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Audiophilia: Headphones, Amps, DAPs, and Empty Wallets
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At least that way, the mic is hanging maybe a foot away and is not occupying desktop space. What do you guys think?
Is it the VX 1021K? That is one of the best mid-tier AVRs you can buy, I don't think they've even topped it themselves yet and that's a 2010/2011 model. Basically if you buy that AVR you will use it for 10+ years I think, the thing is futureproof unless we go to like symbiotic 4D HDMI or something.
I think you're mistaken though if you're thinking of the "wireless" feature it's advertising in regards to just being able to sync up some form of wireless speakers to it, it's literally talking about a WiFi connection that is built in to the AVR that lets you play music off your network directly through it. It's AirPlay equipped so you can just go to iTunes on your PC, hit "play via VSX1021" and the music will come through it.
Anyway, I do have a question. I play games and watch movies on my ps3, but occasionally I game on my laptop as well (stuff like l4d(2) not on ps3). I did recently order the ASTRO mixamp, and would like to use it with both my ps3 and my laptop. The problem? My laptop doesn't have a great sound card, just some Realtek HD card, and it only has the triple 3.5mm connections (mic/line in, 2 headphones. or analog 5.1). No optical out or anything.
I do know there are devices that can add an optical out that run off of usb, but I'm just not sure which one to get. Which one would you all recommend?
Thanks so much in advance!
There are quite a few USB 5.1/7.1 cards on Newegg but I didn't see any others that have the all-important Dolby Digital Live. The kinda funny thing is, this one also has Dolby Headphone, which may make the mixamp a little redundant (still might be worth using for the nice game/mic volume control, of course.)
It would be interesting to see if there are any differences between the Xonar's implementation and the Astro's.
Looks like this would work too.
Double Edit:
One more that I didn't see before.Hrm, maybe not, I saw Dolby Digital and jumped, doesn't look like it has the Live suffix, which is what you need for games. Shit is confusing sometimes. For my money, I'd probably still go with the Asus card. This one is a little cheaper though.Yea, I don't think the pioneer has bluetooth which is why I didn't pull the trigger once I got to the price (I hate when they firewall it so deep.. I like when i find them, but so annoying when the price isn't even good, which happens a lot with printers/HDs).. I'm gonna be just keeping things light for now as my discretionary budget just took a major hit (Vet bills
I have bilateral microtia. Essentially this means I can only hear out of one ear, and that "good" ear requires the assistance of a hearing aid. Modern technology is a wonderful thing, and I am able to pair my hearing aid with a fancy Bluetooth receiver which allows me to get a direct audio feed from any device which can transmit a Bluetooth signal. So basically, I use this for everything from talking on the phone to playing Diablo III on my computer.
My problem is that I recently
stolepicked up a fancy new plasma TV. Thinking I could use the same solution in order to watch TV late at night without waking my neighbors, I bought a Bluetooth transmitter for my TV. Unfortunately, it looks like it only works with an Analog Out signal, and my TV only has a Digital Out.My question is two-fold:
1. What do I need to purchase in order to properly convert the digital signal to audio? Would something like this suffice, or do I need something fancier (apparently there are issues with converting Dolby Digital 5.1 signals)?
2. If I do pick up some sort of conversion package, do you guys think that kind of crazy daisy-chained set-up will work? Essentially I'm going from: TV Digital Out -> Digital to Analog Converter -> Analog Bluetooth Transmitter -> Hearing Aid Bluetooth Receiver -> Hearing Aid. I'm thinking at some point, the Technology Gods will get angry with me and give me some sort of special electromagnetic cancer for screwing with them so much...
Thanks a lot, guys!
It all begins with the Audio Technica AT2020-USB. They go right through the USB, use very little power so they should power through a secondary USB jack, and can be had for $100. They also have a cool blue LED and are much smaller than that fucking Yeti.
The next bit is this badass boom arm. It mounts straight to the desk top so no legs to kick under the table and it swings around so it can swivel out of my way.
