Improoving the razer tiamat 7.1

[kieran3296]

Hey guys, before i start i knooow the razer tiamat 7.1 isnt a great headset but at the time i wanted 7.1 surround with a mic built in for the sake of ease of life. I am considering buying a soundcard (namely the xonar dx) just to push what the headset can do to its maximum. I want a small boost in volume mainly and i understand that the soundcard will overall improove performance regardless. Is this all the right way to go or am i missing something? 

One final thing is what pair of headphones can i buy to replace the tiamat 7.1s? Id go up to £200 (whatever that is on dollars) on a pair, but i do really like the use of 7.1 surround. You can suggest a mic and headset below, i just want a rough idea of what to get

[Aytex]

Highest I would spend on a "gaming 7.1 headset" is the sennheiser game one/game zero's 

 

I've tried the pc363d's myself and I find them too similar to the game series

[KaminKevCrew]

The Xonar likely won't actually change anything if your board is from the last 4 years or so. As such, you should really allocate the cost of the xonar into the the budget for headphones. Something like the DT770 is not a bad headphone. It's my current daily driver, when I'm not using my earbuds.

[GamerDude]

8 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

The Xonar likely won't actually change anything if your board is from the last 4 years or so. As such, you should really allocate the cost of the xonar into the the budget for headphones. Something like the DT770 is not a bad headphone. It's my current daily driver, when I'm not using my earbuds.

Sound advice! (see what I did?)

[rhyseyness]

1 hour ago, KaminKevCrew said:

The Xonar likely won't actually change anything if your board is from the last 4 years or so. As such, you should really allocate the cost of the xonar into the the budget for headphones. Something like the DT770 is not a bad headphone. It's my current daily driver, when I'm not using my earbuds.

Agree with this, and posting to reiterate because too many people spread the wrong information.

A DAC/amp will often not improve your listening experience UNLESS you have a very old or very shit motherboard.

Hope this helps

[kieran3296]

2 hours ago, rhyseyness said:

Agree with this, and posting to reiterate because too many people spread the wrong information.

A DAC/amp will often not improve your listening experience UNLESS you have a very old or very shit motherboard.

Hope this helps

 

3 hours ago, Aytex said:

Highest I would spend on a "gaming 7.1 headset" is the sennheiser game one/game zero's 

 

I've tried the pc363d's myself and I find them too similar to the game series

 

 

Im pretty sold on the game zeros (and WILL be buying them soon enough, right now im saving for a monitor) but at that level do i bother worrying about soundcards, external DACs etc? Or will my motherboard still give me the best ill need. 

 

- also is there a software way of boosting my volume? Like i said, i want more volume from my tiamats for the time being.

[KaminKevCrew]

Just now, kieran3296 said:

 

 

 

Im pretty sold on the game zeros (and WILL be buying them soon enough, right now im saving for a monitor) but at that level do i bother worrying about soundcards, external DACs etc? Or will my motherboard still give me the best ill need. 

 

- also is there a software way of boosting my volume? Like i said, i want more volume from my tiamats for the tome being.

You likely won't need to worry about that stuff. At the very least, I'd wait until you get the headphones. If they aren't loud enough, then go out and get an amp. If the audio is scratchy, then get a dac/amp. 

 

I know that there are various audio applications that use something called a digital pre amp. I would see if there is one available that would be system wide. I don't know of one off hand, but then again, I've never actually looked for one before.

[kieran3296]

50 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

You likely won't need to worry about that stuff. At the very least, I'd wait until you get the headphones. If they aren't loud enough, then go out and get an amp. If the audio is scratchy, then get a dac/amp. 

 

I know that there are various audio applications that use something called a digital pre amp. I would see if there is one available that would be system wide. I don't know of one off hand, but then again, I've never actually looked for one before.

PC 373D VS Game Zero. Which headset? 

[iShad]

38 minutes ago, kieran3296 said:

PC 373D VS Game Zero. Which headset? 

To be honest, neither. The hd600 is on sale right now for $234 on Adorama, I would much rather get that than their gaming lineups with a clip-on mic.

[kieran3296]

3 hours ago, iShad said:

To be honest, neither. The hd600 is on sale right now for $234 on Adorama, I would much rather get that than their gaming lineups with a clip-on mic.

I like the idea of an inline mic plus 7.1 surround sound to be honest... Plus theyre a bit excessive

[rattacko123]

Im only aware of 5.1 surround sound options, if you want 7.1 surround sound, you will need to go with creative labs sound card, or use USB headphones (sennheiser comes with USB DAC to enable 7.1 surround), or use something like the razer tiamat. There are options for 5.1 surround sound however, there is the Astro mixamp, Roccat XTD, and a couple of other options. Xonar sound cards don't have very good virtual surround sound from what I've heard.

[iShad]

2 hours ago, kieran3296 said:

I like the idea of an inline mic plus 7.1 surround sound to be honest... Plus theyre a bit excessive

Virtual surround is done through software and works on any headphones, both the Sennheiser headsets are reshelled hd558/598 if I remember correctly with a mic thrown in and marked up price.

[kieran3296]

11 hours ago, iShad said:

Virtual surround is done through software and works on any headphones, both the Sennheiser headsets are reshelled hd558/598 if I remember correctly with a mic thrown in and marked up price.

I cant find the hd600s on sale and to be honest i expect they will need an amp to use to their full potential. I think ill use the pc373d, seeing as they use USB for the connection i dont think they will have issues like needing an amp to boost the power. Unless you stronly agree i think ill do this...

[iShad]

9 minutes ago, kieran3296 said:

I cant find the hd600s on sale and to be honest i expect they will need an amp to use to their full potential. I think ill use the pc373d, seeing as they use USB for the connection i dont think they will have issues like needing an amp to boost the power. Unless you stronly agree i think ill do this...

Yeah, sadly it seems the discount is over a day or two ago, but it's not an uncommon deal. I've owned the hd650 at some point, and it performs adequately through the mobo so I'd imagine the hd600 would fares the same. If hd600 is a no-go; fidelio x2 + modmic is another solid setup. The pc373d is not a bad headset, and up to you if you value an all-in-one solution with dolby vss, but at $250 it's hard to recommend.

[tkell]

I have the Tiamat 7.1 and did not get good volume untill I got the Maximus Hero III MB. 

[spwath]

On 8/31/2016 at 2:14 PM, iShad said:

To be honest, neither. The hd600 is on sale right now for $234 on Adorama, I would much rather get that than their gaming lineups with a clip-on mic.

Aww, wish I didn't miss that.

Would be nice to try them.