Competitive gaming cans

If I spent more money to get the 600 ohm and a good amp/dac to run it would that be better for competitive gaming? And my friend uses the fiio e10k for his 990 600ohm and says it works but he’s not really an audio enthusiast so idk. Also are the 58x and the 6xx good for competitive gaming? And any other good headphones in that price range of 200$

I would say yes, because it’s a better headphone, and with you getting a better amp/dac it would improve the sound. 600ohms can run off of cheaper amps, but they won’t power them as well as a higher end amp that’s more up to the task. The 58x is also really good for gaming, and also isn’t really as amp picky as the 880. I wouldn’t say the 6xx is as good for gaming due to the rolled off highs, not as good imagining and soundstage, plus it would want a better headphone amp (it’s more of a music headphone)

I would also say the 58x has slightly better imaging compared to the 880, but not as good separation

Could you think of any other competitive gaming headphones around 200 preferably with a detachable cable and a dac/amp to power them?

58x is a great headphone for competitive gaming if you like a narrower soundstage just enough soundstage for separation and has freat imaging the 6xx would not be lacks soundstage and the imaging of the 58x. personally I wouldn’t run 600 ohms on the e10k. I like my music loud and found the e10k while able to drive my 990’s loud their was almost no headroom. to properly power a 600 ohm 990 or 880 I would say you would need at least a liquid spark or an atom

Headphone wise, for your price range, the options mentioned above are most likely your best bet. There are many dac/amp combos in the 150ish price range that will drive the 880 250ohm and the 58x or whatever just fine, so something like the fiio k3 or topping dx3 or something like that would do ya just fine

The audio Technica ad700x or ad900x are really good for comp gaming as well, except you have to deal with attached wire and sometimes strange fit

Another thing I should mention that the headphones make more of a difference than the amp, so you don’t need to worry too much about the amp choice, as long as you aren’t buying something known to be particularly hard to drive or very sensitive to different amps (none of the aforementioned cans are really in this category)

What’s a good amp/dac that could power most of these? And out of the 880 250 ohm, 58x, and 6xx what do you think is the best?

I would first out the 6xx because it’s not as good for gaming as the other two. You are then left with the 880 and the 58x. I would say in your case of fortnite, you would want better speration and a headphone that could give you better spacial awareness, so I would say the 880 250 ohm, because of the greater sense of space, and the treble bump to emphasize footsteps and gunshots. If you were playing a game like CS, I would recommend the 58x more due to the better imaging.

Both the 880 and 58x are comfortable over a long period of time, and are built very well, but the beyers are built tougher imo and may have a more reliable warranty because you can avoid massdrop.

Amp wise, I mentioned the fiio k3 and the topping dx3 would work fine. You could also get something like a jds atom, but you would have to get a separate dac for that, like the schiit modi 3 or another separate dac (can’t think of another one off the top of my head, but there’s a lot) some may also recommend a schiit modi and magni stack, but I don’t prefer the schiit amplifier sound. Regarding a dac/amp setup, most of the options out there will work great and serve their purpose.

Edit: I should also mention that if you get a 880 250 ohm from Amazon and don’t enjoy it, you could just return it and buy something else like the 58x (although I have heard the massdrop returns are a PITA)

Good to know about the ATH-M50x possibly having too little separation as measurements and reviews do not state it as an issue.

I have to disagree on a wide soundstage being necessary or desired for competitive gaming. Imaging is necessary with a minimal soundstage to inform the direction. For competitive gaming I have never cared for bass, soundstage, and immersion as they tend to get in the way.

If you are playing at a competitive level, then your goals are usually winning rather than enjoying the game. Again, as I said in the other thread, I have different expectations from a different time and perhaps all the things above just go to show how far in the past I am.

I agree on the bass part but thats even more reason to not get the m50 it empahsize bass a significant amount to the point where it could muddy up other more important frequencies.

1 Like

I would agree with you if I was still playing something like CS 1.6 or unreal tournament 3, or even modern games like that, but good separation and immersion are really good for open world games like battle royale, since your environment is very important as well, moreso than a game like CS. I can easily agree that imaging is very important, but you also have to consider that in a game like fortnite (have only played it a couple times, but I’ve watched my friend play it a bunch) or most modern games for that matter, you have to focus a lot more on different things because of the increase in complexity of games. Having a neutral freq response is also seemingly more helpful than it used to be, since many games include a lot more background noises and sfx that you still have to pay attention to and can be helpful to your gameplay.

1 Like

especially even ina game with a lot of somewhat close quarters like siege. sound in that game can portray so many things from what character is being played, what ability was just used. you can even pinpoint were exactly they are based on the surface and even player created debris a character is stepping on.

2 Likes

I should also mention that I’m not trying to completely bash the m50x or say its horrible, I just don’t find it helpful for gaming. It’s pretty good as a monitoring headphone (easily show flaws and present music in an in your face fashion), and does its job well enough to be commonly used for that purpose. I just feel that it really doesn’t have a place for pure competitive gaming, since there are much better offerings in that same price range that are more suited to the task.

The dt880 pro or premium there’s a 250 ohm version for both and is there an adapter that the cable plugs into that then plugs into the jack to prevent wear?

They are the same drivers, but the premium has a looser headband for less isolated and clamp pressure, and the pro is for more isolation, and has a coiled cable vs the straight cable on the premium

Edit: the premium can also come in different ohms, where the pro is 250 ohms only. So I would want to look into the 880 premium 250 ohm because of the more comfortable headband and straight cable (because coiled cables can be irritating)

Alright, then I guess I am stuck in the past. As you were before my interruption current generation of gamers.

And no hard feeling here about the M50x. Was going by reviews, graphs, and cost rather than preference or experience.

As a side note, when I play casually I do use DT 1990 Pro and I find myself getting lost in space when playing FPS.

Nah it’s fine, I feel ya. Some new games I can’t focus because of all the (unnecessary imo) things you have to keep track of and complex mechanics you have to follow in an FPS. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s why I find myself going back to Gmod or Minecraft so often lol

One of my friends suggested that I play auto chess. Haha, I feel old. I’d rather go back to SC and SC2 or an mmo with decent PvP, but I too find myself toiling away in modded Minecraft about once a year.

1 Like