[SynisterSilen]

I'm just wanting to know if I have the best setup for the headphones I use.

I use Turtle Beach DX11: http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/...force-x11.aspx (They're similar to that, but came with a DSS Processor)

I also have the latest Realtek drivers. Is there anymore I can do to make it sound better?

[Shadaez]

buy a real pair of headphones rather than a childrens toy

[DarkCarnage]

buy a real pair of headphones rather than a childrens toy

Agreed

[SynisterSilen]

Shadaez posted:

buy a real pair of headphones rather than a childrens toy

Thanks for the help! :)

[Shadaez]

SynisterSilen posted:

Thanks for the help! :)

well you can't just make a headphone sound better, they are meant for preteens playing cod, you can EQ them and maybe somewhat make it better, but ultimately they aren't worth it

[SynisterSilen]

Shadaez posted:

well you can't just make a headphone sound better, they are meant for preteens playing cod, you can EQ them and maybe somewhat make it better, but ultimately they aren't worth it

Well I know I wasn't going to get a significant difference, I was just wanting to know if there's any small tweaks or software I could use/get to perhaps improve them, even by the smallest bit.

Yes, I did buy them for xbox originally but I've ended up switching to PC gaming, and I don't have the money to purchase a PC headset.

These aren't that bad, anyway. I don't consider them great compared to most PC headsets, but they're a lot better than ones I've used that are in the ~$100 range.

[Allstone]

He means get headphones and mic separately because headsets are routinely terrible compared to a decent set of headphones and a discrete mic at around the same price.

[thelurker1234]

SynisterSilen posted:

Well I know I wasn't going to get a significant difference, I was just wanting to know if there's any small tweaks or software I could use/get to perhaps improve them, even by the smallest bit.

Yes, I did buy them for xbox originally but I've ended up switching to PC gaming, and I don't have the money to purchase a PC headset.

These aren't that bad, anyway. I don't consider them great compared to most PC headsets, but they're a lot better than ones I've used that are in the ~$100 range.

Start off a bit cheap than. Go to the headphone thread and look. they got a good list up there.

[Coridan]

Pro tip: Usually, headphones with mics built in aren't going to be anything special. They will be geared towards gamers who will be playing video games... not audiophiles or someone looking for great sound. There's a headphone buying thread on this forum... look there for suggestions. And buy the mic separate.

[superstepa]

Downloading more ram may work

But seriously, just buy a better pair of headphones

[AugustBurnsRed]

SynisterSilen posted:

Well I know I wasn't going to get a significant difference, I was just wanting to know if there's any small tweaks or software I could use/get to perhaps improve them, even by the smallest bit.

Yes, I did buy them for xbox originally but I've ended up switching to PC gaming, and I don't have the money to purchase a PC headset.

These aren't that bad, anyway. I don't consider them great compared to most PC headsets, but they're a lot better than ones I've used that are in the ~$100 range.

You can get a cheap desktop mic or a clip-on one (clips to headphone wire) seaparate and a decent pair of headphones/earbuds.

I have Sennheiser CX475 IEM earbuds (caught them at $20 on newegg, $50 now)
They have really nice sound and i don't even EQ my music anymore.

[Weltmeister]

Allstone posted:

He means get headphones and mic separately because headsets are routinely terrible compared to a decent set of headphones and a discrete mic at around the same price.

Well the PC360's do sound just like 595's and the microphone is a capsule condenser so that's something to think about. Agreed though just get them seperately.

[David Tennant]

Weltmeister posted:

Well the PC360's do sound just like 595's and the microphone is a capsule condenser so that's something to think about. Agreed though just get them seperately.

Same for MMX-300s, just DT-770s with a boom mic attached, but at the same time you're paying premium for the convenience, you could get the same quality for much less.

[cecilbdemodded]

SynisterSilen posted:

I'm just wanting to know if I have the best setup for the headphones I use.

I use Turtle Beach DX11: http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/...force-x11.aspx (They're similar to that, but came with a DSS Processor)

I also have the latest Realtek drivers. Is there anymore I can do to make it sound better?

I'd start at the beginning- with the stuff you have now. First, the headset has a frequency range of 30hz-20khz, so don't expect monster bass out of it. You'll notice headphones(not headsets) known for their bass usually are rated under 20hz on the low end.

Next, that DSS processor has an optical input. So ideally you'd hook up your Realtek's optical output, not analog, to the DSS. Then plug your headset into the DSS. That should give you the cleanest sound you can get from your Realtek onboard audio. If you use the analog outputs, the regular headphone plug, you are going to get the noisy, low power output. Your DSS can amplify it, but it can't clean up a noisy analog signal.

[Allstone]

Yeah, there are definitely exceptions, but they're fairly rare.

[Neckername]

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

[Shadaez]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

lmao

[Cheesemonkey]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

lol

[David Tennant]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

roflmao

[kaze4159]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

rotfl

[rodent-man]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

Derp? (just going with the flow)

[Samuka97]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

Go back to listening your 8kbps youtube rips, why don't ya. A lot of this advice is actually right, just because you can hear the difference between your skullcandies and your friend's $10k Beats headphones it doesn't instantly make you an audiophile.

