Headphone random conversation

[Colif]

none of my earphones have been used enough to require a pad swap yet. I doubt I need to do it for a few more years. I don't use two pairs often and the 3rd, while attached to my amp, is not used that often.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I'm going to uninstall SteelSeries Sonar. It is absolute garbage. It's baffling to use. It locks me out of Dolby Atmos. AND, every time I reboot the computer, it resets, so I have to go back and set it all up again. It's hard for me to believe that the same people who made their awesome mouse software probably also made this.

I'm not sure their DAC is going to work correctly without this software, so I may be getting a new one.

 

[Colif]

I didn't even know they had a dac

https://steelseries.com/gaming-accessories/gamedac

according to AI it doesn't need sonar but sonar opens up features such as noise cancelling and EQ

Only pc related company I would buy a Dac from would be Creative as I could believe they make a good one...

Sound Blaster G8

Dual USB DAC and Amp redefines audio performance for headphones and speakers. Hear everything in hi-res and be in control with Sound Blaster Acoustic Engine.

au.creative.com

 

[Zed Clampet]

Oh god. Not kidding, my headset sounds so much better now with Dolby Atmos and no Sonar. It's night and day. And apparently there's not a real use for Sonar other than what you listed, and I have those functions elsewhere.

 

[neogunhero]

Oh god. Not kidding, my headset sounds so much better now with Dolby Atmos and no Sonar. It's night and day. And apparently there's not a real use for Sonar other than what you listed, and I have those functions elsewhere.

I seriously hate software that you are forced to use if you want to use one or two specific features. Razer is the absolute worst when it comes to that. No I'm not going to download your 1.2gb program that uses 300mb of RAM just to change the RGB on my mouse which my hand covers whenever I'm using it.

 

[Colif]

Synapse is why I don't use Razer.
Don't buy anything from Asus either, for similar reasons, although they do seem to be weakening and have a lite version of Armoury Crate.

I have to have steelseries software running to use the low power mode on my mouse but I don't use sonar on my PC. Its never been set up. So I let it run. only uses at most 80mb which is nothing... i have 18gb free, I can't tell its running...

 

[neogunhero]

Synapse is why I don't use Razer.
Don't buy anything from Asus either, for similar reasons, although they do seem to be weakening and have a lite version of Armoury Crate.

I have to have steelseries software running to use the low power mode on my mouse but I don't use sonar on my PC. Its never been set up. So I let it run. only uses at most 80mb which is nothing... i have 18gb free, I can't tell its running...

The Razer app doesn't use much resources but still, 300mb for a program that I only use to change RGB colors is pathetic. The only light is where my palm rests so I don't see it besides when I step away from the desk. Totally useless to me.

 

[Colif]

My rgb on mouse is in same place but the low power mode disables it. I only see lighting when I turn mouse on. Mouse has a switch on bottom that selects bluetooth, wired or wireless modes. Wired is the off setting if mouse unplugged. Colour I see corresponds with either BT or wireless.

rgb on mice is pretty pointless in general. About only use is if it starts flashing when you low on battery, if mouse is wireless.

 

[Zed Clampet]

@neogunhero @Colif

I basically have the SteelSeries software always on, but the rest of their software is very good. Mine runs a little higher than Colif's at a tad over 100 MB, but that's possibly because I have 20 mouse profiles loaded into it.

 

[Colif]

The only part of the software I use is Engine, everything else hasn't been configured or ever looked at.

Only reasons I installed software are to get latest firmware, and install the drivers as they replace the standard Microsoft ones. Think it also turns off a setting in windows. Also used to set a custom DPI to use as default... and delete some of its defaults as they too fast

if I turn off low power mode and let it use rgb, the mouse battery lasts about a day. If I use low power mode, it lasts 20 days. Obvious choice.

 

[Colif]

My first good Digital Audio Players

I need to find the unit that matches book on left
CD player died years ago but I refuse to throw it away

 

[Zed Clampet]

My first good Digital Audio Players

I need to find the unit that matches book on left
CD player died years ago but I refuse to throw it away

I have an old CD by a South American folk band I wish I could listen to. It's been many years. Maybe I should by a CD player.

 

[Colif]

I have an old CD by a South American folk band I wish I could listen to. It's been many years. Maybe I should by a CD player.

shame all the new ones copy the look of the original cd walkman and not the later versions that made them small enough to fit in my pockets at time.

Guangzhou Feiao Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.-DM15 R2R

Guangzhou Feiao Electronic Technology Co., Ltd

www.fiio.com

Main advantage to SlimX was it played mp3. Now that isn't so incredible now and is probably expected, but in 1999 it was a new thing. It was also really slim... as name suggests and I think it had a small memory buffer that let it be unskippable for most part.

I thought about a CD player but instead I just bought a DVD Burner and use it to rip any CD I want to play... I should get back to making my FLAC library.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I tried to look up that band. I couldn't remember the name, but Google Gemini got it right immediately, much to my surprise. It's Atahualpa. They don't seem to have any music online, though.

 

[Colif]

I had two audio problems today, both caused by my actions

One my speakers stopped working and I had been messing with cables just as they stopped which seemed odd. That was a coincidence, what had really happened was I sat on the remote and muted them. Took me a while to work that out.

Second was I moved my wiim and didn't unplug its Ethernet cable and after it couldn't find Ethernet... i thought I had broken its cable so I tried another cable and it didn't work either.
So I figured its Ethernet connection was busted somehow and I was not amused as the wifi connection in here isn't strong enough for it to connect (and yet my pc is fine connecting) and I was thinking I would need to wait until I upgraded my internet plan and got a wifi 7 router before it would connect.

Later I noticed my PC wasn't connected to Ethernet as well...
Both the wiim and PC are attached to the same network switch. I looked and noticed the main connection to wall's light wasn't green... so I looked at the connection I have on my wall. It had pulled itself out. Once that was connected I tried wiim and it worked should buy a new cable for it, the latch that holds it in place is broken so it can just pull out if I am not careful.

So that was a fun day lol. At least nothing was actually broken, just disturbed as I had been cleaning my floor and pulled the wrong cable. What I thought caused number 1 actually caused number 2.

 

[Colif]

Might pick up some HyperX Cloud iii s next week... I would order them now but its Thursday before a long weekend, I might as well just wait.
Always seem to buy things just before long weekends.

Lucky I waited as before Xmas the only ones I could find were the black/red pair and I can now get the white ones.
By time I get them I might have found a game to play.

this is me being bored and not knowing what to buy next. Have to wait a few months for the monitor I want to be released here.

I didn't know Hewlett Packard owned HyperX. They bought it in 2022

Or maybe

Maxwell 2 Wireless Gaming Headset

Maxwell 2 Wireless Gaming Headset The best sound in gaming — just got better We’ve upgraded the best-performing wireless headset on the market with even better audio quality, improved comfort, and exciting new features. Experience heightened spatial immersion, tactical precision, and punchier...

www.audeze.com

Get the Xbox version and get an Atmos licence with them

Or maybe

ROG Kithara Gaming Headset

ROG Kithara gaming headset with ROG x HIFIMAN 100mm planar magnetic drivers, open-back design, full-band MEMS boom mic, swappable 4.4mm, 3.5mm, 6.3mm plugs

rog.asus.com

Uses Hifiman Planars... not sure I really need 2. seems based on same tech as my Arya Stealth.

around same price as the Maxwell 2 (only announced this month)
Already have a pair of wired Hifiman headphones, I don't need two.

The Asus pair are not wireless. Not USB either. I wonder if they use replaceable cables as I could just use the one I have now. Depends on how the cable connects to headphones.
Then I would have to work out how to connect amp to PC, trying to avoid that. Main reason I am looking at a headset, if I attached to amp I would just use Arya.

I don't have an easy way to attach amp to PC, my spdif connection on PC connected to my speakers now, and the only USB connection on amp or wiim is used to connect both of them to each other. Apart from Bluetooth but that has latency,

Asus may sound better than the Maxwell 2 but I am not getting these for music.
There is an ANC version of the Maxwell 2 but I don't need it in my situation.
It doesn't have simultaneous Bluetooth but once again I don't need it.

 

[Colif]

Or cheaper still.

I bought this;

BTD 700 Bluetooth® USB Dongle | Sennheiser Australia

www.sennheiser-hearing.com

and I can just use my focal Bathys instead
It gives them a purpose I guess, they have felt like a waste of money for years.

The BTD 700 has a low latency mode which reduces it down to 30 mili seconds and almost not noticeable. Supports aptx adaptive and Lossless, not that I have any wireless headphones that support the second.

$80 beats new headphones.

 

[Colif]

i wonder if sonar will try to control the sound through the dongle, guess I find out next week. It should show up as an output device in windows.

It works with exclusive mode in tidal so I can output lossless to it... shame I don't have any wireless headphones that are lossless. Not that I really need it since I have a Wiim and Aune for music.

I found out tonight my centre speaker in my 5.1 set works but only in a mode where it ignores the rear speakers. So I can have 3.1 (.1 being the woofer) or I can swap modes and have rear speakers but no centre aka 4.1 but I can't have 5.1 unless I watch a movie that supports it. That has been a problem with windows for years though.

Guess using my Focal headphones for gaming and not having the latency issue might stop me wanting to use speakers as much. I see if it solves problem as otherwise I can just buy a headset.

hmmm, i wonder.. wish I had seen this note before:

*Only available if supported by input device and when using in gaming mode .

It might just refer to aptx adaptive capable headphones... its hard to tell.

 

[Zed Clampet]

i wonder if sonar will try to control the sound through the dongle, guess I find out next week. It should show up as an output device in windows.

It works with exclusive mode in tidal so I can output lossless to it... shame I don't have any wireless headphones that are lossless. Not that I really need it since I have a Wiim and Aune for music.

