PCI-e Sound card for 5.1 gaming headset

[wez1007]

So as per this thread i got myself a CM Storm Sirus S headset. My only problem is that the onboard sound really doesnt drive tis set all that well and im looking for a semi decent sound card that I can get. Budget will be R600

I have played around with the headphones a bit... and plugging the sub/center channels into my laptop headphone jack really seems to pump. my guess is either my laptop has a small headphone amp or has a different output impedance. my pc has no where near the volume or bass (or even clarity for that matter).


These are two of the cards im looking at:

The Asus xonar DGX

and

The Asus Xonar DSX


I have to have a PCI-e card since my PCI slot is right under my graphics card cant compromise on the all important airflow

Thanks guys and girls!

 

[crysis]

The DSX circuitry looks better. Has its own proper OP amp there.

 

[wez1007]

The DGX has a headphone amp though? or is this only on the front output?

 

[crysis]

The DGX has a headphone amp though? or is this only on the front output?

Thats just marketing. They both output the same wattage im sure. the DGX looks like it has some kind of profile setting for your headphone, which is probably just an EQ setting.

 

[chrisc]

Have an unused Asus Xonar D1 lying in my drawer here. You can have it for R500 + shipping. It is PCI-e

 

[Rudimental]

Have an unused Asus Xonar D1 lying in my drawer here. You can have it for R500 + shipping. It is PCI-e

The D1 is PCI. It's the DX that is PCI-e. If it is the DX, then it would be better than the other two.

You won't get a soundcard with all 6 channels going through a headphone amp. It will just be on the main stereo/front panel output (which is what the DG/DGX has).

 

[wez1007]

Have an unused Asus Xonar D1 lying in my drawer here. You can have it for R500 + shipping. It is PCI-e

Thanks for the offer

The D1 is PCI. It's the DX that is PCI-e. If it is the DX, then it would be better than the other two.

You won't get a soundcard with all 6 channels going through a headphone amp. It will just be on the main stereo/front panel output (which is what the DG/DGX has).

So it would be DX>DSX>DGX?

 

[ponder]

How does one one get 5.1 sound out of a headset???

 

[Rudimental]

How does one one get 5.1 sound out of a headset???

With 3 x 3.5mm jacks. You plug it in the same way you do an analog 5.1 speaker set.

So it would be DX>DSX>DGX?

In terms of component quality, yes. Then, DX has the best feature set (minus headphone amp), but DGX/DSX are split, with DGX being aimed more towards headphones and DSX having 7.1 support.

 

[wez1007]

With 3 x 3.5mm jacks. You plug it in the same way you do an analog 5.1 speaker set.

Or with stereo headphones and some software trickery..

In terms of component quality, yes. Then, DX has the best feature set (minus headphone amp), but DGX/DSX are split, with DGX being aimed more towards headphones and DSX having 7.1 support.

well then I guess the DSX is the better option in my price range. since the single headphone amp isn't really going to help.

 

[TJ99]

Why not just use the USB plug? These "gaming" headphones normally don't have the quality to warrant a Xonar card, and the built-in sound processor/amp should power it as well as it can go.

 

[ponder]

With 3 x 3.5mm jacks. You plug it in the same way you do an analog 5.1 speaker set.

I'm sorry but I don't see how a set of headphones can do real 5.1 unless you have 5 ears.

 

[wez1007]

Why not just use the USB plug? These "gaming" headphones normally don't have the quality to warrant a Xonar card, and the built-in sound processor/amp should power it as well as it can go.

I ordered the Sirus S that comes without the USB sound card. Hence the need for a better sound card as on-board doesn't seem to power them as well as my laptops headphone jack does...

I'm sorry but I don't see how a set of headphones can do real 5.1 unless you have 5 ears.

has 8 speakers, 4 in each ear piece, 3 "satellites" with a sub



about as real as it gets... I wont lie, They work pretty damn well. Played a game of COD WAW zombies and with a little practise you can tell exactly where the zombies are coming from.

 

[Pada]

With the impedance of the speakers being only 16Ohms and 32Ohms for the sub, you won't need a sound card with an amplifier.

You usually only need a sound card with an amplifier once the impedance goes over 50 Ohm, like with the 300 - 600Ohm headphones, which are typically found with your Audiophile series ones.

If you had a big budget, I would've recommended the Sound Blaser Z PCI-E sound card.

