Sound card and headphones combo? Virtual Surround

[ScotFox]

Hey everyone, i need some advice due to not knowing much about sound cards. I am looking for a pair of headphones which will offer virtual surround sound. I play alot of DayZ and other games where positional audio is important such as Cod4 promod and CS:GO. I also really enjoy listening to music and i like hearing all the tones Low, mids, highs. It would also be nice if they looked nice because they are better of my overall setup haha :D. 

 

So basically i need a pair of headphones and a sound card which offer all the things above and i don't know where to start! Budget wise i would say under £150 but if it goes over it doesn't really matter, you can do your currency conversion on google i think!
 

Thanks very much for your time, and any responses would be much appreciated!

 

Fox

 

 

[Volbet]

For surround, just set up Razer Surround. 

 

Edit: I forgot to recommend anything

 

Soundcard http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asustek-Xonar-PCI-E-Profile-Sound/dp/B00198DM2K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376319155&sr=8-4&keywords=xonar

 

Headphones http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MDR-7506-Headphones-Wired/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376319573&sr=1-7&keywords=ath+m50

Headset: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-7H-Headset-Pc-Mac/dp/B0038W0OHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376319186&sr=8-1&keywords=7h

[ScotFox]

For surround, just set up Razer Surround. 

 

Edit: I forgot to recommend anything

 

Soundcard http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asustek-Xonar-PCI-E-Profile-Sound/dp/B00198DM2K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376319155&sr=8-4&keywords=xonar

 

Headphones http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MDR-7506-Headphones-Wired/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376319573&sr=1-7&keywords=ath+m50

Headset: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-7H-Headset-Pc-Mac/dp/B0038W0OHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376319186&sr=8-1&keywords=7h

Thanks for your advice, i will have a look

[ScotFox]

Any others would be appreciated

[Guest GRRigger]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=sr_1_38?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376321121&sr=1-38&keywords=audio+technica

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/P-Howard-HD681-Superlux-Headphones/dp/B002GHIPYI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376321156&sr=1-1&keywords=superlux

wowo thats cheap !

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Superlux-HD668B-Headphones/dp/B003JOETX8/ref=pd_sim_ce_2

 

better quality but less positional :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grado-SR-80i-SR80i-Headphones/dp/B000G3LCQC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376322891&sr=1-2&keywords=grado

 

 

 

out of those, AD700 has superior positional, but lacks bass. it has very distictive highs.

superlux has exellent sound quality and has great positional for its price

grado is more of a hi-fi headphone

 

positioning in game or sound stage for music is best on open and semi open headphones, drivers and cups have to be aligned and designed perfectly, so you can distinguish sound at about 10° in directions

 

it cant be done just by any headphone, if it is, closed headphone put sounds in your head, and some may not be suitable for the job because they dont provide enough accurate position in space

 

as for audio card, id say get this if you can http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Xonar-Battlefield-Edition-Sound/dp/B006LAOLW6/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1376322031&sr=1-2&keywords=xonar+d2

 

 

it has enhanced processor that is inherited and improved by D1, but much better overall. processor can be compared to high end creative sound card ones. any headphone would greatly benefit from this card. and it has shield also.

 

you have sound card for ever, and id say go with neutral sounding headphones ( you migh not like ad700) that has good positional tracking ( superlux 668b ) and d2 sound card

[ScotFox]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=sr_1_38?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376321121&sr=1-38&keywords=audio+technica

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/P-Howard-HD681-Superlux-Headphones/dp/B002GHIPYI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376321156&sr=1-1&keywords=superlux

wowo thats cheap !

