yasamoka wroteMrClass wroteyasamoka wrote
A Creative sound card should supposedly be able to drive HD595 right? Ask Republic of Gamers store for Sennheiser headphones. I talked to him and he may get them. I just need to know how much in demand they are. Of course he would sell them for a good price too.
The X-Fi is not enough to drive them. You need an amp, and Astro's Mixamp can do it perfectly. In addition, the Mixamp gives out virtual 7.1. So combine a kick ass Sennheiser headset with a kick ass amp and you'll get kick ass audio. I went to Virgin downtown to see what they have. Freakin weak selection. I asked them for directional surround 5.1 headsets and the staff pointed towards Dr Dre Beats headset. I was like: urrgh, who the hell hired you?
My only chance is the last set of Tritton Call of Duty Black Ops Limited Edition headset found in Virgin Citymall (Geant). Shall I go for it or shall I order a Sennheiser HD 595/650 from ROG? Help!
What I know is, the HD555 can easily be driven by the Creative X-Fi. Knowing that the HD555 and HD595 use identical drivers, couldn't the HD595 also be driven by the X-Fi?
Now about Virtual Surround: trust me on this one. NO virtual surround will ever get you anywhere. No amp, no creative X-Fi CMSS-3D, nothing. The game should first have good audio positioning, and the soundcard should handle the rest, and the headphones should display the differentiation between sounds well. What I mean is, you have 2 ears, not 7, so basically headphones are somewhat able to emulate the surround effect you get by muffling the sound if it comes from the back, for example, or presenting the sound clearly if it's from the front. It's all about presentation and soundstage. Most importantly, if the headphones lack that, no virtual surround is going to be natural. Trust me on this. Save yourself the headache. Heck, I have Yuin OK2 earphones, and when I first got them, I listened to Zombie, and the cymbals sounded like something fell in the house :P and cheering makes me look around confused :P. But don't forget they're being driven by a Creative Zen, one of the best sounding MP3 players available. You got a good CPU, good soundcard, good game sound, and good headphones, you're good to go.
BTW: don't be surprised by Sennheiser headphones sounding blandish and distant at first. I think you've already read about this, but don't dismiss it as a myth. These things need time to break-in. They are aluminum drivers, so they need break-in. The rest, it'll just take your ears to get used to them. I mean, I used to listen to the OK2's before I got these, and I felt disappointed by the headphones. But over time, they shone through, and even when comparing the two, the Sennheisers mop the floor with their clear bass and less distortion with mixed sounds, while the Yuins win with their instrument separation and detail. Both are great with the soundstage, but I feel sometimes that the Yuins are more directional, while the Sennheisers have a broader distance. But I guess that theory fell apart when I played CoDMW2 and my opponent called me a hacker after I was able to identify almost everytime where he was coming from and kill him.
