A/V Sound Card and headset choices

Hi all,

Would like some advice for upgrading my onboard sound

would be mainly used for Teamspeak and mumble, alsofor watching a lot of blu rays and such

would a really good pair of stereo headphones be better than ones that replicate 5.1

also having read the forums a Xonar variation card seems to be the choice, i don;t might paying

the money out as long as the 2 items sound card and speakers work great with each other,

any help would be great a couple choices maybe, i have about £300 to spend if need be,

i have used the Vulcan ANC headphones and loved how comftable they were, and the idea of a

detachable mic and being able to put em away from my kids is appealing.

Thanks

 

What's your current audio equipment? Speakers, headphones and soundcard .
I assume your PC is your Blu-Ray player.

 

Audio is none really so to speak , On board hd sound, asus vulcan anc headset, mic is broken so need to start fromt he ground up, and yes blu rays are from the pc.

Was thinking about the Asus Xonar STX card and possibly the H6 daughter card, headphones and clip on mic, tho choosing the headphones, prefer closed as where i'll be sound will be an issue, over the ear, i was reading the Senn HD 598, but they are open

I watch movies / play wow, gw2 rpg's that sort of game rather than fps, in about a 60 / 40 ratio

so whilst watching blu rays would like to get the best out of em i can for about £400 give or take a little, but choosing the headphones is not easy lol.

i found the vulcan's very comftable but did sweat some so velour pads would be good.

any adive or help is appreciated

Thanks

 

You cant go wrong with asus xonar cards , i have a xonar ds card and it has fantastic sound quality , i use it in basic stereo mode with a pair of sennheiser hd555's and it sounds awesome..

 

Senn HD 555 ok i'll check thhem out thanks, i'll look up the DS card as well.

 

The Senn HD555 are open.
I would ask Hamza_tm. Or on Head-fi.org. I think you might want to look at Studio level headphones so starting ~£110-130. Second hand is an option.

Xonar Essence cards look to be about £140.

Looks liek you'll be left with £30 for speaker :s

 

see my sig great set of cans

 

For basic, reliable sound; get a Xonar DX, and a reasonable quality set of AKG/Sennheiser/Denon headphones, and abuse the Dobly Headphone Surround mode in the DX's sound options, it's reasonably good at adding a surround effect, while not 100% accurate to direction, it's more than enough for most circumstances. I do advise turning it off while listening to music, however, as it does distort audio rather a lot.

As for a microphone; Use a USB webcam or something. I've yet to find a microphone that doesn't sound like crap when plugged into a Xonar card, in part to how little attention has been given to the Microphone Input on Asus cards.

 

Thanks guys for the input, I do have the Logitech 920 webcam so I cold use the mic on that for the time being, as for speakers I can get some of those in a couple weeks and look for a good 2.1 set just trying to get my head round and learn about the audio, headphones and cards and such ATM speaks can come in a bit and hopefully will be easier

As for the cans I have been looking at open as well, tbh and the ones that caught my eye I keep oing back to are the hd 598, but the suggestion from .//TuNdRa gon lookinto now

Keep the suggestions coming as there great, thanks guys it's aapreciated

 

I know a lot of people swear that simulated 5.1/7.1 doesn't work well, but I have a pair of razer megalodons and they are absolutely brilliant. Plus they have an inbuilt sound card that's brilliant and if a game doesn't support 7.1 then you can switch to 2.1.

edit, plus the inbuilt swivel microphone is crisp and clear, I use it for mumble whilst playing bf3 all the time.

 

You've a Logitech 920 webcam? You can stop worrying about replacement Microphones right now. I've got some cheap phillips job and it's more than enough. Stereo microphones are far more than you'll ever need. The only bonus to a boom-mounted microphone on a headset would be that you don't have to talk as loud.

As for Simulated Surround; It depends on the audio incoming. I've found it makes Music awful, too spread out, and the bass dramatically overdone, but for films and games; it just makes it feel like you're actually being surrounded by the noise, rather than simply listening to it from two directions. Admittedly; this is with my HD 485 headphones, that do have a wonderful soundstage to them, so i'm simply playing up the strengths of these headphones.

 

From experience I prefer spacial clarity (better reproduction of sound) over real or simulated surround sound. Same money in a entry level amp and speakers will get you far superior Sound quality.

Also: I have a par of AKG 271 and the logitech 930 headset with real surround. Much prefer the AKGs the the logitech headset for music and gaming. It is easier to tell where sound is meant to be coming from. Where at the 930 are bass heavy and load but much less precise.

 

hi, i think i got it narrowed down

looking at the HD - 598's with the Xonar Essance STX

i have a couple of questions need confirming pls

Will this get me simulated surround through the HD's598's 5.1 and 7.1 ?

Or have i got it wrong which wouldn't surprise me

Thanks for all the help though guys keep it coming

Edit i am also now looking at the Beyer DT-990 Pro 250 ohm


Edit 2 so the choice is between the HD-598's or DT 990 Pro

as it's for movies and games 50 / 50 whats your opinions please



so now just reading reviews as i move / game in equal percentages

as to which maybe better