Blaster Recon3D vs Soundblaster X-Fi? + HeadPhones/Set?

Looking at getting a USB Sound Card. I've narrowed my selection down to:

Creative Blaster Recon3D External Enhancer
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB Audio System with THX SB1095

Can't decide which one would be better.

I'm also looking to hook this up to some wireless headphones.

Turtle-Wireless-Surround-Headset
Creative-Blaster-Wireless-Headset-GH0180

Any recommendations/suggestions, anyone?

Used For: Mainly Music + Some Gaming
Looking to keep the budget below 150$..maybe 175$ for the headphones + 75$-100$ for the Sound Card.

 

Those connect through USB when used with a computer meaning that they completely bypass any soundcard you have. Honestly, got music, when ti comes to sound quality, you're better off with a decent pair of headphones rather than a headset.

 

The TB x42s have an additional input.. Digital Audio In + Analog In.
Looks like I won't be able to use the Creative one.

 

Digital will bypass the soundcard's DAC as well and if the analog in goes back to digital for the wireless, it seems a bit redundant to me. All I'm saying is that the sound quality you'll get will only be as good as what the DAC in the headset can do, regardless of the quality of the output. Unless the transmitter also transmits an analog signal when it is hooked to an analog source, but I highly doubt that is the way it goes. What you really need to find out is whether the transmitter does the digital to analog conversion or the whether the DAC is in the headset itself.

 

Hmm.. Well then can you recommend some wireless headphones?

 

Unfortunately, no, is there any reason why you want them wireless? Wired will get you much better quality for the money. I know Sennheiser makes some wireless headphones, but they are over your budget if I recall correctly. Maybe someone else has recommendations though. My Vengeance 2000 (wireless USB) is alright for music, but it is nothing compared to my HD25-1 II. You could look at the opposite option, wireless receiver + wired headphones.

 

Yeah, well I was looking to keep the budget to 200$.

Wireless just for the convenience..of, well, not having wires everywhere..& able to walk around the room while listening without caring about the wire getting caught up in anything, But I could consider wired ones. Price being a major component between wired & wireless. Wireless is much more expensive, so I think I'd like to look into wired to get better quality for the same price.

If I'm using really good wired ones, could I bypass picking up a DAC & still get comparable sound quality using only the headphones built in sound chip?

 

That all depends on how good your stock soundcard is since wired headphones are analog.

EDIT: Depending on where you live, you might even be able to go to a store and sample some headphones either with your laptop or a portable player.

 

Stock Sound Card = Sager Stock Sound Card (For the NP9170 (Clevo 170EM)) ..which isn't very good.

 

The only external DAC I have experience with is the FiiO E7 and I have to say that I am rather satisfied with it. If the problem with the NP9170's soundcard is interference coming from other circuitry on the motherboard, pretty much any USB soundcard will fix that. Other NBR users seem to like the FiiO E10 as well which is cheaper. For the headphones, I have a pair of ATH-M50 that i like, but they might not be for everyone. I have heard good things about the Shure 840 as well, I sampled the 440 and aside from weak (but accurate) bass and being very uncomfortable, they weren't bad. The 840 don't have the comfort issues that the 440 have.

You can also head to head-fi for more headphone opinions.

 

An MDR-ZX700 / ATH-M50 + USB soundcard of your choice / budget would be a good starting point IMO for a ~$200 music + gaming set. Mic-wise it'd depend on your priority for voice quality. The Zalman ZM-1 is an oft-favoured mic but I think it's a pile of junk.

 

I've got the Sound Blaster Recon3D USB + the Omega wireless headphones that go with them. Three reasons I got them.

One is because I love having wireless headphones. I know sound quality is lower that if I use wired headphones, but I keep tangling myself in the cord in such weird ways.

Two, the USB Recon3D will process the audio into virtual surround sound for any headphones plugged into it. While I've tried it with regular wired headphones (Alienware Tactx headset), the virtual surround sound seems way better with the Omega wireless headset. But I agree with Tijo that the quality of the sound depends on what the headphone's DAC can do. I know the Recon3D does some processing before it transmits to the headset. I also know the Recon3D transmits on a 2.4GHz frequency.

Third, I got my Sound Blaster Recon3D Omega wireless package at a steal ($159). So I don't feel bad at all because normally it would have cost over $200. I really do like this getup. It does very well with my blu-ray mp4 movies. The only shortcoming I've noticed is when playing music the bass sounds flat, but given these aren't a pair of top of the line $300 headphones, I figure you can't have everything.

 

Deciding on going for the Sennheiser RS 160.

I'll connect them to the headphone jack on the Asus VS248H-P (Sound via HDMI from my laptop). No USB DAC. Might need to get a Headphone Amp later on, but it should be fine for now. Anyone used any of the RS series from Sennheiser?

 

I've tried the RS 220's at a store in NZ once. Not bad for a wireless headphone, but I felt it lacked the power to properly bring out the best from it. However I don't think adding an amplifier would help since the actual power delivery would be via the built in amplifier on the headphone itself. Any additional amplification before the wireless transmitter would be moot since the wireless emitter would cancel out any additional gain.

Your best bet in the future would be to simply purchase a better DAC if you intend to stick with the RS 160's.

 

The RS 220 & the 180 are open styled headphones. Don't want open cans..sound leak. I had to choose between the 170 & the 160. Picked the 160 for the portability + price.

You think a DAC would help..? It would be converted to Digital again by the transmitter..

 

Honestly I don't think a DAC would do all that much other than eliminate the DAC element in your monitor (which I'm assuming is pretty low quality). DAC's in general are probably the component where you will notice the least amount of difference (if your onboard DAC is reasonable) when upgrading. Assuming that Sennheiser's 'Kleer' system doesn't do too much to an incoming signal (I haven't read up on the underlying tech) then you should notice some difference. I'm sure I read somewhere on Head-Fi saying that someone noticed a difference between running their RS 180 out of a cheap DAC and their laptop.

Sorry if this isn't really helping, I don't have enough experience with these wireless systems to really comment on what would improve the sound. This thread on Head-Fi would probably have more detailed information than I could provide: LINK

 

Ah, right. That makes sense. The DAC element in my monitor is actually better than the DAC element on my laptop unfortunately. So maybe a ~100$ USB DAC/Headphone Amp would be helpful.. like the FiiO E17.

Thanks for the link. I had come across it when I was researching but I haven't gone through every post yet..

 

Guess you deep down know the answer yourself, it's all about money

 

Agreed 110%. Can't stand sound leaks. Audio quality loses something in translation if it doesn't reach your ear.

 

Audiophiles might disagree with you. From what I've read around Head-Fi & other places, it seems the RS 180 & the RS 220 being open-styled headphones can project a larger soundstage & provide an enhanced audio experience. (But you should be in a quiet place as the sound leak happens both ways.. environmental sound leaks in & your music leaks out)

Personally, I don't think I could stand that. I would rather go for the lesser SQ (if they are so) RS 160.

 

I think it's because open style drivers simulate a more natural sound. In real life, we don't hear sounds from speaker pressed right against our ear. We hear them from various distances and angles and different volumes. That is not the case with me. I need a closed driver style cause I'm already hard of hearing and don't need to miss the subtle nuance sounds my virtual surround sound headset outputs if it were an open driver style ear-cup. But that's just my preference, and the audiophiles are most likely dead right in their headset analysis anyway.