Xonar Xense, Is it worth the money?/any other recommendations?

[Toter]

Hello,I have been considering buying a new headset and possibly sound card.

I do game a lot but also listen to music and care more about the audio during music playback than in games but would still like a headset for voice chat etc.

I was recently recommended the Sennheiser PC 350 headset by a friend as an upgrade from my current Sennheiser PC 150 headset which I enjoyed the quality of and remembered that the PC 350 came in a pack with the Xonar Xense and was wondering if the card/headset combo is worth the money when listening to music/movies etc or if anyone can recommend another headset/sound card which will do better.

edit: budget is around £200 (the price of the xonar xense and pc 350 bundles)

 

[dokk2]

Hello,I have been considering buying a new headset and possibly sound card.

I do game a lot but also listen to music and care more about the audio during music playback than in games but would still like a headset for voice chat etc.

I was recently recommended the Sennheiser PC 350 headset by a friend as an upgrade from my current Sennheiser PC 150 headset which I enjoyed the quality of and remembered that the PC 350 came in a pack with the Xonar Xense and was wondering if the card/headset combo is worth the money when listening to music/movies etc or if anyone can recommend another headset/sound card which will do better.

edit: budget is around £200 (the price of the xonar xense and pc 350 bundles)

Hmm that is an awfully expensive card, if you are into high end recording might be just the ticket. personally I am presently running the Xonar DS model a far , far cheaper and am quite content , point is,, you do not have to give up an arm and a leg to get really good audio , unlike as it is with video, see if you can find a review or two of some audio cards and you will see what I mean, might save yourself some serious coin, BTW I also play games, watch movies, and listen to a lot of music , and if you are content with your current headphones why waste money....

 

[jive]

Hello,I have been considering buying a new headset and possibly sound card.

I do game a lot but also listen to music and care more about the audio during music playback than in games but would still like a headset for voice chat etc.

I was recently recommended the Sennheiser PC 350 headset by a friend as an upgrade from my current Sennheiser PC 150 headset which I enjoyed the quality of and remembered that the PC 350 came in a pack with the Xonar Xense and was wondering if the card/headset combo is worth the money when listening to music/movies etc or if anyone can recommend another headset/sound card which will do better.

edit: budget is around £200 (the price of the xonar xense and pc 350 bundles)

I Have a xonar Essence st and to be honnest when I paired that with my senhiesser 555 everything sound marvelous. I didn't regret to paid more even if people say the onboard audio today is really good. the first point is that card got it's on amplifier this is the first reason for why I bought it, because my 555 need and output amplified to run at is best.

sorry for my english it's my first langage.

 

[Vythiel]

I purchased the PC350 headset initially and was disappointed with its Bass. I was using the X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card at the time. This is a good gaming card, however, it doesn't have an amplifier so it couldn't effectively push enough power for 150ohm impedance headphones. I recently upgraded my computer and didn't have the PCI slot to spare for my X-Fi, so I purchased a Xonar Essence STX. With the correct amp setting (64-300ohm), my PC350's Bass came to life. The difference is extremely evident, especially in games as explosions and other "booming" effects have far greater impact. In general, it made the Bass more proportional with the other sounds. If I had the choice now, I would go with the Xonar Xense package as it's price is excellent and the two parts have apparently been tuned to work together.