I dig my GX for casual gaming and light MP as well!
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TLDR:
- Good imaging
- Good sound stage
- Gorgeous mid-range
- Expensive headset, but really “fun” headphone
- Great for listening to music with a lot of vocals
So I had been eyeing these for a while and finally picked up a pair. It is an expensive gaming headset and a really interesting headphone.
For gaming it is really damn good. It images really well for a planar and the soundstage is good for my taste. Maybe not as wide as a Beyerdynamic but it isn’t completely narrow either.
For music these things are great for vocals due to its gorgeous mid-range. To give an example I was playing Human by Rag’n’Bone Man (Morgan James Cover) and started swapping out headphones (Focal Elex, Sundara, DT 1990…). When I did swap to any of these headphones the music sounded like it had less body if that sounds right? Like it was missing something and was very thin.
The only other 2 Audeze products I own are the LCD-1 and the Mobius. I don’t own any of their higher end headphones like the LCD-2 to compare them to. This is my first higher end Audeze, which is still on the cheaper end I guess? Anyways… really enjoying this headphones, they deserve more attention than I think they are getting currently due to the marketing around them.
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LOL at him having to actually say Schiit Hel. I had forgotten how awkward it can be to about Schiit outside the community
Also I think Linus is underestimating the amount of people who would be happy with an open back gaming headset. I have friend for example who prefers open back so he can hear if his wife or kid is calling him
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Yeah it’s all about how “competitive gamer” (or “leave me alone” gamer lol) you are (or not).
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I personally find I prefer open back in general… But then again my experience with audiophile grade over ears is, shall we say, limited at best.
Don’t think I would ever pay this much just for a gamers headset. The whole accepted norm of being a competitive gamer so you have to wear a closed back with no bass rumble is rather annoying in my opinion. Kind of sucks the fun out of it not to mention about 98% of people aren’t going to become one of those super popular tournament goers anyway so I don’t really see the big point. I guess if you only played FPS and that was it sure why not.
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The gaming headset for the hardcore gamer that doesn’t really game that much.
Too heavy. Mic is meh. Pads are glued so it’s a messy replacement, but I doubt any gamer can wear them long enough to wear the pads out.
So… My Abyss Diana Phi, LCD X, and Eikon must be terrible headphones for gaming then…
This gave me a rather good laugh honestly, though I am unsure if your actually being serious on that remark. Keep in mind I did say the word, “headset” inside of that quote of which those that you have listed are not. Despite that, it doesn’t mean those you listed are, “bad for gaming” since this is a relatively subjective topic in that regard. You can find people of all tastes in sound playing video games with different preferences. However, in terms of price tags in the $900 range you have so many alternatives you could pick up if your sole purpose is just to use it for gaming all of which will do just fine and sound great. If music on the other hand was involved that’s a bit of a different story, the typical person playing a video game isn’t usually sitting there playing a game while trying to pick out all the little details, seperation, among other things like you would in music instead you are focusing on just playing the game and having fun with it. You could use a kph30i or porta pro and still get great results in sound while just playing a game I know quite a few people who just settle on the 58x jubilee. Though of course this is my opinion, however I cannot see merit or reasoning in a budget higher than around $500 for the sole purpose of video games it’s overkill from my point of view when you have so many absolutely amazing headphones up to that point. Hell you could put that extra funding you spent on that headphone towards a pc equipment, a desk or tv stand, or just a bigger screen. Again though, this is my thoughts and opinion on such a matter and should be taken as such
I think my focal clears, aeon2c, and 4xx are all great for gaming. They have their strong points and drawbacks but I don’t think anyone with dt1990s has an advantage over me 
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Man I really need to go try those focals… I love my aeon and 1990 but I always hear good things about the focal brand. My state is slowly reopening but the audio stores are still not opened lol
Someone with 800S might. 
Those are my most recent acquisition, and someone asked me to compare to 1990s for gaming. I had moderate expectations, having heard that “too much soundstage” may be detrimental because that can exaggerate distances. Also, I love the 1990s for gaming–staging and imaging is spot-on, and the bass stays out of the way of the action. They have struck me as fairly optimal and tough to beat for competitive style play.
Well, 800S for gaming were stunning. The open airiness and expansive stage make hearing in-game sounds feel more like playing outdoor sports than some artificial recreation by a headphone. I only ran them through my single-player COD test (“No Fighting in the War Room”), so I can’t absolutely guarantee performance in real PVP play, but they were on a whole different level than 1990s. I didn’t want to like the 800S that much, especially since I find them a little hit and miss with music, but they’re probably all I’m going to use for gaming now unless I need closed-backs.
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I saw somewhere (Head-Fi, maybe?) a suggestion that if you own Focal Clears there’s no reason to own 1990s. I thought that was interesting so I compared the two and found they had more similarities than I had realized. Clears have a more refined sound, a little less bite than the 1990s, but are a definite upgrade overall.
That said, in terms of gaming, I don’t hear Clears bringing anything new or revolutionary to the experience. For gaming purposes, where absolute audio fidelity is probably more forgiving than for music, it’s hard to recommend paying such a huge premium for Clears. That said, if you like the 1990s, then you’ll probably find the Clears agreeable and wouldn’t be giving anything up in terms of gaming prowess.
