Stage + imaging, separation, hi-res, clarity, great overall quality, comfort, durability, not too hard to drive or equality, $200, maybe $300 budget — what to choose?

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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Hey, guys. The Tygrs have finally arrived, though I haven’t been able to spend that much time with them yet. Just simply not enough time on my hands, and just for casual gaming or listening during the day I usually prefer speakers anyway.

I won’t say a bad word about the Tygrs, but it seems I might be one of the very few people on whom their magic sadly seems to be lost. Not a word of complaint, but I simply seem to enjoy my $30 closed cans better. They might be overall lower-quality, but they sound high-quality enough for all I can tell (though I would appreciate an upgrade and, if hard press, could pinpoint some specific areas which could use improvement), which is obviously not much of course, and they also sound livelier, crispier and more natural to me, as well as two other family members I’ve asked (I played HD and Ultra HD music for them from Amazon Music while having SBX 100% surround on — didn’t have the time for a more comprehensive test with pure stereo; it seemed both the Tygrs and the other cans were great but the other cans just felt better to evryone). And I’m not sure if the $30 closed cans don’t actually feel at least a little more detailed and resolving to me, as in hearing stuff I can’t really hear on the Tygrs, though I’d have to double-check before making this kind of claim.

It could be that I like closed cans better (echo + bass? intimacy/immersion?) or the combination of closed cans plus virtual surround in particular, or it could be that I can’t appreciate fidelity-related pro features due to being hopelessly hooked on ‘fun’ consumer solutions… dunno really.

I might buy used K702 and MMX 300 (2nd gen) for a comparison of non-Beyer open cans vs Beyer closed cans.

However, I still need to give them a longer, proper gaming test. Like a week of gaming. And that will have to wait. So much work, barely any time to play these days.

83

Maybe something like Meze 99 bridges the gap here. Zeus.

2 Likes
84

if you wanna try a different closed can I’d rec the Sivga SV021 (aka Robin) best sub $200 closed back I’ve tried
I can do some testing with my K7XX vs Tygr later this week (think the 7XX is basically a 702 but not entirely sure) (I also did the sub bass mod on the 7XX so not quite stock)

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85

Thanks! Not shabby at all.

K702 with bass mod was an idea I’d toyed with. Might be worth trying out next time I can get a sub-$100 702.

I’ve also been thinking about going through Beyer’s ‘Manufaktur’ for MMX just to get a 600 ohm 770, since 600 ohm 770 Editions are so hard to find. Unfortunately, while they offer that type of customization for 990 and 880, there is no such option for 770 sans mike. So it might be more reasonable to try a 250 ohm 770 first. Or up the budget and get some sort of closed planars. Orbit S would be it, if it weren’t for the quality issues.

86

modded 7xx has more sub bass and a bit wider soundstage
tygr has a bit more energy in the highs and has better separation (also somehow comes across as airier even with the narrower soundstage)
for music I’ve been preferring strings and piano with the tygrs but the 7xx for pretty much anything else
gaming I pretty much just use the 7xx (waiting for the pads to finish wearing out to swap them)
not sure what others experiences have been with the akg 700 series builds but mine started falling apart as soon as I got them basically lol so ymmv

87

Hey, guys. It took a while of just using the phones and getting used to them, without CMSS (first) or SBX (later), just plain stereo and no nothing, and I gotta say this is a marvellous piece of work — lol, in the good sense. Thank you for recommending it to me.

I’m still looking at K702 due to the legendary factor and at AD500X after all this, not to mention the Hifiman planars, but if I just wanted to cut the chase right here and simply enjoy my gaming sessions, the Tygrs would be good to go for a long time. And with no more amping than just the 'Blaster, so selling that K5 on.

Playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance I’ve just had a scene with my character talking to bandits in a forest clearing amid a heavy storm and boy, was that amazing.

The plain stereo mode isn’t as heavily pronounced as extensions such as CMSS or SBX, but it really does its job. The sounds are very clear, even the rain’s a pleasure to listen to. Wooden bridges and pathwalks sound just right, caves sound right too, or wooden indoor spaces. Weather is satisfying. Sounds of archery are very natural and satisfying. Soundtracks give you a very cinematic feel. This really is a very good piece of equipment for gaming sessions. The clarity is there (stuff’s clearer than my speakers for sure), separation is nothing to complain about. If I hear muddiness, it’s probably there in the recording and probably for a reason (as in, real life). The timbre is not, ‘did somebody just loose an arrow in my office?,’ kind of natural, but it’s natural enough. Too much realism isn’t really good for movies or gaming, as in you don’t really want to feel like you’re in the middle of combat.

Plus, I can still hear my cat when he wants food, and much of the time I can hear the phone and even talk without taking the 'phones off. Speaking of which, they’re quite comfortable in glasses. As in, I don’t forget I’m wearing headphones, they are not that comfortable to me (although still very comfortable), but I sooner forget I’m wearing glasses. And that means a lot.

So thank you for recommending them to me.

I can only join the chorus and recommend them to anyone looking for a good pair of cans for gaming, even without a dedicated/external amplifier, as long as you have some sort of soundcard or even decent onboard.

If you’re in Europe, you can grab them for €110 b-stock from Beyer’s outlet, like I did. Add a Sound Blaster G6 from Creative’s outlet, and you’re set superbly for just under two hundred.

88

https://www.thomannmusic.com/akg_k702.htm
looks like a pretty good deal

1 Like
89

Indeed. Though I can get it even cheaper and with the bass mod already done. :slight_smile:

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well bass mod is a solid 2 minute undertaking :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: