So my budget is $100 and for the longest I been trying to decide between the shp9500s and ad500x but I know I won’t be gaming serious 24/7 so I need one that can also be a little fun but if that’s not the case around the $100-$150 then I’ll go back to deciding between the 2 I mentioned earlier
You can get a shp9500 for around $50. Grab a $10 adapter from modhouse less you feel like scraping glue off the plastic adapters already on it. Head over to dekoni(you can of course use brainwavz or zmf or something but I think dekoni do well here) and find Beyerdynamic Suedes(less you prefer more bass and isolation which switch to a sheepskin or leather based material) these will be more fun sounding much much more bass. If you wish to use it for competitive still pick up a set of velour pads like from shure. I am sure @JJPablo may have some pad recommendations that will be comfortable in that regard while maintaining the neutral bright signature of the shp9500. Shp9500 $50, Adapter $10, Dekoni suedes $40, V-moda Boom Pro $30, extra velour pads around $10 - $20 depending on what you want. All in all around $150 even
As for the ad500x? I despise the headphone honestly. Lack of seperation, fairly uncomfortable “wing system” and made of relatively rickety thin plastic others say they are comfortable but I despise the build on this thing. It definitely doesn’t scream build quality and the sound is kind of meh in my opinion in comparison to the shp9500. Ad700x is the budget king in this area from audio technica and even then its not till ad1000x that the sound issues are primarily fixed. I would sooner tell someone grab an AKG k612 before I recommend an ad—x series
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I second what @Falenkor said. Get the shps, rip the stock pads off the pad adapters or by a pair of modhouse pad adapters (you can get those here). Get brainwavz oval or round hybrids if you want a slight v shaped sound signature, micro suede if you want a warmer sound. I believe the perforated pads will have a more neutral sound. That’s true for ZMF perforated pads but not sure about the brainwavz or Dekoni ones.
ZMF and Dekoni pads are better made and will last longer than the brainwavz pads. Brainwavz pads tend to breakdown after a while of heavy use. You get what you paid for.
My personal favorite is the ZMF universe suedes. Warm and enjoyable sound. Gets rid of any harshness in the treble. Bass has very good impact and rumble. Mids are still forward and clear and more full. Soundstage gets wider. Imaging unfortunately gets worse.
So does this mean there isn’t any fun ones around the price I mentioned
So I was just reading that the ad500x lack separation which I’m thinking it’s hard to locate your enemy. So do the shp9500 have that problem because if not I guess the decision have been made
Shps do not have that problem. I had no issue locating enemies with them. Had good success when playing R6S
creative aurvana live. 50$ and hard pressed to find a more fun sounding headphone under 100$. i have not used mine for gaming, but for fun its got it. and it sounds good.
Does that mean you sound whore
Sorta lol
10 charac
tygr’s if you can afford it. but the hd 559’s might be up your alley. decent for gaming has a good amount of bass for being fun
I mean, I guess I am just more a fan of dekonis pads in general. However, I managed to stumble upon a pad that is custom made over on Ebay I have them now and they are amazing for comfort Thick Velour Ear Pads Cushion For ATH AD 1000 X 2000 X 900 X 700 X Headphones | eBay over here. He sells them for beyer too which I recently placed an order… those ad1000x pads fit the shp9500 just fine but are too big for beyers.Keeps that neutral bright signature but adds an ungodly amount of comfort. Pillowy soft Velvet Velour not the regular velour you get on say the dekoni elites
I ended up preferring dekonis suedes over my zmf suedes by a very large margin for comfort though sound wise I felt zmf had a lighter and overall better sound to it.
Yeah, this is what I currently have on mine nice but you can still substitute for the dekonis just fine.
oh goodness no theres definitely plenty of Fun sounding headphones. Please keep in mind however, that if by fun you mean bass is a very bad match for competitive gaming if you want to prioritize the footsteps and other subtle sounds. Headphones that can switch their sound signature are pretty ideal in this case though, shp9500 is actually one of those. Some other fun ones… I want to say if you want a closed back grab a Creative Aurvana Live and pad swap them(pads like from hyperx fit on them as well) takstar pro 82 is an interesting one as it has a bass slider… and is the same headphone that stemmed the creation of the mh751 gaming headset. Bit more balanced sound with a touch more base would be like sennheiser hd 558. Shp9500’s cousin over there is a much more fun variation(but I haven’t really tried pad swapping it) which is named Fidelio X2HR.
lack of seperation isn’t so much placement as much as take a bloated battleground for example you have a ton of explosions gunshots going off multiple players fighting… lack of seperation will hinder your ability to seperate those sounds and locate them it will sound all melded together instead which can lead to some issues. Not a big issue for smaller more narrow fps kind of like call of duty but larger fps like Siege, Tarkov, Battlefield, etc can make use of good seperation. SHP’s definitely do not have a seperation problem… they sound above their price point by quite a bit.
can second this option if you want a more all rounder without a pad swap… though these are generally $200 so out of budget.
I still recommend a headphone that has a bit more versatility though so in this price bracket? Shp9500 for open back or Creative Aurvana Live / Takstar Pro 82 for closed back. Pick up some pads for them and your golden. You may however run into the issue that the headphone sounds too quiet… in this regard go grab a cheapo sound card (you can get one for like $20-$50) and use that instead as it will help with volumes. If on pc you can also grab PEACE APO its a free software that can go alongside that soundcard to preamp its volume further but also equalize and change the sound of your headphones
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What’s a good pad swap for Takstar Pro 82?
Mine just recently powdered its stock leather pads. I’m looking long term like the microsuede material as they dont scatter around the skin when they’re worn out.
The original pads are held on by clips and practically glued onto the grid so you have to carefully remove the pad. Depends on the pads you want. I had put some hyperx alpha pads on mine at the time… I know the pads from Brainwavz microsuede that fit the sony MDR 7506 fit the takstars so I would assume the same for other pads such as dekoni. The cooling gel pads should fit too but I personally think these are far too thin and rather small.
Took this off an image someone posted on head-fi someone used the Brainwavz I linked to
I would assume you can get circular pads too, but I am not sure which in that regard so you’d have to do some measurement checking
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I currently have the knock-off of these branded pads called Misodiko Black Velour (but is actually microsuede-like) which can closely mimic Brainwavz’s microsuede on the budget.
These are the pair I got for my Blon B8 (or Bosshifi B8) but I noticed Pro 82’s imaging is superior for gaming so I gave them a good dust-off and loving 'til now when the stock pads powdered and worn-off.
Were you able to try and replace yours? Wonder if pad swap for MH751 is the same process so I could also look at those thread. I’m confused if I’m supposed to sandwich the pad lips between the cup and the plastic ring or should I just place the replacement pads around the cups themselves with the ring just installed for interior comfort.
Nah, I didn’t have the takstars for very long
They do indeed have the same snap on ring.
To my understanding people take the ring off the pad and snap it on the headphone than just place a new pad on the lip. I wouldn’t know absolutely for certain so that would definitely be something to ask in the respective forums here alongside some potential good sounding pads that don’t ruin the sound of the headphone.