Do anyone know if there an audio interface that’s compatible with consoles?
closest I can think of is the sound blaster gear and the schiit hel and fulla but you can only use mics with 3.5mm for them
May i ask how the DT1990 compares to a focal elex in COD for competitive gaming?
[quote=“selim, post:667, topic:13863, full:true”]
Hi Falenkor, since you tried some different headphones I would like to ask you for some advice. Im looking to buy my first studio quality headphones to use while gaming (FPS) and occasional music listening. I have been researching for some headphones and these are what i have come up with as alternatives:
Beyerdynamic dt 770/880/990
Sennheiser HD6XX
Sennheiser HD560s
Philips X2HR
Is there anything you would recommend within the price tag of 290 USD? Not to use an amp would be nice, however it is something i could purchase if needed.
Hmm, those two are tough…
For just cod alone either one is going to work well but lets look at some intricate details between the two.
Soundstage and presentation are key differences here. Elex presents itself as a very mid forward and treble high headphone while the 1990 is a very aggressive neutral bright. Elex has a rather bubble like soundstage while 1990 sounds like there is a slight wall at some point on the staging. Elex is going to have more air to its sound overall due to how it presents itself this will allow the Elex to have an easier time with vertical sound placements over the 1990. The 1990 however is laser accurate on its imaging in response and can place sniper shots from miles out with very little effort. Both elex and 1990 really have no issues with separations but the air does give elex a small edge depending on the skill of the person in game. Comfort wise I found the elex a bit more tiresome as the builts a bit weightier. Build wise focal are typically built very luxuriously and I love that fact but they do hold onto dirt and grime with a hefty replacement cost for parts… the 1990 on the other hand is built like a tank with steel all around it and a flexible sound signature through many different comfortable pad swap options. Note that the elex is not friendly to pad swaps so this makes it a bit more locked into its signature… if your looking for a headphone capable of more than just cod and like something like maybe a bassier headphone the 1990 would be a better choice to adapt to this through simple pad swap changes.
Elex does also have some quality control problems… it goes without saying that many here have been afflicted with driver failures, mismatch signals, among other things… there is typically a warranty on the elex’s and can get this resolved but its a bit of a pain since all this stuff is through drop instead of Focal themselves. Meanwhile 1990 also will have a warranty, dont typically have many issues with qc, and even out of warranty something extreme such as duel driver replacement is around $189 which to be quite honest isn’t bad when you think about it.
Price point… I think this will depend on how you shop… but the elex is indeed more expensive than the 1990 by a pretty good margin. On the used markets the 1990 over there can be found as cheap as $350-$400 meanwhile elex is usually $450 and up. Price for parts on Focals will always outpace a beyer too so if anythings wrong even if its just the pads… the focal pads are $200 less you buy elex pads which are like $50-$60.
Sound signature and you… so something to note on is that a headphones sound signature really needs to fit with you yourself. Not everyone is comfortable using a headphone as bright as the 1990 and if you haven’t tried lesser headphones… I caution with jumping this far down the rabbit hole… I would say try out the dt 880 or 990 if possible before going straight to the 1990 as its quite unforgiving and can cause discomfort… The elex can be quite bright as well just to a lesser degree which is another reason I would recommend somehow testing out a cheaper brighter headphone if you have not. Elex is favorable to those who love vocals and highs while maintaining a good balance much like a sennheiser meanwhile beyer has its own house sound with the treble being quite splashy and usually they are quite impactful in the bass… however mids for beyerdynamics aren’t particularly a strong point outside of the 880 and T1.
If you had to choose one for my use case? 1990… but since its just cod… just an 880 at 600 ohms plus the respective amp is really all you need there… Cod really doesn’t have demanding requirements. Warzone can make use of larger stages than an 880 for sure but I can’t really say they were exceptionally better to be quite honest… I can use an 880, elex, and T1.2 and yet they all have very similar results just to varying degrees in cod.
I should note also, that you will still need an amp/dac for either one of these headphones… do make sure thats available to you. It will need to be something of good power and sound quality otherwise something like a Focal headphone definitely won’t sound all that great since they are a pickier headphone
Hey there thanks for chiming in,
What genres of music. Any other genres of gaming? PC or Console? What FPS Titles? If this is PC since you mention ampless what motherboard?
if its fps related you can drop the x2hr. The shp9500 would be better for that from phillips. X2hr is bassy as hell and definitely isn’t good at fps… I know many claim otherwise and use it… you can use whatever you want but with how heavy the rumble and bleeding is from the low end of an x2hr its going to cloud a lot of fps sounds up.
with the headphones listed above you will most likely need an amp for them… not a deal breaker for sure but it may require some careful shopping around if you really want the best setup per dollar…
I can’t really make any recommendations till I have more information hence the questions above.
Apologies for giving little information. The genre I normally listen to is Hip-Hop music and I’ll probably play some open-world games but mainly FPS such as Call of Duty/Warzone and Battlefield. I play on PC. However, gaming would be my first priority. As you mentioned Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser are those headphones from what I understand stand out within my budget of 290 USD. I have also seen your review on TYGR 300R and PC38X if those would be a choice as well. Thank you!
apologies, I forgot to respond to this again.
With such a budget ampless is not really an option here so something such as the 6xx is more htan likely not going to cut it… same with the beyers DT series outside of maybe the 80 ohm 770 but they are bassier… you typically want the beyers at 250 ohm or 600 meaning youd need an ampl/dac to go along with them which most likely will place you outside of budget less you can snag them for around $100.