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Superlux-HD668B-Headphones/dp/B003JOETX8/ref=pd_sim_ce_2

 

better quality but less positional :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/GRADO-SR125i-Grado-Headphones/dp/B0006GCCWW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376321342&sr=1-4&keywords=grado

 

 

out of those, AD700 has superior positional, but lacks bass. it has very distictive highs.

superlux has exellent sound quality and has great positional for its price

grado is more of a hi-fi headphone

 

as for audio card, id say get this if you can http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Xonar-Battlefield-Edition-Sound/dp/B006LAOLW6/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1376322031&sr=1-2&keywords=xonar+d2

 

 

it has enhanced processor that is inherited and improved by D1, but much better overall. processor can be compared to high end creative sound card ones. any headphone would greatly benefit from this card. and it has shield also.

 

you have sound card for ever, and id say go with neutral sounding headphones ( you migh not like ad700) that has good positional tracking ( superlux 668b ) and d2 sound card

I have a pair of Samson Sr850s which are similiar to what you suggested, now for the sound card, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me the difference between the likes of this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asustek-Xonar-PCI-E-Profile-Sound/dp/B00198DM2K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376319155&sr=8-4&keywords=xonar , to that one. Sorry haha i dont know much about audio

[Guest GRRigger]

I have a pair of Samson Sr850s which are similiar to what you suggested, now for the sound card, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me the difference between the likes of this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asustek-Xonar-PCI-E-Profile-Sound/dp/B00198DM2K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376319155&sr=8-4&keywords=xonar , to that one. Sorry haha i dont know much about audio

first off, its PCI card. second it has D2 processor. this is where the digital sound transforms into analog. it means better sound quality. but both cards are able to deliver stereo surround the same.

it has emi shield, some new features dx dont have, drivers migh be issue...

[ScotFox]

first off, its PCI card. second it has D2 processor. this is where the digital sound transforms into analog. it means better sound quality. but both cards are able to deliver stereo surround the same. 

Ok thank you

[ShearMe]

Soundcards and virtual surround effects are overrated, imo - a good pair of stereo headphones works better for Arma than any fake surround on cheap headphones. If you were to get something like Beyerdynamic's DT770 they would literally last you for decades. There's plenty of options like this if you're open to discuss that route.

[ScotFox]

Soundcards and virtual surround effects are overrated, imo - a good pair of stereo headphones works better for Arma than any fake surround on cheap headphones. If you were to get something like Beyerdynamic's DT770 they would literally last you for decades. There's plenty of options like this if you're open to discuss that route.

Thanks, but a lot of people do reccomend having  a nice sound card, linus himself

[ShearMe]

Linus recommends having a nice soundcard for your nice headphones. Obviously a soundcard isn't gonna make cheap headphones sound like expensive headphones. In any case, I don't really care if you get a soundcard or not, just advising you to spend your budget on good headphones first because the difference in headphones is way more pronounced than the difference in sources.

[h264]

Thanks, but a lot of people do reccomend having  a nice sound card, linus himself

 

I can't count how many times I've tried to explain this, but I'll try another way:

 

My problem with Linus's blanket "get a soundcard" recommendation is that it's much more complicated than just $ = performance with audio.  For each individual there's a matter of what sort of headphones they'd like to plug into their fancy soundcards, and how much of a difference it will make. The main differences as soundcards get more expensive will be:

 

1. Features: DDL and DTS Connect for instance

2. VOLUME (especially the Essence STX and the Phoebus.  This is the main reason people think their soundcards "sound" better)

3. Sound Quality (better or worse depending on the impedance match/mismatch, not so much the DAC these days.  Amps may add distortion and slew, but it's mostly inaudible to the standard human ear and brain)

 

People who want to purchase low impedance headphone don't need 2, and 3 may be better or worse depending on the damping factor (your headphones should be around 8x the output impedance of your amp, in this case, it'll be around 10 Ohms for the entire Xonar line.  The higher the factor, the better (Well, there's another problem called "over damping" but it's not really an issue with so few VERY high impedance headphones running around).

 

Note that means that the Beyerdynamics are perfect matches for the Xonar line, even the 80 Ohm version of the 770 is OK.  I can personally attest my DT990pro sounds fine in my Essence STX. 

