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Thread: asus xense or?

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    asus xense or?

    so im trying to decide on getting the asus xense.

    i want the best possible sound for $300, i need a soundcard and headset/headphones.

    i watch alot of movies, listen to music but mostly game.

    i realize the pc 350's that come with the xense are a closed headset and im fine with that. ive read alot online that hd555/ad700's are better then them but alot of their reasons are "because they're closed", and im guessing they weren't hooked to any kind of amp. so since they are comparing the hd555 and ad700 to a closed headset and using closed as they're reason, how would you compare a700 to the pc350?

    people are suggesting to save my money and just get a asus xonar dx + ad700, but how would that setup really compare to the asus xense?

    heres a few reasons why the asus xense caught my eyes.
    lifetime warranty (i think its just on card though and not headset)
    attached mic (i feel weird when talking threw desktop mic)
    internal headphone/headset amp
    and i can connect my crappy logitech 5.1 speakers + headset at same time, so i wouldn't have to crawl behind my computer to keep switching them.

    i realize i could get a splitter or a box to switch from headphone to speaker back and forth or use my front panel but i read it lowers the quality.



    also i looked at the asus essence but it uses rca jacks instead of what i need to connect my speakers, the higher end omegas but they are only pci not pci-e so not sure if my next computer will have a pci slot, and also looked at the auzentech sound cards but read that there warranty practically means nothing.

    i signed up on these forums to pm the member who wrote this review,
    edit: link removed, apparently i cant post links if im under 5 posts. however it was a review posted by Kalniel.
    but apparently it wont let me pm him so i made this topic. thanks to anyone who responds.

  2. #2
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: asus xense or?

    Hi,

    The ad700 and hd555 are open back headphones rather than fully closed back. If you want open back gaming headphones with built in mic then have a look at the Sennheiser PC 360. Unless you need isolation then I would probably have preferred them over the PC 350 as the closed back 350s do get a bit sweaty! But as I haven't tried all of the headsets I can't really say much else about them - it was only a reader review where I gave my subjective impressions, not a professional test where I could compare tens of different headsets and cards!

    Let's look at your criteria:

    -lifetime warranty (i think its just on card though and not headset)

    Nice to have, but I'm not sure it's really a game changer for me - I'll be impressed if we're still using the same technology 10 years on, just like you're not sure your new computer will have PCI, PCI-e might not always be backwardly compatible etc.

    -attached mic (i feel weird when talking threw desktop mic)
    Yup, and a good quality one at that. The PC 360 also qualifies here.

    -internal headphone/headset amp
    Agreed, a good feature. Also present in the Auzentech, and Xonar essence STX, but not the D2/X

    -and i can connect my crappy logitech 5.1 speakers + headset at same time, so i wouldn't have to crawl behind my computer to keep switching them.
    Also nice, but all Xonar cards have this as long as they have the right outputs for your 5.1 and heaphones, and I think the Auzentech would be fine as you can connect heaphones and speakers at the same time.

    Assuming the mic thing is quite important I think you've got three combinations to look at:

    Xonar Xense One + PC 350
    You've read the review. Great for music and films, okay for games

    Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 + PC 360/350
    I've not reviewed this, but would like to More info about the card here:
    http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_forte.php
    It has the headphone amp. And the X-Fi should give better gaming performance, while open back cans might be nicer if you want the PC360.

    Xonar DX + PC 360/350
    You're missing a headphone amp here and some quality compared to the Xense. Is that important? Yes, if you're going to be driving something like the PC 360/350. I accidentally tried driving the PC 350 without the amp and the sound was disappointing.

    So really it's a toss up between the first two (X-Fi titanium HD is ruled out for RCA outputs). If you are worried about the Auzentech warranty then go for the Xonar Xense - it's a good value bundle compared to getting an equivalent sound card and headset. However if you want to concentrate on gaming then I'd strongly consider getting the Auzentech card (buy two if you're worried about reliability!) simply because the X-Fi really is a much better chip for that. But you'll be happy with either IMHO.

    Of course, if you go without a mic, then you can get back to your ad700s and Xonar DX, or X-Fi titanium (non-HD)! So how much are you willing to pay for the convenience?
    Last edited by kalniel; 28-10-2010 at 11:18 AM.

  3. #3
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    Re: asus xense or?

