What gaming headphones to buy? - Page 254

Ah OK Shin, that makes sense... it sounds like the newer ones can be used as a USB DAC/AMP combo. I was confused because the old mixamp has to have a DAC section to convert the digital signal to analog, but I thought you were thinking it didn't have a DAC section at all.

Just to clarify, yes, you would be able to use the uDAC, D4, aune, and any DAC like that with a usb input with your computer.

Basically, a DAC converts a digital signal, like digital coax, optical, usb, to analog, which could be RCA jacks, a 3.5mm headphone jack, etc. Different DACs offer different inputs and outputs, but ones that offer usb will work with your computer. The mixamp was not really meant to be a standalone DAC initially, it just has a DAC section because it needs it. But apparently, if your information is correct, the newer ones have added a USB decoder so that the DAC section can be used with a computer, so you get a DAC/AMP combo when used with your computer, like the uDAC, D4, aune, etc would be. One difference in functionality here between the mixamp and these units in particular, is that the mixamp doesn't have line out analog outputs, so it's not really a standalone DAC, it's a DAC/AMP combo. Meaning you can't separate the DAC and amp sections so you could use your own amp with it in the future. Well, you couldn't get the best DAC functionality out of it anyway, as you would need to amp the already amped headphone out as we do when using out external amps now when gaming, which isn't ideal.

But even though it's a DAC/AMP combo, not all DACs are created equal and not all of them sound the same. It's one of the most important components when considering a digital system, and can have a dramatic effect on the sound. Even your netbook has a DAC section right now, and it apparently sounds like crap, which is case in point (though it's possible the amp section is causing the popping/etc, but still the DAC section on the stand alone DACs mentioned will sound better). Better designed DACs based on better DAC chips sound better, which is what the units starting around the uDAC/D4/etc start to provide.

SID3W8Z, sweeeet! Can't wait to hear your impressions. I bet you love it You're gonna have fun rolling the opamp and tubes too.

Regarding the black knight, I think I would pay $130, but not much more. It looks sweet and is nicely integrated, but if the original cans are only $89 or so, there's a cutoff for how much extra I would pay to not glue or velcro a mic on, and to have them painted black. That cutoff for me personally is probably totals right around $130.

I think $130 sounds like a good deal for your monster AD700. If you modded an adjustable headband.... you know...

Thanks Rage. I'll definitely keep the AUNE and D4 on my wishlists. I promise no more headphones for now.

Though the JVC HAS700..... I can haz it?

That was my thought as well. Yes, I can't wait for the LD to get here... I'd like to see if I can discover any "new" things in my current FLACs. I'm sure other headphones though would help with that as well. I'm still debating if I want to go full gung-ho for the SR225i and wait... or if I'll be just as happy with the SR80i (ignorance is bliss here type of thing). I hear the new 80i comes with bowls instead of flats too.

I honestly thought about the headband issue. I couldn't get Turtle Beach to sell me a replacement headband from the HPX (which would have worked perfectly). I would have then picked up some spare material from a Fabric store and had one of those places that do custom stitching at the mall stitch the AT logo and a SWZ one on it too... hehe.

MY girl is in love with the ES7, but we're both pretty sure they are uncomfortable. The shallow cups just look like they hurt. Those and the Audio Technica SQ5.

I think I should've gotten those instead of the Siberia, but I KNOW they wouldn't touch the Siberia in comfort, though she'd like to use full sized cans in public, and the Siberia wouldn't look right for obvious reasons. They're like poor man's K701 in looks, so HUUUGE isn't exactly 'hip'.

Give her the RE0s when she wants to listen on the go...

Nah, she has her Koss IEMs that she got for $15 at Blockbuster. Super bass heavy and not all that clear, but they're practical, and have an inline volume control. She'd break the RE0s in a day. The cables are INCREDIBLY fragile, and I'm surprised *I* haven't broken them yet.

I don't give her new Koss IEMs that long to live. Trust me.

Maybe a trusted recable of yours for my IEMs can help her? Lol.

lol, don't laugh tho... I'm thinking of re-cabling my Sennheiser CX250 to get rid of the volume control and kill the microphonics at the same time (plus make them all Dubai'd out)....

Yeah Dubai baby!!! I love it!

I have to say Im in love with S4i's with the cabling that is all Apple'd out!! (white lol)

Well, I got my 3.5mm to RCA cable yesterday which meant it was time to give the Matrix M-stage some play time.

So I hook everything up and throw MW2 in the ole Xbox...1st impression was, this isn't any louder than my mixamp... I turned the matrix all the way up, had the mixamp nearly all the way up, and fiddled around with the chat/game mix some more. Still, no significant increase in volume. WTF?

At this point "crestfallen" would be only a small exaggeration on how I felt! Well, after about a half hour of play, switching back and forth between mixamp and matrix, I decide to take a closer look at my new toy. There has GOT to be some more switches on this beotch, right?? Sure enough, there are 3 gain jumpers on the bottom allowing for 4 diff gain settings - 0, +10, +18, +20(?).

AAAAHA!! There's the friggin volume. I used the 10 and 18db gain settings and there was all the volume I wanted and more. This amp has PLENTY of juice for the 702s!

