Hifiman Arya for gaming with a Denon AVR-X3800H A/V receiver, need some tips THX

[Roninov]

I'll receive my headphones tomorrow; they'll be used almost all time for gaming.
Connecting a PC with HDMI cable send video and audio to the AV receiver. The headphones are connected to the receiver's headphone output.
My questions are as follows:
Setting up the EQ. This receiver has simplified equalizer settings for headphones like the following adjustment frequency band
63 Hz / 125 Hz / 250 Hz / 500 Hz / 1 kHz / 2 kHz / 4 kHz / 8 kHz / 16 kHz
Adjust the level.
–20.0 dB – +6.0 dB (Default: 0.0 dB)
Only this settings.
- If I try adjusting the settings in the receiver maximum possible according to Amir's recommendations for Arya, will this significantly improve the sound quality of the headphones?
- Or will the headphone output on this receiver only produce mediocre sound quality? Would it be much better to connect a DAC like this iFi Zen DAC V3, Topping DX3 Pro+, SMSL C200PRO to the PC, output the headphones through the DAC, and adjust the EQ on the PC, how much would the sound quality improve in this case?
- Or will there be no significant difference in the sound quality of headphones between an AV receiver and a DAC like this?
Thank you.

 

[barza]

1. Changing the EQ settings for the audio being sent to your headphones, according to a recommendation from Amir or otherwise, may make them reproduce the audio source material more accurately in terms of its frequency content. Whether that “improves” the sound quality is a bit more subjective - you may actually prefer the stock presentation of the headphones or not be able to tell the difference.
2. The headphone AMPs built into receivers tend to be mediocre. The 3800h is already a DAC and has line outs, so if you wanted to upgrade you don’t need a DAC/amp just an amp. Whether that upgrade is worthwhile is going to depend a bit on how hard you drive the headphones.
I can’t help but think this is all rather overkill as you are gaming - hence your attention will be on the game and you are not in a “critical listening” environment. I would certainly advise to try it just with the receiver and no eq and see if you enjoy it. Unless you can perceive there is something wrong with setup I suspect you would be paying for marginal gains.

 

[Roninov]

Thank you for your reply. I already received the Aria Stealth, then returned it (I thought they sent me the old V2 model), and then bought the Aria Organic.
After my previous Beyerdynamic Amiron Home, the sound has improved significantly. The difference is very noticeable when playing games, and even more so when listening to music.
I'll connect them to the headphone output on the receiver. I doubt I'll hear any difference, even if I also connect a separate amplifier.. I'll try adjusting the equalizer later, once I've gotten used to the new sound of the Aria Organic.