Setting up Asus Xonar DG and Goldring NS1000
- Thread starter FooAtari
- Start date
Ive got the same set up except minus the amp, is it really necessary? I've noticed it does sound sort of muffled, but that could just be the bass. I thought the point of the card was that it had a built in amp so you dont need one separate?
Six channels with dolby headphone, gx on, thats how I have it.
I dont know if you have the same problem as me but it keeps changing it to fp headphone at boot.
Six channels with dolby headphone, gx on, thats how I have it.
I dont know if you have the same problem as me but it keeps changing it to fp headphone at boot.
I have mine set to 8ch right now, but will try 6. Haven't noticed any problems so far, but not had a proper play around with the settings.
But tried a few games, and holy ******* ****! I'm amazed at the quality. I thought the Medusa 5.1's I have were alright, but wow they were awful. Im hearing sounds I never noticed before and virtual 3d is so much more effect than 5.1 in headphones.
I believe the soundcard amp isn't quite powerful enough to power the NS1000 headphones. Although I think batteries in the headphones does a similar job, they just need replaced constantly. One thing I have noticed is at the moment the sound is a little echoy (cant think of better term). but that could be because I am used to Medussas which were so flat.
But tried a few games, and holy ******* ****! I'm amazed at the quality. I thought the Medusa 5.1's I have were alright, but wow they were awful. Im hearing sounds I never noticed before and virtual 3d is so much more effect than 5.1 in headphones.
I believe the soundcard amp isn't quite powerful enough to power the NS1000 headphones. Although I think batteries in the headphones does a similar job, they just need replaced constantly. One thing I have noticed is at the moment the sound is a little echoy (cant think of better term). but that could be because I am used to Medussas which were so flat.
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Yeah, the bass is really muddy on the NS1000s without a good quality amp, if you use the ANR (AKA noise cancelling switch) then you'll instantly notice that the bass is much much clearer although significantly weaker.
The DG is a great card and the amp is ok, however at what was <£18 a few days ago you'll realise that they had to cut something somewhere and that was the amp quality. While not bad per se, it's not at the same level as the E5 (which might I add is a lot better than some more expensive amps according to Uriel). The DG amp is fine for headphones such as the DR150s.
My personal settings, depending on which headphones I'm using and for what are...
DR150s:
Gaming/movies DH2, 8CH, Virtual 7.1
Music DH1/3/Off, 2CH
NS1000s:
Gaming/movies DH2, 8CH, Virtual 7.1
Music DH Off, 2CH
Every setting is personal preference and there isn't any better or worse setting realistically, all ears are different
This, with ANR turned on, there is a perceptible hissing noise, it doesnt get any louder by turning volume up. Once you play music etc, the only time you should notice the hiss is between tracks or silent parts in a movie.
I can hear the hissing noise even when audio is playing, its very noticeable, mostly seems to be coming from the left headphone. It doesnt matter though, even without the noise cancelling they cut out most surrounding noise.
edit: I think I may have reduced it a bit by plugging the headphones in the other way.
edit: I think I may have reduced it a bit by plugging the headphones in the other way.
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What end of the supplied cable did you have plugged into the left ear cup? you have to use the slimmer black one. The other end with the goldring G logo connects direcly to the audio device, for a pc youll need an extension as the supplied cable is rather short.
I've not noticed a difference whichever way to be honest, it's all the same cable so I can't see there being any difference.
As for the loud hiss it definitely sounds faulty, mine gives a quiet but perceptible hiss as mentioned but when music is playing I can no longer hear that. The hiss is also uniform. When you have the ANR on does the sound change significantly, the bass becomes clear and the highs are picked up? If not then I'd seriously be looking at returning them.
As for the loud hiss it definitely sounds faulty, mine gives a quiet but perceptible hiss as mentioned but when music is playing I can no longer hear that. The hiss is also uniform. When you have the ANR on does the sound change significantly, the bass becomes clear and the highs are picked up? If not then I'd seriously be looking at returning them.
The audio does sound better with the sound cancelling, clearer, but the hissing ruins/overwhelms it.
When I mute the sound I can hear two separate sounds, theirs a background noise like the wind. And then the incessant snake like hissing in the left ear.
When I mute the sound I can hear two separate sounds, theirs a background noise like the wind. And then the incessant snake like hissing in the left ear.
I've found that battery quality seems to affect hiss on the NS1000s. It gets pretty bad with cheap rechargeables.
Best to think of the NS1000s as two different sets of headphones. They behave and sound completely different with ANR on and off. With it off they absolutely need an amp and not every amp is suitable. Happily the E5 seems to do the trick. I've noticed recently that I also get decent results from a C-Moy with it - similar bass performance to the e5 and better clarity.
With ANR on, their amp requirements are quite different. I've heard various people describe them as being bass-light but with the right amp that is absolutely not the case. At the moment I use them in ANR mode with a Bravo V1 tube amp or Mackie 402 VLZ3 mixer . Both are terrible with ANR off but with it on they really give weight to the sound. The bass with ANR and these amps is huge - not quite as much extension as my DT770 pros but they punch just as hard. With ANR on they do better with amps designed for high impedance headphones.
I don't think it's fair to write off the amp in the DG based on its performance with NS1000s with ANR off. Compared to most headphones I've tried I have never known an amp make so much difference to the way a headphone sounds - but lots of decent amps just don't work well with the passive NS1000S. Still, this is a soundcard with built-in amp that's much cheaper than most stand-alone amps. You can't expect miracles.
Best to think of the NS1000s as two different sets of headphones. They behave and sound completely different with ANR on and off. With it off they absolutely need an amp and not every amp is suitable. Happily the E5 seems to do the trick. I've noticed recently that I also get decent results from a C-Moy with it - similar bass performance to the e5 and better clarity.
With ANR on, their amp requirements are quite different. I've heard various people describe them as being bass-light but with the right amp that is absolutely not the case. At the moment I use them in ANR mode with a Bravo V1 tube amp or Mackie 402 VLZ3 mixer . Both are terrible with ANR off but with it on they really give weight to the sound. The bass with ANR and these amps is huge - not quite as much extension as my DT770 pros but they punch just as hard. With ANR on they do better with amps designed for high impedance headphones.
I don't think it's fair to write off the amp in the DG based on its performance with NS1000s with ANR off. Compared to most headphones I've tried I have never known an amp make so much difference to the way a headphone sounds - but lots of decent amps just don't work well with the passive NS1000S. Still, this is a soundcard with built-in amp that's much cheaper than most stand-alone amps. You can't expect miracles.
Just a quick note on the hiss with the NS1000's. I bought a pair just before christmas and they have a very loud hiss when noise cancelling is activated. It can be heard fairly clearly up to around half volume on an Ipod on most tracks.
Tried different sources and batteries with no change, so I assume they are faulty, I'll have to wait for the RMA and see
Tried different sources and batteries with no change, so I assume they are faulty, I'll have to wait for the RMA and see