Recently my microphone broke on my headset so im currently looking for headphones to buy. My headset is currently the Sennheiser gsp 300s and they sound great as far as i can tell in both music and gaming but i want to try out open back headphones because i have heard they are amazing.
Some background info:
I game a lot however im not completely competitive for example i play Warzone a lot but i also enjoy my single player games. I listen to EDM so i like vocals, bass and clarity. I live in Australia and my budget is around 150 USD (if there are headphones that are a lot better in quality for a little more im fine with that).
I don’t have much experience with headphones and im very new to audio in general so any advice/recommendations is much appreciated thanks .
TLDR:
Looking for Open back headphones
Budget around 150 USD or more if they punch above price point
I play games and listen to EDM
for your budget, look at the Cooler Master MH751 or 752. the 752 is more expensive as it comes with a USB DAC / Amp to boost sound and make it an easy single USB port plug in.
Welcome to HFGF! If you like the Sennheiser sound and want an open back gaming set, you might like the Game One. I don’t game, but I used them for several months for work with several hours a day on conference calls with some music listening in between and thought they sounded really good. They’re a pretty similar signature as the 58x, IMO, which is tougher to get outside the US. The MSRP is higher, but I got mine for around $80.
@ImJustARandom Welcome to hifiguides,
Maybe I can help a little.
This is unfortunately a closed back and op wants an open back. Still great for gaming though.
+1 less they can get pc37x. However, since op enjoyed the gsp300 so much perhaps the GSP500 would be advisable? It’s pretty bassy so not the best for competitive but still open back and fun sounding.
Alternative Headphones
Shp9500: bright headphone. Flat bass. Large soundstage. Open Backed. Can be found around $50 if you search around. Can be modified though may be difficult for some. Modifications can change the sound drastically. Can be paired to a 3.5mm attachable microphone such as the V-moda Boom Pro.
Fidelio X2HR: Warm headphone. Slightly muddy bass. Large soundstage. Open Backed. Can be found around $90-120. Bigger brother to the shp9500. Can be modified but not necessary. Can also use 3.5mm attachable microphones.
Sennheiser HD 558 / HD 598 / HD 599: Sennheiser sound that is usually more neutral. 558 has more bass and is better for casual use. 598 is more neutral better for all round use. 599 has more treble better for competitive use. All have moderate soundstage. Can make use of 2.5mm boom microphone attachment. Discontinued models however, can be found at around $100.
Well it is very wide then if not large.
Everything sounds it’s being further away.
Compared to pc37x/Game One, everything was like 5m or 15ft more away from the actual space.
Tested with a waterfall in a game, only thing that changes was the headphones. With SHP you could hear the waterfall from a long distance and with the Game one. No waterfall… and that was pretty weird. Dude did not move, back to SHP and there it was again.
When moving closer with GO the noise of water was back.
If you can afford it, why not give the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro a try, though you might need an AMP for it if you’re planning to buy the ones with the higher Ohms. So far those are doing me good in both music and gaming-wise.
Agreed, anytime I have tested when it comes to philips it seems that the staging is just large if not just above the average middle ground. Definitely sounds wide and expansive. Makes it a nice listen I will give it that. Sounds great for a cheap price. Compared to sennheiser I think it’s pretty obvious the staging is larger. Though if you bring up something like akg k7-- series I feel the k7-- is definitely quite a bit larger however suffering from inaccuracies which is unfortunate.
I agree that the dt 880 is a good choice, however due to the brightness thats very apparent(potential treble sensitivity) and the fact you need an amp to really make sound good, cause imo the low ohms sound bad, will put this recommendation outside of budget for him. DT 880 tops out at $200 and a good $100 amp would be most feasible to drive it well bringing it into the $300 budget margin.
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