Ultimate imaging headphones for competitive FPS!

They are not my fav for music, but if your goal is competitive gaming, I think they are pretty stand out. I would say if I had to pick a comp gaming headphone, this would win out compared to most of the things I own lol (in the price class)

The DT990 pro also do look really cool too, and as you mentioned - very comfy. The cord is not ideal, but I can get over that.

Finally - would you say there are any drawbacks (other than price) if I were to go for the DT1990 pro over the DT990 pro? Does the 1990 basically have all the benefits of the 990 from an FPS perspective?

None really, itā€™s a higher preforming headphone in most of the aspects tbh, you just pay more for the performance. I would just stick with the 990 because I donā€™t know if it makes sense to go higher at the moment

3 Likes

+1 ON THE 990 especially paired with the liquid spark

Hey RiceGuru!

Thanks for the recommendation. In your opinion, what is it about the 990 that makes it a good choice for detecting footsteps and position of enemies on a game like call of duty 4?

the wide soundstage and good left and right imaging. it helps naildown people sneking up on you and which directions footsteps and gunshots are coming from. the levated treble helps when the enmies are on sand, gravel and mud deu to the higher pitched noises of the squish. the bass could be too much on this game particularly due to the explosives. so the dt 880 may have trhe upper hand for this game cause explosions particularly can be a bit much. but my main shooter siege the 990 is a bit better especially when Im really looking for gunshots and trying to listen too footsteps as explosives and gunshots arent as constant as it is in COD

2 Likes

So Iā€™m currently in the market for some open-back competitive FPS headphones as well. Iā€™ve been using some M50Xā€™s for about a year now, hooked up to a SybaSonic AMP/DAC - Not bad, but this was before knowing about other headphones and just by going off of recommendations from friends.

My setup isnā€™t to bad for Fortnite, CS:Go, etcā€¦ Butā€¦ for around $200, I should have went a different route. I feel like most of the time, you can really lose track of directional sound, especially in Fortnite when things are a bit more awkwardly presented (Building Mechanicsā€¦ tracking people is inconsistent)

Problem with my setup: Ear pain/pressure. This is how I stumbled on this place and Z Reviews. Iā€™ve been struggling, got my M50xā€™s, some BrainWavz and thought iā€™d be good to roll after some use, but damn, I gotta get something better/open and not so damn taxing on pressure build up. Itā€™s driving me crazy how insanely uncomfortable these have ended up being.

So my thought process/advice Iā€™m looking for is > since the SybaSonic AMP/DAC is rated for like (150 Ohm maximum)

  • Do I go with an 80 Ohm DT 990 Pro

  • Do I try and trade my setup?

  • Sell my setup and put the money towards a properly specā€™d power source/600 Ohm 990s?

After months of research, I keep getting recommended the 990ā€™s for Competitive FPS, gotta mean something right? lol. The absolute only down sides Iā€™ve put together is 1) They donā€™t have a detachable cord, which is pretty damn stupid and 2) having an adequate power source for the 600 Ohm version may be a stretch for budget - Even the 250 Ohm version being out of my equipment level.

No body has recommended the 80 Ohm variant, and Iā€™m unsure how much quality is loss as far as for competitive gaming - does impedance change treble?

The 80 ohm is very peaky and unrefined, not really something I would recommend for either the 880 or 990, and the 770 80 ohm is just ok imo

You could use your syba sonic as a dac, and grab a schiit mangi heresy or liquid spark, and pick up a dt880 or 990 600 ohm if that would be in your budget

1 Like

the lower impecdance models arent really all that great if you want a good upgrade that should be able to work fine on your hardware I would reccomend the 58x or hd 599 instead.

Iā€™m liking the reviews and info on the 58xā€™s. Hmmmm, not badly priced either.

Think Iā€™m going to go for those and see what this open back life is like. 150 Ohm, right on the spot for the SybaSonic. Iā€™ll update in a couple of weeks for sure.

Looks like the only place Iā€™ve found them is around $150 on Drop.com - That about right? Probably just sell my M50X Setup too.

Thanks for the info! Excited.

Yes, Drop makes the 58X and is where youā€™d buy a new one.

edit: and that is the normal price, i believe sometimes its on sale for 10 off?

If you use a new drop account use your email to apply an extra $20 off

1 Like

Dude thanks! Ordered!

So Iā€™m trying to find the best DAC/amp combo that provides enough power for the 600ohm versions of the dt990 Pro and get the most out of it.

Here is what I have come up with :sunglasses: :

Amp:
Jds labs atom (Ā£130)

DAC:
Topping d10 (Ā£52)

This is for a ps4 gaming setup so thereā€™s a smaller choice available for me to pick from but these look very good for their price range.

Was also considering the magni range, but it seems the atom beats the magni according to a lot of people

The khadas tone board appears to be another great choice for DAC, and perhaps better than d10 but there is no optical connection, and I need that for PS4. The topping d30 is also available for Ā£90. I read it was similar to d10 with a few extra features.

Would this amp and dac combo be able to properly drive the 600ohms and not be restricted by a low maximum volume?

So the schiit magni heresy isnā€™t an option? The new magni heresy is just an atom with more power (but the og magni 3 gets stomped on by the atom as you say). Trying them side by side, the heresy is legit just a more powerful atom. I really dislike the older magni 3, but the magni heresy is a completely different design similar to the atom, and thatā€™s why they sound so similar (both are op amp designs compared to the older heresy discrete topology)

Also the smsl m100 is a good budget dac, as right now there are fakes of topping circulating on amazon so I would be cautious (but I do think the d10 is pretty nice)

2 Likes

Yeah Schiit has really upped their game recently with their new gear.

1 Like

Wow, Iā€™ll definitely be checking out the heresy then. Itā€™s Ā£20 cheaper than the atom too, and easy to get as Schiit have a UK store to purchase from

I can actually use any amp, itā€™s the DAC that requires the optical connection.

Yeah, also saw the fake d10s on amazon. managed to get them from drop.com with only $2 shipping so its pretty convenient and Iā€™m hoping a big site like drop would be dealing directly with Topping

1 Like

Yeah the drop ones will most likely be legit, if you can get a d10 then I would do so, if not, the smsl m100 is a good alternative

Yes I was not a fan of their older products, I think so far their best products have been the heresy, asgard 3, and the bifrost 2. Curious to see what they do next

1 Like

I meant to ask - I use the AntLion ModMic - Do open back headphones play game sound over open Mics? Whatā€™s the best option for a comp FPS scene and Mic usage? The SybaSonic is going to power the 58x, just need to make sure I got a Mic suitable for that headphone.