Hi everyone, this is my first post here and I’m just getting into the world of HiFi audio through headphones after always being a “gaming” headphone user! I’ve been doing a ton of reading up on different headphones over the last couple weeks and was torn between the HD6xx, HD58x and HE4xx but ended up caving last night and buying the HD58x after deciding I wanted to start with a dynamic driver headphone and reading repeatedly that the 58x is a bit better for gaming over the 6xx but still has fantastic quality for music. I am going to be using this mostly for PC but also play on console and wouldn’t mind having the ability to use my setup on there but I also have a 7.1 speaker setup for the consoles so not a huge deal if I don’t have that ability.
For the gaming side of things, I play all sorts of games from casual to competitive but also really do care about good audio imaging and positioning in my competitive games. On the musical side of things I listen to a pretty wide variety of music but mainly listen to rock/metal such as Godsmack, Alice in Chains, Killswitch Engaged, with Gojira being my current favourite artist, just to give an idea of my type of sound. I should mention that I am in Canada but I don’t think that should affect what equipment I’m able to get.
For amps I’ve been considering the Schiit Magni 3+/Heresy (leaning towards the 3+ on that one), the Liquid Spark, the JDS Labs Atom and the Drop O2. Open to and happy to read other suggestions!
For DACS I’ve been considering the Schiit Modi, the Fiio E30, and the JDS Labs OL DAC. Also very open to other suggestions!
Finally, for combo DAC/amps I’ve been considering the iFi Zen Dac, and the Fiio K5PRO. Open to suggestions!
I’d love to hear about what you all think is a good choice between what I’ve listed, as well as things I haven’t listed! My budget is about $200-$300, maybe a little bit flexible on this as the 58x’s don’t ship out until April 30th… but this gives me lots of time to decide! I think it would probably be smart though to try and keep the price somewhere around this range and stick to the kind of “starter” items since I am so new to this and just learning.
I also want to note that I have read a lot of the other posts asking similar questions to this but it seems like they are mainly focused on these headphones for purely console use or for portable use, or for purely casual use… still relevant but I feel that I haven’t really found the answer that I was looking for
I also listen to all of my music on Spotify but have been thinking of upgrading to Amazon Music HD!
Welcome and congrats! The 58x is a great headphone, and I think suits the music you listed well. I’m not a gamer, so can’t really speak to performance there, but the 58x has solid imaging in a pretty narrow/intimate stage, mostly an in your head sound. Some DACs/amps can help to widen that a little, but won’t transform them. I found a tube or tube hybrid to open them up a bit and add clarity and separation I hadn’t heard from solid states up to that point. Something like a Liquid Spark gives a bit of a tube presentation and has a matching DAC, but may push the 58x too warm for some tastes. Schiit Asgard, Magni 3+, or Vali 2+ could be good options paired with the Modi 3+. Zen DAC is a combo unit that could be a good option to get started, and could be paired with a separate amp later as the DAC.
Thank you! I’ve watched a few different reviews on it as well as read some, and people do seem to think its a good set of cans for gaming, maybe not the best but you certainly can’t go wrong with them from what I’ve gathered. I hadn’t really considered any tube amps because, correct me if I’m wrong (which I probably am), but I was under the impression that they were more for music and other media, as well as being much more complex. I haven’t really started to learn about them at all so I really can’t say. Any kind of opinion on the Fiio K5PRO, because its the combo I was leaning towards, although the balance on the Zen DAC is soooooo tempting.
EDIT: One of the things pushing me away from tube amps as well, was that a lot of people, including Zeos said to put off getting a tube or hybrid tube until you have a decent solid state to compare it to
K5 pro is a solid performing combo unit that gets a fair amount of recommendation for getting started, but I haven’t heard it, so can’t really comment specifically. Part of the reason for mentioning tubes is because of what they tend to do with Sennheisers to open them up and add a little width. Some tubes also add to the holographic imaging performance.
Ok well maybe thats something I should consider and look into a bit further. Do you have any recommendations for tube amps I see you mentioned the Vali? I didn’t know that they complimented Sennheisers so well, I’m just referencing Zeos’ source guide right now and saw the Vali 1 as a recommended tube amp and I would imagine that the 2+ version is only better than what that was.
Edit: Also, how does the Liquid Spark give a “tube presentation” to the sound, and additionally do you know of any good guides explaining tubes, how they work, sound different compared to SS, etc
I believe that guide may be a bit out of date. In the price range you’re looking in, there aren’t a ton of options, but the Cavali Tube Hybrid from Drop is another that gets pretty favorable feedback. The Liquid Spark is warmer toned with fullness of sound often associated with tube sound, but it’s solid state.
Ok, thank you for all the help, I’ll do some more digging around and check out the Cavali Tube Hybrid a bit, and try to find a good guide explaining tubes.
Wouldn’t mind hearing some other people opinions too, but I didn’t exactly post at a super active time, but I guess I’ll wait and research in the meantime. Thank you again!
but this gives me lots of time to decide! I think it would probably be smart though to try and keep the price somewhere around this range and stick to the kind of “starter” items since I am so new to this and just learning. 