Where Can I Go From Here?

LurkingWeasel · 3 Dec 2011 at 01:58

Hello sound experts!

I currently own an Xfi Xtreme Gamer and Sennheiser HD555 combo which while used for all my PC sonic requirememnts, were bought with gaming in mind. I'll be upgrading my entire PC early in the new year, and I was wondering if there are any new sound cards available which would surpass the Xtreme Gamer when it comes to gaming on a decent set of cans like the 555s? I'm especially thinking of spatial positioning quality as well as general all round audio quality.

Thanks in advance!

Farooq · 3 Dec 2011 at 13:58

ur set up is fine as is at the moment. if you were being a audiophile like some of us the upgrade would be a asus xonar d series soundcard D1 or above with dolby headphone support keep your headphones they are still very good or swap them for a all in one headset and ultra high end mic like a set of pc360 sennheisers. They use the uprated hd 598 drivers which are newer than your 555 drivers but do require a sound card witha headphone amp so that might be sumthing to look for. But its a small change upgrade either way. get a good xonar sound card witha headphone amp for dolby headphone. aside from that make sure you have the best desktop or clip in mic you can get with noise filters the pc 360 mic is best i have used to date.

Marsman · 3 Dec 2011 at 23:06

Better headphones would bring more an upgrade than a sound card would. Nothing wrong with the 555's at all, but there are better headphones available.

Then the question becomes. How much will one have to spend in order to see/hear an upgrade? Sound is such a personal thing, what one may consider an upgrade, someone else may dislike entirely. You'd probably be looking at £120+ possibly to see a worthwhile upgrade in headphones.

A sound card such as a Xonar DX possibly would provide better sound quality than the X-Fi you have currently, but it's not certain, as it depends on the person doing the listening. Will vary from person to person.

Even a £140 sound card, such as an Essence or Titanium HD, is not a guaranteed ugrade from something less then half the price. Whilst some think they are awesome sounding cards, worth their price tag, others disagree.

It makes more sense to me to put any funds into better headphones, then consider another sound card at a later date.

Farooq · 4 Dec 2011 at 02:05

fine points marsman but better headphones than hd555 will have inpedance that will require a headphone amp which he does not currently have on his xi- fi let alone the lack of dolby headphone support which is a must for high end headphones.

Marsman · 4 Dec 2011 at 03:08

The only widely available card with a headphone amp worth considering, is the Essence. Auzentech Forte is worth considering, but is hard to find now. Titanium HD, while it's headphone out probably has more juice than a lot of other cards, it doesn't actually have a dedicated headphone amp.

All are expensive cards, and IMO not a large enough upgrade to justify their cost. The OP would be better off buying something like a FiiO E9, and use his current X-Fi, than spending £120-£150 on a sound card with a headphone amp.

Since when is Dolby Headphone a must for high end headphones? I've seen quite a few comments from people with high end headphones, that think DH is a pile of garbage. There are plenty of people who prefer CMSS 3D, especially for gaming.

Personally, I like DH, but it certainly is not a must. If it were, anybody into high end headphones would recommend it. Some might, but there are plenty who wouldn't.

Anyone who claims to be an audiophile, would not be using DH and the like. They would be using plain stereo. DH/CMSS 3D screws with the sound too much, for it to be considered audiophile.

Rroff · 4 Dec 2011 at 03:40

Yeah to echo what Marsman said anyone who is a proper audiophile would not be using DH for general listening.

DH is very nice for single player gaming IMO (a lot of this is personal preference) but the X-Fi can do CMSS-3D which works decently enough for single player and for my tastes has better positional accuracy than DH for multi player.

Once you reach the level where your using a reasonable dedicated soundcard and reasonably decent headphones beyond that is more finding something that has the "synergy" that works for the individual than just throwing money at it in the hope of finding something better. I'd say thats a pretty reasonable setup you already have tho so wouldn't be in a hurry unless your really feeling the itch to upgrade.

LurkingWeasel · 4 Dec 2011 at 15:23

Well, if CMSS-3D is still better than Dolby Headphone for positional sound in games, I'll be sticking with the X-fi I guess. May upgrade the headphones at some stage but after reading all your posts, I think it's something I can look at later rather than upgrade while I build the rest of my PC.

Thanks folks. Much appreciated.

Rroff · 4 Dec 2011 at 15:29

I wouldn't say its "better" as such - which works better depends on the person listening, but generally its atleast as good as DH, better in some ways worse in others.

Farooq · 4 Dec 2011 at 17:52

I have had both and dolby headphone works better for me in bf3 it gives me a sense of elevation to the sounds not just direction. in my opinion its the better gaming choice. As others said above you switch off all surround effects when going audiophile just clean stereo. but 90 percent of the time you will have DH on or css-3d. id spend the money elsewhere on your rig your sound is still strong assuming you have the proper xtreme gamer and not the cut down version.

Rroff · 4 Dec 2011 at 18:15

CMSS-3D has elevation filters, but aside from Dolby Headphone w/ Pro-Logic IIz (which only the newest setups support) DH is lacking height cues. BF3 is a different case as its uses some processing of its own as well which may be providing elevation effects.

As a generalisation (a lot depends on the listener, specifics of the setup, headphones, etc.) DH is good for single player games as its good at reproducing an immersive environment with a sense of spatial depth, CMSS-3D tends to be better for multiplayer where it seems to have more responsive positioning of sounds in surround with a good sense of elevation and position around the head but a lot less easy to tell the range a sound is coming from than DH.