@vintageLC Alright, so from you description it sounds like you may want a more balanced or warm headphone so I can chime in here. Let’s start with your recommendation list.
Superlux would be alright it’s decent well rounded and may suit you they are usually pretty cheap,
I don’t recommend grado bad experience with them and they sound like crap imo your experience or others may vary take it as you will,
ad-00x series this is more of a competitive headphone you may not like the headband as it fits really weird and some people have taken to modding it outright or placing rubber bands to kind of make it more comfortable that’s not to say this headphone set is bad by any means they are fantastic for competitive gaming however in a casual gamer sense this headphone lacks a bass presence which may not be what you are looking for
Sennheiser 58x Jubilee: Let’s definitely get this one described. This headphone and the HD 598 or HD 599 are absolute incredible all rounder headphones. Definitely one of my favorites and a balanced headphone nothing is overwhelming here very open and middle ground sound stage. personally, I love this headphone and it’s price point is hard to be beat.
Beyer DT series: This is a bit of a tough one. 770 carries a closed back U shape signature and its bright. what this means is that it will have a better bass and a higher treble but recessed mid frequency it’s not for everyone but it does do great in action packed shooters and the like however to some people that higher treble can appear sibilant, meaning the SSSS sound can be too sharp and be painful to your hearing. 880 this is the neutral all round of the 3 and semi open back still bright less bass than the 770 and stands good in both casual and competitive this headphone is quite the favorite and highly recommended on this site if you want a brighter headphone of the 58x jubilee this is definitely a very strong choice. 990 I cannot for the life of me recommend this headphone without a strong setup to go along with it the treble is so strong here its painful to my ears and I am someone who adores treble I had to go trade in my 250 ohm version to the Edition version 600 ohm and buy a liquid spark amplifier just to reign this headphone into acceptable levels this headphone is absolutely fantastic but its a V signature and a very sharp one at that only recommended to those who love super bright headphones and have the money to backup a good setup. Final notes on DT series the issue here is that these headphones just don’t sound all that great in their lower ohm versions. 32 ohms or lower is what you want in a headphone for gaming generally due to the consoles not being able to push any higher. If you were to go higher than 32 ohms you would need an amplifier which I can list some when I am done with the headphone listing to try to help. Personally I love the beyer lineup but I can attest that they are definitely not for everyone especialy not those who want a warmer headphone or just hate bright headphones.
AKG q701,k702,k712,k7xx,k612 pro you get the point, these are actually a very solid recommendation but in most cases the bass presence here is very lacking and have more of a mid and high forward sound. Fantastic for competitive not so great for casual. Very analytical headphones. Go with a k702 for the most competitive or k7xx otherwise k712 or k612 for a bit more fun. either way for a balanced I don’t really recommend these.
Can’t speak personally on monoprice I usually steer clear of them. personal preference.
Sennheiser lineup: just in generally these usually have a flat or balanced signature… you can’t really go wrong here like I said earlier with the 598 this will have a larger soundstage than the 58x and in some cases I preferred it… I wouldnt necessary recommend the 419 429 or 518 but thats not the say they are bad by any means and are usually a cheaper option. Very solid choice for those who just want a really great balanced headphone.
M40x: alright well, I won’t say anything bad particularly about this headphone it’s just definitely not for everyone it is indeed a more balanced type headphone at the same time expect to absolutely need to pad swap this to another pad out the box cause those pads are tiny and designed for on-ear and not over ear. It’s solid for a choice after the pad swap.
Beyer custom one pro plus: skip this grab either the game or the studio instead. Compression in the sound for this version and game in some cases throws these two off… studio has the best sound of the 3 but usually needs an amp. You would be better off with an mmx300 or tygr 300 r from beyer.
I will throw a copy in here myself now. For your first tier theres to many to list… I personally prefer ksc-75 for the dirt cheap ear phones or the Koss Porta Pros cause seriously after I got these I was kinda hard pressed to find a better one outside of maybe a sony or some other cheapo over ear.
Tier 2: a bit more technical while you can buy a headphone here any will work fine I would still point more towards just a gamers headset like a hyperx alpha or a Sennheiser gsp500,gsp600,gsp670, Game One, Game Zero, or pc37x. The link provided by ant over there will cover a lot of the really good headphones for tier 1 and tier 2
Tier 3: this is kind of a good spot and typically the maximum I go for headphones on gaming. You have a ton of options here. You already listed quite a few but heres a few more.
