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iGrenade
216
Jun 4, 2015
still deciding whether to get these or the audio-gd nfb-15. after all the research i've done, it appears the x7 has more features while the nfb-15 has a "better," slightly warm and lively sound signature and is a bargain for its price.
does anyone have experience with the nfb-15? or if you've had experience with the x7 and can compare it to another dac/amp combo, i'd really like to hear your thoughts. i will be pairing one of these with the a7xx & x2 fidelio.
grumpy1471
88
Jun 4, 2015
iGrenadeI haven't had any personal experience with the NFB-15 but I have heard great things about it. If you're going to take advantage of the gaming and virtual surround features of the X7, I would personally go for that. If you're going to be mainly using the unit for music purposes, I would go with the NFB.
iGrenade
216
Jun 4, 2015
grumpy1471i just had a chance to listen to the sbx virtual surround sfx. while it sounds immersive and has a wow-factor at first, it's really just exaggerating everything and can get fatiguing after a while. i fear the details being drowned out by sbx. overall sound quality with sbx on is worse than having it off but it compensates for that with the wow-factor.
really tough choice as i also watch movies/listen to music a lot in addition to gaming. thanks for your input. if only massdrop had a return policy like amazon...
grumpy1471
88
Jun 4, 2015
iGrenadeI agree. With SBX on when listening to music or any other type of mainly stereo media, it seems to make the soundstage a little too big while also adding a bit of a reverb to the overall sound. In gaming, I find it to be extremely immersive and effective in pinpointing the locations of sounds. The SBX effect can be changed based on your preferences in the X7's control panel if it happens to be too extreme (or not extreme enough). Either way, if you were to go with the X7 on Massdrop or the NFB, returns would be an issue. The X7 would be a jack of all trades whereas the NFB would be better mainly in the sound quality department (as you had said before). That's a tough decision for sure.
Edit: I also agree with Lateralus's comment. The examples you were listening to were probably cranked to the max to showcase the capabilities of the technology. It's more something that you would need to listen to yourself before making a decision. I suggest trying a software program such as Razer Surround. While the program won't be nearly as good as the X7 in terms of a DSP, it'll give you a bit of control over the surround and let you try it out in a few games.
iGrenade
216
Jun 5, 2015
grumpy1471I also found a video comparing CMSS-3D, Razer Surround, Dolby Headphone, and SBX. SBX was tested at 30%, 60%, and 100%. Even at 30%, the soundstage is exaggerated and there's a noticeable decrease in sound quality. Despite this the SBX continues to outperform all other virtual surround solutions.
Here's the video if you're interested:
grumpy1471
88
Jun 5, 2015
iGrenadeFrom watching that on my K712s, it seems to sound fairly normal as far as virtual surround goes. The increase in soundstage is mainly due to the adjustments that make that 3D effect. You should be able to pinpoint the fountain in the first part of the video fairly easily. The decrease in SQ is from said effects that give the illusion of sound coming from in front or behind you. Virtual surround is more for immersion and pinpointing sounds than it is for SQ. If you don't like the way the SBX sounded in the video, I don't think the X7 would be for you. It does, however, take a while to get used to when you first hear surround.
Reckless95
3
Jun 5, 2015
iGrenadeI'm actually using a K712s w/ ZxR and it's very good for gaming. I will plug them into my Marantz SR7008 for serious listening though.
The best settings I found for myself were surround at their their default 67% or 100% depending on the games. Crystalizer is more of a boost function IMO. I only notice the output increases, however for games like BF4 I noticed more of a crisp sound and used somewhere from 60~70%.
Reckless95
3
Jun 5, 2015
grumpy1471It depends. I own a ZxR w/ K712s and I don't think the video does it justice. SBX is a gave me a 'fuller' sound compared to dolby and cmss-3D. I compared all 3 from different sound cards. I think the Asus STX I think it's called was the best for music. However, now that I setup some speakers, I got a Marantz SR7008 which actually has a great headphone AMP.
wovie
29
Jun 5, 2015
iGrenadeObviously it will be too late - but I plan on comparing the X7 (with surround off) to my Schiit stack for music listening. I'm optimistic that it will be an extremely close comparison, given the price range they're in. To me, the X7 will have the edge for gaming, with the advantage of being able to turn off surround for non-gaming purposes.
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