I appreciate all the feedback, so this is what I’ve gathered so far…
Topping amp/dac combo is good. I will probably end up getting that. I need to decide on a damn headphone…
Sennheiser 660s are good. Good comfort and for music, but maybe not the very best option for gaming?
AD1000X is good
Phillips makes good headphones also.
IEM seem to be a preference thing. IMO the biggest probable issues will be fit for me. If there is a way to diy custom mold that’s awesome, but I am unaware if you can diy. What about the ones z just did a review on the other day? In the end, I think I’m gearing towards headphones and not iem. I truly want a headset I can use “competitvely.” As previously stated, I mostly play PUBG but I play other games as well.
Well for sure you can get a custom fit. There are many companies that will take impressions of your ears and custom mold the entire iem to your ear for best comfort and ideal fit. Just search “custom iem”. I wouldn’t really recommend the one zeos reviewed recently (ikko oh10 right?) because they are not really suited for competitive gaming
Edit: also the Phillips headphones will not be as good as the 660 or the ad1000x tbh, unless you want a budget headphone
Edit 2: you also might want to take a look at the dt1990
Yeah the ikko oh10. The dt1990 look really nice. They are definitely max budget for me. So pretty much you’re saying either the dt1990 or the ad1000x, then 660s?
All of those would be great choices for pure competitive gaming. I personally would prefer the dt1990 and ad1000x over the 660 in this case because of the elevated highs they have over the 660
Okay you said you own the ad1000x? How about the dt1990. How is the build quality? I read some bad reviews about the ad1000x…cant always be trusted, but some reviews mentioned poor build quality or they were falling apart not too long after being purchased. That’s amazon reviews though…
Hmm, I used to own a dt1990 and had no issues. Beyerdynamic typically has pretty sturdy build quality and has fairly reliable products. They are comfortable, perhaps a tad more clamping force then l prefer, but with the velor pads comfortable enough for hours. The ad1000x is a strange fit, and kinda rests on the bottom of your ears, and really is only comfortable for a couple of hours. It was clearly designed for people with large heads. That being said, I still prefer the ad1000x for comp because of the better imaging and tight soundstage. The Beyers have more detail and more low end, but can be sort of fatiguing to some. Imo the ads do a better job of being able to pinpoint and locate sound in your entire environment. Overall I would say that the Beyer is a better all rounder, but like I mentioned beforehand, the ad’s give me a sense of spacial awareness like not many other
I’m still unsure of which I want to go with haha. Comfort needs to be considered also. Something about the audio technica stuff turns me off. The dt1990 look really comfy, but they are at the upper end of my budget for sure. In the end, does it really matter which dac/amp combo I get? Fiio k3 is half the price of the topping dx3.
You would most likely benifit from the more power of the dx3 on those headphones. While they could run off of the k3, it most likely wouldn’t be as good. Good, but a little better off of the dx3.
The audio Technica is just so special to me for gaming, but I don’t think I would own it if I didn’t have the headphone collection I do now. The ad1000x takes fairly large sacrifices in comfort and daily usability for it’s performance, and I would definitely understand the lack in appeal in your case.
I’m going to say 1990 because it’s a more well regarded headphone overall and since it’s going to be your main headphone. In your case it just makes more sense and is more multipurpose while still maintaining competitive gaming quality. If you owned multiple higher end headphones already, I would recommend the 1000x. At this point it honestly comes down to preference and nitpicking a bit tbh. I believe you will be fully satisfied with the 1990, and not really wanting more.
Edit: if you check my profile you can see what I choose to waste my money on, and you might understand why I like the 1000x but be slightly hesitant to recommend (hint: it’s because I have other options, it’s just very specialized)
Well I have go to’s in my collection, but for very specific reasons, so thats probably not what your looking for. I guess I’ll give some more options for the dt1990 and the 660.
The 660 is slightly more comfortable imo because it’s lighter and has a more ear shaped pad. I would say that the 660 and dt1990 have about equal imaging performance, but the 1990 has better soundstage then the 660, as the 660 is more intimate. IMO the 660 can be used for longer because it’s not as fatiguing in the high end as the 1990. The 660 is very competent in games, but imo beat out by the 1990 because of the better soundstage and elevated high end of the 1990. I would actually prefer the 660 for movies/music because of its sound characteristics.
I would say they trade blows with each other, and it comes down to preference. You will most likely be satisfied with either, since it’s a big step up from what you own now. Both have great price to performance. I just prefer the 1990 for gaming because of the aforementioned reasons.
Hell yeah they look really nice. You have been so helpful. Do you recommend buying headphones from anywhere specific or just go to amazon? I don’t know if there are any special sites that run a little cheaper/competitive versus popular sites. I’m sure most prices are going to be relatively all about the same though.
I mean I try to buy my stuff direct from Amazon so I can return it for free if need be. There are cheaper options from 3rd party sellers (ex: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T4LXN4T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JB5qDbRS8CEAC ) but these may have iffy warranties and also carry a 15% restocking fee if you want to return them. If you want to score a deal, check on eBay, and just make sure you check the seller and their policies
Edit: alot of 3rd party sellers on Amazon will try and create “packages” and bundle items together with a lower price then normal. There sometimes is a catch, so make sure to check the seller first
I think Im going to go with the dt1990. For the amp dac combo, is it still okay if I go with a topping mx3 instead of dx3? Mx3 is like half the price, or do you/others recommend another amp and dac combo, or get separate.
I mean, how could you say no to something that looks like this.
You did mention comfort, and these are my DT 1990 Pro with Dekoni Elite pads which has made them extremely comfortable. Also, the cable it comes with can be replaced with a more reasonable length.
As for the Topping MX3, I would not advise buying it for music unless you are willing to replace it sooner than later as it is not as good as the DX3 Pro or better solutions. But if you are just looking at gaming, it may not be that bad of a choice.
Do you guys recommend another amp/dac combo or just go with topping dx3 then? I don’t want to sell myself short, but I also don’t want to spend unnecessary $$.
I just wanted to mention. I have been using the AKG earbuds that came with my phone for PUBG the past two days and I think they are better than my astros haha. I just plug them into the astro mixamp.
The 02/sdac looks pretty sweet. The only thing i like better about the topping is that you can hook up speakers to it also. I don’t have any now, but maybe in the future I can use that feature also.