[hoot37]

You could look for a usb DAC/Amp.

The one I use is the Fiio E10 and it's very good with my Grado SR80i's
But you should only consider this if you think that your onboard sound card is limiting you, in my case it was, but I'm using a good pair of headphones, I'm not sure if the same can apply to Turtle's.

[BlkDucky]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

oh man

[cecilbdemodded]

hoot37 posted:

You could look for a usb DAC/Amp.

The one I use is the Fiio E10 and it's very good with my Grado SR80i's
But you should only consider this if you think that your onboard sound card is limiting you, in my case it was, but I'm using a good pair of headphones, I'm not sure if the same can apply to Turtle's.

From what I read, isn't that what his DSS processor is? If he runs the green analog output, he can only use the DSS as an amplifier. But if he runs his optical output to it, the DSS will function as a DAC too.

[[EG] Pepper]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

[tommyc225]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

[hoot37]

cecilbdemodded posted:

From what I read, isn't that what his DSS processor is? If he runs the green analog output, he can only use the DSS as an amplifier. But if he runs his optical output to it, the DSS will function as a DAC too.

I hadn't really read about the DSS but I can only assume that it wont be as good as the Fiio E10, many say that for £60 it's the best within the £100 price range, so that may be an option.

[Weltmeister]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

[David Tennant]

hoot37 posted:

I hadn't really read about the DSS but I can only assume that it wont be as good as the Fiio E10, many say that for £60 it's the best within the £100 price range, so that may be an option.

A FiiO E10 really won't give him much, he'd be better off using the money for new headphones, the FiiO E10 just compliments already good headphones.

[Chubbs]

hoot37 posted:

I hadn't really read about the DSS but I can only assume that it wont be as good as the Fiio E10, many say that for £60 it's the best within the £100 price range, so that may be an option.

The E10 can't fix headphones being shit.

[icedt]

DarkCarnage posted:

Agreed

There is a button for that...

[cecilbdemodded]

David Tennant posted:

A FiiO E10 really won't give him much, he'd be better off using the money for new headphones, the FiiO E10 just compliments already good headphones.

I still think he's better off optimizing his current setup and seeing how it sounds. Then, if he's still unhappy, he can identify what he thinks he needs more off(bigger soundstage, more bass, etc). It's possible he's got something hooked up wrong and once he fixes it he might be happy with his current headset.

[David Tennant]

cecilbdemodded posted:

I still think he's better off optimizing his current setup and seeing how it sounds. Then, if he's still unhappy, he can identify what he thinks he needs more off(bigger soundstage, more bass, etc). It's possible he's got something hooked up wrong and once he fixes it he might be happy with his current headset.

I can tell you right now that the FiiO E10 won't do anything for him with his current headphones, it'd be a good investment for when he gets better headphones but he'd be better off getting new cans first.

[Recurracy]

Neckername posted:

Well I think you can weed out the idiots/trolls that do not know about audio in this thread. Turtle beach has a decent line of headsets. The X11 series is decent if you want basic stereo and a mic, with a comfortable fit. Other than that, sound quality can differ. When you ask "what can you do to get better quality", that is a very broad statement. What did you expect vs. what you actually got? Did you want more bass? Better decibel range? Better frequencies? Did you think that there would be reduced background noise? I don't know what's wrong with your experience as I am not in your shoes. If it is a volume problem, you can do a lot of amazing things with third party software, as well as drivers.

There is quite a difference between a self-proclaimed audiophile just because he has a 123 dollar headphone and someone who knows his audio from the inside out.

You fit right in the former category.

[David Tennant]

Recurracy posted:

There is quite a difference between a self-proclaimed audiophile just because he has a 123 dollar headphone and someone who knows his audio from the inside out.

You fit right in the former category.

Audiophilia just means you have a strong interest in high quality sound and music, you can't really label it with money, but I get what you're saying.

[Recurracy]

My little brother constantly talks about audio as if he knows everything about it while in fact the only thing he knows is that bass goes boom. He reminds me of that guy up there.

[SynisterSilen]

Asks a question. Just gets a bunch of trolls who try to show their facepunch dominance with their extreme knowledge of nothing important... with maybe 3-4 good answers mixed in there. THANKS EVERYBODY!

[David Tennant]

SynisterSilen posted:

Asks a question. Just gets a bunch of trolls who try to show their facepunch dominance with their extreme knowledge of nothing important... with maybe 3-4 good answers mixed in there. THANKS EVERYBODY!

All you can do is use an equalizer, other than that, buy new headphones.

[Chubbs]

SynisterSilen posted:

Asks a question. Just gets a bunch of trolls who try to show their facepunch dominance with their extreme knowledge of nothing important... with maybe 3-4 good answers mixed in there. THANKS EVERYBODY!

Stop crying because we told you the truth.