[SoFGR]

I'm finally ready to order one too, still hesitating though , is earth better than sun and moon for a basshead ? I think i will go all stock in cabling since i can't be bothered finding a US 3pin to EU 2pin adapter, nor paying extra 60$ for a power cable + another 40$ for a toslink glass optical.

Btw does anybody here play hardware openAL games like UT3 america's army or red orchestra ? i've read somewhere that when using spdif instead of analogue hardware openal support will not work, even if that's true i can still use just the headphone amp section in games via super mode right ? will i need a rca to minijack cable for that purpose ?

 

[ScottieB]

I've played UT3 very briefly with my Zero (via coax) and had no problems I can recall... this was on XP if that matters. Not my favorite game so I don't have more experience with it... I can say though that TF2 works great! ha. either way this may be more a function of the sound card - which do you use?

For a basshead - hard to say, but depending on your headphones I might recommend either Sun or Moon. As I've said before all 3 are wonderful and not really lacking, but the others may give you more of what you're looking for...

 

[dBs]

I thought about playing UT3 seriously but no major competitions materialized for it in the US =\ (though I hear its quite popular in EU). I dont know of any difficulties regarding OpenAL or anything like that but Im sure if there is one, Google will know about it.

Since were talking about games I will chime in on impressions for gaming with the Compass (which I will elaborate further on in my official review in a few weeks). The Compass is WAY better than the XFi for gaming. I played some CS:S last night and the directional information was immeasurably better than on my XFi. I was always kind of disappointed when it came to using my HD650s or DT770s for gaming because the directional representation just always sounded very blurred and undefined. Another problem that stemmed from this was a distinct lack of distance perception to the sound. This means it was difficult to precisely identify where the sound was coming from as well as how far away it was. I was always having to rely on my knowledge of the map and the sounds that the different areas made with respect to my position in order to pinpoint opponent location.

The Compass completely changes my opinion of how well these headphones work in gaming. The direction was the most precise I have ever heard (and I have a lot of experience in gaming audio), the sense of distance was spot on every time. I was using my HD650s last night and I will give my DT770s a try tonight to see how they compare. The clarity of the sound was far more precise as well. I was worried about loosing out on some of the technological aspects of the XFi regarding gaming, but my worries were completely unnecessary. If I get back into competitive gaming, I will be taking my Compass with me to EVERY tournament. This says a lot since going to Quake Con or CPL (RIP) is not easy to do with all that computer equipment let alone throwing in a Compass as well XD

Oh and another benefit I forgot about. Using XFi has been a bit of a hassle regarding the mic (Vista 64). I have gotten it to work but Ive had to crank every gain I could find to make myself audible to other people. This resulted in significant mic feedback to myself which was very annoying. Leaving the mic plugged into the XFi but listening to the game via the Compass meant that I no longer had any mic feedback at all, none. A very welcome added benefit (though admittedly useless at tournaments =P).

 

[Hot Pixel]

Hmm interesting... how do you connect the compass to your computer?
Cause I was wondering if using the USB impacted the FPS (similar to an external USB sound card).
I'm eyeing the compass at the moment, but I've got a lot to read up on.

 

[yepyep_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dBs /img/forum/go_quote.gif <snip>

Thanks a lot for the gaming impressions. Much appreciated.

 

[SoFGR]

thanks for your input guys you're really helping

@ ScottieB :

hardware openAL was ticked in UT3 sound settings right ? would you please test these settings in TF2 ? Guru3D.com Forums - View Single Post - X-Fi CMSS-3D Headphone + snd_legacy_surround 1 in console try toggling cmss and snd_legacy_surround tell me what do you like best, i think cmss3d and snd_legacy_surround 0 make the game sound crappy and remove all the bass

@ dbs :

what are your CSS and x-fi settings ? i use DT770/80 PRO
too, no problems on sound positioning really,but when a LOT of stuff goes on in big firefights i find that it's much easier for people to sneak up on me, i really wanna know if there's a way to fix it. btw i hate using my x-fi without the pa2v2 mini-amp in games, gunshots and explosions sound dull and more importantly 3d imaging is less defined, why would they need extra juice though ? they're just 80omhs, x-fi should drive them fine

 

[dBs]

Ive only used USB to connect to my computer thus far. Its the only one I can use that doesnt end up going through the XFi or motherboard audio. The goal is to bypass those components so USB was the way to go.

