Anyway, so the topic got a tad side tracked. Let’s get back on track here.
58x Jubilee: like we said before this is a good pick and an all rounder. It’s warm colored and if anything either flat or balanced hard for me to tell. Due to how this headphone sounds it is actually good for a wide variety of music, casual gaming, and i’ll say moderately good in competitive. $150 price tag usually on massdrop but sometimes you can find it sold by other people for less. This headphone is based off the HD 580 there are some other alternatives like the HD598 and 599 along with others but from my personal experience I like the 58x a bit more for the recommendation board unless the person is out of country and can’t access massdrop. Does not need an amp at all but can make use of them which may alter the sound. Pads are velour and clamp force was hefty out of the box on these and definitely recommended stretched the metal band. Once you reduce the clamp force these are comfortable and provide a pretty good seal on the ears despite being shallower oval pads.
DT 880: I do have to put this on the list. Like stated before this is definitely a brighter headphone while it does cater towards neutral it still retains a V signature, meaning mids are recessed while the low and high are raised. Due to this signature it makes it strong inside of competitive and moderate in casual. This particular headphone requires an amp as ideally you want this at 600 ohm for the best sound. Regardless of my dislike for it, I cannot deny it being a good headphone it’s just not for me.
DT 770: now of the 3 in this series this is the closed back version with the 880 being semi open and 990 being fully open. I do really like this headphone however the sound signature, least to my ears, is different here and sound more like a U signature to me. This headphone just like the other 2 suffers from some sibilants in cases, the dreaded ssss sound from talking or otherwise is amplified,which can turn some people away and make things slightly uncomfortable. The sibilant issue as far as I am currently aware was tweaked and fixed in the more expensive models. The more expensive model for the 770 would be the 1770 however I firmly believe the massdrop version 177x is by far superior in every single way and doesn’t need an amp. Due to the closed back nature this headphone has a deeper more pleasant bass like you would expect from a closed back. Despite being a closed back this headphone still feels fairly open even in it’s sound and still retains some very nice comfort to it. Due to the closed back nature and extended bass this headphone has the least soundstage of the 3 yet is still good for both casual and competitive I would definitely say more so casual. Like mentioned in the others… recommended the highest ohm possible for purchase for the best sound and requires an amp
DT 990: This is probably one of the only headphones that I have a love and hate relationship with. Many complaints from people on this headphone due to the incredibly sharp treble and sibilant you can get off this one. This can be toned and smoothed by the 600 ohm variation and a liquid spark amp, alternative amps that can also fix this I am unaware of at this point in time. By far the best of the 3 for competitive but not so great in casual like I said previously. Low and High frequencies are boosted mids are recessed all of which are much more than the dt 880. This one I definitely recommend some form of test or make sure theres a proper return policy on… this is at least imo an acquired taste and takes some getting used to comfort is still incredible.
All DT series come with velour pads and similar comfort, 770 will have more clamp and stiffness due to being closed back and built for different purpose in studios. All 3 can be found used but more than likely in mint condition from $70 and up compared to their normal price of $130+. On the 600 ohm versions the “Edition” or in other cases its listed as “premium” was the version you would want to look at instead of the “pro” as only the higher version had the 600 ohm.
Tyger 300 R: this is another from beyerdynamic but is of a “gaming headphone” type so it’s not requiring an amp. I haven’t tried these myself. M0N can fill you in as he has a pair hes testing. From understanding these are like the dt 990 32 ohm but a different more pleasant sound to them, as the 32 ohm variation of the DT series sound bad.
Philips Fidelio x2hr: I wanted to put this on here due to just having a cheaper option as you can find these used for really cheap… this is actually a really nice “Fun” sounding deep bass headphone thats just all around pretty damn good. These don’t need an amp. Build quality is actually really nice on these and pretty comfortable. Detachable cable 10 feet and braided. V moda boom pro works on this headphone. though I had some weird artifacts in the mic so may either need tweaks to sound settings or just use a mod mic. Velour pads and big ones at that very soft. Don’t really get very warm on the ears perfectly manageable. Unlike the DT which can be analytic these are smooth and warm. Vocals have some sparkle and texture. Nothing to aggressive and is nice and fairly laid back. Sound stage is pretty spacey on these. Bass is toned low and deep and textured. Mids are recessed but nothing to overbearing. Gaming on these isn’t as good as the 58x as the high end isn’t as layered so competitive isn’t the greatest. However, the soundstage and overall energy that these bring is great for those really exciting soundtracks and open world type of games. To me personally? I really do think these can go head to head in some cases with the 58x and I really do like these more so since they are actually the same price. Bass here though I don’t think is as strong as the 770s can provide.
