Audio tech Question !

[djwaves]

Hi , I'm wondering if anyone can help me with my audio on my P.C . I am using turtle beach 800 elite headset , and I cant get the Dolby 7.1 surround headphone X

output that the headset is capable of . I have done a few hours research into this and apparently I need Dolby Digital Live (DDL) to get the surround . So next I

was reading that a D.A.C/amp could give me the output I need , but I'am not sure which to get because my headphones are wireless so by my own working out It

would need two optical ports one for input from P.C and one for output to the headphones docking/charging base . That's as far as I can get on my own because the

internet isn't giving me a straight answer. The D.A.C I have looked at are the Turtle Beach Tactical Audio Controller , Asus Xonar U7 and a Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi

HD . I'am just not sure which of these if any will give me the output I want ........ Any ideas would be welcomed greatly

Thanks for your time ....... Dj

[Beavery1]

Doesn't the headset come with instructions for how to get drivers for it off of the turtle beach website? I'm not sure if I've heard of a headset requiring other peripherals for it to work right.

[djwaves]

Done all that , then I read on the turtle beach website that onboard audio will not give you the 7.1 output and you will need something that has DDL . I have used these headphones on ps4 for over a year , but ps4 outputs encoded dolby signal .

[AshxAffliction]

It may actually be better (albeit slightly more expensive) to buy something like a low-end pair of audiophile headphones and an actual studio microphone. I can't speak for the audio quality of the Elite 800s, but my Sennheiser HD 280 PRO headphones are miles ahead of my Logitech G930 in terms of audio quality, and the microphone on that headset doesn't sound too good either. If you don't want to invest in setting up an entire microphone arm and everything, some desk stands aren't as terrible as you'd think, and if you don't have the space or if you like the functionality of having a boom on your headset you can pick up something like an Antlion ModMic, which have surprisingly good audio quality.

Gaming headsets (and most things marketed for gaming) are way overpriced for the quality you get. Surround sound is also a little bit overhyped, as I find it's just as easy to determine someone's position with my stereo audiophile headphones as it was with my G930s using 7.1 surround. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any wireless headsets with a decent microphone, so I suppose if you really need the wireless functionality you're a bit out of luck.

[djwaves]

That was my next question , I am sat looking at some bundles on amazon ...... the focusrite 2i2 2nd gen has everything you mentioned

[effectiv]

It may actually be better (albeit slightly more expensive) to buy something like a low-end pair of audiophile headphones and an actual studio microphone. I can't speak for the audio quality of the Elite 800s, but my Sennheiser HD 280 PRO headphones are miles ahead of my Logitech G930 in terms of audio quality, and the microphone on that headset doesn't sound too good either. If you don't want to invest in setting up an entire microphone arm and everything, some desk stands aren't as terrible as you'd think, and if you don't have the space or if you like the functionality of having a boom on your headset you can pick up something like an Antlion ModMic, which have surprisingly good audio quality.

Gaming headsets (and most things marketed for gaming) are way overpriced for the quality you get. Surround sound is also a little bit overhyped, as I find it's just as easy to determine someone's position with my stereo audiophile headphones as it was with my G930s using 7.1 surround. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any wireless headsets with a decent microphone, so I suppose if you really need the wireless functionality you're a bit out of luck.

I 100% agree with this statement. I'll add my two cents as well, it may be a bit lengthy. TLDR at bottom of post.

I've been through so many gaming headsets over the years and before I finally switched to Sennheisers. It was like all the games I played through my teenage years were brand new in terms of sound. I was noticing sounds I've never heard in games I had 1000s of hours of gameplay in. Everything is much more crisp. Etc. My pair of Sennheisers were over 50% off when I bought them for $80. You can find ridiculous sales on them. I returned my headset, bought the 558's, and bought a tabletop mic (Samson Meteor - great mic for the price btw. Got it for $40 on sale and has similar quality to, if not better than a Blue Yeti). My choice in beginner-grade audiophile headphones were the Sennheiser 558's ($180) and the VModa M100 ($250). I went into a BestBuy with a Magnolia center and tried them out before deciding on the 558's. They were cheaper, liked the way they fit better, and fell in love with the open back sound stage.

The main difference between audiophile-grade headphones that you need to decide on are open back vs closed back. Open back have a much larger sound stage, meaning it makes it feel like the sounds you're hearing are in the room around you, so to speak. Closed back will give a smaller sound stage, but you may get deeper bass - they tend to be better for music (although my open back Sennheisers sound fantastic with music as well).