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Hi,

    The ad700 and hd555 are open back headphones rather than fully closed back. If you want open back gaming headphones with built in mic then have a look at the Sennheiser PC 360. Unless you need isolation then I would probably have preferred them over the PC 350 as the closed back 350s do get a bit sweaty! But as I haven't tried all of the headsets I can't really say much else about them - it was only a reader review where I gave my subjective impressions, not a professional test where I could compare tens of different headsets and cards!

    Let's look at your criteria:

    -lifetime warranty (i think its just on card though and not headset)

    Nice to have, but I'm not sure it's really a game changer for me - I'll be impressed if we're still using the same technology 10 years on, just like you're not sure your new computer will have PCI, PCI-e might not always be backwardly compatible etc.

    -attached mic (i feel weird when talking threw desktop mic)
    Yup, and a good quality one at that. The PC 360 also qualifies here.

    -internal headphone/headset amp
    Agreed, a good feature. Also present in the Auzentech, and Xonar essence STX, but not the D2/X

    -and i can connect my crappy logitech 5.1 speakers + headset at same time, so i wouldn't have to crawl behind my computer to keep switching them.
    Also nice, but all Xonar cards have this as long as they have the right outputs for your 5.1 and heaphones, and I think the Auzentech would be fine as you can connect heaphones and speakers at the same time.

    Assuming the mic thing is quite important I think you've got three combinations to look at:

    Xonar Xense One + PC 350
    You've read the review. Great for music and films, okay for games

    Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 + PC 360/350
    I've not reviewed this, but would like to More info about the card here:
    It has the headphone amp. And the X-Fi should give better gaming performance, while open back cans might be nicer if you want the PC360.

    Xonar DX + PC 360/350
    You're missing a headphone amp here and some quality compared to the Xense. Is that important? Yes, if you're going to be driving something like the PC 360/350. I accidentally tried driving the PC 350 without the amp and the sound was disappointing.

    So really it's a toss up between the first two (X-Fi titanium HD is ruled out for RCA outputs). If you are worried about the Auzentech warranty then go for the Xonar Xense - it's a good value bundle compared to getting an equivalent sound card and headset. However if you want to concentrate on gaming then I'd strongly consider getting the Auzentech card (buy two if you're worried about reliability!) simply because the X-Fi really is a much better chip for that. But you'll be happy with either IMHO.

    yes i read about the pc 360 but its 250, leaving me only being able to purchase a xonar dx.

    i wouldnt purchase a pc 350 without a card with a headphone amp. so im basically looking at,

    ad700+xonar dx or asus xense. trying to figure out if the xense sounds better then the ad700+xonar dx, and if so is it worth the $130 extra. i know the ad700 doesnt need a amp and as much as i would prefer a attached mic i would get the ad700+dx if it really is a much better deal.

    as far as open/close i could careless about which i had, either would work.


    but by what you said
    "Of course, if you go without a mic, then you can get back to your ad700s and Xonar DX, or X-Fi titanium (non-HD)! So how much are you willing to pay for the convenience?"
    sounds like only difference will be is attached mic? if thats the cause, then i dont think the xense is worth the extra 130$.
    Last edited by skuzzzzy; 28-10-2010 at 11:30 AM.

  4. #4
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: asus xense or?

    Ah, prices over here are quite different then. For example the DX+ad700 is hardly a saving over the Xense One, so you're not paying much for a mic.

    The attached mic isn't the only difference between the Xense One and the DX+ad700s, sorry if I wasn't clear. They will almost certainly sound quite different, however without trying the two I can't give much of a clue as to how those differences play out. If there's a saving of $130 to be had then I'd probably go with the DX+AD700.

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    Re: asus xense or?

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Ah, prices over here are quite different then. For example the DX+ad700 is hardly a saving over the Xense One, so you're not paying much for a mic.

    The attached mic isn't the only difference between the Xense One and the DX+ad700s, sorry if I wasn't clear. They will almost certainly sound quite different, however without trying the two I can't give much of a clue as to how those differences play out. If there's a saving of $130 to be had then I'd probably go with the DX+AD700.
    yea the asus xense is $300 and the ad700 + asus xonar dx are about $80 each so its actually $140 cheaper.

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    Re: asus xense or?

    so i found a guy who mods headphones, so now im happy =].

    http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JVTrCm2EgJU/TJ...2/IMG_9397.JPG
    http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JVTrCm2EgJU/S9...4/IMG_8257.JPG

    so im going to have him mod me ad700, and painted black and buy a xonar dx.

  7. #7
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: asus xense or?

    Good solution!

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