I'll be throwing in a Samson SP01 Shockmount and a Pop Filter for good measure. All in all, I am looking at $250 for just a USB microphone, but I don't think I will be needing another one for a good number of ages so I am perfectly okay with this semi-pro setup. I do have a few questions regarding a few things, however. What are some of the advantages of using an XLR mic as opposed to a USB mic. Would the Pre-amp make that huge of a difference in controlling and improving the quality of my recordings? And am I really missing anything else to make this a successful set up?
Thanks! I think I will put my money on the asus card. Considering my ps3 is my primary for gaming movies, I don't think its too redundant at all (its just, if I have the dolby headphone for console, why not have it for my laptop as well for the times I do use it?). Plus the mixamp still has the game/voice balancing, as you mentioned. Plus plus, I could report back on any differences in the implementation.
I don't do any sort of serious audio recording, so my mic usage is limited to gaming. I can't say I'm qualified to really comment on high-end mic setups, but I'm guessing we MUST have a musician or podcast we around here who could give some insight?
8-)
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I feel so underwhelmed that the AT2020 can be kitted out with such cool stuff, the boom arm, pop filter and shockmount. By comparison, the Bowers and Wilkins MM-1s are just plug and play. What would you guys say would be a very high quality alternative to that set for my computer, or is that about it? I chose the MM1s instead of the Bose Companion series, but what if I got my own audiophile speaker set up instead?
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Just an update. I got the card and installed, and it works wonderfully!
I am using it in conjunction with the Mixamp for the game/chat mixing at the moment. It did take me about 20 minutes to figure out how to set it up, as the software it comes with is... not bad but not as useful as it could be. The interesting thing is that in the Windows audio devices settings, it shows up as a Speaker, an Optical Out, a Mic In, and a Line In. I had set Windows to use its optical out thinking that would be best, but that's a lie. For some odd reason the software doesn't work that way. Windows has to be set to use it as a speaker, and from there it does the rest (choosing if you want to use it as analog or dolby digital live). As such, I haven't had a chance to really compare its Dolby Headphone to the mixamps dolby headphone, but I did notice that the asus card has 3 dh settings. Once I've really spent some time with it I'll post anything relevant.
Seems to have good reviews online and has multiple HDMI and optical inputs as well as a coax for when I connect my aging laptop. I'm filling a fairly small space, so I reckon the power levels should be alright. The price is pretty much bang on what I'd like to pay at around £300.
I also had a sniff at the Tannoy HTS101 and the Wharfedale DX-1 HCP and they also seem very good, but don't have the connectivity the Onkyo has. Seemingly only taking direct audio channel inputs (banana clips wtf?). Does this mean that I'd have to buy a seperate receiver/amplifier? My current setup is a PS3 for movies and games, while I get my TV through my Samsung's freeview functionality.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy PSN:pablocampy
If your budget has expanded, the Sennheiser PC360s are an excellent upgrade (stunning, really), but for sub-$100, the Carcharias are tough to beat, especially if you're looking for the built-in mic.
Those are sooo very tempting. They cheapskate in me doesn't want to spend $210, but the included 2 year warranty means if something like this happens again within two years i don't have to spend money on another headset. Stupid difficult decisions.
What would happen if I were to feed them 50 watts?
What I'm looking at is taking headphone out (from a PSP specifically) feeding it to an amp to drive the speakers in a more permanent installation. A small form-factor would be great, something I could tuck away and leave on 24/7. Would a headphone amp be appropriate for this setting?
any recommendations for amps for this application?
You want a small cheap stereo amplifier, like this. Or this, if your budget allows.
"If you don't know who Kendra is, I'm officially not speaking to you."
I already have a Sound Blaster Xfi Titanium and I know I have the CMMS3D stuff in my options. Guess we'll see tomorrow.
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/D1G1T4LSYN/
You will be very pleased with your decision by this time tomorrow. If you're going for one pair of 'phones for gaming and music, there is really almost nothing better in that price range. And they lend themselves extremely well to simulated surround sound, too.