This guy is probably the best audiophile reviewer I've found. Be warned, this guy curses like a sailor, but he is really knowledgeable and some of his videos he just has sound demos of the headphones. I have no clue what device that is he's using in the sound demos, but it gives a pretty good idea of what to expect out of the headphones. I watched a review of his and the sound demo of the headphones I was thinking about buying and then decided as soon as I heard the demo that they would be miles better than anything I've owned in the past. His channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgcTEPyBvSg

If you're looking to get them on a budget, I'd recommend 2 pairs that usually have a decent sale pretty budget friendly/go on sale a lot.
1) Sennheiser HD 558's. You can find these on sale for about $70-80. They will not disappoint. Open back and very comfortable. Lots of support from Sennheiser as well in terms of replacement cords and earpads. Sound demo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgcTEPyBvSg
2) Philips SHP9500S. Z (youtube reviewer guy) is a big fan of them. They can be found on sale at newegg or amazon for about $40-50 or regular price at $70. Ridiculous price for what you get. I've thought about buying my fiancee a pair recently to get her off of headsets. Sound demo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1GPNMJ1bS8.

You can also find cheap swing-arms for tabletop mics on Newegg/Amazon for about $20. You don't need a ridiculous one. You can also just use the built in stand on the mic if you get a tabletop one. The Samson mic I have I just use the stand it came with and adjusted it upwards to where it points at my face and adjusted the gain/other settings on it to be more efficient.

TL;DR - Buy a beginner pair of audiophile headphones like the ones I linked to ($45-$80). I suggest listening to the sound demos (also linked in post) to get an idea of quality. Get a good tabletop mic/mod mic ($20-50). Swing arms aren't a necessity, but can help make things easier for you depending on your desk ($20ish on Newegg/Amazon). You will feel like it's a brand new world.

[djwaves]

Thanks for your replies lots of information for me to think about there .

[KaosC57]

I will personally third the option for buying separate Headphones and Microphone.

I used to use a pair of Kingston HyperX Cloud 1's. They were great headphones and had a decent microphone. But, as a person who is wanting to start Streaming, having a dedicated pair of headphones and a dedicated mic is paramount. So, I did some searching and with a little help from /r/headphones I decided to buy a CAD Audio u37 Microphone and a pair of Samson SR850's. And i'll give a little review of both here.

Microphone: This is a great and relatively cheap Desk Mic. It's a Cardioid Condenser Microphone so it will have a large pickup range. People can hear me shutting my door, my roommate talking a few feet away, even people in the hall. And they can certainly hear me! The mic doesn't come with any drivers and doesn't work without the Windows 10 Creator's Update (from what I can tell, It refused to work when I didn't have Creator's). But, for 30 - 50 USD, it's an amazing microphone for it's features. It also has 2 switches on it. One of them reduces the Gain on the microphone by 10 Decibels which is great for not blowing the ears out of people who hear you! And the other one changes the pickup range from a linear range to raising it to a higher range of sound so that it's a bit harder for it to pick up outside noise. But, you can never make it pick up NO outside noise.

Headphones: The Samson SR850's are a great pair of headphones. Not much different from my HyperX Cloud 1's in terms of audio quality. If anything they are better because they are semi-open backed so I can hear outside noises like my roommate talking to me, or something like that without needing to take off my headphones. There is one downside to these headphones and that is the top band. The edges of the top band are kinda sharp. Not like you'd start bleeding, but if you have the headphones on your neck for a prolonged time, you will notice the edges of the top band. But, for 30 bucks or so, it's not a bad pair of semi-open backed headphones!

If you aren't willing to get a Desk Microphone, you can purchase an Antlion ModMic 5.0 for 60 bucks, and make any pair of headphones into a Headset! And, if you fear the headband issue is going to be a problem for you, then you can expand your budget on the headphones and get something like a pair of, Audio-technica ATH-M40x's or M50x's. While they are more expensive than my pair of Samson's they are much higher quality, but sadly not Open Backed.

[SmokingBarrel]

I bought a pair of refurbished audio-technica ATH-A700's for like $60's maybe 10 years ago. I got fed up because no matter if it was a 3.5mm or a USB headset, the mic's ALWAYS died. Computer headsets are just junk made to look real nice but have crappy drivers, crappy components. And the 5.1, 7.1 headphones are really just another gimmick to jack the price up. The sound on these A700's have been far and above anything I ever purchased before for gaming. The only this is the ear padding has started to degrade. So i'll spend maybe $20 getting some new ones. Seriously, you won't regret it.

[SmokingBarrel]

And my modmic just got delivered today, as I forgot my Blue Snowball in the States. It attached great to the headphones. And sounds pretty good.

[AshxAffliction]

Just to add on, it probably isn't worth going with an XLR microphone unless you plan on doing any actual production in the future. These require that you buy an interface as well as all of the aforementioned hardware and isn't really necessary for general use. A USB microphone is able to interface directly into the computer and if you want to, you're able to achieve the same effect with a virtual mixer.

