Gaming comfort with glasses and new audio interface

Are there any headphones you would suggest for gaming with glasses? (preferably over ear and open back) I’m mainly a CoD/warzone player but I dable in some Apex, Val and CS.

I have the audio technica ad700 and a900x but to it but after about an hour it starts to become unbearable. I’ve tried getting used to it and persevering through the headache but it hasn’t eased at all and it just ruins my time while gaming. I’ve been using the KSC 75 which are great for the price but it’s not the same experience as a full sized can.

Do you guys make any mods to your pads? did you have specific frames for headphone use? did you just resort to contacts? any experience you have would be greatly appreciated.

I’m also looking to upgrade my audio set up as I’ve recently fully switched to PC and I’m still using an Astro mix amp from 2011 (please dont flame me :pleading_face: lol )
The zen dac/v2 seems quite appealing at it’s price point and built in bass button or should I just go with some other stack like geshelii, smsl etc and learn how to do a little eq for movies and things.

Thanks for your help in advance!

I’m not a regular on the headphone board (modded T50RPs are my end-game) and not a big gamer…

But for glasses, IEMs and earbuds all the way for me with glasses. The only way for me. I prefer earbuds because they can be the cheapest bang-to-soundstage-buck like Yincrow X6–great width of soundstage with a kick of bass, but accuracy is a little meh~ If I’d recommend an IEM, maybe Final Audio–specifically the A-series like A400 for precision and soundstage, but for the most part IEMs can sound more closed in compared to headphones.

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Thanks for your input, I forgot to mention I’m looking for an over ear solution.
I had a scim over a few reviews of the A4000 anyway and they seem like they might be a good on the go headphone for me as I don’t really have anything right now.

I think it was pretty clear you wanted over-ear headphones, but with glasses… yeah. You either have to deal with the pressure, find good headphones that don’t require a proper seal, or find very thin and fit-to-your-head frames that work. IEMs and earpbuds just avoid the whole issue, but their limitations are in soundstage being more of a tuning and personal perception sort of deal. Also they tend to reveal the noise floor of headphone amps so for amps, the selection can be limited to avoid background hiss–the Zen DAC is rather noisy so I wouldn’t use one for IEMs without iFi’s IEMatch, or just get Schiit’s IEMagni.

I’m not in the realm of IEMs for gaming so I think there’s better options if you look and ask around. Certain IEMs do perform better. And certain brands have their house-sound, like Final Audio with their focus on wide soundstage and Moondrop with harman-tuned more soundstage tuning. Moondrop Aria would probably be my next recc for sub $100 soundstage.

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My suggestion is try some pad swaps out. I wear glasses and it took me a while to find pads I like but they are out there. Or get a cheap set of glasses from somewhere like zenni and get thin frames like @KeroseneSlickback said.

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Yeah, I guess you’re right. I was thinking maybe because the headphones I own have relatively thin pads maybe something with thicker/softer pads might be more forgiving.

I guess we’re going into a IEM deep dive tonight :laughing:

I’ll have a look into some pads, were there any in particular that worked for you? the only thing im kind worried about is if it changes how the headphones sound.

I do have thin frames so I’m easy when it comes to getting a seal but on quite a few headphones I’ve really liked the XL brainwavz gaming micro suede pads. They’re wide, deep, and pretty malleable. Aliexpress 115mm leathers can get a little bassy on some headphones but they’re really soft and comfy.

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It’s inevitably going to change, but not necessarily for the worse. I found the change quite to my liking as I swapped to ZMF Oval Suede’s on my t60rp.

As for full-sized headphones and glasses, most of the time it’s a non-issue for me, at least when wearing my thin frame glasses. I have a thicker pair that I mostly use when not on my PC. Those are a bit too thick for almost all my headphones and they end up poking the back of the pads or the pads push against them against my head, which kind of ruins long term comfort.

For reference my frames are around 1,5-2mm thick on the glasses I use when listening to music / gaming / pc related. These work flawlessly with pretty much everything. My out-and-about glasses are about twice that thickness, plus they stick out a bit further behind the ears which ruins the seal and comfort on most pads.

Generally I would recommend pretty much anything Sennheiser when wearing glasses (or gaming in general in my book). They’re often spacious, got soft earpads and headbands and clamping pressure has never been much of an issue for me, even with a big head. I’d say anything from HD5XX to 8XX works.

Provided you already have headphones you like, then I would probably recommend swapping frames as it’s mostly cheaper than buying a lot of headphones.

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I prefer minimal frames, so my arms are rather thin and flexible - not the chunky trendy modern types. I’d say I have around zero issues.

Not sure what you have and where the pain is coming from, an actual headache surprises me. I do think that velour pads can have less seal on/off issues than leathers.

It’s not supreme gaming, but I’ve found the Sennheiser 6__ series (including 58x) with oval velour pads, after bending out the clamp a little on each side, to be very easy-going to wear. The 5__ series, like 560s, I don’t think offer the clamp elimination trick.

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I had thought about trying those, did you notice any difference with the cooling gel? or is it all just marketing?

I’ll give the pad swap a go first of all, I guess in my head I was thinking it could drastically change the sound to something I don;t enjoy but realisically it will probably be minimal.

It might be that I’m a little sensitive to clamping pressure but I never really had issues before I used glasses.
I actually have quite a small head and find it difficlt to find anything that doesn’t make me look like im wearing some comicly sized clown glasses. My current glasses are relatively thin but the important part, the hooks, are 3.5mm but they flare out too which effectively makes them 5mm at the tip.

I’m quite happy with the 900x but there always a part of me going but what if there’s something better? I’ve been kind of looking for an excuse to try some Sennheisers, I’ve been looking at a ton of reviews of all the 5XX series and it seems pretty definitve the 560s are the best but with 6XX series I’m more confused than when I started. It’s subjective after all, I just wish there was somewhere to try them in near me.

specifically with the xl they have enough size to be pretty nice both with expanding soundstage and being wide enough to not squeeze all in one place. the cooling gel i think actually helps a little with seal for me but again, i have thin frames. the cooling effect is fairly pointless but i don’t really get very sweaty in them so maybe it works, idk.

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I’m the same really, mine are quite thin theres some added plastic around the hooks which flare out a little. I don’t really know the anatomy of the skull so maybe theres a nerve or something just in the right spot to give me a headache from the pressure.

That’s a good point you mention about the HD5XX series… maybe I’ll lean more towards the 6XX series instead.

I think I can agree with you here on the XL pads being a bit better here… well that or perhaps trying to lessen up the overall clamp of the headphone… After all if the headphone clamps hard on the glasses its going to hurt or cause eventual discomfort. Id say swap or maybe try stretching out the headphone on a box or something and if all else fails would need a different headphone thats a bit more forgiving as the 3d wing system of the AD there isn’t the… best for comfort imo

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