I got a pair of Sennheiser GSP300 about 2 years ago and I am not at all satisfied with them. The mic died a few months ago and I’ve been told they don’t present gaming sound too well. So I’ve done some research the past week and am deciding between the following options:
ATH AD-700x(already ordered those, but I can always send them back)
ATH M40x
BD DT990(because I saw it gets recommended in here a lot)
I am very open for other recommendations, that’s just the ones that stuck out to me as a layman.
I would be open to buy a dac/amp combo - stuff I’ve heard is good is Syba Sonic(for cheap), Sennheiser GSX1000, Mayflower Arc.
I also bought a ModMic Uni + a small usb Soundcard for 7€ for communication. From what I’ve heard that’s an acceptable option, am also open for critique though.
Right now I am playing a lot of Valorant, so I would use the headphones for these sorts of competetive shooters and watching youtube, twitch, movies, etc.
I am from Austria(EU) and have an absolute max budget of 400-500€(if that gets me something that’s noticably better), although I would like to keep it at about 300€ because this would be my first hifi experience - and I am very excited
Thank you in advance for your help!
PS: I have seen Falenkors recently posted write-up and have shortly deleted this thread afterwards. I reactivated it to maybe see if someone has some specific ideas about my situation.
The ad700x you ordered should be nice honestly. I had a pair of the 500 and was really impressed with their ability to image a fully immersive environment.
Some say gaming with open headphones is not as good as closed, I do both and don’t find a huge difference.
As for dac/amp, if your onboard audio doesn’t push the 700s loud enough then consider it. Unless you want on the fly volume control, then maybe consider the schiit fulla.
As for mics I’m a huge fan of modmics. There are also some great desk mics out now such as the Corsair that was released recently.
To be quite fair, I can say this when it comes to practically 98% of all the gaming headsets on the market. Only a select few aren’t trash this coming from the guy who’s sat with the hype for years starting with Turtle Beach and HyperX. The difference going to a headphone is quite large but it can be pricey to get into starting out due to the amp and dac investment cost.
hmm, just some constructive criticism from me on this one. This headphone may appear very “boring” so to speak as the bass is recessed. If you enjoy any thump or sub bass in your sound this could be a deal breaker. Also, build quality is a big hit or miss on that one especially with the “3d wing system” headband. It’s great for competitive and one of the better budgeting headphones it really just depends on the person.
Absolutely 100% need to change the pads. V signature out the gate and tends to have too much bass for proper competitive gaming less using a perforated pad or a Velour. Great headphone but can break surprisingly easy just treat it with some care and you should be alright with this one. I use this for my portable when I don’t feel like using my ksc75. Really quite nice for multi purpose.
Anytime I see someone consider buying these I mention a word of caution. This was my very first bright headphone and entry into audiophile gear. This headphone is extremely unforgiving in the fact that it’s treble is extremely sharp. If you are treble sensitive, I have had a couple friends who exhibited some painful discomfort to the hearing due to just how bright this headphone can be. It’s very bassy and very bright as it’s an incredibly sharp V signature. Highly recommended to make sure this headphone is powered correctly with an amp and bought at 600 ohm’s as the brightness is refined and smoothed out more so it’s less of an issue. However, I would sooner recommend someone a DT 880 before the 990 as it’s the more neutral more forgiving sort and has a more use case outside of competitive gaming meanwhile the 990 can be very fatiguing to the point you will want to put it down. This isn’t to scare you away from the headphone it’s just that I would hate the idea of someone picking this headphone up as a first bright headphone and having a horrible opinion towards the brighter headphones as the 990 is one of the much more brighter headphones on the market even amongst the Beyerdynamic lineup.
Very weak, only good for very low power requirement headphones and is generally about the equivalent of a very weak on board audio motherboard of a computer.
Absolute garbage for it’s price tag. Horribly weak. Waste of money and better alternatives.
Would sooner recommend probably the Schiit Hel before I brought this one up both are nice though just rather pricey. Once you reach the $200 + range your potentially better off buying a dedicated setup instead of a Combo Unit. Unless you seriously need that mic input.
I have tried the Uni, however I have to give it a negative point of view. I tried to get it to work but it has a problem of running far to “hot” or sensitive in other words. It can pick up pc feedback for starters but also I had some issues with quite the few headphones where the sound bled into the uni. usb soundcards did not remedy this issue and it seems to be a problem only with the Uni in particular as both USB and Wireless do not have this issue. Would recommend Modmic USB over the uni due to this issue and the fact that USB has better sound clarity
I tend to respond and write as I read through the topic and just now saw this lol. Thanks for reading hope it helped even just a little and was a bit informative. I definitely need to get around to rewriting that write up… It’s just a general purpose quick write up that definitely needs a lot of fixing and alterations. Take it as some helpful advice and suggestions but not the mandatory gospel or something. -ideal- competitive is nice and all but it can be a bit conflicting for someone wanting to use it for more casual use cases as well.