Beyer and senn are indeed those within that budget that stand out though if its ampless were talking about the ones wed be looking into is the Tygr 300R and 560s which since you mention battlefield the tygr would be the better choice in this regard… if you can manage to snag the dt beyers cheaper though that would be the ideal scenario setup and while tygr is nice in sound quality performance it doesn’t really out do an 880… its just got a larger soundstage and a bit better imaging
pc38x is good for a gaming headset… I would say the 560s over them as outside of regular competitive gaming everything about them is pretty horrid.
Would a dt880 250ohm be fine or should I only rely opt for a 600ohm version? And what would be a good amp/dac for dt880? Schiit seems to be out of stock everywhere in Europe so I can’t get my hands on one of these.
600 ohm is essentially the best version of the headphone but there is nothing wrong with going with the 250 ohm if you cannot find the means of driving the 600… it works fine
depends on how much you care about sound quality. G6 and k5 pro can drive up to the 600 ohm beyer with g6 being slightly better at headroom from my experience but these arent the best at sound quality. If your looking for an amp dac generaly Id say make sure you have around $200 budget. Doesn’t have to be schiit though… JDS, Schiit, Monoprice, Topping, Aune, Geshelli, Lake People, among others all have units that will work fine just with differing sound traits respectively
hmm, I need to take some time out and sit back with a few headphones in fps again so I can really get a better read on the review update. since I am making a rating system I want to make sure its rather accurate… also making sure I have the proper graph measurements without a rig of my own is a bit complicated. Contemplating on whether I should include my personal thoughts on each headphone… would probably help just take more time. Base list is pretty much done just needs touched up on.
From reading and watching reviews of the Magni 3+ and Asgard, Pretty much the general consensus is that the Asgard 3 has better sound stage and imaging. Would this also translate in games assuming that the audio engine in the game was of decent quality?
It absolutely does.
Yes it will, its noticeable in most cases regardless of bad game engine.
1 Like
Ok great! Reason for questions was that if it didn’t matter so much for games, I would have likely gone for a Magni stack but think I may just opt for a Asgard and maybe a modius too.
grab them used market if possible… can usually snag both for $300
There is a lot less used items here in the UK. Might put up a wanted add on Reddit and see what I can get out of that.
Hello everyone. I play a mix of games. Warzone and other fps games, chivalry 2, SWTOR. I already have a set of 598Sr and love them. I am treated by the HD 58x though and hear alot of people use them for gaming and say they are awesome for that. So I saw an open box one on eBay and one in auction and got them for $107 plus $11 shipping. They should be here Monday. Now, of course I’m seeing a ton of posts on various web forms and subreddits for people are saying they’re actually not good for gaming because of their narrow sound stage and that the imaging is not that impressive.
So when the 58x gets here I will try to test it against my 598, but I guess the question is those of you who have had experience with the 58x and the 598 what would you consider to be better for gaming and why? Some of the posts I’ve seen are making me have buyers remorse before it’s even gets here but I see others go in the completely opposite directions saying they’re amazing for gaming so I guess I’m just confused.
58x is seen as a small upgrade in sound quality but in gaming they are for the most part square even with each other.
1 Like
Hi @Falenkor , I’m looking for a new pair of headphones for games such as CS:GO, Valorant.
I currently own a pair of 6XX and have used a pair of Philips X2HR and other gaming headset such as the sennheiser game zero.
Amp: iFi micro iCAN SE
DAC: Fosi Audio Q4
I like everything I see and read about the 1990s but I’ve never listened to beyers and I’m a bit scared due to the treble peak that everyone mentions and having to spend more money in pads to tone it down.
So I was thinking about the 880 600ohm for now and if I like the sound signature the next step would be the 1990, does that make sense? I think my amp should be able to provide enough to drive them properly. Or would you recommend something different?
Thanks
Hey there @Xicu, thanks for reaching out and welcome to hifiguides.
Understandable, I do also caution people about beyers and their brighter sound… its wise to audition a headphone with a return policy in this regard if possible.
This does indeed, however the 880 has a few different notable changes. It’s mids are more pronounced, it has slightly more bass than the analytical padded 1990 and less bass than the balanced padded 1990 so somewhere inbetween, it isn’t as peaky as the 1990 yet still bright, and its semi open back meanwhile 1990 is an open back so it won’t sound as large and open as the 1990. The direct cut above the DT 880 600 ohm is my own headphone T1 2nd generation which is what I use, if you find yourself loving the 880 it wouldn’t hurt to find a way to test teh 1990 and if that isn’t a good fit to swing for the, now discontinued, T1 2nd generation(only 2nd gen not the 1st or 3rd as those had different signatures).
I can’t speak on your current setup, I believe it should be fine though since the ican is known to be quite strong… wouldn’t hurt to swing by the 880 600 ohm forum on here and ask others who can verify that for you.
As for synergy with the games your playing though, it would work tremendously well in your favor… the 6xx is a wonderful headphone for sure… but its very small intimate soundstage can be found very lacking in a competitive fps as is the case for most of the sennheisers… the x2hr over there is far too bassy and uncontrolled bleeding into the mids and muddying up fps sound placements… Overall the 880, or rather any of the beyers would be a tremendous step up in overall performance.
If you are truly worried about the brightness, it won’t hurt to test the 880… however, if you find the 880s too bright then you can look for tygr 300r which is phenomenal for a beyer since it doesn’t have those sharp tendencies yet keeps the open sound and laser imaging of the dt 990
1 Like