A definitive upgrade to the K702 for competitive FPS can only happen by jumping to the $500+ range right? Such as DT1990, HifiMan (which Hifiman other than Sundara? Ananda? Arya?), T1.2, etcā¦
The usual suspects such as DT990/880 600 ohm, Senn HD560s, HE400se, seem to all perform around the same level as the K702 in pure competitive FPS applications, so to me they seem like a sidegrade, not an upgrade.
Do you agree with my assessment? Are you an FPS gamer?
Definitely an FPS gamer. Have been for 25 years. Won a couple regional tournies over the years. I like to think Iām not trash, but people are getting pretty good these days and thereās no competitive edge secrets anymore with streaming being so widespread lol.
thereās a couple marginal upgrades here and there and depending on the specific fps, you might not want too big of a stage, but most fps games that people play these days are pretty big so having a larger soundstage can be helpful pretty often for being able to quickly gauge distance or height. The Edition XS should be coming to US retailers in january making it a bit safer of a buy (shipping nightmares from china left and right, currently) and theyāre pretty fucking incredible for gaming. IMO hard skip sundaras and anandas, they have some odd front imaging depth inaccuracies like the 4xx and 400se (sundaras can be fixed to a lesser degree than the 400se with a pad swap). T1.2 is an absolute savage for small to average size games, DCA Aeon 1 or 2 are both incredible as well and maybe do height maybe a little bit better than the T1.2.
personally i think the 400se and 990/880 600ohm (880 if the 990 is too bright or if you want more stage than the 880 and know you can take the treble, go 990, imo, though they are a bit too bassy) are quite a bit better than the k702 but they also do take a fairly beefy amp to get the most out of.
what games do you mainly play?
Yes i forgot to mention i mostly play big outdoor maps in battlefield 1 and battlefield 5. I dont play CS:GO or TC Siege, hence the HD660s or 58x Jubilee are never on my wishlist.
If the DT990/880 600ohm are better for competitive fps than K702 then i would rather just go for the DT1990 (iām not sensitive to sibilance). I mean i have the HE4XX, K702, M570, AD900x, which are all $150-$250 range, i find it hard to believe the DT880/990 600 ohm will be more than a sidegrade to what I have. Is it really laser imaging with these beyers? If so Iād rather jump to the DT1990 which has same if not better imaging. Does the DT1990 have smaller soundstage than the DT990? I love the K702 because i can hear gunfights, door slams, screams, and other sound cues from very far away and prepare accordingly. I want to keep that and fine tune imaging so it would become laser imaging.
Never heard of DCA Aeon 1 and 2 for competitive fps.
I own the HE400se and I find the stage fantastic, but the timber is a bit off due to that weird recessed point around 1.5kHz. It deadens a lot of footfalls, and door noise at distance.
I canāt take the sibilance from the Beyers, but I am too sensitive in that area, so I tend to lean toward the 6xx, 58x Jubilee, or even that PC38X headset from Drop.
I still havenāt tried the K702, but it likely one of my next two purchases.
yeah beyers are laser accurate. the 1990 is also laser accurate but not all that big of a stage but actually isolate fairly well for an open back making it easier sometimes to locate things. the 880s and 990s both have a bigger stage than them.
conquest size maps in BF are definitely something that will test the stage of any headphone so soundstage size and height capabilities for the skyscraper maps and other tall maps are gonna be pretty important and height is the one thing i wish beyers did better (and maybe a little less bass bleed in boomy shooters like warzone). used T1.2s (biggest beyer stage and all of the imaging precision) can be had for between $400-500, Aeon 2s sit around $500-550 used usually and are probably the most comfortable headphones out there so they work well for long gaming sessions and theyāre all around great at everything for shooters. the edition XS might be my recommendation for the $500 bracket at the moment but theyāre kinda impossible to get without a hassle right now since they arenāt technically released outside of china yet.
And what do u recommend for vertical imaging? Our friend with an F on these forums suggest the hifimans for that.
Anyone noticed bass bleeding on the HE4XX? when gaming competitively, explosions mask all other sounds when they happen and i have to wait for them to fade away so i can hear footsteps and treble-based details again.
the 400se has quite a bit more vertical imaging and slightly more rear imaging than the 4xx. didnāt sit too long with the 4xx before sending them on down the road but your bass problem could be a power thing. loose bass on planars tends to be from a lack of current. whatās your amp? if you want a half assed fix, dolby atmos for headphones helps suppress a bit of that overblown bass and can focus the imaging a bit while also giving a bit more stage depth and itās a one time cost of $15(i think), is good on up to 10 PCs or xboxes and if you want to try it for free i think they have like a 15 day trial, but be warned it forces 16bit/48khz bitrate so you have to up your windows bitrate back up manually after you stop using it if you want normal sound back for like music or something. itās not a fix all, but it can help sometimes. hifiman egg cans have just outstanding vertical imaging and not many things can come even moderately close to them in that respect, which is why the edition XS is so phenomenal for the price, not to mention it has almost an audeze wrap around soundstage so it has pretty decent rear positioning as well (but donāt take that as me saying audeze makes anything good for competitive gaming, because they donāt). the aeon 2 open does pretty decent vertical imaging too, t1.2 isnāt awful but it doesnāt have much vertical depth, just good accuracy.
this was while using Dolby Atmos for Headphone on Game mode. I already own it.