I thought in this thread someone said the DSS2 was only for Xbox, but the product page on amazon clearly states it works on Windows Vista/7/OSx/whatev.
Is the Astro really worth $50 more than the Turtle Beach?
Not a lot. The Mixamp has a nicer desktop form factor with a big fat volume dial, whereas the DSS is a smaller little palm-sized control. The only other thing the Mixamp has going for it is the ability to "mix" the volume levels of chat (vent, mumble, etc) and ingame audio separately, meaning you can turn your game volume down while raising the chat volume on the fly. Or vice versa.
if the live mixing and the nicer form factor don't matter to you, go with the DSS. It uses the exact same surround sound processing tech, so audio-wise it'll be precisely the same as the Mixamp.
Then I started messing with my sound card settings and that is where things got really good. I think I found a new favorite headset.
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/D1G1T4LSYN/
Yea, it took me a few minutes of fiddling to get my sound card dialed in for them but once I did, sweet baby jesus did they sound glorious. The first time I played Bride of Punkara through them I just sat there slackjawed at how great it sounded. I can't wait to get these cans hooked up to an ASUS card.
EDIT: Speaking of the Asus Xonar Essence STX, it's looking like TigerDirect has the best offer on them. Despite originally planning on folding this into my winter pc update, I think I'm gonna jump on this while it lasts since it's at least 40 bucks cheaper than everyone else.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4540646&CatId=2771
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Or would I just have to start amping and things externally (I have a Mixamp if that helps)?
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If your headphone port doesn't also put out optical audio, your only real option is an external USB DAC/sound card, or something more specific like a Mixamp, yes.
I am an brass instrument player who would love to set up his own recording setup. Upon taking the pro tools and audio classes to run and understand the situation, I found out I wouldn't be happy unless I spent something like 1200 dollars for a nice mic, amp and digital audio interface that didn't scream budget build. But thats just me and my ridiculous obsession with perfection.
I have a TX-SR608, which is capable of 7.1, but I only have 5 speakers. The living room placement meant I won't really be able to put the 'back' speakers behind the couch, unless I put them in the kitchen which I think would block a lot of the sound actually coming from the speakers.
Do you think I would have better surround sound if I went with moving the two back speakers up to side speakers, mounting the back speakers basically directly above the couch instead of behind it, or mounting them in the kitchen which is not quite open to the living room?
I personally have stated my extreme dislike for the Turtle Beach x12s numerous times due to their tinny sound, over sensitive mic, and terrible design choices on the volumn adjuster.
Other people have said perhaps my set was defective leading to the tinny sound, which doesn't change my other complaints with the product, but the sound was my biggest complaint as it's kind of the most important part of headsets.
If you have to have a gaming headset, the Razer Charcarias is worth the extra $20-$30
Comfortable as hell and they sound decent. Caveat being that it's a Razer product and you may find yourself having to RMA them. Keep your receipt in a safe place
My best recommendation is something like the Beyerdynamic DT235 with a Zalman clip-on mic.
You will get superior sound quality for the price and those zalman mics are great for everything except recording professional sounding podcasts (i.e. just as if not better quality than any headset mic). The mic comes with little clips along the length of the cable so it just clips onto your headset cable. If it still annoys you, you could always tape it to the cord with electrician's tape
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What about the wireless Charcrias? I hear any surround sound is not worth the money is that true?
Can't really comment on the wireless versions as I've only ever tried the wired ones. If I had to make comment and having done no research on them whatsoever, I dare say they would lose some fidelity being wireless. Again, I know nothing so maybe someone else can share some insight.
As for surround sound, it is true that generally speaking, surround sound is no good on headphones. The reason for that is the drivers (speakers) in the cans (the bit what sits on your ear) are so close together it just sounds really weird and stilted in 7.1 phones.
Moral of the story, don't look at 7.1 or even 5.1 setups as a major selling point, because they're not.
Many people (including myself) like Dolby Headphone and if your output can support it, it's pretty good. I just set mine to stereo output but some people like the effect of 5.1
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