A little help needed from a sound Noob

[Sectorbob]

I am in the process of upgrading my pc and am contemplating whether or not to upgrade to a non-onboard sound solution. I would love to be able to hear my enemies and be able to locate their position through sound. It sounds pretty cool.

I am upgrading to an Intel DX58SO, Core i7 920, GTX285, etc. (Check my sig).

The sound system I have for my PC is some crappy 1000 watt RCA system connected through optical. So I am not making a decision for the sound based on the output quality of my RCA system. However, I just bought a Sennheiser PC350 headset (Cost me $30!! OHH YEAH!!). From what I had read about it, it is a phenomenal headset. However, it is only stereo. I was checking out the Creative Fatality Titanium series, and I thought I saw something about the card being able to play 5.1 channels into a stereo headset. Is this true? If so does it work well?

I think the Champion is out of the question, but how about the Professional? Is there much of a difference of the professional over the standard?

Thanks in advance.

Kyle

 

[Ach3r0n]

I would imagine 5.1 via stereo headset is like Logitech's "Matrix Mode" where it tries to emulate 5.1 via stereo. Hopefully it does a better job of it than Logitech's speakers. It's a lot to spend when on-board sound has come such a long way now but if you have the money to burn, then go for it. You won't be disappointed with Creative's X-Fi cards.

The main difference I see between Pro and Standard btw (aside from the obvious cosmetic differences) is that the Pro has 64MB of on-board RAM. I can't see that being terribly useful for most users really.

 

[Sectorbob]

What would the pro's on board RAM do to benefit me? I can get the pro for $101 with my BestBuy employee discount... so I huess unless the standard goes on sale, maybe I'd go for pro?

The standard is PCI Exp x1 as well. Correct?

 

[Brando]

Nothing uses xram and even if it did it wouldn't matter. Also, most of what Ive read suggest that surround headphones are garbage. Get a nice sound card and good phones with good sound stage. If the xram doesn't cost any more then why not, just don't pay for it. Use the extra money on some Audio technica ath-m50 or ath-ad700 phones. Oh yeah and avoid the xtreme audio x-fi. I heard it was not really an x-fi.

EDIT: Sorry I read the post too fast. Yeah it looks like your employee discount is pretty good. If the xram is free with discount then why not. But the headphone suggestions still stand even though you weren't thinking about 5.1 phones.

 

[Sectorbob]

I have a pair of Sennheiser PC350's do you think they will suffice?

 

[Brando]

Suffice is relative. Better costs more and it keeps going in to the thousands if you're an audio nutjob. The 2 phones I mentioned are well regarded for their bang for the buck and are probably much better than the sennheisers. Both are about a hundred bucks and do very well for the $.

 

[Maxvla]

Sennheiser PC350 is awful.

 

[Sectorbob]

What makes them so bad? What sets those sets you recommended above the others?

 

[Sectorbob]

If what you guys are saying, that the PC350's suck, then I guess I'll return them and just put the money (rewardzone certs), towards a discounted Fatality Titanium Pro and get one of those Audio Technica Headsets.

Is there that big of a difference between the PC350 and the ath-m50?

 

[Maxvla]

I haven't heard the M50, but the AD700 is a huge improvement.

 

[Brando]

The m50 have great bass, separation, and soundstage. I may be using those words wrong because I'm just a wannabe sound geek but I've owned a few including the m50 and it's damn good for the money. The ad700 is probably more musical sounding but they don't have much bass according to almost everyone. The m50 are just fun to listen to and work well for fps's in my humble opinion.

 

[Sectorbob]

Cool, cool. Thanks you guys! I did notice that the PC350 sounded a tad bit tinny, but I figured that would wear away after time. I am going to look into the M50 and ad700!

 

[Sectorbob]

What I just noticed is that the m50 and ad700 don't have a mic. I definitely need a mic, whether it's desktop or on a headset. I would prefer a headset with a mic. Any recommendations?

 

[Sectorbob]

Or would something like this work?

 

[Maxvla]

Yep, that's the mic most people use with standard headphones.

 

[Sectorbob]

Alrightly then. I do think I will go with the M50 and that zalman mic. Also I will probably get the Fatality Pro Sound Card with my Bestbuy disc.

I just went to Bestbuy and returned the headset.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Sectorbob]

Well I got the M50 for $99.98 after shipping and the Zalman mic for $7.41 after shipping.

 

[Brando]

Nice man I hope you like your new stuff. Try not to judge the M50 at first listen though. It takes awhile for them to loosen up. Leave them on when you leave the house for a few days. Not really really loud but enough to thump a little. After about 50 hours of use they should be good to go (guesstimation).

 

[Sectorbob]

Cool cool! Do most headsets usually need that warm up time?

I can't wait to get all this stuff comes in. What kinda sucks is that my motherboard and processor won't be in for my desktop until mid June. But I'll wait long for a good deal anyday.

 

[Maxvla]

Most good ones do. The bad ones, never 'warm up' at all