Audio setup suggestions

[Plato]

Hello LTT community,

 

A moment of silence as I bid my last Tritton goodbye…

Here is what’s up:

I have been enjoying the Tritton 5.1 Pro+ model since 2012. I said “model” because I have gotten 4 replacements so far (the above being the 5^th headset)… Each headset went down a similar path where I would use them for extended periods of time every day. The headband would start showing small cracks at first which then grew to… well; you can see the result above.

I have tried to somewhat extend their lifetime by putting them on ridiculously careful (e.g. sliding them on and never stretching the band further than needed to put them on) and by sliding the rails further into the top piece of the headband. The following picture is the same headset as above mind you!

Alas, the mighty gods of warranty have forsaken me as the warranty period ended and it won’t be long until this headset is completely unwearable. I think it is time to say goodbye to the 190EUR I have thrown at this headset.

Some features I enjoyed were:

- instant mic playback (prevented me from speaking louder than needed)

- separate audio channels and controls for communication (e.g. skype) and everything else (e.g. games)

- watching movies in DD5.1 with multiple drivers; even though that is “insulting my brain’s intelligence” (yes, I read through the FAQ)

 

Now I am hoping to find some respite in this lovely community by asking for advice. The choice of what kind of audio solution I should get is hard for me as I have to find a balance between spending and audio quality (as an university student, I do not have the deepest pockets after all).

 

The tl;dr:

*I am looking for a new audio solution, but I am unsure what would best fit my needs. I want to step away from headsets, get decent headphones and buy a mic separately. My budget for the headphones would be around 200EUR. Keeping in mind that I am going to use them daily, for hours at a time.
*I do not want to spend too much on the mic (around 20-50EUR), so long as my partners in conversation do not have to cringe when I speak but still get a decent representation of my voice (I do not mind a desktop mic).
*One thing I absolutely hate is MOBO noise (my current MOBO is the GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H), being the main reason I went for a digital headset. But I am not too sure if I want to throw another 250EUR at something like the O2+ODAC as an uni student. I was thinking of using my keyboard’s (Logitech G510S) soundcard as a last-resort.
*I will be using my new setup mostly for recreation (gaming, music, movies, series, etc.).
*It would be nice if the new setup could also support 5.1 surround. I can already hear people cracking their whips because of what I just said ^^''

 

I’d love to get some suggestions for a new setup from this community!

[Andrew Storlie]

Not sure exactly how much over budget your willing to go, but sennhizer rs175 are great. About 250usd (idk what the coversion rate is)

[KaminKevCrew]

Your motherboard has optical out. Get the SMSL SD-793II. It's a very good amp/dac, especially for the price (>$70 US). It has plenty of juice to power any dynamic headphone, and many planars to boot. As for surround, that only matters if you actually have the speakers for it, and to be honest, it isn't worth it for PC setups. For the mic, you could do far, far worse than the ModMic 4.0. As for headphones, assuming you're including the price of the two mentioned above, I would go for a Sennheiser HD5XX series. If you're spending 200 Euro on just the headphones, and having everything else on top of it, then you should go for something like the Audio Technica AD900X, unless you can't do closed headphones. (I'm not too familiar with headphones in that price range, so I think someone like @SSL or @xtroria, among many others would be better suited to assisting you on the headphone front.)

[Plato]

Apparently something went wrong with my email notifications which made me miss any replies that have been made.. Oh well.   Better late than never!

 

Not sure exactly how much over budget your willing to go, but sennhizer rs175 are great. About 250usd (idk what the coversion rate is)

That is an interesting option that I also came across. But I have been somewhat wary of wireless solutions because of the background hiss of the connection that would be noticeable when there is little to no sound. This is one of those things that I'd like to try out before I throw a considerable amount of money at it   Either way, the cheapest I came across for Belgium in a quick search is about 250EUR from a shop like Coolblue.

 

Your motherboard has optical out. Get the SMSL SD-793II. It's a very good amp/dac, especially for the price (>$70 US). It has plenty of juice to power any dynamic headphone, and many planars to boot. As for surround, that only matters if you actually have the speakers for it, and to be honest, it isn't worth it for PC setups. For the mic, you could do far, far worse than the ModMic 4.0. As for headphones, assuming you're including the price of the two mentioned above, I would go for a Sennheiser HD5XX series. If you're spending 200 Euro on just the headphones, and having everything else on top of it, then you should go for something like the Audio Technica AD900X, unless you can't do closed headphones. (I'm not too familiar with headphones in that price range, so I think someone like @SSL or @xtroria, among many others would be better suited to assisting you on the headphone front.)

That SMSL SD-793II does indeed sound like a viable option if I were to go for a stereo solution. As for that mic suggestion, I must have somehow overlooked the 4.0. It sounds good enough and should be satisfactory as my daily driver.

As for the headphone suggestions.. I was planning to get ~200EUR headphones in the near future and the DAC/AMP at a later date. I have gotten a few suggestions saying that I should get the Audio Technica ATH-M50x. Funny enough, this is the first time I have been suggested another model from Audio Technica.

It is nice to have a lot of input so I shall probably go bug one forum member (or both    members) that you suggested. 

 

Cheers for the suggestions, both of you!

[Andrew Storlie]

well i have the rs-175's and i never hear any hissing or buzzing, i use them when my gf is sleeping or reading and i can have them low enough to still talk with out background buzzing. and my pc runs off wifi and is always connected to my phone via BT so there is stuff in the room that could easily interfere with it.

 

[spwath]

As for surround, that only matters if you actually have the speakers for it, and to be honest, it isn't worth it for PC setups.

Disagree.

My real 5.1 system (not some boxed Logitech system)

Cost me 150$ sourcing parts used on craigslist.

I find it a better experience than my k7xx

(Full sound specs in profile)

[KaminKevCrew]

Disagree.

My real 5.1 system (not some boxed Logitech system)

Cost me 150$ sourcing parts used on craigslist.

I find it a better experience than my k7xx

(Full sound specs in profile)

I personally don't really like the sound that the K7XX presents, so I can totally see why that would be. How big is the room you're in, and what, specifically do you find to be a better experience?

[spwath]

I personally don't really like the sound that the K7XX presents, so I can totally see why that would be. How big is the room you're in, and what, specifically do you find to be a better experience?

Small room, the part I like most is being able to feel the music and the games and the bass.

Feels more real to feel the stuff instead of just hearing it.

Also the directionality is nice.

[KaminKevCrew]

Small room, the part I like most is being able to feel the music and the games and the bass.

Feels more real to feel the stuff instead of just hearing it.

Also the directionality is nice.

At least for gaming, I'm sure I get just as much directionality as you with my headphones. I can understand liking to feel it. That's how I felt the first time I tried using bass heavy headphones instead of speakers. I've found, however, that since I don't have any really nice speakers, that headphones are a much better solution for the price. Also, I can't really go back to budget speakers, on account of the setup that my family used to have

[spwath]

At least for gaming, I'm sure I get just as much directionality as you with my headphones. I can understand liking to feel it. That's how I felt the first time I tried using bass heavy headphones instead of speakers. I've found, however, that since I don't have any really nice speakers, that headphones are a much better solution for the price. Also, I can't really go back to budget speakers, on account of the setup that my family used to have

I feel I get more directionality than my k7xx.

And I got everything for a great price used, so it was nice.

[KaminKevCrew]

I feel I get more directionality than my k7xx.

And I got everything for a great price used, so it was nice.

Yeah, I have found that I get some weird directional qeues from certain headphones. For instance, my D7K had some really weird stuff going on, which is part of the reason I traded them.