Sound from standard headphone jack on new Alienware?

So I have been a PS3/Xbox one guy mostly. Just configured an Alienware 17r4. Haven't gotten it yet. I'm kind of lost on what to expect sound wise with the headphones I have. I'm not an expert! Right now I use an Astro mixamp with a pair of sennheiser pc360's on the Xbox. But that mixamp is dedicated to the Xbox so I can't use that on the pc. I want separate setups. What can I expect as far as sound just plugged directly into the 3.5mm Headphone jack. I can't find info on this. I like 5.1, 7.1 for fps games. And it's what I'm used to. Or am I better off buying a set of pc headphones with a built in inline sound card to provide surround sound? Like the sennheiser pc373d? That's the one I'm looking at.

 

I'd say try it without it first. It may be able to power them well enough that you can't tell a difference. My gut says no, but just try it out.

However as far as I know they don't have anything good in them. Clevo and some MSI machines have Sabre HIFI DAC chips that would actually be a lot better than the mixamp your using, but AW doesn't use it.

 

Thanks. Yeah I didn't think so. I'll try it. If it leaves a lot to be desired I'm eyeballing those sennheiser with the sound card built in. Seems like a simple setup. Just what I'm after.

 

Be careful a soundcard isnt an amp. A better dac may not help as much as more juice from an amp.

 

First, nice pick on the Sennheiser PC360D! Absolutely fantastic headset.

Now, back to business... Don't run out and immediately buy a new headset. The Sennheiser PC360D and PC373D are really just generational revisions of each other. There really isn't that much difference. The sound quality from the Sennheiser PC360D is going to be fine (I.e. fantastic). So what we would really be focused on is getting surround sound for you.

I'd say you have several options here:

1) Use your Astro MixAmp + Sennheiser PC360D on your PC. The Alienware R4 will have a SPDIF output on one of its audio jacks, via optical out. Get a mini-Optical to Optical cable (also called TOSLINK), get a USB cable for power, and use your Astro MixAmp setup on your new laptop.

Just be careful when you select audio output devices from Microsoft Windows, that you specify you want 5.1-channel DIGITAL OUTPUT from the laptop's onboard sound card. If you are powering your Astro MixAmp off of one of the laptop's USB ports, and choose your Astro MixAmp as your sound output device, you will only get bland 2.0-channel output.


2). Leave the Astro MixAmp alone. Plug your Sennheiser PC360D into your laptop, and try it out as a 2.0-channel setup. You might be surprised how good it sounds. You will also find that some games have a "Headphone Mode" in sound options, which gives you virtual surround sound for just that game.

3) Third option is to take Sennheiser PC360D, and plug directly into the laptop. Download Razer Surround software. It gives virtual 7.1-channel surround sound to any 2.0-channel headphones, and will do as about as good of a job as an Astro MixAmp, or dedicated 7.1-channel virtual surround headset. This gives you virtual surround d sound on any game (not just specific games that have a Headphone Mode).

4). If you REALLY want to upgrade your surround sound experience, and want the absolute best in virtual surround sound, then keep your Sennheiser PC360D and buy a Sennheiser GSX 1000. Without exaguration, it has the best virtual surround representation to date. Buy one of these, use your current headset, and you're SET.

P.S. I don't know how, but Overstock.com sells these for $170. This is a just-released item, being sold for the MSRP of $230 everywhere else. A few weeks back, I jumped on that deal so fast....

5). If none of those are attractive, and you really do just want a separate headset that you don't have to move around, then sure, get a separate headset. Stick with Sennheiser as a brand, and don't get a "gaming" headset from a company that makes computer peripherals (Logitech, Corsair, Razer, Steel series, Kingston, etc).

However, I'd recommend the Sennheiser PC363D (and not the PC373D), because the PC363D uses standard 3.5mm audio plugs to connect to the included USB sound card, instead of the proprietary connection used by the PC373D. This is valuable because this lets you use the PC363D with other audio gear and other systems if you want down the road.

This means that if you do decide you want to upgrade the quality of your surround sound, you can one day but something like a Sennheiser GSX 1000 and still use your PC363D headset with it. Or use your PC363D with a higher-end audiophile DAC or headphone amp if you want to one day. With a PC373D, you are forever stuck using it on a PC, without any option to upgrade the sound card quality or virtual surround quality.