Now, I did not notice any significant improvement in sound quality over just using the mixamp. I guess as the volume went up, it was certainly a more powerful sound than the mixamp, better bass etc. But honestly that was too high a volume level for me to play at.

Bottom line, I'm going to keep playing with this some more this week, but I don't think I'm getting enough improvement to justify the cost so there is a good chance I'll be selling this amp. If you are unhappy with the mixamp's ability to power tough to drive headphones, this amp WILL solve your problem! I guess I'm content with the volume I get out of the mixamp alone.

I didn't test this with music at all, just gaming.

FYI for anyone that is interested, my Beyerdynamic MMX 300 headset is for sale, $235 shipped CONUS. I'm exclusively using my K702 mic mod headset now and want to find the MMX300 a good home. The MMX300 is in terrific condition and it pairs up very nicely with the mixamp. I have all the original packaging and contents, including a nifty USB adapter for those of you that want to use it on a computer. PM me if you're interested.

Re: The Dark Knights: I wouldn't try selling them for more than $150. They're really cool, but as someone else said, there's a point at which it's not worth the extra money to not have to velcro on a mic.

Agreed. I figured $130 is the most I'd spend on them as well... which is why I figured that was a good price.

WayTooCrazy aka Sidways did your k702 mic mod?

Its that good that you want to sell your MMX300's?

ATB built his own cable. Coyote, PJ, and a guy in Malaysia are the only ones who have an SWZ K702 Gaming cable.

No sh*t huh??

Damn, SWZ is worldwide already!!

My K702 mic mod cable is homemade (pics here), similar to the ones SWZ has made. I prefer the K702 over the MMX 300, but it comes down to subtleties. The Beyers deliver more bass and ambience than the K702s, and since they are closed-back you are really immersed in the game. I like the overall sound of the AKGs, and the open design of the K702s allows me to hear if my wife or kids need me. It's better all around if they don't have to shout to get my attention.

Or even worse scare you. I HATE THAT!!!!

When I first moved into my current apt last summer. My friends would come thru all the time to drink beer and hang out, so I'd leave the door unlocked most of the day. Of course COD4 was still very popular and pretty much used to game everyday with my Astro's on turned all the way up.

There is nothing. And I mean nothing worse. Than being the last man alive.. hiding, listening and looking for every little sound trying to defend the HQ.. and somebody TAPS you on the shoulder in real life. Shyt I hopped outta my chair they scared me so bad!!

Lol, I had a deal pending with someone in the UK... but they decided to sell off their K702s before I was able to put together the cable for them.

Side note... if you game with your astros all the way up, you'll be very disappointed by the relative lack of volume from 702s out of the mixamp.

Yes, I have you to thank for our discussion of the actual upper connector configuration on the K702s. My original cable was only Shrink tube, my second was with the Video Splitter (which I kinda wish I could've gotten that to work as it was overall a smaller foot print). Though, with the current "ATB/SWZ" design with suggestion from Coyote has allowed for a more comfortable cable experience (Coyote... I still got you covered... will complete soon).

I have a solution for that....

Shielded Patch Cords... anyone use a patch cable with a drain wire? I'm going to be building a patch cable out of 2' of Mogami W2534 and was going to add a drain wire to the EMI shielding. I believe this go to the ground of the source (or the Amp). Not 100% sure...

...and 3D from FooBar!

Say it aint so

It's different for everyone I guess. I have no problems with volume using only the mixamp. Others don't seem to get the volume they want. If you end up getting them, go with Amazon so you can return them if you're not happy with the volume output via mixamp.

Realistically.. I play with my Mixamp volume with the round around the 8 position (on a scale of 1-10). As long as the k702s work fine at the 9 or so position, it wont be a problem.

They are definitely coming from Amazon, free shipping and GREAT return policy. Considering my 90 day prime 'trial' membership runs out on the 28th of this month.. I'll probably order the k702's sometime this Friday (payday!!).

The game/voice knob is really the killer.

There's really only one way to find out if it's enough for you. With amazon's great return policy, I don't see any reason not to order them now and have them by the weekend!!

so i like my music pretty loud (in general) and i can definitely say that the k702's and the mixamp can get louder than i'd comfortably like to game with.

a dac is a dac... digital audio converter.

the mixamp taking optical and outputting headphone analog is a dac function.... but like you said, our mixamps dont have USB dac functions, like astro has claimed (i.e. connecting usb to a pc and using the mixamp as a usb soundcard of sorts)


i think he meant usb dac, astro claims you can take stress off of a pc by offloading the sound processing (sound card) duties and letting astro do it, i've connected to usb before and got nothing out of it.



anything out of the headphone is amped, you chose D to listen to whichever is selected on the usb/spdif side, and you choose A to listen to the analog input (aka mixamp, ipod LOD, etc)

as for opamps, they're the most important part of an amps circuitry in terms of sound quality. they're responsible for taking a low input voltage and outputting it at a much higher voltage (aka "amping")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_amplifier





i know a lot of this stuff was already addressed, but i've been slacking today and just multiquoted everything.