I found out tonight my centre speaker in my 5.1 set works but only in a mode where it ignores the rear speakers. So I can have 3.1 (.1 being the woofer) or I can swap modes and have rear speakers but no centre aka 4.1 but I can't have 5.1 unless I watch a movie that supports it. That has been a problem with windows for years though.

Guess using my Focal headphones for gaming and not having the latency issue might stop me wanting to use speakers as much. I see if it solves problem as otherwise I can just buy a headset.

hmmm, i wonder.. wish I had seen this note before:


It might just refer to aptx adaptive capable headphones... its hard to tell.

You've made me look at headphones this morning. Somehow I managed to control my primal urges and not buy one.

 

[Colif]

That is funny, i wanted to buy something too, but I had mentioned idea of headset to Anort and he was the one who suggested a low latency bluetooth adapter and after a search I ended up with the dongle. I had found this one first but it needed to use my optical cable which I already use for speakers.

BT T100 Bluetooth® Audio Transmitter | Sennheiser Australia

Sennheiser’s new BT T100 Bluetooth® audio transmitter lets you easily upgrade your existing equipment to experience all the freedom and convenience of wireless sound

www.sennheiser-hearing.com

The USB dongle is newer. And supports newer versions of Bluetooth

It may have dispelled my want to buy something new for a while.

I haven't looked at headphones since I got my Dunu last year. I don't really feel like I need any new ones for music but gaming was a black hole. Up until dongle I didn't have an easy way to connect my wireless headphones to PC without dealing with delay.

If I were to want to attach my wired headphones I could buy

Fosi Audio K7 Gaming Desktop DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

The Fosi Audio K7 is a gaming desktop DAC and headphones amplifier that adds a microphone input with independent volume control in both directions, making it attractive for gamers in addition to audiophiles. Featuring extensive power and onboard customization, including bass and treble EQ, this...

www.techpowerup.com

but I also need to buy one of these so I can attach my over ear headphones to it

Custom Interconnect

Here you can customize any of our current interconnect options. Mix and match colors to go with your custom headphone cables! Use the dropdown menu to select the interconnect type. Please include color choice in the form above. Custom Color Options Use this link to browse our catalog of...

hartaudiocables.com

See how I go. I bought 2 interconnects, they show up sometime next month now. They are useful anyway as my Aune can use 4.4mm adapters as well.

Looked at Soundblaster G8 but it lacks balanced outputs for headphones and may not have power needed to run all my headphones. K7 does.
edit: the K7 has 11x more power than the G8. G8 has more features.

 

[Colif]

It took a few tries to get the dongle to pair to headphones, I almost gave up a few times... I don't like blue tooth pairing, its always weird.

I tried the dongle on my phone but it recognised the headphones as soon as I turned them on, but the dongle didn't.

eventually I had to have them right next to each other for it to work. Also helped to know what it should do when paired. The quick start guide in Dongle really not good enough.

lip sync in videos is much better in gaming mode on dongle, not perfect but much less noticeable.

 

[Zed Clampet]

That is funny, i wanted to buy something too, but I had mentioned idea of headset to Anort and he was the one who suggested a low latency bluetooth adapter and after a search I ended up with the dongle. I had found this one first but it needed to use my optical cable which I already use for speakers.

BT T100 Bluetooth® Audio Transmitter | Sennheiser Australia

Sennheiser’s new BT T100 Bluetooth® audio transmitter lets you easily upgrade your existing equipment to experience all the freedom and convenience of wireless sound

www.sennheiser-hearing.com

The USB dongle is newer. And supports newer versions of Bluetooth

It may have dispelled my want to buy something new for a while.

I haven't looked at headphones since I got my Dunu last year. I don't really feel like I need any new ones for music but gaming was a black hole. Up until dongle I didn't have an easy way to connect my wireless headphones to PC without dealing with delay.

If I were to want to attach my wired headphones I could buy

Fosi Audio K7 Gaming Desktop DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

The Fosi Audio K7 is a gaming desktop DAC and headphones amplifier that adds a microphone input with independent volume control in both directions, making it attractive for gamers in addition to audiophiles. Featuring extensive power and onboard customization, including bass and treble EQ, this...

www.techpowerup.com

but I also need to buy one of these so I can attach my over ear headphones to it

Custom Interconnect

Here you can customize any of our current interconnect options. Mix and match colors to go with your custom headphone cables! Use the dropdown menu to select the interconnect type. Please include color choice in the form above. Custom Color Options Use this link to browse our catalog of...

hartaudiocables.com

See how I go. I bought 2 interconnects, they show up sometime next month now. They are useful anyway as my Aune can use 4.4mm adapters as well.

Looked at Soundblaster G8 but it lacks balanced outputs for headphones and may not have power needed to run all my headphones. K7 does.
edit: the K7 has 11x more power than the G8. G8 has more features.

Without getting up, which I'm not inclined to do , I don't think my motherboard has RCA jacks.