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Sound Blaster AE-9 with A30 Pro for HD800S

rangs641

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Hi Folks, New member here and a complete noob! I have HD800S + Sound Blaster AE-9 with Burson's Vivid v6 Single and Dual Opamps. With surround sound feature via SBX profiles, the headphone is simply excellent for gaming! Games such as Valorant, CS GO and Red Dead Redemption come to life with this headphone. Movies also sound great, but I wonder if it could be better if I got the A30 pro amp. Plan is to connect the Sound Blaster AE-9 via RCA out to A30 pro. Do you guys think there will be a considerable difference in sound quality while watching movies and listening to music? My other headphones are HD599 SE and Arctis Pro Wired DAC gaming headset.
 

Bleib

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Well, "only" have AE-7 but I don't notice a difference between that and Topping EX5 or DX3 Pro+.
It all sounds very similarish and the 9 should have enough juice for most headphones.

No idea how much better AE-9 measures compared to the 5 that has been reviewed by Amir but I'd say don't expect any miracles. The headphones obviously are nowhere near the SINAD numbers of the electronics.
 

JWAmerica

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The A30 Pro is an upgrade from the AE-9 and has way more output into 300ohm cans. Would you be able to hear the difference though? Unlikely since the AE-5 isn't too far off the A30 Pro in terms of SINAD. The main benefit of the A30 Pro would simply be more headroom to go louder. On the other hand, you'd never need to upgrade again.
 
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rangs641

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Thank you for the reply folks. It seems I'm expecting something that the headphones can't deliver!?! Maybe I should focus on getting better home theatre system rather than an amp for my headphones! And reg the loudness, AE9 is plenty loud! I rarely ever go above 40% of the total volume. Beyond that my ears hurt!
 

Bleib

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If you haven't then it's perhaps time to learn how to use EQs. Perhaps that's what is keeping the sound from being close to perfect.
 
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rangs641

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If you haven't then it's perhaps time to learn how to use EQs. Perhaps that's what is keeping the sound from being close to perfect.
Yeah. I've been experimenting with EQ settings on the sound blaster command center for quite a few weeks now. I think I've found a great setting for me, but still I was wondering if I wasn't utilising my hd800s to it's max potential. Anyway, I ungraded my bose solo 5 soundbar to Samsung Q950A atmos system today and god I'll never use headphones for movies again!
 

Dunring

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Hi Folks, New member here and a complete noob! I have HD800S + Sound Blaster AE-9 with Burson's Vivid v6 Single and Dual Opamps. With surround sound feature via SBX profiles, the headphone is simply excellent for gaming! Games such as Valorant, CS GO and Red Dead Redemption come to life with this headphone. Movies also sound great, but I wonder if it could be better if I got the A30 pro amp. Plan is to connect the Sound Blaster AE-9 via RCA out to A30 pro. Do you guys think there will be a considerable difference in sound quality while watching movies and listening to music? My other headphones are HD599 SE and Arctis Pro Wired DAC gaming headset.
I did something similar and did RCA out from an AE-9 to a Magni Heresy. The problem was noise as the video card and power supply on each side and the RCA connectors just couldn't shield all of it. The amp on the AE-9 is in the command module hooked in by that special cable so it can draw 80 watts. Without that you don't need the six pin molex or the module just to RCA it out. It didn't sound any better with my HD800s so I'd really recommend just running it in 5.1 mode for games with maybe 12 percent SBX (I never used it since the sound stage on the HD800s was big enough to hear in detail anything across the map in every game). The amp it comes with is a really good one, except the audio control module increases THD from .0001 to .00044. The thing is if you RCA out it's a really high chance that interference is going to make it sound worse like it did for me.
 

john11

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The SB ae-9 takes power through the 6 pin atx connector. Is this for the card or the breakout box, or both? I have been searching but have got conflicting opinions
 
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