Hifiman Sundara, $250 on headphones.com open box may need an amp will find a cheapo further down very strong all rounder and a wide soundstage to boot definitely open backed and a big favorite of mine on the all rounder lineup. Decent cheaper alternative may be the HE4xx but I found this more forward sounding and a tad more intimate and aggressive. Keep in mind though that Hifiman as a company has very poor quality control on their products lots of broken headphones.
Beyerdynamic 1990 or 177x go: These can be found at certain times of the year ranging at minimum $300 and you may get lucky on them. My personal favorites and I prefer them over the previously mentioned DT series due to being more towards a neutral signature despite still maintaining that bright sound.
Gaming Headset Audeze Mobius and its brother Hyperx Orbit: These are one in the same outside of wired vs wireless. Orbit is cheaper here but these are some of the absolute best in the gaming headset lineup you can’t go wrong here very balanced and come with their own amplifier built into the ear cups along with an equalizer built in to allow you to change to things like surround sound, hi res audiophile audio, footsteps, movie, music, etc very well rounded.
Gaming Headset Steel Series Arctis Pro + Gamedac: This is the other of the 3 and much like the two above this recommendation this also comes with its own Dac that allows you to have an equalizer but in this case its much more customizable and not just presets. Bass equalizer can get heavy to the point of straight up vibrating the headphone though still doesn’t bleed through the microphone.
Phillips Shp9500 and Fidelio X2 HR: Shp9500 is not as bass heavy from my experience here and is more the budget option but experience varies. Fidelio x2 hr is a very warm smooth headphone with a very nice bass alongside a very wide soundstage this is definitely one of my favorites for casual gaming. Just keep in mind bassy headphones aren’t the greatest in competitive since the rumble gets in the way of things such as footsteps
Vokyl Erupt: This has been around time and again and is a brand new headphone. I haven’t gotten to try this myself but its been reviewed fairly high. Supports a very wide and accurate soundstage great comfort and is either a v signature or a balanced signature. No return policy as its still in a prototype stage. Buy at own risk.
Note: If possible try to buy used for your discounts… sites like ebay, amazon, head-fi, among others are very useful for audio equipment. You can also use hifishark and type in the name of the item your looking for and it will scour the web real quick to find postings and sales of that item. A new posting here for a buy/sell forum has been created as well for those looking for particular things or wanting to post an ad and give people a headsup. You will save a lot of money going this route. just something to consider.
Amps. This gets a bit technical due to your budget. Generally speaking Syba Sonic, Soundblaster x3, soundlblaster g6, Fiio e10k, Schiit Fulla 3, and Fiio k5 pro all work fine… theres a lot of other recommendations but syba sonic is probably the cheapest here however it’s the weakest in power… You will stand to have the best sound from a seperate amp and a seperate dac but this is expensive. Amps are required for higher ohm headphones. External amps though I can recommend Liquid Spark especially if you are going with a beyer or the Schiit Magni 3+. Pair with a Topping D10 Dac or an E30 for a slightly cleaner more expensive option.
Mics: Lavalier, Antlion Modmic, V-moda Boom pro for those with a 3.5mm aux(theres a 2.5mm mic too for things like hd 598 forgot the name of it Zeos reviews had it on one of his videos though), and external xlr mics with an audio interface or usb mics are the recommendation here… if going the xlr or usb route try to get a dynamic mic as it doesn’t grab as much background noise.
Going to add something here: due to the nature of you wanting to be more competitive than casual I would be more likely to point towards the 58x jubilee, 598, 599, Sundara, DT 880, Tygr 300 r and Any of the gaming headsets. This is due to a more balanced not as heavy bass and in these comparisons I would say the DT 880 or Tygr 300 r would probably perform the best due to the naturally higher treble frequency which is very useful in competitive fps. In an fps you want ideally a recessed bass with mid and high being forward. the ones listed in this last note are balanced among frequencies with Sundara having better highs, dt 880 having a neutral V signature which means its lows are slightly raised mid are a bit neutral but slightly recessed but it has raised highs, tygr 300 r which is like the dt 990 but acceptable levels of higher treble and still maintaining a large soundstage which is ideal in fps situations. Since you are inbetween casual and competitive is why I say these may be the better options. The others listed are either less bass and more analytical or more bass which may not be ideal for someone who wants a general focus on something like footsteps and the like. In your case this would come completely down to preference. Headphones will only bring you so far as a competitive edge. they won’t make you the best gamer but they can help by a small margin when it comes to sound placement.