As far as my XFi configuration, I have used all 3 modes (entertainment, gaming, and creation). Mic settings in Vista is mic level at 50% and mic boost gain +20% off. I had played with these before and found that they made no difference in how well people could hear me, likely because I have the settings for software exclusive control enabled as well as exclusive mode applications priority.

In CS:S everything is cranked up with the exception of mic receiving since some people like to be screamers in CS:S =P I still get mic feedback from my own mic though (if I dont use Compass). If I drop any of the gain elements in CS:S no one can hear me.

As far as firefights and such, I know how this can be a problem. When I used to play BF2, artillery strikes were so loud that they drown out everything else. Because of that I try to diminish bass quite a bit when gaming. Hearing BOOM! isnt as important to me as knowing where the opponent is at all times. Theres not much that can be done about removing distracting sounds though. It is what it is really. You are exactly right though, I was using XFi to my headphones directly with no amp in between. When done that way, as you said, 3D imagine is undefined. That why I was actually pretty disappointed...until the Compass, now its the best I have ever heard.

80Ohms is actually pretty high. Its not as high as 300, but its still quite a bit. More than that though its also a matter of the headphones sensitivity. If youre finding that 3D imaging is lacking when there is no amp between your XFi and your headphones, then you know that the impedance is making a difference.

 

[mlarn]

Got my Compass today after work, and thought Id post some initial thoughts for anyone interested. This was packed well, and everything seemed to be very stable and well protected as I opened it up. I did get the wrong power cord as many of you have mentioned (#4 on his website). This did not bother me as I have a beefier cord I was planning on using, but if I did not have the spare here already I would not be very happy about that. If you are ordering one (and especially if you are ordering the upgraded power cord) I would specify exactly what you need. He does include a great deal of other accessories I was not expecting (USB, optical and coax) so I will not hold this against him!

The first thing I did was open up the top to take out the foam padding over the OPA, examine the jumpers to see what the set-up was, and generally look over the dac/amp. The cover came off very easily (with the supplied allen wrench). The amp is shipped in “Bright” mode (meaning no jumpers installed), which I had questioned last night as on the website it originally said it had the “Neutral” jumper settings as default. This has been updated on the website, so is correct now. I wanted to try the amp in the most neutral settings I could have first, so I set it to “Neutral” by inserting the jumpers on the board just like he shows on the website. Even for me (absolutely 100% sure I am going to break/fry my new toy) it was a snap and took about 30 seconds. After taking off the foam protector piece, I took a general look at the amp since I had the cover off to see how it all looked. I do not have any experience in this area, so take this for what its worth (not much), but everything looked very clean and very well laid out. The soldering looked very profesional, and just looking at the layout made me think Kingwa spent a great deal of time figuring out the best way to set all of this up. The best way to describe it is just well organized, neat and clean. The only thing that surprised/concerned me at all was the fit of the Earth OPA in the sockets. I pulled it out just to see how it all worked, and I was surprised that the OPA did not fit more snugly into the board. It will not fall out or anything like that (it obviously just survived a trip basically across the globe), and seems to be making contact in all of the slots, but I thought it would have a bit tighter fit. I assume this is the way all of these are and it is not a problem, so unless I hear otherwise (either on these forums or after listening) I am sure it is fine. I will say that making these so easy to replace is great for someone like me with no DIY experience so I can still experiment with the sound (both in the case of the OPA and the jumpers).

One question: on mine there is a 4th “notch” on the selector knob. When I turn the knob from right to left it “stops” on each the 3 listed inputs, and then when I go farther to the left there is another “notch” where the knob again stops (and will not go any farther to the left after that) but no corresponding input listed. Im not really concerned, more interested to see if the rest of you have this same thing and why it is like that.

As others have said, it is built like a tank and I like the look on the outside as well.

