Sennheiser gsx 1000 thread?

[madindehead]

I've been very happy with mine over the weekend. Just been playing WoW and using Teamspeak. The sound is great, the ability to tweak Teamspeak volume separately has been great. I bought some HD598s to go with it (I just couldn't bring myself to buy the god-awful looking HD599s). Very pleased.

 

[Rroff]

Do you have any recommendations for solid-state amps like $300 or lower that would work well for this?

I don't really have enough in depth experience to recommend something - as mentioned above anything that uses the OPA1612 (or OPA2211 which is basically the same) is likely to work well depending on what/if the output buffer configuration is.

 

[shankly1985]

Hello there,
Hello Welcome to OCUK

I just signed up to thank you for sharing your recordings. I was looking around the web to hear what the Sennheiser GSX 1000 may sound like and I came across this thread.

Your Welcome

I am personally looking to upgrade from my Soundblaster Z/Ear Force DSS setup. I just upgraded my headphones and the sound coming from the Ear Force DSS is not as clean as I would like it to be. But the bass and surround sound mode is still awesome (even though the DSS suffers from that echo effect whilst in surround mode)

Can anybody here describe to me what the bass is like on the GSX 1000? Is it powerful and explosive? Or is it accurate and punchy? (I prefer the former as I want a cinematic experience).

Coming from the SoundBlaster Z I will say its much more accurate, the SBz adding bass was way over the top I feel.
This has four modes, FPS = No bass at all, designed for hearing footsteps etc
Music = Brings out the music more detailed good amount of bass when you expect they to be.
Story Mode = "My fav" Brings out more detail in surrounding sounds. same again bass is very accurate, explosions in BF1 for example not too much over done but sound punchy and what you would expect. - See the little clip of BF1 test I did above.
No equalizer

It would be even better if someone could directly compare the two devices: The original Earforce DSS vs Sennheiser GSX 1000 (specifying what the differences are like with their respective surround sound modes)

I also have one more request... Could someone please upload how the GSX 1000 sounds like with music and vocals? (more specifically how different they sound in stereo mode vs surround mode)

The one thing I love about the DSS is that you can switch between stereo and surround, I see that the same is possible with the GSX but I'm not sure if the surround sound effect carries over to movies, music, youtube videos etc. (if someone could confirm this that would be great).

Can confirm the surround works on everything you do. Web, Desktop, Movies, music and games. Can do a recording of music latter for you maybe switch between 7.1 and 2.0 on the fly.

I always switch to stereo mode when listening to music, but when watching youtube videos, I have to switch to surround mode else it kinda hurts my ears a little especially when someone's talking (because the sound stage is very narrow when in stereo mode and the voices seem too close to the ears... Whereas the surround mode widens the soundstage, making it seem as though the voices are further away).

If the same effects can be achieved with the GSX, then I am sold.

Lastly, by what method does the Sennheiser GSX 1000 simulate surround sound? Does the unit take actual 7.1 speaker information? Or is it just remapping regular stereo sound? (edit: just realized this was answered already, thanks).

 

[Rroff]

Surely from these videos we are just hearing what our own soundcards surround is producing?

Assuming you have all sound processing disabled when playing the shankly's videos then you should be hearing exactly what he is hearing in his headphones connected to the GSX. If you have some DSP or other processing enabled then it could cause some issues with the reproduction in the video.

 

[HANZ64]

shankly1985, thank you for your input.

For music listening, do you think the GSX 1000 in 2.0 mode is sufficient? (in comparison to the soundblaster z).

Considering the GSX uses a USB connection, is there anyway for me to use my soundblaster EQ settings with the GSX?

The Earforce DSS uses an optical cable and connects straight to the soundblaster, but it looks like the GSX acts like a separate soundcard altogether.

 

[rids57]

No, you would have to switch output from the SB Z to the GSX, you can't use both as outputs at the same time.

 

[shankly1985]

shankly1985, thank you for your input.

For music listening, do you think the GSX 1000 in 2.0 mode is sufficient? (in comparison to the soundblaster z).

Considering the GSX uses a USB connection, is there anyway for me to use my soundblaster EQ settings with the GSX?

The Earforce DSS uses an optical cable and connects straight to the soundblaster, but it looks like the GSX acts like a separate soundcard altogether.

Sound quality I honestly can't tell a difference between GSX and SBZ.

 

[Goodcharly]

Yeah you can remove all effects and just use the DAC + AMP.. Its been ages since I used onboard audio and each MB has different performing audio so its hard for me to answer that.

Tyvm for your answer but I have 2 more stupid questions that maybe you can answer:
- I have an O2 amp for my headphones, can I connect it to the GSX with no problem?
- once installed, can you adjust the volume with usual keyboard shortcuts?

 

[shankly1985]

Tyvm for your answer but I have 2 more stupid questions that maybe you can answer:
- I have an O2 amp for my headphones, can I connect it to the GSX with no problem?
- once installed, can you adjust the volume with usual keyboard shortcuts?

