Headphone upgrade or sidegrade?

Gaming Audio Competitive
1

Hi everyone!

A few months ago, I made a post asking for recommendations for headphones primarily for competitive gaming, and after getting some great advice from @falenkor , I ended up buying the HD 490 PRO.

I have to say that, after a bit of an adjustment period, I’ve been pretty happy with them overall. For competitive gaming, I need extremely precise imaging, and from what I’ve seen online, the HD 490 PRO are still considered among the best headphones for this purpose.

However, I feel like I’d prefer something a bit brighter, as I find the HD 490 PRO a little too neutral for my taste. This time, my budget can go up to €700.

Falenkor, in your guide, you mentioned that the DT 1990 PRO were pretty much unbeatable and among the best headphones to buy.

I know the DT 1990 MKII came out around 2023–2024 as an updated version, with a slight reduction in treble.

In your opinion @falenkor would the DT 1990 MKII be a sidegrade or an upgrade over the HD 490 PRO with the mixing pads? I’m looking for even better imaging, as I feel like the HD 490 PRO sometimes mask certain in-game details, especially things like breaking glass, footsteps on metal surfaces, and so on.

I know dt1990 pro mk1 were amazing but now there is this new release and i dont understand.

Besides the DT 1990 MKII, I’ve also been looking at the HIFIMAN Arya Stealth. I had the chance to try the HIFIMAN Edition XV at a second-hand audio store for some hourse every day because i know the shop owner he s a friend, and I actually liked the sound quite a bit, so i think maybe i will like better hifiman products.

My only concern is that I’ve read online that the Arya Stealth have an overly wide soundstage, which could potentially come at the expense of precise imaging. I’m looking for headphones that can pinpoint sounds with almost millimetric accuracy, so I wouldn’t want the soundstage to be so wide that it becomes harder to locate sounds precisely.

What do you think? I’d really appreciate your input!

Some other options I’ve come across are:

  • Audio-Technica AD2000X

  • The new ADX3000 (although I’d need to save up a bit more for those)

  • Audio-Technica R70x / R70xa — would these be an upgrade over the HD 490 PRO?

  • Sennheiser HD 550

  • Sennheiser HD 505

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these options, or any other recommendations you might have within my budget. My main priorities are precise imaging, excellent positional accuracy, and a slightly brighter sound signature for competitive gaming.

Thanks in advance!

2

Before spending the 700: you mention the HD 490 PRO with the mixing pads - per Sennheiser’s spec the two included pad sets have different sound signatures, so if you have not tried the producing set yet, that swap is the cheapest way to change the tonal balance. If it still feels too neutral after that, comparing measured frequency responses (for example on a measurement site like RTINGS) is more reliable than review adjectives. On the MKII question itself I defer to falenkor’s experience.