in the event that for some reason 490 pro isnt doing it for you..
compared to ad700x, r70x(heavy bonus points to the Refine but thats limited edition) will be sharper imaging, overall same design philosophy as ad700x, bit less soundstage. Definitely better off trying to find sales or something though, its aged quite heavily by this point but a trial run just to verify wouldnt hurt. Absolutely needs an amp due to power draw. Could technically swing to AKG K702/K712/K7xx(all different signatures) as well
Beyers within the price bracket of the 490 pro would be the dt 1990 mk2 and maybe the dt 900 pro x but that one shares a very different sound signature
Hifiman would be probably just swinging to Arya but id encourage the cheaper units as said, before swinging to the upper models
I’m still mostly testing them on R6, since lately I’m not playing many other games where footsteps are important.
I think I’m getting used to them.
If I have to find a strong point, I think that compared to the AD700X there’s a sort of clarity when enemies move.
I can really “map” them properly, and in several cases I’ve already gotten some really surprising kills and had a lot of fun.
One thing I’m absolutely sure about is the frontal imaging — straight in front of me, and especially the frontal depth — it’s insanely precise, and I’ve never experienced anything like it.
With the AD700X I always had to turn slightly because the frontal imaging wasn’t very clear; it felt more like hearing some kind of bubble in front of my eyes, and you had to rely a bit on intuition.
But with the HD490 this problem doesn’t exist at all — the clarity is extreme, really. And I’m talking about R6 audio, which I’ve honestly always found a bit so-so.
I can’t wait to try other games. I have to say I’m getting used to the sound and I’m liking it quite a lot.
I think this is probably the maximum you can get from headphones at this level. I don’t think you can really get more than this, and it probably doesn’t make sense to spend more than 500 euros on other headphones — because what would be left? The Arya and the DT1990?
I still need to try them with the JCally JM20 Max, even though unfortunately I’m reading many negative reviews saying that the JCally units ordered from AliExpress suddenly burn out — some people even had them catch fire on their desk — so I’m a bit worried about buying it.
Are there any other super-budget dongles with enough power to properly drive the HD490 Pro without altering the sound? Ka11 ive read it adds some warm and..i dont want it, i prefer neutrality
that is definitely some news to me, theres some alternative providers here in the USA hence I find it a good product. Just be careful with that, very cheap yet powerful unit. As for the KA11 its some slight warmth not much. If you still wish to not go with ka11 then its pretty simple to just look at the chipset the jm20 uses and cross reference it with some other units, then just look up some reviews.
For comp gaming explicitly around $400-$500 is the sweet spot and yes that would leave something like Aryas. I would encourage at some point if you get an opportunity to test something like 400se, sundara, ananda, or arya(bonus points to the organic) and see how you feel about them as it’s rather unique the first time around. Beyers could be an interesting take as well if you can find a way to check out 1990s mk2 or somehow getting lucky to try t1 2nd generation if you could ever find one. Only other would be something ridiculous like grabbing the HD800S but for the most part the 490s from Sennheiser are on par with my T1.2 in most cases and one of the reasons I end up recommending them as they are rather exceptional in every competitive game rather than some headphones where they suck for certain games and great in others
Im trying them eith j20 max( arrived today with aliexpress) and the sound is imo horrible. Cant hear any footsteps in rainbow six siege and all audio is kinda extended but no precision. Is there a problem with 32 bit/24 bit and game engine audio? Do i need to change that setting? Idk