Am not sure tbh mate does the 02 amp have input for 3.5 jack?

I can higher amd lower sound with keyboard still. The volume control on the gsx just changes windows volume.

 

[Rroff]

O2 should connect to the GSX no problem (the standard model has 3.5mm input though there are variants with RCA which would need an adapter) - its unlikely its output is powerful enough to overload the input stage of the O2 but in the unlikely event of that set the O2 to 50% volume and start the GSX at low volume and increase it until you get the level you desire.

 

[Zhuni]

Might pick up some HD599's too.
.

They are really good. i was just expecting a cosmetic upgrade to the 598 but they are more refined and sound quite a bit better now I've done a side by side. The are so crazy comfy as well.

 

[Goodcharly]

Am not sure tbh mate does the 02 amp have input for 3.5 jack?

I can higher amd lower sound with keyboard still. The volume control on the gsx just changes windows volume.

O2 should connect to the GSX no problem (the standard model has 3.5mm input though there are variants with RCA which would need an adapter) - its unlikely its output is powerful enough to overload the input stage of the O2 but in the unlikely event of that set the O2 to 50% volume and start the GSX at low volume and increase it until you get the level you desire.

TYVM guys! You had me convinced to buy the GSX with this infos, my bank does not thank you however.

 

[shankly1985]

Going to use battlefield 1 for a decent length video showcasing the different modes.

Need to find a part of the game where I can walk around for a bit without getting shot at.

 

[Rroff]

TYVM guys! You had me convinced to buy the GSX with this infos, my bank does not thank you however.

The O2 is great but - I built a variant with the 0.22uf rail to rail film cap removed (it seems to considerably narrow the sound), 10uf "audio grade" aluminium electrolytic caps rail to rail on the op amps, uprated the dc filter caps to polypropylene and using an OPA1612 in the voltage gain stage and IMO it preserves the positional qualities of the audio much better than the stock configuration. (Also swapped out the regulators for LM317/337 pair but thats another matter).

 

[Goodcharly]

The O2 is great but - I built a variant with the 0.22uf rail to rail film cap removed (it seems to considerably narrow the sound), 10uf "audio grade" aluminium electrolytic caps rail to rail on the op amps, uprated the dc filter caps to polypropylene and using an OPA1612 in the voltage gain stage and IMO it preserves the positional qualities of the audio much better than the stock configuration. (Also swapped out the regulators for LM317/337 pair but thats another matter).

All right I buy it !

Seriously if you have a better recommandation for the same price I'd like to hear. I have ordered a pair of modded T50rp and while they were tweaked for an added soundstage, they might be not good at positioning audio. That's why I'm quite interested in the GSX.

 

[shankly1985]

Hello guys got a video in the making where I try my best talking about this unit and its features, Plus live gameplay from BF1 and GTA5.

Please take it easy on me I found recording my own voice a real issue how people do live youtube is beyond me

One thing also guys the video above I might have messed up I dont think I recorded the Line-In from the Sound Blasterz

 

[Rroff]

All right I buy it !

Seriously if you have a better recommandation for the same price I'd like to hear. I have ordered a pair of modded T50rp and while they were tweaked for an added soundstage, they might be not good at positioning audio. That's why I'm quite interested in the GSX.

I just like tinkering with electronics heh.

 

[shankly1985]

Not sure if this an issue with my SoundBlaster Z and the GSX but the noise I get seems to be the GSX, when I change settings I can hear the noise kinder change. Is this an issue with double Amping ??

I bring this up because I see couple you guys wanting to add an extra amp. At first I thought it was interference within my PC getting picked up.

 

[Goodcharly]

Too bad... Also mini-usb input and 3,5mm output makes me think this has been manufactured for random gaming headphones, not for the best setups. It's a shame Sennheiser sell a 200 euros + DAC that can produce such a noise.

 

[shankly1985]

Too bad... Also mini-usb input and 3,5mm output makes me think this has been manufactured for random gaming headphones, not for the best setups. It's a shame Sennheiser sell a 200 euros + DAC that can produce such a noise.

TBH price at £200 is a little much I had no issue paying the price £130 or something would have been more fitting.

Although what you get is from my experience THE best surround sound for headphones on the market, if this isn't your thing you best looking at something else. its not the DAC thats the issue here, its the AMP rated at 150 anything above you going to need either an extra amp or look elsewhere.

headphones are a strange one because some of the best headphones for gaming are very portable so am not sure why this really matters for gaming?
Surely if these high end headphones matter you wont be using them only for gaming and more music with amp+dac

Edit
Are you thinking the video I posted above is a fault with the GSX? if so you jumping the gun! this only an issue if you try recording from the 3.5 output to a 3.5 input and it might only be an issue with my SoundBlaster Z.
Using the GSX the normal way they is zero noise issue.