(update in progress) Falenkor's Competitive Headphone Write Up. Now with added Hardware explanations!

[Oscar53955]

@Falenkor

Just try not to get sucked into the audiophile hobby too much or you will never locate that “best” headphone and it will drain your wallet lol. Thanks for the compliment though.

True that! Just started researching about 2 months ago out of boredom from quarantine. There is so much to learn about this hobby it’s pretty intimidating. As much as I’d love to get ZMF headphones, a Feliks Audio tube amp, and an RME-ADI2 DAC, I am not worthy! Plus, my bank account couldn’t handle it.

@Falenkor

I actually never had the sound leaking through the v moda issue and I have that headphone combo currently. However, a larger complaint is that the shp9500 sounds relatively boring and it lacks head clamp which a lot of people have mentioned when it comes to this headphone. Great for the price but nothing spectacular.

I suppose it is boring but personally, this would just be for competitive gaming. It does a good enough job for it without breaking the bank. For listening to music, it’s worth spending more on better, more fun-sounding headphones. I wasn’t able to find a V moda boompro mic for $30 so I went with an off-brand alternative
https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A020894318MSAQVAAGR3O&url=%2FCable-Boom-Microphone-Playstation-Controller%2Fdp%2FB07W3GGRF2%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fdchild%3D1%26keywords%3Dvmoda%2Bboompro%26qid%3D1596154697%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1596154696&id=1021390571512164&widgetName=sp_atf
It does the job I guess but the arm feels really malleable to the point where it feels too fragile.

@Falenkor

though granted it doesn’t sound very good for music like at all in my opinion.

Yeah you’re probably right but like I said this headset, at least for me, would strictly be for competitive play. For music I would definitely get something pricier and more fitting to my musical taste

@Falenkor

If thats the case that you enjoy that signature go pickup the AKG on this list. K612,K702,K712 all have similar frequencies just slightly different but are identical to what the ad series has in signature… The only drawback is it has a slight inaccuracy to its imaging and a much much larger soundstage. Has a better build quality and much more comfortable especially if you grab the yaxi pads for the k712 which I think fits the k702 as well.

Hmm I feel like I wouldn’t prefer them over the technicas since I feel like the ADG1x doesn’t need a wider soundstage for Siege and imaging seems to be more important in that kind of game. But I guess I shouldn’t knock 'em before I try them. The AKG K7XX was my first choice for a while and was going to get it in great condition on eBay for like $100 because Badseed Tech really praised it for competitive gaming. But then I started reading more reviews and wondered if he was maybe glossing over some flaws because he had some sort of deal with Drop. I noticed that other reviewers speak quite favorably toward products for which they have some special affiliate link.
I noticed that the ADG1x have recently been discontinued on the Audio Technica site. I hope they put out a better-designed open-back gaming headset soon. A guy can dream, right?

@Falenkor

This will completely depend on what you pair those beyers with. One of the issues is that beyers make very bright headphones as it is so you need an amp that dials that back while maintaining its signature. Pairing it to for example an ATOM amp or THX 789 is not recommended as it will make it sound brighter and potentially anemic while also causing a world of other issues. As for the soundstage the adg1x has a slightly larger soundstage yes but not better imaging nor build quality let alone comfort this is because the 880 is semi open backed while the adg is fully open.

Oh ok. Thanks for clearing that up. I do generally prefer a warmer signature for my music listening, so if I do ever go all in on this hobby I’ll likely get a tube amp. Heard those do the trick

@Falenkor

The gsp’s issue is mainly just that its kind of all over the place… It wasn’t designed for competitives it was designed for casual. As such that series tends to have more bass than needed narrow soundstage and imaging thats kind of all over the place depending on the model. It’s not very good in my opinion less your playing casually and even than I would bring up potentially the gsp 500 or 600 instead of the 300 as they have better quality of sound.

Totally agree

@Falenkor

so people don’t pick up the wrong headphone for them… Then again its hard to figure out if your treble sensitive at all less you actually pick up a bright headphone.

Yeah that’s a tricky thing. I kept hearing Joshua Valour say in his reviews that “if you’re treble-sensitive like me” and I wasn’t sure whether I was until I got the Beyers.

@Falenkor

So, the aune over there will smooth out the highs but it wont do very well for the more bright headphones especially for someone whos more treble sensitive. G6 is decent as a dac no real remarks there but could do with cleaner sound with a more dedicated dac unit like an E30. Some good test units with a brighter headphone are something like the Liquid Spark, Asgard 3, RNHP, in some cases enog with archel, if balanced liquid platinum, among a few others such as a few tube amps like darkvoice.

Yeah whatever headphones/headset I get for gaming has to be fed by the G6, as it’s the only good (that I know of) PS4-compatible device that has a Game:Voice mix feature to let me adjust the volume of my squadmates’ mics so I can focus on footsteps and whatnot. For $130 I’m pretty happy with it. Also noticed that the Aune doesn’t go well with lower impedance cans (SHP9500). The sound was somehow quieter and a bit more far away. I remember hearing Zach (ZMF) talk about dampening and what goes on when a headphone’s impedance is incompatible with that of an Amp. Also the 1/8th rule and all that. Have to go back and really pay attention to that conversation. It’s a lot to take in at first