competitive fps audio setup

[kashim]

need to upgrade all my gaming audio setup
Source - soundblaster z (my soundcard atm) but don t know if upgrade to zxr
Requirements for Isolation - open back for max soundstage and audio accuracy
Preferred Type of Headphone - like my k612 over ear
Preferred tonal balance - gaming focused headphones,maximum soundstage,detail and audio accuracy
Past headphones - steelseries siberia v2,actually akg k612
Preferred Music - counter strike?xD..competitive fps focused headphone
What would you like to improve on from your set-up - need better soundstage,accuracy,details for improve my advantage
Location - italy
hi guys this is my setup
microphone - zalman cheap mic
headphone - akg k612
soundcard - soundblaster z
i have bought this setup last year for all prupose games,but actuallty i have bought logitech z501 for fun games and movies with my gf and wanna focus headphones for competitive fps games,i play cs go 99% of my time and wanna upgrade my headphone for a competitive headphone,looking for better microphone/headphone open back with best soundstage / detail headphone..don t know if is worth upgrade my sb z for sb zxr only for gaming,but wanna sure upgrade my cheap zalman crappy mic :S but don t wanna spend so much for it because i ll use only for comunicate ts/skype (soon some twitch),
this is my budget
headphone : 250 euro MAX looking for greatest soundstage / detail / positional accuracy(pin point god
headphone,comfort need aswell)actually looking ad700x - k701 - q701
microphone : 100 euro max looking mod mic v4
soundcard : best 3d sound accuracy soundcard gaming oriented(like creative because can connect headphone and 5.1 setup together and can easy switch from software) looking between: titanium hd/soundblaster zxr/rog phoebus solo

 

[ssddx]

if you want ultra wide soundstage and good positional audio... look at the audiotechnica ad500x, ad700x and ad900x. more soundstage than the akg cans and easier to drive as well. they are similar in nature (bass light and treble/mid focused). in the price range i do not think you will find any headphone with more soundstage depth.

you may or may not want to look into enabling virtual surround sound or if you already use it then trying without it enabled. you might also want to disable it then watch some youtube videos showcasing the different types of virtual surround sound. perhaps you will like one of the others better than what you use now (if you use it at all).

it should be noted that cs:go has crappy audio. regardless of what equipment you use it is still going to have bad audio and poor 3d sound. its a problem with the game engine and has been noted hundreds of times by users. you may or may not notice much of a difference with a new pair of headphones with that game.

i would keep the creative z as its a suitable card unless you decide to get headphones which are hard to power. upgrading is not going to do much for you unless you had a specific need.

as for a mic something cheap but decent would be the neewer nw-800 https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DIjVPyv3L8
the blue snowball is not terrible either. if you have the money the audiotechnica atr2500usb is great for the price.
the mod mic is also not bad if you want an on-headphone microphone. it is certainly better than the zalman. the unidirectional is nice if you have ambient sound in the room you want to avoid picking up while i think the omni is a bit more sensitive.

 

[kashim]

then sb z is enough...ad700x can give me better performance for gaming,unfortunally ad atr2500 is so expensive for me,then i need to choose between nw800 + arm for mount or mod mic v4 same range price but what is the best?

 

[ssddx]

honestly i would look at youtube mic tests for both modmic and nw-800 (i listed nw-800 video previously). both are decent mics depending on what you're looking for. the snowball isnt bad as well for the price.

 

[kashim]

they cost the same in my country,what have best sound quality and noise reduction?

 

[kashim]

1 friend tell me to buy dedicated amp for better soundstage and performance is right?my soundblaster can handle the nw-800?

 

[ssddx]

soundstage is affected by what headphones you use, not really the amplifier. all good clean neutral/transparent amplifiers should sound similar though of course some have their own flavor such as running a bit warm (bassy) or cool (treble). a dedicated amplifier is not going to really help your soundstage.

can an amplifier improve performance? in some cases yes. if your current amplifier/soundcard is not powerful enough to drive your headphones then a good amplifier can bring out such things as bass, midrange and volume. if your current equipment is poor quality then a good quality amp can get rid of distortion, hiss and similar. its highly dependent on what you're using and what you want to drive.

with the k612 you could have certainly benefited from a decent amplifier as they are a bit on the hard side to amplify. hard to say how well they will work with the z but you might not be getting the most performance out of them that you could. the ad700x is much easier and would work absolutely fine with the z. a good amp is not going to increase "soundstage" though.

hard to say but your z should be able to handle the nw800 fine.

 

[kashim]

ok then i m fine with sb z,then i ll go buy ad700x and a good microphone for the test like nw800