Sennheiser HD 598 + Sound Card + Mod Mic?

[avidity]

I have ordered the Sennheiser HD 598's and am wondering which sound card I should get. I was planning on getting the Asus Xonar Essence STX but then I noticed there was an STX II and am not sure how much I should invest in a sound card. Also, would there be compatibility issues with Windows 8.1?

On different forums I read that the Creative Titanium HD is better for gaming. Newegg says the new version of that card is the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR. Which is best? I read on here that Dolby Headphone is better for virtual 7.1. I currently have the Sound Blaster Recon 3D Omega wireless headset/USB sound card combo but haven't really been impressed with it.

Also, if I get a mod mic will it plug into the sound card as well as my headphones or will the microphone be going into the motherboard? Just wondering as this may be annoying if the cables are different lengths. I think I read that the Sennheiser HD 598's cable is really long. So I was considering getting a desktop mic but don't know if that is the best choice as I may have to lean in for it to pick up my voice.

I plan on using the sound card to get the 7.1 virtual surround sound for gaming but I would also like to have the built-in amp.

I have not looked into amps/DAC's so I really don't know what I'm getting myself into/will be missing yet.

The Sennheiser headphones are only $149 on Amazon.ca right now so that's why I went with those over say the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. Did I make the right decision?

I will mostly be gaming (listening to footsteps) and listening to a wide range of music.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[ssddx]

the hd598 is generally a good choice for someone who wants to play games or watch movies and doesnt prefer heavy bass. you should be happy with them

the ad700x is generally considered to be a better choice for ultra competetive gamers since they have a huge soundstage, good accuracy and precision and not much bass output at all (considered bass-less by many but thats not entirely true). since it doesnt have bass presence its very easy to pick up on footsteps. however if you are looking for a "fun" headphone it is not. its more analytical and due to almost no bass output isnt really as enjoyable for other things unless you prefer the bass-less sound.

the hd598 really does not require a soundcard and i typically only suggest looking into a soundcard if you have issues with your onboard such as hissing, buzzing or poor sound quality. if you did buy a soundcard i'd look at either the creative Z or the asus xonar dx though the Z offers a more powerful amp (which doesnt really benefit this scenario since the 598 arent hard to drive).

i would listen to comparisons (you can search on youtube) for the cmss3d type virtual surround found on creative cards and the dolby headphone found on asus cards and base your decision based on that. do realize that ANY virtual surround does distort the sound a bit so you cut back a tad on quality (yes this is true with gaming headsets too since most are virtual).

for the hd598 you really do not need to go into external amp/dac unless you wanted to boost your on-the-go sound quality capabilities a bit. the hd598 doesnt require any special amping though does respond well to some which makes it beneficial to invest a small amount but not worth investing alot. you can get some basic amps for $20-50. a decent portable dac will set you back more with a combo dac/amp going for about $80-100. not really worthwhile unless you're looking to really push them to the max as far as quality is concerned (in which case you might have been better off with a higher end set of headphones to begin with).

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in short... i'd try them with the onboard first and if you dont like it (or if your onboard doesnt support virtual surround) i'd get the creative z or asus xonar dx. personally i prefer no virtual surround (just running stereo mode) and honestly the inbuilt mechanics in most game are enough to not require its use at all and you can get slightly better sound quality in return but this is an opinion only and is up to you completely.

 

[avidity]

I decided I didn't really like the look of the HD598's and actually picked up the ad700x thanks to your post as well as some of my own research.