I would actually love to hear the sound from one of those headphones with 5.1 speakers and compare it to my Sennheiser HD555 with the surround emulation from my Xonar Essense STX. I would guess that the surround sound emulation with an audiophile class headset would win, unless the headphones are USB where it is perfectly tuned.
Unfortunately pro sound stuff are pretty darn expensive, especially when you're going with electrostatic gear

 

[crysis]

With the impedance of the speakers being only 16Ohms and 32Ohms for the sub, you won't need a sound card with an amplifier.

You usually only need a sound card with an amplifier once the impedance goes over 50 Ohm, like with the 300 - 600Ohm headphones, which are typically found with your Audiophile series ones.

If you had a big budget, I would've recommended the Sound Blaser Z PCI-E sound card.

I would actually love to hear the sound from one of those headphones with 5.1 speakers and compare it to my Sennheiser HD555 with the surround emulation from my Xonar Essense STX. I would guess that the surround sound emulation with an audiophile class headset would win, unless the headphones are USB where it is perfectly tuned.
Unfortunately pro sound stuff are pretty darn expensive, especially when you're going with electrostatic gear

I once bought a pair of 5.1 head phones. Dumbest marketing trap I've ever fallen in to The speakers are so close together, you can forget spacial awareness/surround sound in games. All it is, is stereo: ruined. After a few months one of the "satellites" came loose, and started rattling, and then one of the subs blew, and had a god awful rattle to it too. It cost me R600 too, not super cheap, not too expensive. But really, in hindsight, buying something with 2 good speakers is better than 10 mediocre speakers. Hence the sennheiser DJ headphones which replaced them. Comfy, and they block out most of the outside noise.

 

[wez1007]

With the impedance of the speakers being only 16Ohms and 32Ohms for the sub, you won't need a sound card with an amplifier.

You usually only need a sound card with an amplifier once the impedance goes over 50 Ohm, like with the 300 - 600Ohm headphones, which are typically found with your Audiophile series ones.

If you had a big budget, I would've recommended the Sound Blaser Z PCI-E sound card.

I would actually love to hear the sound from one of those headphones with 5.1 speakers and compare it to my Sennheiser HD555 with the surround emulation from my Xonar Essense STX. I would guess that the surround sound emulation with an audiophile class headset would win, unless the headphones are USB where it is perfectly tuned.
Unfortunately pro sound stuff are pretty darn expensive, especially when you're going with electrostatic gear

Maybe my on-board just inst able to Give them the amperage they need :/

Id love to have a bigger budget... really would!

I think in terms of direction... maybe a 5.1 set would win. But over all sound quality I think most sets of stereo headphones would win. Obviously when you have multiple speakers you start to get small delays which might make things sound out of phase.

Thanks for the info

 

[wez1007]

I once bought a pair of 5.1 head phones. Dumbest marketing trap I've ever fallen in to The speakers are so close together, you can forget spacial awareness/surround sound in games. All it is, is stereo: ruined. After a few months one of the "satellites" came loose, and started rattling, and then one of the subs blew, and had a god awful rattle to it too. It cost me R600 too, not super cheap, not too expensive. But really, in hindsight, buying something with 2 good speakers is better than 10 mediocre speakers. Hence the sennheiser DJ headphones which replaced them. Comfy, and they block out most of the outside noise.

I can hear directionality pretty well on these ones... better than I had with any stereo set. I guess the games also need to have a proper Audio engine to make it worth while. Cod seems to do it well. I cant comment on BF4 cause ive got some major audio issues there :/

 

[plbartie]

I can hear directionality pretty well on these ones... better than I had with any stereo set. I guess the games also need to have a proper Audio engine to make it worth while. Cod seems to do it well. I cant comment on BF4 cause ive got some major audio issues there :/

Did you buy a soundcard and did it help? I have exact same problem, same headset but onboard soundcard is very soft and need a little more volume.

 

[Electric]

5.1 headphones just doesn't make sense.
Headphones already simulate real life environments clearly highlighted by listening to a binaural audio recording.

My current Beyerdynamics are excellent studio headphones that give a clear, well defined sound stage.
The sound stage creates the space for the audio to move around in.

 

[Electric]

Did you buy a soundcard and did it help? I have exact same problem, same headset but onboard soundcard is very soft and need a little more volume.

That does not require a soundcard but rather a headphone amp.
It's the same with low impedance studio phones.