Thoughts on this tag team?

Patrickman · 19 Oct 2011 at 21:42

So I have just bought the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card and Sennheiser PC 360?

Will i get the best out of the headset with that sound card? I needed a PCI express x1 slot card and felt the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card was the job

Marsman · 19 Oct 2011 at 23:01

TBH, no. A Xonar Essence would have been a better choice really. But its a £140 sound card. For some, £140 is too much to spend on a sound card, for others £140 is worth it. Varies from person to person I guess.

That's not to say the sound quality won't be good with the Titanium and 360's, it's just that to get the PC360's to perform at their best, a headphone amp is needed. Something which the Titanium doesn't have.

I would have thought that the PC360's would work at their best with any sound card, but quite a few users said an amp does improve them. Who am I to argue.

There is nothing wrong with pairing the two together though, as the Titanium is still a very good sound card. They should sound very good together. Without replacing the Titanium for a Xonar Essence, maybe you could add a FiiO E5 in there at some point.

Patrickman · 20 Oct 2011 at 00:27

Marsman said:
TBH, no. A Xonar Essence would have been a better choice really. But its a £140 sound card. For some, £140 is too much to spend on a sound card, for others £140 is worth it. Varies from person to person I guess.

That's not to say the sound quality won't be good with the Titanium and 360's, it's just that to get the PC360's to perform at their best, a headphone amp is needed. Something which the Titanium doesn't have.

I would have thought that the PC360's would work at their best with any sound card, but quite a few users said an amp does improve them. Who am I to argue.

There is nothing wrong with pairing the two together though, as the Titanium is still a very good sound card. They should sound very good together. Without replacing the Titanium for a Xonar Essence, maybe you could add a FiiO E5 in there at some point.

thanks very much for the feedback Marsman. Ya 140 pounds is a bit to much for me tbh but maybe sometime down the line. May I ask what are FiiO E5 and what would they do for my setup?

Marsman · 20 Oct 2011 at 01:52

It's a headphone amplifier. Roughly about £15-£20.

I would try the 360's with the Titanium frist, and see what you think. If you feel there is room for improvement, you could consider getting an E5 at some point.