What are some really nice gaming headphones for under or around 300. And whats a good amp/dac to pair with it? They can be closed back or open back preferably closed back
do you want open back or closed back? and if you will use these for music, what kind of music do you like to listen to? lastly, is your $300 budget including the DAC & Amp?
I just updated the post and I will be mostly gaming with the headphones so not much music and the 300$ budget is just headphones or if there is a good pair of headphones and a amp/dac around 300$ that would also work. And the headphones can be a little over 300$ if they’re really nice.
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what you want for a really good headphone for gaming is wide sound stage and really good imaging. sound stage gives you a feeling of width/depth so when you run from a room into a courtyard, the audio changes to indicate that. imaging lets you know where sound is coming from. so if you run out from a house into a courtyard and somebody is sniping from the roof behind you while someone is running around a corner to avoid them, the sound would indicate just that. imaging gives you positional awareness.
then there are two types of headphones to consider…open back vs closed back. open back let your sound leak through, so if you’re playing by yourself you’ll be fine, but if others are around you, they’ll hear the noises you hear. closed back don’t do this…however, open back allow for nice sound stage more readily. closed back can have good sound stage as well, but they cost a lot more.
so for a decent pair of open back headphones, the Massdrop Sennheiser HD58x collaboration are one of the popular go-to’s. these run for about $160.
I don’t have any closed back headphones…haven’t had any since I listened to my first open back, so I can’t really speak much there…however I believe the Monolith M1060C by Monoprice may be good. the bonus of these is you can mod them so they become open back (and sound better than the M1060 open back as the closed use a different driver that is higher quality). the mod is reversable too, so you can choose what you want when you want.
for a DAC/Amp and gaming (I don’t game anymore) I’ve read the SoundBlaster options are best as they’re configured for gaming sound profiles. however, if you find that you love the headphones mentioned for music (as they excel at music) you may want to get yourself something like the Schiit Stack using the Magni 3 amp, Modi 3 DAC and possibly the Loki EQ to tweak the sound so it’s more gaming favorable.
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Here is an older guide Zeos made with his recommendations for what may work with what as well as links to the reviews:
understand that none of these are gaming headphones…these are focused for music, but happen to also have attributes that let them work for gaming. 
I saw that but that’s pretty old I would like a more updated guide.
Are the 6xx or 58x better for gaming. Are the argon mk3 good for gaming? And are there any other good gaming headphones I should take a look at?
6xx or 58x, I will just say yes because a lot of people like both of these headphones for gaming, but they are both open.
If you like closed, bass, wide soundstage, have a good amplifier, and can wait at least a month for them to be built, Argons get a lot of good reviews from gamers. Otherwise, Fostex T50RP and T60RP exist for the quick two-day shipping Amazon treatment.
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro have a lot of bass and some say they are good for gaming. The Audio Technica A1000Z may interest you for gaming. Both of these are closed by the way.
Also, if you don’t mind having things in your ears, then in-ear monitors (IEMs) for competitive FPS can be a good choice for the immediate soundstage and precise imaging. FiiO, Shure, Westone are brands you could research for products in your price range and needs.
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best ‘gaming’ headset. Of course there are better headphones, that can be paired with a better DAC/AMP. But, strictly for gaming, a pair of these are fantastic. I’ve tried them out a few times and they’ve blown me away.
could you think of any of any good IEMs for gaming in particular?
Do you know of any headphones that are really good for gaming but also decent for music?
Throwing this out there.
A little over budget, releases in a couple weeks, style points being first on the block, but no real reviews on it yet. Gaming, but I’d bet on it being great for music as well.
The Senn gaming software would provide EQ and Surround if you please.
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Well it depends on what music you listen to. ‘Gaming’ headphones are usually very bassy, with a big soundstage. If you like that in music then ‘gaming’ headphones are fine. But you can’t have very neutral or bright headphones that are good for gaming.
Felix
for gaming I use a pair of dt 990 prefer it over my hd 58x for gaming. it has awesome imaging and a fairly wide soundstage. a nice cheap dac amp to pair it with is a fx audio dac x6. the entire d sub $200 dt line is very good for gaming. he 4xx, hd 58x, akg k7xx should also be considered along with the audiotechnica air series .
Westone UM Pro 30’s and Shure SE535 are both good. I use the Westone UM Pro 30’s for competitive FPS.
Westone W40’s and Westone 4’s I liked and used for gaming previously.
All of these have smaller, more immediate soundstage and are very precise imaging. I choose what I did because they didn’t have overpowering bass since my goal was competitive and not casual.
For casual gaming I prefer open ear headphones like the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro.
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how good are the he 4xx and the akg 7xx for gaming and a little bit of music?
Those are pretty expenisve do you know of any good IEMs for gaming around 200$
7xx is great for gaming it’s just a little position sensitive so you have to be careful with how the drivers are positioned over your ears. the he 4xx are pretty good for gaming but I feel other headphones are better for the job than these I just like these as they are good music cans and also gaming. I feel that the 58x are better for gaming than the he 4xx as it has better imagin even thought it’s not as wide soundstage wise.
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I have the 4xx and they’re wunderbar!
I also just ordered the HD58x…and considering the HD6xx now as they just went on promo for $200.