Headphones, DAC/AMP, and desk mic available in Canada

Gaming Audio Casual
#1

I am putting together a new rig for gaming, I play alot of DOOM Eternal and games like it. DOOM Eternal has lots of heavy metal music that i would love to be blown away by. Good soundstage and bass is what I think I’m looking for. Open backs are acceptable. Some Accuracy would be nice since I play the multiplayer and the campaign at the highest difficulty and they are both insane, but it’s not the most important aspect. I live in Canada so I need suggestions that are available here and don’t have inflated prices. This is my first “Hi-Fi” setup so I’m looking for entry prices up to ~$300 CAD for the whole setup.

Thank you to anyone who helps me out.

#2

Not much you can get up here for 300
I’d suggest an ifi zen dac that’s 200
Cant think of a headphone for 100 though

#3

You might want to consider a Fiio K3 and Sennheiser HD 559. That fits into you budget, but doesn’t really leave a lot for a mic. Maybe if you find some good deals you can squeeze in a Blue Snowball. You could get the older E10K instead of the K3 but that amp/dac is pretty old at this point.

I have a pair of the older HD 558 and I’m assuming the 559s are almost identical. Out of all my headphones, I tend go to those for hard rock, punk or metal.

I agree with @PABastien, $300 CAD isn’t a lot of money. Especially when you want to fit a mic into your budget and consider the price of getting things shipped up here.

If you’re stuck on that budget, you could compromise and get a Schiit Fulla and a Cooler Master MH-751. That would fit into your budget but I don’t know any Canadian site that sells the Fulla so you’re going to have to get it shipped from the states.

There’s also a mic that works with the 559. So 558 could work with the Fulla, but it doesn’t look like it comes with the necessary headphone/mic splitter.

#4

Thanks for your help, these are better options than I could find. How would you say the soundstage and positional accuracy (or whatever it’s called) on your HD 558s are?

#5

Also, how much of a difference should I expect between the Fiio K3 and a Dragonfly Red?

Edit: NVM, The dragonfly red is more expensive

#6

I would say the soundstage is wide but not exaggerated. The accuracy isn’t the best, but seeing how big the soundstage is it’s natural to expect some tradeoffs when it comes to accuracy. I used it in multiplayer shooters( mostly Battlefield 3/4 and Counter-Strike) when I daily drove them and didn’t really have any issues. They created an immersive environment and still let me pin point footsteps.

Ya, that’s basically all of your budget. also it’s not really a desktop solution.

#7

I’ll go with the HD 559s (or HD599s, I keep seeing different names for it), the Fiio DAC/AMP, and the inline mic attachment. Last question maybe, would using software like Dolby Atmos improve the accuracy or anything else for this setup?

#8

So there is a 559, 569 and 599. They’re just tuned differently, but use the same driver. The 599 also has some leather on the headband so they can justify the higher price point.

Since the inline mic shares a ground with the headphones, plugging the headphones into the K3 and and the mic into your computer can introduce interference. That’s why I recommended the Schiit Fulla with it. the Fulla has a mic input on it and the K3 doesn’t. If you don’t want it shipped from the states another option would be the Sound BlasterX G6, it’s available here but I’m not sure how it sounds.

I find most game have good enough “virtual surround sound” if they give you an option to specify your output device type and select headphones. I did pay for it, and use it some on game without a headphone setting for the audio. It could help with Netfix but you need an ultra plan to have Atmos so IDK I’m still on the HD plan. I think you only need to pay for it if you have Atmos content to watch.