True 7.1 with on-board sound

[Baldwin90]

I have a Z68 MOBO with a pretty good on-board sound card that's capable of true 7.1 surround sound output. I have Turtle Beach PX5s that sound alright, but the surround experience is seriously lacking, since it only has 2 drivers and the fiber can only actually transmit a signal of 5.1 (so I have digital 5.1).

 

I'm looking at getting a Tiamat 7.1 (please don't ask "why the heck do you want to pay for that?" because I want true 7.1, and those kind of replies aren't constructive). So, I have the capability to use true 7.1 surround sound, and I want to take advantage of it. Tiamat 7.1 is highly regarded in having some of the best surround reproduction and comfort. The mic is "eh" and the actual sound signature isn't much better than my PX5s.

 

 

I have several questions:

 

Do you own, or have you used, a Tiamat 7.1? If so, what did you think about the experience?

 

If you feel like buying a Tiamat 7.1 is a bad idea, why? If so, do you have any suggestions of other headsets that also do true (meaning not virtual) 7.1?

 

What headset two-driver would you suggest to someone, and why would that headset be a better option?

 

If I were to decide to go the route of only two drivers, what are good options to still take advantage of the on-board 7.1 on the MOBO I/O to do virtual surround on better quality headset drivers?

 

 

Edit: Here's my beef, what's the freakin' point of having MOBOs and sound cards that have physical 7.1 outputs if you are only going to plug in stereo headphone? That's a wasted feature if you do nothing but have software simulate surround sound for you, when you have hardware that will do it properly

[Dude]

Buy a real pair of headphones and a modmic.

"7.1" on gaming headsets suck balls and if you really needed 7.1 then you could get some unofficial 7.1 drivers for your superior headphones that you should buy instead of some extremely shitty Razer product.

[BoltActionWaffle]

"True 7.1 surround sound"... Lol. Have you ever wondered how you hear differences in your surrounding environment when you only have two ears? The reason why the turtle beaches are bad, is simply because of the headset itself. They're closed back headphones, with a miniscule soundstage, bad imaging I presume and probably bad sound quality which doesn't help with hearing audio ques such as footsteps. 7.1 and 5.1 surround is just marketing for headphones. 7.1 and 5.1 aren't just random numbers for the sake of rating how good the surround experience is. For less than $200 you can buy hd558s paired with a mod mic 4.0, which should perform better in every way. You can use virtual surround if you want but if you haven't noticed by now, when it's not enabled I'm pretty sure its not just left and right separation.

[Baldwin90]

Buy a real pair of headphones and a modmic.

"7.1" on gaming headsets suck balls and if you really needed 7.1 then you could get some unofficial 7.1 drivers for your superior headphones that you should buy instead of some extremely shitty Razer product.

So you've voiced your opinion, but have given no specific feedback, aside from the modmic bit. What software would be good, and what headphones would be good?

[Dude]

So you've voiced your opinion, but have given no specific feedback, aside from the modmic bit. What software would be good, and what headphones would be good?

I'm going to have to tell you to buy this forum's headphone of choice (Unless it has changed and no one has told me); The ATH-M50X

[Baldwin90]

"True 7.1 surround sound"... Lol. Have you ever wondered how you hear differences in your surrounding environment when you only have two ears? The reason why the turtle beaches are bad, is simply because of the headset itself. They're closed back headphones, with a miniscule soundstage, bad imaging I presume and probably bad sound quality which doesn't help with hearing audio ques such as footsteps. 7.1 and 5.1 surround is just marketing for headphones. 7.1 and 5.1 aren't just random numbers for the sake of rating how good the surround experience is. For less than $200 you can buy hd558s paired with a mod mic 4.0, which should perform better in every way. You can use virtual surround if you want but if you haven't noticed by now, when it's not enabled I'm pretty sure its not just left and right separation.

Wouldn't a true 7.1 surround output that get's put through a stereo mixer work better than using software? What software would you suggest, if you would recommend something to do software visualization?

[BoltActionWaffle]

Wouldn't a true 7.1 surround output that get's put through a stereo mixer work better than using software? What software would you suggest, if you would recommend something to do software visualization?

Most people who do use virtual surround are using razer's, but personally do not use it. I play competitively in a few FPS' and simply use the "headphones" option in-game. The way surround works Is how your ears interact with each other, slight differences in timing etc.

[BoltActionWaffle]

I'm going to have to tell you to buy this forum's headphone of choice (Unless it has changed and no one has told me); The ATH-M50X

I'm pretty sure it's not the m50x, not sure if it was in the past either. Hd558/518s are the most common recommendation, and for good reason. But the most common closed back headphone for $100 is the m40x and $200 possibly the dt770 pros.

[Baldwin90]

I'm pretty sure it's not the m50x, not sure if it was in the past either. Hd558/518s are the most common recommendation, and for good reason. But the most common closed back headphone for $100 is the m40x and $200 possibly the dt770 pros.

So the 518s and the HyperX Cloud Gaming headset are both $80. 518 is open and HyperX is closed. Which would you say is the better value?

[BoltActionWaffle]

So the 518s and the HyperX Cloud Gaming headset are both $80. 518 is open and HyperX is closed. Which would you say is the better value?

The cloud is a headset, but the mic is mediocre. The hd518s as a pair of headphones are better imo but will require another solution for a mic.

[creatip123]

 

Here's my beef, what's the freakin' point of having MOBOs and sound cards that have physical 7.1 outputs if you are only going to plug in stereo headphone?

 

Physical 7.1 outputs are supposed to be used with surround speaker sets, not headphones or headsets. Those companies just thought, 'hey, let's create a gimmick of 'true surround' headsets, put multiple cheap-ass drivers in each cups, and tag them $200 higher than what it should be valued...'

 

Imagine this (or test for yourself, if you got surround speaker set), group the left satellites together, and also the right satellites. Put them right next to each other so their sides touch each other. Play a surround recording, or watch a surround movie, or something. Could you tell which sound is coming out of which satellites? 'True surround' headsets would be worse, with each drivers (equivalent to the satellites in the test) only space a few millimeters from each other. Which sound is coming out of which drivers?

 

In the end, it's your money though, so if you still feel like getting one, then do it. At least you'd know first hand then....