Fiios E10k + Sennheiser GAME ONE + Razer surround = Awesome!!!!

In efforts to improve sound quality beyond my realtek onboard sound card could provide, i researched solutions that would work great in a budget conscious mind. I know that great sound and budget conscious don’t always go together, but i gave it a shot. Please note I was looking for something for music and PC gaming. First I selected Sennheiser GAME ONE. Raved by music fans and gamers alike as one of the best headsets to have that will not break the budget, Sennheiser GAME ON is exactly that. Far superior to my old Turtle Beach PX51 the sound on these cans is incredible, everything is nice and crisp; the music is much more enjoyable to listen to. Miles Davis feels like is right there and Queen live like concert is just one click away. Super confy for long gaming sessions, even when you wear glasses and have a giant noggin like i do. These headphones come from manufacturer well versed in building great sound equipment. Not only they used their own battle proven transducers, they also slapped a professional grade mic on it, simply brilliant. I also looked into Astros A40 headset, which i must note the A40s aimed more for gaming, while great on their own i wanted something that was also excellent for music. I got my GAME ONE for $129 and i would have easily paid the full price, they’re worth it. Due the lack of surround sound from the GAME ONE, which is Stereo only, i'm currently using Razer surround application. While not close to a 7.1 true surround sound, it does a great job a replicating one. I strongly recommend ponying up the extra $20 bucks for the full app, so you can tune the sound to your liking. I have this on for movies and games but turn it off for music... somehow feels like it takes away from how the musician wants you to listen to his or her sound. While this is all great, it was all still being driven by a crappy onboard Realtek sound card. Here is where Fiio E10k comes in. Highly spoken by many reviewers as one of the best DACs for such a low price point and better than many hundreds of dollars counter parts, Fiio E10k is an amazing piece of equipment which is an improved version of the renown E10, First, this thing is tiny, easily concealed under a desk or velcroed to a table, the sound that emanates from this tiny device is a head scratcher. The GAME ONE with the onboard Realtek sounded good, but when paired with the E10K truly comes alive. The sound stage is wider; all the sounds are clearer and, for the lack of a better term, just sound better!! A great joy to listen to, from John Lennon melodic vocals to thundering Guns and Roses. It has a high low gain switch, for hard to drive headphones (GAME ONE is low impedance so low gain is perfect). Has a bass boost switch, which i leave it on. The Razer surround also has bass boost, but the Fiios bass boost sounds better and less muddy. I chose this over a sound card because it’s portable, but needs to be connected via USB to your computer, it also sits outside the machine avoiding any electrical and magnetic fields generated from within the computer. If you’re in a situation like mine, limited budget but looking for a decent sound, you can combine all these 3 things for around 250 and every time place your headphones on it will leave you smiling.Read full review

Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New