Calling all audiophiles.(sound help)

[Mr Moopsy]

I want to buy a sound card. My p9x79 pro has always seemd rather bland and weak with its signal source. IE lower sound level and mics barely picking up sound.

Recently I purchased a buttkicker. More or less a subwoofer for those wondering. So good strong bass is important to me.

I have been looking at the Sound Blaster Zx as an option.

---
Also headsets. I dont care about a mic. I want some comfortable WIRED stereo headsets. Virtual surround is pretty good in my opinion... im not sold on the idea that the true 5.1/7.1 headsets actually are that much of an upgrade over a high end stereo headset using a soundcards virtual surround.

Would love "expert" opinions!

[videogames]

I think if you just want 2.0 audio an external DAC/headphone amp combo is a much better purchase than any of these 'gaming' sound cards, especially for driving low sensitivity or high impedance headphones.
You can get a Schiit Magni 2 / Modi 2 stack for $200 (minus RCA and USB cables), that's pretty much the best value you're going to find at that price.

im not sold on the idea that the true 5.1/7.1 headsets actually are that much of an upgrade over a high end stereo headset using a soundcards virtual surround.

You're right, they're really not. You can do virtual surround in software, but I find that ultimately a good headphone will do well without it.

[Mr Moopsy]

Well, I want 2.1 audio.
Left/right from stereo headset + bass/sub

My usb space is rather limited. I already have like 10 usb devices >.> Internal/pcie is prefered unless of course the usb is actually better. But then ugly cords and clutter >.<

[teunisswart]

If choosing a sound card and headphones then the top ranking one's are. Soundcard Creative Sound Blaster Zx and Zxr Headphones Audio Technica ATH-ADG1 both around the $300 AU

[videogames]

Originally posted by Mr Moopsy:

Well, I want 2.1 audio.
Left/right from stereo headset + bass/sub

My usb space is rather limited. I already have like 10 usb devices >.> Internal/pcie is prefered unless of course the usb is actually better. But then ugly cords and clutter >.<

The buttkicker uses a splitter cable to connect, usb dac should still work with a 3.5mm to 6.5mm adapapter jack on top of that. And a dedicated USB dac is most certainly better than your average internal soundcard. You can get an optical version of the Modi as well if your motherboard supports it, should be better than USB. An internal soundcard would be a neater setup though, and work just as well if you don't have very demanding headphones.

Originally posted by teunisswart:

If choosing a sound card and headphones then the top ranking one's are. Soundcard Creative Sound Blaster Zx and Zxr Headphones Audio Technica ATH-ADG1 both around the $300 AU

If he doesn't need a mic the ADG1 is most certainly not worth the added premium over the AD700X.

[Mr Moopsy]

I do have optical, but Im not certain if the optical quality is that great. My experience with my motherboards onboard sound is lackluster. Your generic realtek stuff with driver issues, unsupported codecs, or rather no dolby ;) etc. And I am trying to get away from it.

Currently I have the buttkicker in a subwoofer jack. So running "5.1" with center/side speakers disable. aka 2.1
I could use the splitter, putting it in the sub spot just makes more sense to me and means I have less to filter.


Also, I want closed headphones. Dont care to hear my surroundings or let others hear whatever I might listen to or game etc.

[videogames]

Originally posted by Mr Moopsy:

I do have optical, but Im not certain if the optical quality is that great. My experience with my motherboards onboard sound is lackluster. Your generic realtek stuff with driver issues, unsupported codecs, or rather no dolby ;) etc. And I am trying to get away from it.

Optical bypasses the onboard DAC and uses whatever you plugged into it instead. It's a better choice than USB since it's not succeptible to EMI.

Also, I want closed headphones. Dont care to hear my surroundings or let others hear whatever I might listen to or game etc.

That limits your choices a bit. What's your price range?