Keep hearing this, and I keep laughing about it honestly. 1990s are one of my favorites, while I see nothing wrong with trying the clears out I have huge doubts they will make me state theres “no reason to own a 1990” The signatures are different and the 1990 can alter into 3 seperate sound signatures neutral bright, V, and more of a U shape based on 3 different pads balanced analytical and dekoni elite velour. In gaming the 1990 is not only cheaper, seen at $300 - $600, but is quite ideal with it’s analytical for competitive while the balanced adds quite a lot of bass so it makes it better in the more casual sense. My only issue with it is that for more relaxed listening the treble becomes far too fatiguing especially in like podcasts or comedies or streams or anything of that sort even movies. I use it mainly in a competitive sense and certain genres that can really make that treble pop and sound great. In other sounds though hell I am more inclined to pick up my Aeons or Tygrs than I am the 1990s due to just how analytically aggressive the 1990s are.
When I look at the clears in comparison it seems they are also a neutral bright headphone but from what I hear as far as mids go, which is where I definitely find the dt 1990 lacking the most, the clear is unbelievably detailed and vocals sound amazing. So I don’t find it as surprising that people say clear is better due to this when people have also mentioned that it’s not -as- bright as the 1990 in comparison which to more treble sensitives or those who see the 1990 to show sibilance at all, or for some reason decide to pair it to equipment that makes it even brighter, I can see the benefit in that regard. However, comparing a $600 headphone to a $1200 headphone is quite absurd to make such a statement in my opinion because at that point if I am paying literally twice as much for the same sound signature as the analytical pad dt 1990 I would sure as hell expect it to be better performing by quite a large margin
That being said, going to the audio store tomorrow. Those clears are there and trust me when I say I am damn sure going to make sure I try them!
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Yeah, that’s a silly statement, IMO. I don’t see any reason to get rid of either. I’m a huge Focal fan, but I’m not going to sell them as a second coming. I love the Clears for “reference” listening and 1990s for loud & aggressive music. I can kind of see the sentiment from which that comment sprouted, but it’s a pretty narrow view.
LMAO. Yeah, I can see that. The 1990s don’t dial back the intensity, like:
That’s the painful game of diminishing returns. It can be particularly bad with the summit-fi stuff that pushes the envelope a teeny bit further in certain areas for a suitcase full of cash.
The more extreme high end can be an even harder sell for things like movies and games where nobody wiill ever complain about the timbre of an explosion being “off.” There is something to be said for gaming in HiFi heapdhones, but by the time you hit 1990s I’d have said you’d pretty much maxed out the potential before I tried the 800S (and that’s just their legendary staging throwing a curveball to the experience).
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The sad part is I watched that with the 1990s and yet still got a good laugh out of it. Pretty spot on though lol.
I mean, less your me who was hollering about the dt 880s explosions sounding like a fart in the wind compared to the rest of the collection especially the 1770 with sheepskins which just screams heres some damn bass with your death and destruction.
I mean, but that is more along the terms of just extremely large staging. 1990 does great for competitive gaming but I wouldn’t call it maxed out. I don’t find anywhere near as much enjoyment in the 1990s for casual gaming as much as I do with my aeons which are just so much more immersive and relaxed. T1 may be relaxed but they still get fairly fatiguing
Yeah, exactly. Part of what I liked about the 800S is that it managed to sound more engaging in that cinematic sense while still exceeding in technicals needed for competitive play. I’ve been of the opinion that headphones for gaming fall into one category or the other–up until 800S it was 1990s for competitive play and open-world games where space was important vs. my rigged up Elegia headset or the LCD-GX for cinematic immersion. 800S really closes that gap and manages to do both quite well.
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Interesting, your saying it hits both casual and competitive dead on? That’s rather unusual. Yeah, normall they are seperated or placed into an all rounder category and aren’t the best. The main issue is always mainly in the bass. Casual gamers want bass but bass and rumble destroy competitive gamers sound which causes issues. Then you have the upper mids if they are recessed it causes problems and if the treble isn’t increased it causes issues but casual games don’t want a lot of brightness and so on and so forth. Big ol mess
Surprised that you think it actually is capable of taking care of both categories so well though. I mean it’s a sennheiser they are balanced as hell and it’s common knowledge that new sennheisers soundstage is massive with great imaging but the signature would have to be extremely particular to land perfect in sound to fit both casual and competition
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Yes, exactly. Maybe like a 9.5-10 in competitive and an 8-8.5 in immersion if I were assigning numbers, but they’re really excellent at both.
Again, total agreement. What makes the 1990s excel for competitive play is bass that gets out of the way–it feels almost a little muted in a way, which is fantastic for feeding you what you need to know audio-wise and keeping everything else out of the way, but that’s a hit against immersion.
Apparently the original 800 model had “weak bass” and that’s one of the things addressed by the S revision. Overall the 800S bass is pleasantly present, but not exaggerated. Gaming, I think the large staging helps to diminish bass volume well at a distance–everything sounds big and open and natural. The imaging and brightness are what they need to be to pick up even subtle sounds in your surroundings, but up-close action gets visceral and more distant action doesn’t overwhelm the stage.
Combine that with decent timbre for scores and clear mids for dialogue, and the 800S just seem to hit the mark for gaming across the board. It was quite a pleasant surprise running them through my demo. I expected good competitive syle performance, but didn’t think they’d be nearly so strong for immersion.