[djwaves]

I went with the focusrite 2i2 2nd gen studio bundle , I already have KRK rokit 5 active monitors for my djing so i can use the balanced outputs on the back of the interface for them and i get the mic, a stand and a pop blocker . I was looking into streaming anyway , so if i do decide its something I want to do I should have almost everything i need ....... As a note , i tried my stereo headphones i use for mixing last night and it was loads better , my gaming headset is just playing a straight stereo signal into both ears . The dj headphones did add alot more spacial awareness in pubg .

[ZED]

I went with the focusrite 2i2 2nd gen studio bundle , I already have KRK rokit 5 active monitors for my djing so i can use the balanced outputs on the back of the interface for them and i get the mic, a stand and a pop blocker . I was looking into streaming anyway , so if i do decide its something I want to do I should have almost everything i need ....... As a note , i tried my stereo headphones i use for mixing last night and it was loads better , my gaming headset is just playing a straight stereo signal into both ears . The dj headphones did add alot more spacial awareness in pubg .

I was considering Focusrite when I was on the market but went with Steinberg UR22mkII instead since it had better reviews on driver support and less complaints about driver issues and also has more frequency. But Focusrite has an awesome software bundled in and has better headphone amps. Let me know it works for you.

[ZED]

Cheap and good quality mic.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Profes...rds=neewer+mic

Can check out quality here in this video:

[KaosC57]

Cheap and good quality mic.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Profes...rds=neewer+mic

Can check out quality here in this video:

I wouldn't pick this up. It requires an XLR Phantom Power brick and costs more than the USB based CAD Audio U37 that I use, and it has nigh identical sound to it. Do be wary that sometimes the USB cable that comes with it may or may not work. Mine didn't, but I have spare Mini-USB cables around, so it wasn't too bad.

[ZED]

The dj headphones did add alot more spacial awareness in pubg .

This is the reason why I've always used DJ headphones. Then I tried for the first time Gaming Headsets last year and almost puked.
Back in the days (1999 - 2007)when I was very active in Counter-Strike I always used DJ Headphones. I had one of Sony MDR models and I really loved them. I could literally hear the enemy across the map shooting and could tell exactly where he is. God forbid you would run like an elephant behind the wall in front of me, I could easily set a headshot through a wall. Obviously, I did get a lot of bans and hackusations back then.


I'm currently using Philips A5 Pro the ones that Armin Van Buuren is using. https://www.amazon.com/Philips-A5Pro...philips+a5+pro

They are amazing. Might get a bit heavy if you use them for very long time since the construction of headphones is fully from metal. The only plastic part you will find is on cushions. Other than that, I highly recommend. They sound fantastic. I gave them to my friend who is also into music production and he was having eargasm.

[ZED]

I wouldn't pick this up. It requires an XLR Phantom Power brick and costs more than the USB based CAD Audio U37 that I use, and it has nigh identical sound to it. Do be wary that sometimes the USB cable that comes with it may or may not work. Mine didn't, but I have spare Mini-USB cables around, so it wasn't too bad.

It comes with XLR to 3.5mm converter in the package and works just fine without phantom power. It does not require phantom power to function but it can support phantom power. Why you always have to misinform everyone and why you are always so negative on my comments? Did I lay in your backyard or something?

[KaosC57]

It comes with XLR to 3.5mm converter in the package and works just fine without phantom power. It does not require phantom power to function but it can support phantom power. Why you always have to misinform everyone and why you are always so negative on my comments? Did I lay in your backyard or something?

I'm not misinforming though. That's how XLR works. It needs power. Many 3.5mm jacks don't supply enough power for mics that are XLR.

My mic has the same quality if not better sound and is cheaper and doesn't require anything extra.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[ZED]

I'm not misinforming though. That's how XLR works. It needs power. Many 3.5mm jacks don't supply enough power for mics that are XLR.

My mic has the same quality if not better sound and is cheaper and doesn't require anything extra.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Again, why argue and misinform? Audio interface and/or equalizer is just to increase quality and use full potential of the microphone.

[ZED]

I'm not misinforming though. That's how XLR works. It needs power. Many 3.5mm jacks don't supply enough power for mics that are XLR.

My mic has the same quality if not better sound and is cheaper and doesn't require anything extra.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Also, a cheap XLR microphone and a cheap Audio Interface will give you a lot better results than any USB microphone. Moreover, even a cheap Audio Interface is much better than any internal audio card in your desktop. So, not only you are getting a good quality sound from your mic but you are also getting a better sound quality to your ears.
Even this setup will be better than any USB microphone:
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UM2...udio+interface

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Profes...=neewer+nw+700