Roccat Kave + Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi

So I've been looking around for a good gaming headset for a while and have't been too inspired by anything I've seen on the US market. G35's are flimsy and tight. Megalodons are plasticky and not very noise isolating, Astro A40's seem not worth the price (or so some say), I see more negative Tritton Reviews than positive ones, Sennheiser is either not my style or too expensive and Turtle beach and steelseries just seem sorta meh/not enough bang for buck.

Today, I was casually google-searching for some headphones when I saw this (Finnish) company called Roccat, offering a TRUE 5.1 headset (with 4 speakers in each can). The few reviews all say they have BRILLIANT sound quality for gaming (and phenomenal 5.1), great comfort and durability and they look great as well. The fact that they're Finnish is icing on the cake since I myself am 1/2 Finnish, speak it fluently and spend a good amount of time in Finland.

Here's the downside. These headphones are designed to be used on a gaming desktop with a dedicated 5.1 sound card. They have 3 or 4x 3.5mm jacks and a USB for power. Of course, my Asus G73, does not have that hardware. I looked around for a good external 5.1 sound card and came up with the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi

Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 SB1090 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz USB Interface Sound Card

Are there any obvious issues with running the headset through the Sound Blaster card? Obviously there would be lots of cables and bulk, but I only intend to use this rig at home.

 

Can't see why not.

Yes I know my desktops a mess lol.

 

Roccat Kave should have its own sound card. Why do you add another?

 

if your truly only going to be using this at home then you should buy a pe4 adapter and then purchase a desktop sound card and use it with that.

pe4L link
PE4L ( PCIe passive adapter ver1.5 )

just make a little enclosure for it and youll have fantastic audio.

 

The USB is purely for power nothing else, the sound comes from the 3.5mm input jacks.

 

Thanks for the quick replies everybody

thanks, but unfortunately, the G73 has no PCI slot. Really, all it has are usb's as far as multipurpose connectivity goes (meaning there are some display ports and a headset/mic jack)

yeah but the g73 doesn't have a place for those 3.5mm's. Hence the need for an external sound card

because i don't have the connections for it.

Nice desktop , also, was that the creative card in the corner over there? if so, SWEET! Also, where did you get your headset? I will next be in finland over christmas, but if there's an easier way to get one in the states, i'd love to know.

Thanks again guys.

 

Ugh, the laptop external sound cards are crap. The quality is barely above the onboard unless your laptop is pre 2000.

Surround headsets are also a waist (imo) should have gotten a good set of cans that you can power from the laptop with 2 good speakers instead of 8 cheap ones.

If you want quality, go for a external DAC.

I have one on the way actually and will be posting a review/rundown of it soon.


Anyways 2 speakers are all you need for positioning you can hear 360 degrees in game with only 2 speakers it just about how the audio is processed.



The way I see it your spending a lot of money for little in return.

An external sound card that is not too great.

A headset that has pretty poor specs compared to a good set of audiophile cans.

Think common sense, the Kave cost... about $100... it has 8 speakers in it
A pair of good headphones like Sennheiser HD555 cost about $100.. it has 2 speakers in it.

So in the Senns you get two high quality drivers worth about $50 each... now in the Kave you get 8 low quality speakers worth about $12.50 each.

In audio quality > quantity and no company on earth is going to give you 8 $50 drivers for $100, they obviously have to cut quality/performance to cut the cost.


The last thing I have against the Kave and that I have against most PC speaker sets is the 3x 1/8" jack setup they use. Why limit yourself to use on computer only? If you have a nice set of speakers or headphones would you not want to be able to use them with your ipod, your nintendo ds, you tv, your anything else? Get regular headphones that use a single jack and you get more return on your investment by having that option available to you.

 

I have a pair of senns for music use on the go. I just like surround sound headsets but haven't found one that seems ideal yet. Also, while you make an excellent argument about the quality of the parts, testers SEEM to like these. You're probably right, but hey any geek needs new toys now and then.

 

the pe4l uses either a mini pci express slot like the one your wifi card is in or the expresscard slot which most new notebook have. this will be your best bet.

 

As I said above, the g73 HAS NO PCI or EXPRESSCARD slot. just some usb's hdmi, display, ethernet, headphones, mic, power, memory card and blu-ray drive.

 

I love audio stuff but im still an extream newbie. Why is it that the asus cant use these headphones? I realize that its missing a port but can you explain which port? You have mic and line out/in so what other port is nessasary for these headphones to work? Im still learning terms (s/pdif,stereo,analog,digital). Seems the audio department is lacking some what when explaining how it coinsides with hardware unless you buy the stuff your self and test it all. Alot of the stuff that is made is so niche with amps and dacs that its hard to tell what works with what. I think they make it complicated just for the simple fact that its expensive maybee, I don know. Have you taken a look at Creative Arena Surroundsound headset or logitech g930 that everyone has heared about. Headroom makes some nice dac/amps from the reviews.

The HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp for 400 looks nice if you got the money or the portable mini one for 150 that has dac in it also.

 

The roccat requires 3 3.5 mm inputs for the front, mid and rear speakers in each can. It could theoretically run with only one input, but it would then totally lose the point of "real" surround sound.

 

you must have not looked at the adapters the pe4l can be paired up with. im referring to the pm3n adapter for the pe4l. you can easily plug that into the mini pce express slot your wifi card is using. if your not gonna be moving it like you said then there is no need for wifi but even if you do want wifi you can always use a usb 2.0 wifi stick.

 

...removing my wifi card isn't really a favorable option. I take this computer to school every day. I just want to be able to game at home, but either way I have the x-fi now. I just need to get the kave at somepoint.

 

yeah i know its not a very favorable option but its an option. anyway id be interested in knowing how that setup works for yah.

 

Alright. I already have the X-fi (which gives my sennheisers some degree of virtual surround) but I won't get the kave's for a while. I'll update this when I do.

 

I'm sorry to hear that.:cry:

 

Hi Alcal,

Did you end up buying the Kave's and using them with you external sound card? I am about to post a thread similar.