So, I think you are on a good track here with your current ideas on what to get. Though, I would say it depends on a few things. One of which if this is for console gaming as I don’t see this specified. The reason I say this is important is that for an amp/dac you need an optical port for use with consoles so it makes choosing a setup a little more complicated. If this is the case and you need an amp/dac for console use Switch your dac amp combo over to the Soundblaster G6 as this is a solid start for a console gamer and you can always upgrade the amp later… the dac inside the g6 is actually quite nice and the unit doesn’t particularly break the bank. Any more expensive however and I would potentially recommend a more dedicated setup with the Dac having the optical port. Generally $100 is what you will be looking at spending for dedicated amps and dacs to start out with so $200 maximum however, keep in mind this is pretty much just an investment. Once you have the proper amp and dac you don’t necessarily need to worry about upgrades this just opens the gates to use whatever you choose.
As for headphones, I think it will depend on how serious you are for competitive gaming as you also mentioned a more casual use case. I would definitely recommend switching the 990 over to the DT 880. The other two are fine and are worth a test as they are different signatures in their own right. Generally I would say your looking at around $130 or so for a good headphone that’s at minimum so 300€ isn’t particularly unreasoanble I think the biggest issue you may has is international shipping problems as gaining equipment just isn’t easy.
Agreed here, it’s definitely not a bad headphone. My only concern is that it can definitely be seen as very boring considering it’s bass response.
Who dares speak this blasphemy? lol. Either is fine but you can get a better soundstage with open backs and a more 3d style sound and imaging. Closed backs are good if you are like extremely serious about competition or just want some isolation… Well, least in my opinion. Edit: oh and bass… lots and lots of bass from closed backs is a plus. Open backs just don’t typically compete with the bass response of closed
yeah, this ^ pretty much. 700s aren’t very demanding so an amp may not even be required it can help with sound quality but not particularly absolute necessary. Beyers are the ones here on the list that definitely need the amp. Schiit Fulla however can’t power the more demanding headphones outside of around 250 ohms so food for thought there it does have some limitations still good for starting out.
Since creating the topic I have changed my mind a little… I talked with you a little on the write up and joined Zeos’ discord where I talked to a lot of other people. So I’d like to either get the DT 880 600Ohm or HD 600 now, as I found a pair of 600’s used for 220€, which pretty nice as far as I can tell. For the dac/amp I wanted to go with the Topping D10/Liquid Spark, but I didn’t find the D10 in my area. What is available however and has been strongly recommended to me is the Topping e30/l30 stack. Now I’m unsure if I maybe wanna switch out the l30 for the liquid Spark, because I didn’t find a comparison anywhere online. The Liquid spark has more frequency response, but the l30 is also better on some other stats, so I don’t know.
I have adjusted my expectations a little as well. I’ve accepted that I am a casual gamer, so ingame performance isn’t that important to me anymore(although the headphones should hold their own while playing as well).
Well, the 880 would be more solid for more of the bigger fps games but I would side with the 600s for the more well rounded neutrality and all purpose use case it’s just that the HD 600 and it’s others of that series have a very narrow soundstage. Either will work just fine though.
Good but like you mentioned you cant find D10 though E30 is a bit of an upgrade imo to the D10 anyway for slightly more. L30 on the other hand I haven’t sat with but I believe it may be more powerful… however, last I heard it didn’t particularly do better at bright headphones as something such as the Spark. I think both will work fine but if you choose the beyers I would recommend the Spark instead of the L30 as your amp of choice.
I mean, that opens a ton of doors outside of the Ideal really just depends on you personally then and what you find more appealing in sound signatures. HD 600 is nice but it is quite neutral it may be seen as boring to some. DT 880 sounds a bit hollow in it’s bass not very full and is bright. To each their own preference in this regard. I can’t particularly recommend anything without knowing sound preferences at that point
well your on a good route in my opinion. I would recommend testing out something like a Tygr 300R as well if it’s within budget and obtainable. Maybe a meze or Fidelio x2hr if tygr can’t be obtained this way you get a taste of what a warm signature is like.
In Tygrs case it’s extremely well rounded, fun bass, laser imaging, large soundstage. Great for someone who plays competitive but plays at a more casual level.
Pretty much just find some cheap entry levels with different signatures see what suits you best.
Second the Fidelo X2HR. At its price point and at 32 ohm it’s easy to drive, has a fairly wide soundstage, and a decent amount of bass. For a more clear image and wider soundstage, I would recommend the AKG K712 pro or K7XX with an entry level amp like 02 or the schiit magni/vali over the HD600.
hmm, the only issue with these as they do suffer from imaging inaccuracies despite being better than the x2hr in terms of imaging also the bass is recessed so it’s not particularly very “fun” sounding actually they can be kind of boring for gaming use imo. HD 600 is much more neutral and a jack of all trades sort of sort so it has more use case and isn’t so boring in terms of a engaging fun sound ingame however the soundstage is very narrow on the hd600 and the others in the 600 series from sennheiser.
