Sound card and Headphone combinations for multimedia ( Xonar Phoebus, D2X or the STX)

[ahimoth]

I've read through the forums and I've gathered that two soundcards from Asus are awesome and either one is great. These are the D2X and the STX sound cards. I'm in the market of a new headset and so I thought as I make the jump to a nice high end head set I also purchase a sound card to do it justice. I listen to music, watch movies and play games so features are important.

I was thinking something like:

• Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset and match this with the D2X.

Razer actually recommends some sound cards to go with their Tiamat, the ones from Asus are Asus Xonar DS PCI 7.1 , Asus Xonar D1 7.1 and Asus Xonar DX PCIe 7.1.Link is here

Other forum members and youtube reviewers have only good things to say about the Audio Technia M50's but these don't have a mic as they're studio headphones so maybe pairing it with a sound card like the ROG Xonar Phoebus is a good idea because it has a mic in the desktop unit.

What do you guys think? I'm open to other headset/sound card combinations.

 

[Cru]

what about a pair of good studio headphones and a modmic?
http://www.modmic.com/

 

[SieB]

These Zalman mics are supposed to be really good as well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-ZM-M...UTF8&colid=L92MGOGZK5UR&coliid=I1P7PY2S2E8L3Y

 

[ahimoth]

Thanks guys, these look like pretty good options

 

[Cru]

These Zalman mics are supposed to be really good as well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-ZM-M...UTF8&colid=L92MGOGZK5UR&coliid=I1P7PY2S2E8L3Y

had one of those. seekax said it's crap as he was the one who had to listen to it

 

[NeverBackDown]

Xonar STX and Beyerdynamic DT770s? Or 990s. 80ohm or 250ohm are great.

 

[SieB]

had one of those. seekax said it's crap as he was the one who had to listen to it

Scrap that idea then, just saved myself from buying one as well.

 

[looz]

had one of those. seekax said it's crap as he was the one who had to listen to it

Depends a lot on the sound card, though. If you have an integrated circuit you can't really blame the mic.

 

[Edge]

I'm aiming for the STX with Sennheiser HD598s. Might be worth a look. Not surround, but bloody brilliance.

 

[SuB]

Don't get a Tiamat they're crap. Both those and the megaladon's are properly rubbish.

 

[benzite]

Have the Sennheiser PC360 with the STX and have no regrets.
Sound is just amazing.

 

[Kroma]

I bought the razer tiamat 7.1 elite last week, and I'm already getting rid of them. They hurt my ears after an hour, and the sound isn't even close to some of the quality you can get from other headsets... I'm going to stop trying to save money, and stop buying cheap headphones.

I'm purchasing the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/mmx-300.html with the STX sound card... If you can find a better headset then that, let me see it bc it's very hard to match!

 

[NeverBackDown]

I bought the razer tiamat 7.1 elite last week, and I'm already getting rid of them. They hurt my ears after an hour, and the sound isn't even close to some of the quality you can get from other headsets... I'm going to stop trying to save money, and stop buying cheap headphones.

I'm purchasing the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/mmx-300.html with the STX sound card... If you can find a better headset then that, let me see it bc it's very hard to match!

Easy. Dt770s 80ohm version or 250ohm.

 

[Cru]

Easy. Dt770s 80ohm version or 250ohm.

with a modmic, as he said headset

 

[NeverBackDown]

with a modmic, as he said headset

Figured that would be common sense to get a seperate mic? Eh oh well. Any decent aftermarket mic will do.

 

[SuB]

Obligatory get some AKG K701/K702 cans (to add another quality option to your list).

They key thing is, don't buy a headset, buy headphones and get a seperate mic. Razer stuff is utterly crap for audio for anyone who has a half decent sense of sound.

 

[Kroma]

Figured that would be common sense to get a seperate mic? Eh oh well. Any decent aftermarket mic will do.

you're right, for a budget sense wise it be smarter to buy a set of headphones and get a $5 mic... you save a lot of money.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Obligatory get some AKG K701/K702 cans (to add another quality option to your list).

They key thing is, don't buy a headset, buy headphones and get a seperate mic. Razer stuff is utterly crap for audio for anyone who has a half decent sense of sound.

100% agree.

you're right, for a budget sense wise it be smarter to buy a set of headphones and get a $5 mic... you save a lot of money.

Yes! Even if it is more expensive the level of quality is far beyond than any other all in one headset.

 

[SuB]

Still recommend a modmic. They're excellent quality mics and are very convenient

 

[ahimoth]

Still recommend a modmic. They're excellent quality mics and are very convenient

What's your take on something like The Audio-Technia ATH-AG1's

closed back $279
Open air $279

I guess you'd recommend something more like ATH-AD700X $199