My amp should be more than adequate, SMSL SP200. I canāt turn the knob beyond 8 oclock.
Using the stock SE cable.
Hey Pokrog, I remember you said the He400se was better than the Ananda right? Well now Iāve got both the He400se non Stealth version and Ananda, I have to disagree. Ananda is 2 levels above it easily
With pads for the imaging correction I definitely found the 400se to be more consistent for gaming. Not as big, but more accurate. I really only ever rated the 400se for gaming since they were just a cheap planar with decent verticality. Better timbre than the Ananda too, but less technically capable and with less sibilance problems. Also the stealth magnets matter quite a bit.
How good is the soundstage and imaging? I will be using them mainly for fun gaming. movies and then music. I have hd598s right now and were planning to upgrade to harmonicdyne zeus. How do they compare to them? In my country their price is 132 dollars vs 436 for harmonicdyne zeus. WIll be running them throught btr5
I think for stage and imaging the he400se is pretty impressive, and in the same price range the only thing that probably is better for stage and imaging is the AKG K612 Pro.
I listen to the HE400se on a BTR5, and they have a weird recessed area around 2k, that needs EQ for movies or dialog can get a bit soft. Despite that bass roll off, they have a nice bassy sound to them, maybe because of those recessed mids.
I never bothered with aftermarket ear pads, but I know some people rave about some of them.
I did velcro a set of Sennheiser pads to the headband, but I had a hot spot on the top of it.
People who have used these for games and movies? What games and movies have you used them with and how was your experience? Please share
Would K5 or DAC-X3/X6 or SB G6 provide sufficient amplification for these? Iām thinking about buying them as a gift for a family member, but Iām a bit worried I might have to follow up with an amp. I could spare my K5 (donāt really need it with the Tygrs), but Iād rather not have to buy anything >$100. The DAC-Xās are inexpensive where I live, and Creative always has SXFI amps and G6ās in B-stock.
My wife bought me a set of these for my birthday this past Dec. and Iāve been loving these. My first planar and Iām guessing it wonāt be the last. I pretty much only use them for music and maybe some light Youtube or episode watching. To me they have a very natural, unforced sound. Iām probably imagining that I can hear the ultra low mass of the planar element just getting out of the way of the music but that what it seems like.
They love tubes. I run them on a Monolith tube amp that has a transformer output with multiple taps for different impedances so the low impedance doesnāt change the sound. Sourced from a Rpi running Volumio through a Boss Dac hat, this set up can deliver goosebumps on occasion and rarely has me wanting more. They also pair well with my āBudget WA8ā set up. I run an Emotiva Little Ego into a Little Bear B4-X with my laptop for a transportable solution and the HE 400ses really shine on it. Both set ups have more than enough power for me.
Iām super happy with them. In fact, Iāve been so happy with them on the tubes, I havenāt even tried them on the few solid state amps I have. My 6XXs got moved upstairs where headphones play second fiddle to speakers while the Hifimans have become a permanent fixture in the main headphone rig. Maybe Iāll be happy enough that I wonāt be looking at any new canās for awhile? Nah, but I know it would take something extra special to knock the 400ses out of the main rig anytime soon.
Anyone else running these on tubes?
Donāt try the Edition XS. 
Theyāre the HE-400se on designer steroids.
But glad youāre digging the HE-400se. Terrific headphones. Love mine.
My review of the HE400se is live now for those interested: HIFIMAN HE400se Headphones Review - Budget Excellence! | TechPowerUp
Whew, just finished the thread.
I bought these a couple of weeks ago and am now in search of amplification. Primary use is PC music and some gaming. Theyāre currently running off a headphone jack on ancient Altec Lansing 2.1 PC speakers.
Iāve been looking at JDS Labs Atom+ and DAC+, various Fiio products and xDuoo products. Going through some information overload. So, I welcome any recommendations or āstay away fromā warnings. Budget, under $250 US. Hope itās ok to solicit recommendations here. Feel free to move if not.
Cheers!
Would say you wonāt do much wrong with a atom or schiit stack, if your willing to buy used they can be had for good money, some also have good experiences with a tube hybrid like the xduoo mt602 but i think many did some tube rolling before they were really happy