Plus, the PC363D is cheaper.

 

Do note that surround is not without its downside.

True 7.1 surround means the headphones are using 7 really small drivers which will hurt sound quality compared to 2 higher quality drivers.

Virtual surround is almost paying for branding. Its just mimicking it with 2 drivers and something like Razer Surround software can do that for you for free.

 

Correct. Do not buy surround headsets that actually have multiple drivers in them. They are a complete waste of money.

Well, some virtual surround implementations are better than others. You have things like Dolby Headphone, Creative CMSS-3D, whatever Razer is using in Razer Surround, etc. Most of them are about equal to each other in terms of creating convincing positional audio. (around a 5.5 out of 10).

But no joke, the virtual surround algorithm in Sennheiser's GSX 1000 is leagues above all of that. Like, 9 out of 10.

When I first did the 7.1 speaker test in Windows Sound Control, I was wondering why my speakers in front of me on my desk were still connected. And then I realized that they were in fact disconnected, and what I was hearing was the GSX 1000's virtual surround effect be so effective, that it convinced me the sound was coming from the speakers in front of me.

 

Thats the difference between a 230 dollar dedicated device from an audio company... and free software.

 

Yeah I've been using the "virtual" 5.1 for quite awhile. I'm happy with it. I've never tried "true" 5.1 or 7.1 headphones with all the drivers in them. Never even considered them because of all the bad reviews. I've always been more than happy with my pc360's and the Astro mixamp. I did come across that gsx 1000 last night and started considering that to pair with my pc360's I already own. Now I'm considering just waiting it out for the laptop to arrive and trying this razor software to give me the virtual surround. Just starting to wonder how these 360's will sound without an amp now though. That's why I'm looking at this sennheiser amp. Maybe I'll just get one of these and be done with it... thing is I want a simple setup. Least amount of connections and "stuff" possible. Which is what draws me to trying software and only having my headphones directly in the laptop. So simple and clean! But if the sound is weak, the gsx 1000 doesnt seem like a bad setup. Anyone know the actual differences between the gsx1000 and 1200? It says the 1200 has chat link, which I don't need. But also says allows control of both inbound and outbound chat. Can someone make sense of that to me? I'm used to the Astro mixamp which allows me to adjust chat volume on the fly easily. So if that is what they are talking about, I want the pro version.

 

If your looking at a device like that I may recommend upping your headphone game.

If you drop the mic and look at like HD650s or something and then continue with virtual surround I think that'll sound more impressive than buying a GSX1000 on pc360s. Plus the 650s are leagues better for actual audio quality for music.

If I may ask where are you located? You don't have to be specific but if your in or near an urban area you should be able to try on headphones in person, which is what I'd recommend as you enter into the higher price ranges your now considering. The GSX1000 is more than your headphones, which I would never recommend until you start spending over 1000 dollars.

 

1.
Don't be worried about whether your laptop will be powerful enough to drive your Sennheiser PC360Ds. It will be. Those headphones are low impedance, which is a fancy way of saying that it doesn't take a lot of power to get them to full volume, or to sound as good as they possibly can. If that is your only concern, then you will be fine.


2.
Devices like an Astro MixAmp and Sennheiser GSX 1000 aren't amps. You don't buy them to deliver higher power output to headphones. You buy them to add digital sound processing (i.e. virtual surround sound).


3.
The difference between the Sennheiser GSX 1000 and GSX 1200 is that the GSX 1200 includes connections to daisy-chain them for voice chat when you have several of them nearby... Like competitive gaming events. If you're not a professional video gamer, then you don't need that feature.


4.
There is no such thing as "true" surround sound headphones. Surround sound in headphones does not work the same as surround sound in speakers.

With 5.1 speakers, hearing a sound coming from your right, means tha tthe sound hits you right ear sightly before it hits your left ear. Your brain processes these slight differences in timing, and tells you where the sound came from.

With headphones, sound going into your right ear will never be heard by your left ear. Therefore, all "surround sound" through headphones is done by taking a source sound in a game, calculating what the left/right ear **should** hear, and playing that calculated / processed sound through your actual headphones. Every implementation of surround sound in headphones does this. It doesn't matter if a pair of headphones has 1 sound driver in each earcup, 3 sound drivers, or 1,000 sound drivers. It is all done through software tricking your brain.