 

If all full sized headphones were 250 Ohms, Xonar cards would be fine, but unfortunately the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room is the iPod.  Most headphones are in the 32-64 Ohm range these days so the kiddies don't return them for not getting loud enough in their iPods.  It's fine to design headphones this way, as long as the amps follow their lead.  Problem is, they're not, and it's going to be a real problem soon as headphones like the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro are clearly the future as the maximum power of smartphones ( smartglasses and smartwatches?!?!) drops to save battery life.

 

Also note, none of this matters an iota compared to the sound of your headphones.  A Beyer will sound like a Beyer, over or under amped. period.

[ScotFox]

I can't count how many times I've tried to explain this, but I'll try another way:

 

My problem with Linus's blanket "get a soundcard" recommendation is that it's much more complicated than just $ = performance with audio.  For each individual there's a matter of what sort of headphones they'd like to plug into their fancy soundcards, and how much of a difference it will make. The main differences as soundcards get more expensive will be:

 

1. Features: DDL and DTS Connect for instance

2. VOLUME (especially the Essence STX and the Phoebus.  This is the main reason people think their soundcards "sound" better)

3. Sound Quality (better or worse depending on the impedance match/mismatch, not so much the DAC these days.  Amps may add distortion and slew, but it's mostly inaudible to the standard human ear and brain)

 

People who want to purchase low impedance headphone don't need 2, and 3 may be better or worse depending on the damping factor (your headphones should be around 8x the output impedance of your amp, in this case, it'll be around 10 Ohms for the entire Xonar line.  The higher the factor, the better (Well, there's another problem called "over damping" but it's not really an issue with so few VERY high impedance headphones running around).

 

Note that means that the Beyerdynamics are perfect matches for the Xonar line, even the 80 Ohm version of the 770 is OK.  I can personally attest my DT990pro sounds fine in my Essence STX. 

 

If all full sized headphones were 250 Ohms, Xonar cards would be fine, but unfortunately the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room is the iPod.  Most headphones are in the 32-64 Ohm range these days so the kiddies don't return them for not getting loud enough in their iPods.  It's fine to design headphones this way, as long as the amps follow their lead.  Problem is, they're not, and it's going to be a real problem soon as headphones like the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro are clearly the future as the maximum power of smartphones ( smartglasses and smartwatches?!?!) drops to save battery life.

 

Also note, none of this matters an iota compared to the sound of your headphones.  A Beyer will sound like a Beyer, over or under amped. period.

Ok thank you for your input, so for example what sort of sound card would you go with for  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-High-Headphones-E-A-R-Technology/dp/B004FEEY9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376393346&sr=8-1&keywords=Senheiser+HD+558 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-Headset-OHM/dp/B0016MNAAI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376393407&sr=1-1&keywords=dt770. And also the difference between these two http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-Headset-250/dp/B0006NL5SM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1376393454&sr=1-2&keywords=dt770

the 80 ohm and the 250 ohm? Does one need more of an amp? 

 

Thanks and sorry if im talking no sense, dont have a clue when it comes to audio

[h264]

Ok thank you for your input, so for example what sort of sound card would you go with for

 

I'd use a FiiO E10 or just stick with your onboard for the HD558s.

 

 

the 80 ohm and the 250 ohm? Does one need more of an amp? 

 

Yes.  Sensitivity can matter as well if it's particularly low (below 90 SPL).

[Focux]

I'd use a FiiO E10 or just stick with your onboard for the HD558s.

Yes. Sensitivity can matter as well if it's particularly low (below 90 SPL).

Wtf! U have a Essense STX!? I thought u advocated externals like E10? •_•

[h264]

Wtf! U have a Essense STX!? I thought u advocated externals like E10? •_•

It's 5 years old and I've wised up a lot since then. It's also partially broke.

It's a long story, I'll tell you later...