So I used to use a Sennheiser HD 599 connected to a Objective O2 Odac, with a wired aux antlion modmic connected to my PC sound card for my gaming audio, music, video, everything! I really liked it though it’s the only high-endish setup I’ve ever had. Unfortunately a robber stole the HD 599’s and the modmic, leaving only my dac/amp??? I’ve been struggling with a POS walmart headset and finally have the cash to get back to goodness. I’m currently in the process of researching as I’ve been out of the game for awhile, and am looking to get recommendations!!
I play FPS, MOBA, RTS, and RPG, I hate losing but mostly play for fun with friends. Immersion is SUPER important for me as I play on a triple monitor setup and love feeling like i’m actually IN the game. With that said I’m incredibly competitive and want every advantage I can get. So a pair of cans more tuned to performance in game is preferable over perfectly neutral production or a pair poorly tuned for gaming.
I also listen to a lot of music (rap,rock,punk,grunge,emo ballad, yes there are emo artists that actually make good tracks) using high quality mp3 or lossless if i can find it.
I’m also looking to get back into streaming/podcasting, I started a while back when i had good gear, but since it was stolen I’ve been SOL. so recs for mics is a go!
Also a tactic that seems fun is powering a speaker/sub setup while using headphones to supplement the low end for explosions and improve SS. thoughts?
preferences: OPEN, compatible with o2 ODAC, <500$, when/IF I mess with EQ’s I find a V-shape to be the most common preference to my ears
It’s certainly not off the table, it’s been collecting dust since the robbery as i haven’t had a pair of cans to use it with. Only reason I would want to keep it is it works and I have it. and it was my first high-end audio equipment.
The bigger thing is what i would replace it with/ what setup you’re thinking of?
I’m also doing just fine since then, thanks for the concern!!
So what I was thinking was perhaps going with a desktop mic setup. You could pick up a focusrite scarlett solo and an amp like the liquid spark, and grab a dt880 600 ohm. The dt880 is pretty impressive, bright neutral with impressive staging and imaging, also pretty detailed. The liquid spark would add a bit of warmth which would be pretty pleasing. The scarlett solo as the dac would allow you get a nice xlr mic (which one would depend on your room environment) that would be really good for steaming/podcasts
Okay i’ll have to spend some time researching those products,
i’m not tooooooo experienced, so this setup would be a USB from PC to SOLO, XLR mic for input, looks like AUX from SOLO to ?unbalanced? RCA at the SPARK, then AUX to DT880???
i’ve noticed the spark be a common recommendation here? any reason on that?
I’ve seen the DT990 recommended around as well, i’ve never experienced either but just from the descriptions it sounds interesting.
So the solo is connected to the pc via usb, the mic is connected to the solo via xlr, the spark is connected to the solo by the 1/4 inch trs outs to rca on the spark (you would get special cables for this), and then the dt800 600 ohm is connected to the spark
So it’s a real solid amp, but slightly warmer, smoother, and wider leaning than some other amps like the jds atom or magni heresy, it pairs well with the dt880 600 because it will reduce some potential harshness in the treble and give it a bit more pleasing warmth
IMO I prefer the dt880 because the 990 is a fair bit brighter and can be fatiguing for a far bit of people, also imo the 880 is more refined and higher preforming
I also have experience with the odac too, from my experience the odac doesn’t have the oomhp to drive the 600 ohm 880. It can drive the 250 ohm, but imo you really would want to go for the 600 if you want a higher quality headphone
it seems there are 2 versions of the 880?? the chrome one Z (recently) reviewed, and the one currently on sale at the Beyerdynamic store? Z seemed to imply there was a difference, is there a difference, and if so what?
So say I don’t want an XLR mic or I want more bass than the 880? say it wasnt immersive enough (a bit of a basshead, but i realize that doesnt = good game performance) what’d be your next set rec?
You would want the regular silver dt880 600 ohm premium edition, the ones with black pads kinda overly accentuate the treble and the silver pads are more refined
Hmmm if you weren’t looking for an upgrade for the mic and just wanted to use the o2, perhaps something like the hd58x would work nicely off the odac, although it wouldn’t have the most bass, if you really wanted to focus on bass, you could look for a used x00 purple heart or if you wanted more immersion the audioquest nighthawck carbon if you can find either one
okay def not down for the X00 purple, the nighthawk carbon piques my interest, as well as the HD58x which i had been looking at earlier.
should of mentioned this in OP but for reference I found the HD599 (what i can remember)
lacking in sub-bass, rumble of explosions, breath of near bodies, low close rumbles,
(best SS i’d heard) but def not wide, and imaging was better than the (3d) software i tried of the time 014-018,
the treble also wasn’t err sharp enough? like “piercing” sounds weren’t piercing to me.
but vocals and mids were GREAT.
why the solo over other comparable devices?
and say i have the solo, I’m in a (rather decorated) bedroom, what’s the M0N rec for Mics? best one I’ve really used was the Antlion…
Honestly that sounds that you might really enjoy the 880 600 imo, the spark gives it that extra bass punch that’s pretty nice
They are a very interesting headphone, almost speakerlike presentation, great for immersion, and the subbass to mid-range is very very well done. Might be lacking in treble for some though
So I would say a behringer um2, but I think since you have the budget, the Scarlett solo makes sense imo as it has a better quality mic preamp and adc/dac, and also in this price range focusrite tends to have the most reliable driver support with the least amount of issues.