[Mr Moopsy]

Hmmm...Im not certain about that optical thing. When I had the razer chimaera hooked up with optical it couldnt do 5.1 despite the headset supporting it.
The onboard/realtek wouldnt allow me to choose 5.1 over optical among other things.
And my motherboard supports 5.1 >.>

So I have been looking at the Creative Sound Blaster Zx and ZxR options.
Zx is currently $100 vs ZxR $180
Im thinking Zx is my best choice.

As for headset... Around $200 maybe. I could be swayed higher and lower depending on quality.



Because I am no expert on sound by any means....what types of differences might i expect between my onboard sound and a dedicated card?

p.s are v-moda crossfade LP any good?

I want better than my current razer krakens...which i imagine should be fairly easy to beat?
Comfort is very important to me. My current headset hurts my ears :(

I have big ears :P

[videogames]

I can't speak for your Razer stuff, but I imagine they use their own proprietary software rather than relying on the onboard realtek codec.

As far as DAC quality goes, if your onboard audio is already decent, don't expect a big difference. I wouldn't consider a soundcard if you already have something like a ALC1150 chip in there, unless you really need those extra inputs and dolby whatever it comes with. You may get lower signal-to-noise ratio, lower noise floor, slightly more clarity/detail, but it's not really a substantial upgrade for the price you're paying, and it may be it's not a difference you'll even be able to hear on your setup. Investing that money into better headphones first is a smarter choice. The headphone amp section on a good internal soundcard will beat the the average onboard cheap stuff by a rather large margin, but it still won't be as good as an equally priced dedicated amp. You likely want a better amp if you're driving 300ohm+ low sensitivity headphones. But if your headphones are easy to drive, a high power amp won't give you much benefit.

The V-Moda Crossfade range are supposed to be good basshead cans, but I haven't tried them personally and can't speak for their comfort.
On a $200 budget I'd have a look at:
Beyerdynamic DT-770 250Ohm (Decent bass, peaky treble, good detail. Fairly eficient for their high impedance, but will require at least a decent headphone amp to sound their best)
Audio-Technica ATH-A900X (good treble, slightly recessed mids, bass is well defined but it's not there in quantity. Good soundstage for closed headphones. I own the original A900s and other than the mids I like them quite a bit. YMMV)
AKG K553/K550 (fairly neutral reference headphones, eficient despite being designed for studio use, good soundstage for a closed headphone)
And the Shure SRH840 (good reference headphones, good bass, slightly on the darker side of the spectrum but peaky/somewhat sibilant treble).

[Mr Moopsy]

Realtek ALC898 is what I have.

as for the razer stuff, it is crap and im tired of it. My chimara 5.1 corroded/snaped/crumbled apart at the earcups. Razer said it was my fault they were crumbling. When I asked what I possibly could do that makes them crumble they decided oh...yeah its a manufacturing defect. We wont do anything about it....
And the kraken hurts my ears and sounds kind of bad >.<

So im wanting some nice sound to go with my rig. I figure a good headset and 1-4 buttkickers is what I am after.

[Kate]

If you're serious about sound quality, for headphones (headset without a mic is just headphones) get an external DAC/amp instead of a sound card. I have no idea what your budget is, but here's a great combination for a warm and still detailed sound:
O2 amp + ODAC + Sennheiser HD650
Replace the O2+ODAC with Schiit Modi+Magni if you want, the sound should be indistinguishable, looks and availability are more important factors.
Replace the HD650 with the HD600 if you want more detail and less bass, or the DT990 if you want more bass+treble. There are other models worth noting, like the ATH-M50s, SRH840, some Ultrasones, but without knowing your budget and taste I can't go further.

Can't really help you with speakers, especially since I only know a bit about flat-sounding studio monitors, not bass cannons. I do know that whichever DAC you use could probably be used with a speaker amp through a switchbox.

Rule of thumb: don't buy things from companies that don't specialize in that thing. That means don't buy watches from fashion companies (thanks for the 300$ quartz!), don't buy clothes from sports companies, and don't buy headphones/speakers from gaming companies.

