. I'd personally always pick any sort of surround sound otherwise I feel disengaged to the game world.
 
I agree, if I want to game in stereo I take my headphones off and use my speakers.

I may reinstall my Sound Blaster Z and give SBX another whirl vs DH on the STX using various headphones.
 
Hello again peeps.

I was under the impression that the majority of people that desired the best audio quality frowned upon VSS enhancements. It's also quite worrying that your audio channels were reversed when using a USB dac. Probably safer to use a one with an Optical input and use USB for the PC (recommendations?)

I think I'll go with a Blue Yeti mic, will using a USB splitter/hub to have it connected to both the PC and PS4 affect it at all?

PS4 (Optical) PC (USB) (Yeti Mic USB to both) > DAC/AMP > Fidelio X2

PS4 Audio settings to output all audio through Optical.
 
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Noxia said:
I'm much preffering sbx from my X7 than Dolby on mixamp.
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The more I use X7 the harder it is to go back to the Mixamp. It's amazing how clean everything sounds. Even GTA 5 which has average audio IMO sounds very good. I hear the X7 as cleaning up imperfections in the audio especially in the low end where as the Mixamp will show bloat in the bass and will also elevate it.
 
Ryanr1987 said:
The more I use X7 the harder it is to go back to the Mixamp. It's amazing how clean everything sounds. Even GTA 5 which has average audio IMO sounds very good. I hear the X7 as cleaning up imperfections in the audio especially in the low end where as the Mixamp will show bloat in the bass and will also elevate it.
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Agree, but it costs a LOT more. TBH I do have buyers remorse, I can see myself putting it up for sale soon and going back to Mixamp 2013 + Fidelio X2 as this is by no means a shoddy pairing but my Mixamp cost me £50.
 
I have a Soundblaster Z soundcard in my PC, which has digital optical in and out. I would assume that I can just connect a digital optical cable from the PS4 to the 'in' connection and it would play audio through my speaker system connected to the soundcard?
 
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