Assuming it’s for male speech/spoken word then I would say if you want something that you can just set up and have no issues with, the shure sm48-lc is a great pick, good noise rejection from the sides, good tonality, almost a broadcast like voice, and it works well in less than ideal environments. If you wanted something with a more studio sound, something more clear, detailed, and airy, you would want to look into something like a mxl 770, but it will pick up almost anything in the room, so you will have to pay careful attention and address any noises or room noise it will pick up
i think i’m currently planning the solo spark 880/600, since i’ll have to take your word on sound with this whole pandemic thing
In terms of mic i’m a rather slow talker with enunciated lows, and I have loud ass keyboards and mice cuz all mechanical. so I’d like a mic that can not pick up the clack clack, i’ll check your first recs tho
Gotcha, well then something like the shure is up your alley then, it will still pick up some noise from a keyboard, but if you set it up right it should be somewhat minimal. You can get whatever cheap Amazon mic arm works for you lol
basically im looking between: focus SOLO->Liquid Spark->DT 880 + xlr mic
current ODAC->audioquest nighthawk carbons + samson G Track pro
I’m more of a fan of the MXL’s style of mic than the sm48 though the airyness is not what i’m looking for
I’ve seen the AT2020 and AT2035 recommended for streaming/podcasting, and I like the sound profile of them, (with minor warmth added) what’s the opinion on them or something similar
also if i was to get an XLR Mixer for sound pads, mixing audio streams… how would that work with the setup? is that a replacement for the SOLO, or a whole nother addition?
Personally I prefer the mxl mics in that range, I think the 2020 is a bit overrated imo. If you wanted a higher tier dynamic mic the bcd-1 is pretty nice from mxl. The blue ember is also pretty nice too actually. If you wanted a shotgun mic the audio-technica AT875R is also pretty sweet
It can be either but I think for the budget I would say replacement. Perhaps consider the yamaha ag03 mixer, it has an audio interface, has rca out to your headphone amp, and also has features like feeding the desktop audio into the mic signal and also built in eq and compression for the mic which is handy (if you need more inputs the ag06 is also good)
okay so what about the audio quality from the Ag03 to my amp compared to the SOLO?
If buying the SOLO now for better audio then later getting a mixer as a extra step from mic to dac is viable or an all around better setup than i’d be inclined to do that
on mics
the MXL 770 is currently 50% off on amazon so im uber tempted
after listening to some more i like the sound profile of the ember, and being a gamer guy i somewhat like hearing clicks of mec keyboards but realize the audience may not…
i saw the Rode podmic, which (with some minor eq -harshness cut + upper bass boost[warmth]) seems comparable to a shure sm7b but for 100$ wondering what’s the take on it
So in terms of adc/dac and also mic preamp, tbh the solo has a slight edge but realistically they are pretty close.
Well, how many channels do you actually need? I think for something simple like the streaming setup the ag06 or ag03 would really solve what you are looking for imo.
Kinda what I was thinking here
The podmic is also pretty nice. Imo the shure sm58 is also comparable to a sm7b (not a fan of the sm7b, it’s overpriced and doesn’t really preform that well imo), the podmic would be pretty sweet. And also regarding the eq on the mic, the ag03&06 have mic eq built in so you would be able to eq easily
well in that case it would seem getting the mixer over the SOLO is my best bet
any other ones you’d suggest?
Specifically, i don’t like that there is no noise gate on the AG03, and its software FX are… useless…
I realize looks don’t matter, but when I’m streaming video how my setup looks matters to the audience imo, and a stage/performance mic just doesn’t look the cut for my taste
It’s like THE rec by “gamers” along with the AT2020, so id love to know what you think is on par/better than the sm7b, cuz from what i’ve heard i really like it’s sound signature, tho no way in hell am i paying 400$
er… 1 for mic, 1 for soundboard/rando shit (future proofing the setup ) , and i need headphone/speaker audio
Well, to get something with a noise gate and everything is going to cost a fair bit more, doing software noise gate is cheap but if you want something with a hardware noise gate it might get a bit more pricey (expect an extra 200-300 dollars to move up to a more complex setup)
Fair enough, there are other options of course. I like the mxl bcd-1 that I mentioned before, the rode procaster, and the electro voice re320. They will give you a more broadcast type sound, all high performers imo. Just because it’s a common recommendation doesn’t mean it’s going to be the best out there, think about what other audio products gamers widely endorse lol.
Gotcha, just wanted to check this isn’t more than what I was expecting
though the airyness is not what i’m looking for
) , and i need headphone/speaker audio