Now, there are many different algorithms / implementations on how this sound is processed. Some of those implementations are better than others, giving you more / less convincing positional audio.

 

I'm not opposed to buying a new set of cans to go with that amp. The reason I like the pc360's is the mic. I like the flip up to mute, and they are extremely comfortable. Looking at this sennheiser amp paired with either my 360s or the game 1's. Thinking the game 1's are the same as mine basically though. I'm not worried about the price of the amp. I can always upgrade the headphones later this way and always have a good amp.

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. I've always been into shooter games, just never gotten much into computer tech. I know enough, but definitely not an expert and don't claim to be. More into fixing cars and stuff like that. I think I am getting ahead of myself on this though. Once I get this new laptop, I'll try out the headphones and see what I think. Then decide what I need or "want". Thanks for all the help!

 

Glad to help!

Feel free to post again if you have questions. If you want me or people in this thread specifically use @ like @Galm to reach me for example!

Good luck!

 

Absolutely do not listen to Galm's advice above. The Sennheiser HD650s are $350-$400.

1. When dealing with gaming audio, you quickly hit a point of diminishing returns. That point is around ~$200. Above that, you don't get any noticeable benefit for gaming audio. It's a different story when you get into headphones for music; but for gaming, you're wasting your money.

2. The audio needs of a gamer are different than the audio needs of an audiophile (music). An audiophile will want their headphones to sound neutral and balanced, for accurate reproduction of 2.0-channel stereo sound. A gamer wants their headphones to sound intentionally unbalanced, because it emphasizes certain parts of the audio spectrum you want to hear while gaming. Using a pair of expensive high-end audiophile headphones for games will sound pretty flat and dull.

3. The Sennheiser HD650, specifically, are high-impedance headphones (300 ohms). That means you need a headphone amplifier to drive enough power to them that they sound up to their full potential. And you need a true headphone amplifier. Something like an Astro MixAmp or Sennheiser GSX 1000 will not cut it. Those two devices are more like DACs (digital-to-analog converters), that do virtual surround processing, and happen to have a volume control on them. They will not deliver nearly as much power as a headphone amp.

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You are pretty much already hitting the point of diminishing returns in audio quality with Sennheiser's gaming headset lineup. There really isn't a reason to buy anything above those, unless you specifically want to get into the headphone audiophile world for music listening. And there really isn't a reason to buy another headset beyond the Sennheiser PC360D that you already have, unless you just want the convenience of not having to constantly move them between your laptop & Playstation 4.

I'd say, try your Sennheiser PC360Ds on your laptop once you get it. If you want to add surround sound, then download Razer Surround. If you want better virtual surround sound, then get a Sennheiser GSX 1000. And if you end up going down the path where you really DO want to buy another headset, then read up on MadLustEnvy's Headphone Gaming Guide before you spend any money:

 

Sorry I wasnt being clear enough. I didn't seriously mean go get some HD650s specifically. It was an example of what he could afford with a budget that high, though not gaming centric. It's 100% possible to get bass heavy headphones great for gaming in the same price range. I was just giving a sennheiser example.

Both devices would not drive HD650s well. I should have been more explicit in that, the point was I personally don't recommend getting a GSX1000 right off the bat because its so much money. Get the 360s first, try them out with virtual surround, then if your feeling its lacking look for something more.

Certainly don't buy HD650s and plug them into the AW headphone jack...

 

I'm definitely no audiophile. The 360's paired with the mixamp I use is all I've ever needed or wanted really. Makes it easy to pinpoint others locations. I still may buy some new headphones to dedicate to this pc. As Kent pointed out, it'd be a convenience factor of not having to constantly switch between the two systems in other rooms etc. Plus my 360's are several years old and the right speaker cuts out at times. I'll have to tap it and it's good again. Thinking most likely going to get the sennheiser game ones, and try them alone. I'll need to look into this software razor provides to give me the virtual surround sound. Then if I'm not satisfied with that, I'll highly consider the Gsx1000. I like the fact that I can use other headphones with it too. Plus I can use the game ones with my current Xbox setup and Astro mixamp if my 360's do finally quit. Thanks again, all this has helped!

 

That sounds like a good plan! Hope it works out!