I have shp9500 and am enjoying them for gaming, not quite as much for music. Their comfort is a little off too just because of how little they clamp so they do shift around quite a bit. The only way I can make them stop doing that is to tighten them too much to the point it hurts a bit after an hour or so. The stock pads also make my facual hair a bit itchy, but i do have pretty sensitive skin so I blame that. Anyways, i was hoping for an upgrade over the shp9500 for a single headphone for most if not all things. Was eyeing the tygr 300r, hd560s, or he400se maybe. Hoping for a little more clamp, hopefully comfortable stock pads (or can be swapped within budget), good for general competitive gaming (i play overwatch, apex, and val a little), but also play some casual/single player games like genshin impact. I have tried a few pairs of other headphones for gaming and I didn’t care for the following for competitive gaming: he4xx, hd58x, k7xx. Also, the headband ended up breaking on both the he4xx and k7xx unfortunately so build is some what of a consern of mine.
Budget: under $200, can stretch a little if need be
Source: pc through my schiit magni + modi stack
Sound signature: something similar to shp9500, but maybe a little more bass? Or over all slightly warmer sounding, but hopefully doesn’t muddy up the mids or get in the way of footsteps
I know this was a long post, I just wanted to provide as much detail as possible. Thank you for your time and any recommendations!
I find the HE400se a bit heavy for gaming, and the HD58x a bit too warm for gaming. Both the HD560 and the Drop HD6xx are probably better for what you want.
I would take a serious look at the EPOS PC38X. That is the new branding on the Senn gaming headset sets on Drop. They are about $150, and are about perfect on the sound for FPS games.
Thank you foe the reply. I dont need a mic actually which is why i was looking into the hd560s instead over the pc38x. How long do yoy usually wear the he400se before you need a break from the from the weight?
For me personally, 400SE isn’t all that suitable for longer play sessions over around… I want to say an hour or two because the weight becomes more of a drag, more so if your someone who likes to sit forward when your gaming or have your neck at more awkward angles of any sorts as it becomes fatiguing and rather annoying. Its definitely more suited to the more laid back gaming of sorts in my opinion.
560s is extremely lightweight the only concern id have there is driving power of which you say you have a magni modi so your fine and overall comfort as for me and my personal experience, my ears do touch parts of the driver which can get a tad annoying.
I don’t particularly recommend 38x due to the many issues that ones presents… while one of the best of the headsets it’s just not that great in my opinion compared to just regular headphones in general especially not over say something like 560s. 58x jubilee is indeed quite a bit on the warmer side of things but again its the more well rounded compared to 560s which is the brighter of these two. If you wanted that jack of all trades pick I would say go with the 58x jubilee in that regard since you do mention casual games and single players as it’s just a bit more enjoyable and to me it had the better comfort since it has the 6-- series design rather than the 5-- series. Other than this you could as mentioned swing for a tygr 300r or look for in your case since you have the power to use them… look into a DT 880 respectively of either 250 ohms or 600 ohms as the magni can drive either of the two just fine… the dt 880 is definitely on the brighter side though so this ones gonna boil down to a bit more preference pick but 880s can be third partied in mint condition for much less than $200 on the regular same with 58x jubilee and 560s. 6xx can be found sometimes below $200 as well as the 660s mainly due to the new 660s2 coming out
I would say considering what you are looking for in the bit more warmer category that 58x jubilee is a bit more to your search than the others here though. SHP9500 has more similarities to that of the 560s than it does 58x… 58x and the tygr 300r both have a warmer tonality to them(tygr is V shaped however, so mids are a bit more dialed back)
The Beyer DT880 seems like a solid choice. I find them too bright for music, but I prefer warmer headphones that most. They HD58x is my goto open back.
I tend to use IEMs for gaming, but I find the isolation beats out the wider sound stage. I used to use the KZ ZS10 Pro, but lately I have been using the Truthear Hola, which I like for Valheim or Grounded. For serious FPS something more like the Truthear x Crinacle Zero would likely be a good pick, it has good stage and leans bright, but still has decent mids and mid-bass.
You won’t need to worry about power with the Magni/Modi combo.
For people looking for a budget option, I tend to pitch a portable like the BTR5, and I am very happy with the Topping DX1 for a desktop DAC that has plenty of power for most headphones.
The 560s is the right choice as a gaming headphone. It has wider soundstage and better imaging than the HE-400se.
I owned both, and I preferred the HE-400se for music because its sound signature was more lively. The 560s has a very sterile, reference sound, with a small treble peak that nailed me at just the wrong spot.
But that sterile, reference sound, along with excellent imaging, would make the 560s a better gaming headphone. And it’s not too shabby at music, either – just not my preference.
Its really due to this, that since they are looking for something that can involve single player style games as well… I would recommend more like the 58x instead, since its less on the sterile side more on the relaxed all around side. Kind of prioritize that more enjoyable sound rather than something more on the sterile neutral side.
But if precision imaging and accuracy in gaming are paramount to the OP, then I would lean toward the sterile presentation of the 560s. It’s more of a magnifying glass than a spice or a condiment, if that makes any sense.
Both the 560s and the 58x will be better than the SHP 9500, for sure.
Yea, I think over all competitive gaming does win out over single player gaming as far as importance goes. I think im gonna go with the hd560s. Thank you everyone for all the help and input! I knew this was the right place to post