So, I finally decided to give it a listen at this point…I plugged in my DVD player, plugged in new power cord, turned it on and got the blue LED so I knew it was ready, then pressed play on Grateful Dead-One from the Vault, and…nothing! Of course, nothing wrong with the Compass, after a couple of deep breaths I realized instead it was something wrong with me (surprise, surprise) and figuring out which jack was the optical out on my DVD payer. So switching that quickly and pressing play again revealed Bill Graham introducing the boys and them taking off with Help on the Way -> Slipknot -> Franklin’s Tower. The sound out of the box is good, very deep and layered to me. There is much more depth and instrument separation there than with the Echo Indigo DJ I had been using, and I think with burn-in this will only increase. Right now its like the outside edges of the notes are nice and spread out, but the inside edges are still kind of muddied together in a slight haze. In my opinion the DJ is very detailed and musical at the same time and great for its price, but there is not much weight to it and the bottom end never felt analogue/liquid to me. The Compass does not have that problem at all. It feels much more authoritative than anything Ive heard recently. The bass is definitely a little overpowering right now, but I am sure that will settle down and tighten up as it burns in. I am excited to see/listen where this goes as I give it time to settle in, and I think from this start I will be pleased. I will post more impressions as they come, but now it is time to get my USB connection, etc. installed so I can play my FLAC files as well.
Hope this has been helpful.

 

[csroc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlarn /img/forum/go_quote.gif One question: on mine there is a 4th “notch” on the selector knob. When I turn the knob from right to left it “stops” on each the 3 listed inputs, and then when I go farther to the left there is another “notch” where the knob again stops (and will not go any farther to the left after that) but no corresponding input listed. Im not really concerned, more interested to see if the rest of you have this same thing and why it is like that.

This was discussed a while ago so I'm not surprised you (and others) have missed it. The reason there's a 4-position switch is because that's all Kingwa could get in China of that switch type. I'm sure he could find other switches but I imagine he chose that one for its feel. Everyone's got that right now.

 

[dBs]

The HDAMs are a bit loose but, as you said, survived the trek so should be fine. Loose might not be a bad thing anyway when you go swapping.

The extra notch on the source selection is normal and I believe is covered in the FAQ section of this thread. The reason is that there were only 4 notch selectors available to Kingwa, he was unable to locate a 3 notch selector. The blank position is not connected and so doesnt do anything.

 

[Currawong]

mlarn: Interesting impressions. It's nice to read them from someone who is getting it for the first time and what things they wonder.

Some answers to the things you wondered about:
The selector is 4-way with only 3 used, hence the extra notch.
The HDAM doesn't fit tightly, as it is using pins that were designed to be soldered into a circuit board (such as on the base of the socket itself). The sockets are designed to take opamps, which are small, have wide legs and fit snugly.

 

[senn_liu]

guys, just for fun, i removed the input selector knob. now when i put it back, it doesn't "click" through the positions anymore. it just turns smoothly like a regular knob. that's because it isn't gripping onto the actual selector switch properly. how do i restore it to its original state i.e. clicking through the positions?

 

[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by senn_liu /img/forum/go_quote.gif guys, just for fun, i removed the input selector knob. now when i put it back, it doesn't "click" through the positions anymore. it just turns smoothly like a regular knob. that's because it isn't gripping onto the actual selector switch properly. how do i restore it to its original state i.e. clicking through the positions?

By the looks of the knobs on the Audio Gd's web, it seems the grooves on the knob is made of plastic, maybe that got a little loose, if I was you, first I would just try to move the shaft ( without the knob/dial in place) to see if it was clicking, if that would be the case, maybe I would stuff some paper to into the groove of the knob just to tighten and have a better grip.. its unconventional and maybe even untidy but its worked for me in the past..

Or maybe if you have a pliers, you could try and tighten the groove and see if it works.. well this is all that comes to my mind now.. and I must caution you that I am no expert in all this, so if you end up making it worse.. know that I was only trying to help !!..

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Anyone notice in the pics at the website the mains filter caps have changed from RX11 to RZ05 ?

I wonder if that makes a difference at all ? I'll have a look and see what I can dig up. It's probably nothing but now I'm curious...

Peete.

 

[senn_liu]

the switch shaft itself works perfectly fine, so i can still toggle between the input options without the knob on. it's just that the knob doesn't grip the shaft, so it just spins on the shaft without turning it. (the knob spins but the shaft doesn't move).