So I currently have shp9500s, they seemed the best for my small budget about two years ago and they have been fantastic. But lately I’ve been wanting more. They are just plugged into my tower and used with a vmoda mic. I mainly play tarkov valorant and battlefield currently so footsteps and directionality are a must and a half. This newest round of research has found some new candidates, and also shown me that I probably need an amp or amp/dac combo. Most I’ve done by now is Peace EQs pre amp for tarkov purposes. I’m between the Sundaras or the Monolith m1070s or the harmonicdyne Zeus. Wondering if anyone’s tried these or all of these and favors which one, or if there is better suited for around 3-4 MAYBE 500 dollars as I’ll need to allow budget for amps. Trying to gather input before the big purchase, thanks guys!
You pushing referring links here?
tarkov AND battlefield? on a shp9500? oof, that must be suffering and a half… better than a gaming headset atleast
skip m1070, zeus im still in the process of sitting with, sundara works just fine can definitely vouch for that one… but tarkov is … to put that one lightly… hard to find a really good headphone for considering just how demanding that games sound engine is.
not a bad budget… I would say try the sundaras first if you can… the beyers will work well in this case… im not so sure on zeus yet… I finally got some time this weekend so I think I will check that out later on see how it performs
I mean the Peace Eq pre amp was definitely helping. Their steam audio consistently changes so since that I’ve stopped messing with the actual Eq when I play, just simply applying the pre.
Definitely torn between the Zeus and Sundaras hard though. Maybe have to wait and see if you have any developments over the weekend. Then I can start looking at powering it and getting a new mic. I still have much to do research wise for amps and dacs as really don’t know much. But I thank you @HiHamsterLuna for the suggestion as it’ll be a good place to start. I’ve also been recommended the schiit magni and the Atom, as well as the sound blasterx g6.
For a mic I don’t really want a table top atleast yet, I don’t have too private of a space where I live and don’t need all three of my kids constantly pouring through the mic or having to worry about that being the case always while gaming. Something modmic like would be ideal. Thank you guys for the help!! I felt bad reading some other posts as they are somewhat identical to mine and I was worried I was just adding clutter lol but the help is deeply appreciated!
magni and atom will sound a lot better than a g6… g6 is just good for budgets.
modmic or get a boom arm for a dedicated mic of sorts if you have a spot for it. Modmics work fine and there isn’t many headphones out there that can use a v-moda boom pro.
nah, we see these posts all the time but it’s no big deal really. Should see how much I get private messaged as well with these it’s nutty lmao.
we will see, I was expecting more bass from a headphone labeled Zeus but it’s not a cannon… has nice soundstage though… not sure on imaging and overall performance
Definitely will focus more on those two then and modmic definitely seems the route with whichever I get. Bass seems not too huge of a thing if I’m trying to feel footsteps. I love the effect Tarkov nades get, or used to get if they’ve changed the audio again lord knows I haven’t played in about two months. But i feel lighter bass would help let me hear footsteps despite a nade or gun fire if it’s not as roaring vs felt or however that aspect would be described. If there is less of it but it’s part is still correctly played then im cool with it as imaging for my purposes than bass. If you wholly feel imaging is still better with the Daras vs the HD then I will consider those over the latter. But in this moment they both seem like they will be much better than the ships and for the hopefully not too terrible sound trade off vs damn appeal of these HD’s I’m really feeling those. But if Sundaras really blow the other away with imaging and better or more accurate soundstage, then I would have to get those as I’m into this whole thing for performance. And I definitely don’t doubt the level of DM’s you have, you seem to be everywhere lol which would only showcase your knowledge and experience with various gear and therefore an excellent person to ask questions. How do you feel about the suggested Zoom vs the Schiit or Atom, and would a Liquid Spark be worth considering as well or is the difference negligible there in adding something else to the list of contenders? Atleast if paired with either of what I’d be getting
You pushing referring links here?
I did anyone who reads this a favor.
it really just depends on the game and headphone… in tarkov its not that big of an issue so headphones like the 990 work just fine but tarkov is one of those with the good sound engines… in others that bass rumble clouds the hell out of your placements.
