SBZ surround with headphones connected to speaker jack

BuckToothBilly

BuckToothBilly

BuckToothBilly

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22 Apr 2014
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4
Hello!
Ever since getting my Sound Blaster Z and little dot 1+ I've used the the headphone out on the SBZ to connect to my amp. I recently figured out that this double amping was the cause for the constant buzzing I hear when gaming and I'm now using the speaker out on the SBZ to connect to my amp and am finally able to game buzz free!

I read a comment the other day that suggested that if my headphones aren't plugged into the headphone out I wont get the benefit of virtual surround and I'm hoping someone can shed some more light on this as I've been unable to find any more info on this via google searches.

Do I still get virtual surround in my headphones if they are plugged into the speaker out instead of the headphone out?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
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Well that sucks, looks like I have the choice of virtual surround with buzzing, or clear audio but no virtual surround. The main reason I bought the sound card was for surround sound on my headphones but I'd hate to have to go back to the buzzing after thinking I'd finally solved that :(

I don't doubt what Marsman says, but does anyone else have any input? I'd rather not go back to the buzzing/interference but if that's the only way to get virtual surround in my headphones I guess I have no choice.
 
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What headphones are you using? Do you need to use the Little Dot?

If they need more juice than the SB Z amp can provide, then the only way to use the Little Dot and be free of buzzing whilst retaining SBX, is to use the optical out, which can pass on DSP effects, such as SBX to an external DAC.

I was going to mention in the previous post that the optical out can be used for DSP effects, by connecting an external DAC; but I was in a rush last night, so just a short reply. :p
 
I'm using AKG k7XX and sadly the sound card alone isn't enough to drive them. I guess I'll have to add a DAC with optical out to my list of things to purchase then.

Would a cheap dac like the FiiO D03K suffice or should I be looking at something that matches the rest of my setup better? something like a schiit modi 2 uber for example. I'd like something as cheap as possible tbh but I don't want to get something that doesn't do my amp and headphones justice or that's a noticeable downgrade from the SBZ's DAC.

Thanks for your help.
 
No, the SB Z is not really up the job of driving AKG's more demanding headphones well enough. I've seen quite a few people say the same thing.

D03K should do the job fine. All you need is a DAC that has optical in and RCA out.
 
The frequency varies depending on the framerate I'm getting but I would say it's high frequency, it's only a problem when gaming. Listening to audio and video on the desktop isn't a problem as the buzzing only becomes apparent at volumes higher than is comfortable to listen to unless I load up a game. I do actually have a cheap DAC I was using on my tv(£10) that I just plugged into the optical out on the SBZ and it has completely removed the buzzing while gaming and going by what Marsman says will still allow me to benefit from virtual surround. I think I'll stick with this for now and upgrade to something like the schiit modi 2 uber when money isn't so tight, I know Marsman said a cheap DAC like the FiiO D03K would be fine but I worry something that cheap could/would be holding back my headphones and amp.
 
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