EDIT:

Originally posted by Mr Moopsy:

Also, I want closed headphones. Dont care to hear my surroundings or let others hear whatever I might listen to or game etc.

Hadn't read this part. Good closed headphones I know of, haven't heard most of these so keep in mind this is a "check-this-out" list, not a recommendation:
Shure SRH840
Audio-Technica ATH-M50
Beyerdynamic DT770
Several Ultrasone HFI models
Mr. Speakers Mad Dog

[Mr Moopsy]

I think that ath-m50x is gonna be a winner.
Looks good and people say it sounds good and it is affordable!

The other headsets I was looking at and liked how they looked where between $1000 and $2000. Sooooo I wont be getting those haha xD

I have been reading online, and supposedly to use simvibe software(which makes my buttkicker/transducers more realistic) I need a second soundcard.

That said, is the sound blaster z a good choice?

[videogames]

Should be fine. Specs look fairly average, but it certainly beats your onboard audio. It says it can handle 600 Ohm headphones, but I wouldn't trust it with that.
As for the M50X, it's a good buy if you can find one cheap, but unless you really want that boomy bass it is outclassed by pretty much every other headphone mentioned so far.

[Kate]

Originally posted by Mr Moopsy:

I think that ath-m50x is gonna be a winner.
Looks good and people say it sounds good and it is affordable!

The other headsets I was looking at and liked how they looked where between $1000 and $2000. Sooooo I wont be getting those haha xD

I have been reading online, and supposedly to use simvibe software(which makes my buttkicker/transducers more realistic) I need a second soundcard.

That said, is the sound blaster z a good choice?

Honestly, 1000$ closed headphones are very rarely worth their price, especially dynamic drivers.
I don't really understand getting 2 soundcards just to apply an equalizer filter to a sub-woofer, but suit yourself.

[Mr Moopsy]

Originally posted by Erin:

Originally posted by Mr Moopsy:

I think that ath-m50x is gonna be a winner.
Looks good and people say it sounds good and it is affordable!

The other headsets I was looking at and liked how they looked where between $1000 and $2000. Sooooo I wont be getting those haha xD

I have been reading online, and supposedly to use simvibe software(which makes my buttkicker/transducers more realistic) I need a second soundcard.

That said, is the sound blaster z a good choice?

Honestly, 1000$ closed headphones are very rarely worth their price, especially dynamic drivers.
I don't really understand getting 2 soundcards just to apply an equalizer filter to a sub-woofer, but suit yourself.

Oh, I am pretty sure they were not worth the price. But simply based on looks, they were the ones I found aesthetically pleasing. All the others tend to be a leathery and plastic black look and I personally dont like that. Looks cheap to me even if they sound great.
There is no chance I would ever spend that much on any headphones ever though.

Originally posted by videogames:

Should be fine. Specs look fairly average, but it certainly beats your onboard audio. It says it can handle 600 Ohm headphones, but I wouldn't trust it with that.
As for the M50X, it's a good buy if you can find one cheap, but unless you really want that boomy bass it is outclassed by pretty much every other headphone mentioned so far.

Well, currently the m50x is going for $130 or so. Which seems like a good deal. considering the others are are about $250+

That said, is there a dramatic increase in sound quality that might justify an extra $100+

The other headset That was mentioned and caught my attention was the Ultrasone hifi's the 580 and 780.

[videogames]

The A900X goes for $150 or so and in my opinion are a much better pick from Audio-Technica. At the $250 range there's the MSR7, or you can import the A1000X from kakaku through buysmartjapan / pricejapan. Might also get some better prices on other AT models and japanese headphones from there.

All the other ones mentioned you should be able to find for $200 or under. But ultimately it comes down to what kind of sound you're looking for; I think the Shure and the Beyers are both better balanced and more refined, and should still provide enough bass to satisfy, if that's what you're after. I have no experience with Ultrasone or their S-Logic voodoo magic thing, so can't coment on those.