If I recall, as its been a bit, they have been working on the audio engine these past few months steadily… it has gotten better. I am just glad they are really sitting down and doing work on the audio as most of these fps suck for audio.
imaging on something like a sennheiser vs the sundara are fairly similar if your comparing something like 660s over there… however, in games like tarkov the issue with sennheisers is simply soundstage… you can get along just fine with tarkov with a sennheiser but if the target is far away your going to have issues due to average/narrow soundstage depending on the model of the sennheiser… meanwhile sundara has a much larger stage and its quite airy so everything feels much more spacious I find it a lot easier in tarkov to place my sounds with the sundara than I do the sennheiser…
shp9500 and the sundara have the same kind of sound signature… but I would say the sundara is a massive upgrade.
I ended up trading them out for Focals… highly prefer focal over sennheiser just from comfort alone… I get better placements from my focal and just as good sound qualities but focal is easily more expensive lol.
I think people realize regardless if you create a thread on the competitive side or just message me directly I will probably chime in, but my recommendations for strictly competitive are usually the same grey area… its casual gaming where my wide variety of recommendations come in… everyone has different tastes so its always interesting to see what people choose and prefer as well… I have had a few even offer compensation which I turn down lol… I do this because I enjoy helping others. I got so sick and tired of those terrible gaming headsets even your shp9500 when I tried it was just so much better. I come from the venues too where we had to use those awful closed backs… while comfortable they were never this good at placements so I find so much more enjoyment in casually playing my competitive fps games nowadays.
In terms of HD vs Hifiman over there… I found sennheisers are great for the smaller fps. cod, counter strike, valorant, etc but if you want those games like battlefield, hunt, tarkov hifiman, focal, beyer, etc come into play a bit more and are a better option thanks to the soundstage alone.
Would never recommend just a interface for your headphones… for microphones its definitely not bad but there are plenty of other interfaces I would take in that regard. For a gamer something simple such as focusrite scarlett does fine for microphones but you can also go super cheap to behringer um2. However recommending a condenser for gaming? I feel a small explaination is necessary between these two
condensors: designed for sound proofed rooms. Can be found in usb in plethora and work just fine. Are extremely sensitive but have more clarity in comparison to the the dynamic alternative. Can be much cheaper than dynamic.
Dynamic: designed for live concerts and block out surrounding sound, lack a bit in clarity, higher grade, more expensive, not needed less you have a loud background.
To be quite clear though, if I am completely honest… you don’t need an xlr as a gamer… go with a usb microphone… the yeti, elgato, quadcast, at2020 usb and in some cases(budget only) the new seiren mini from razer all work just fine with all but the seiren having just fine microphone quality…
If your going to get a headphone that can need an amp… especially if its a sundara or something… do right by it and get an amp… sundaras are quite demanding… most interfaces won’t properly power it to begin with same goes with beyers…
Heres just an example of a setup.
Sundara open box $250 - $350(they have quality control issues… open box models usually have been fixed by hifiman already and have less concerns for potential driver issues). Doesn’t have to be a sundara though there are other options of course that are cheaper like the beyers which can actually be obtained for like $100 off the used markets lol
Entry Level amp(schiit, jds, monoprice) = used market value $70 - $100(new)
Entry Level Dac(same brands but include topping) = used market value $70-$100(New)
Cables(if needed) $5-$10
Optional: Entry level amp dac combo unit(only if you want to cut some corners but you lose power and quality) $120-$180
Microphone: $50-$150(can also include modmic if you prefer that route as well)
Optional: Audio Interface: $50-$200
as for how I feel about comparing a interface to a schiit or atom? there isn’t one… dedicated amps and dacs will always come out on top of a dedicated interface… as the interface isn’t designed to be specifically an amp for power and proper sound quality. You can get away with just an interface of course… but it absolutely depends on the interface and headphone being powered…
spark is one of the entry levels and its absolutely worth considering especially for brighter headphones.
True, I finally figured out the “ignore” function. Thanks 
I guess that makes you super smart like everyone else who spends $$$$$ on a passive device you could make with a penny and a paper plate.
Don’t derail the thread, if you want to talk this out take it to a private chat. Thanks.
My noob might be showing but for HD I was meaning the HarmonicDynes, I should have just typed it out every time lol, and I also knew nothing of interface vs bit either so that’s good to help clear things out.
As far as :
Are you suggesting I would have better luck trying for an open box option?
oh you mean helios and zeus hah my bad.
Pretty much, I had a few sundaras that were faulty… its obnoxious honestly but a lot of people have had much better luck from their open box models since they are typically already repaired and no longer have those issues.