I would recommend the k702, k712, k7xx, ad700, ad900x, and ad1000x but they don’t have the greatest bass. I will say on these as special mentions is that the k7 series has extremely large sound stage as kind of a trade off and the ad series over there is bright and colorful I just wish it had more bass to it and of the 3 only the ad1000x I feel offered full seperation of sounds…
Hifiman 4xx: I can’t speak completely personal about this as I had the 400i but what I do know is this is the slightly altered version of that headset so I will speak on my experience with 400i. Open back Planars which if you know planars they bring a unique sound to them, faster with a kind of “slam” in their sound I would look into this yourself if you want to know a lot bout the difference. Ear cups are pretty big but I had the issue where my ears were too tall and rubbed across the top of cups here kind of rubbed on my ears probably wont do that to everyone though despite that… still comfortable. Pads are a hybrid with velour and leather and very little clamp force though fairly hefty though it sits pretty balanced from my experience. Open back here is REALLY open personally I feel sound leaks out of my sundaras or even the 400i I had more than my other headphones. Technically can be driven without an amp but should still have one imo. Sound wise… sparkle on the highs and pushed back, low end is definitely noticeable, and mid is feels more front and center but felt quite a bit aggressive to me outside of that the sound was layered really well like a more balanced sound. Definitely not analytical imo and more for immersion and enjoying the music. Gaming these are GREAT for immersion like… REALLY good as far as casual gaming these are fantastic. Competitive though… I can’t say as much while it does have good staging even wider than the 58x and imaging and you can definitely pin point sounds the issue here is the treble. It’s pushed in the back instead of being treble forward which makes this headphone warm and can cause some trouble in competitives
Hifiman Sundara: I am only listing this because I fully believe this is better than the 4xx but it comes with a price. Priced at $250 on headphones.com and possibly obtainable cheaper from people(this is unrecommended due to hifimans issue with quality control and headphones.com has a full 365 return policy). The impedance is low but these should have an amp much like the 4xx but can be used without one. Pads are improved here by using a new pad called “Pali Pad” I found these a hell of a lot more comfortable but still have the top of ear issue haha think these are like microsuede though. These feel MUCH more solid than the 400i but unfortunately doesnt have a rotational swivel on the cups. I do feel that a more manageable cable for these would be nice it kinda sproings all over lol. The sundara compared to the 400i takes a lot from the lows but lifts mids and highs with more detail and clean sound to it. sounds spacious like sitting in a theater. This headphone definitely has some brightness to it but not by any means to much. Around the same sound stage maybe a little better here as gaming in competitive I didn’t have much issue finding where sounds were. Foot steps are pretty easy on these despite the high still being pushed in the back. Casual wise? this gets my straight up approval and is an instant buy for the immersion these can provide and replaced my 58x in terms of casual playing. These are absolutely FANTASTIC for all rounder and definitely better imo than the 400i. Albeit more expensive. Note: while it requires an amp to really sound its best imo it doesn’t need a super powered up amp at most $100 amp is fine here and can fit really well. I would say an equalizer to emphasize the lows just a hair may be good for these and they are fun to tinker with as they respond really well to the eq. My literal only complaint on these before I upgraded was the fit on my ears and quality control. Overall your looking at around $350 maximum for this setup that includes the amp since you already own a modmic otherwise itd be right at $400 for everything if you include uni modmic.
Of course you can always go a gaming headset as I will put these in honorable mentions here: the steel series arctis pro + Gamedac and Hyperx Orbit are actually some of the most solid sounding gaming headsets I have ever tried and in some cases can out perform some headphones with surround sound, hi res, and built in equalizers of their own and studio style sound.