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

Gaming Audio Competitive
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I have been meaning to update this for a while now. work has me constantly busy so I haven’t really had much time to actually sit down and finish the update…

I have this same issue with hd800S… honestly I love the clarity but really you get that much clarity from a lot of brighter headphones… 650 being the more neutral while 800s are very bright and peaky with a lot of clarity and detail not to mention the absolute massive soundstage that is potentially the largest on the market… the only alternative to hd800S I found was arya and I definitely preferred the Arya’s sound… not so much build on either of them unfortunately.

the problem with this is that, no headphone is going to be able to completely solve this for you. it takes time and practice to get a full grasp on being able to track footstep placement as it is… HD800S is one of the best you can even get for fps gaming out of all of the ones I tried it barely has rivals in that regard however, it’s imaging isn’t what I would call the best which could lead to some issues…

built like a tank with heavy comfort? that would be the T1 2nd generation which is what I use… the 2nd generation beyerdynamic T1 has a signature very similar to that of the HD800S yet better build, better comfort, less soundstage, but much better imaging… at the same time it still retains that beyer detail retrieval you can expect from the brand name… the 1990 would be alright too but it isn’t as similar in signature to hd800S

I suppose this depends on what you mean by in your face… because this could be soundstage intimacy or aggression of the sound. Intimacy of the soundstage would be like your old sennheisers you had before 800S and aggression is what 800S does as well as something like DT 1990… T1 unfortunately is not aggressive and very relaxed sounding.

I own both of those… clear is great for those who want a headphone that can fit pretty much anywhere but also prefer that more neutral approach to their sound signature… it’s quite an incredible headphone, granted not one I recommend personally for competitive but for music it’s absolutely fantastic and I use it regularly.

As for the 1990… since you can already tolerate 800s I think you will be fine with 1990s brightness… I think it’s worth a try if you can get your hands on one it sounds like the beyers are what your looking for in this case and they are no slouch in tarkov either seeing how I can place a sniper shots location with them just fine…

HD800S is a debatably a step above 1990 and T1.2 but really its up to the person… I don’t personally see it as a step above my T1.2 as after using my beyers for so long, I honestly despise the headphone much like I mnetioned I preferred the Arya over them. It’s a bit of a toss of the coin here I would recommend finding a way to try the beyers just to be sure… the purchase price does not mean they are better by any means as sound differs from person to person…

I can’t really recommend much more in that regard… 800S, arya, 1990, T1, etc all are in their own little grey area for competitive gaming… they are at the top of the board as far as performance for gaming.

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Thank you Falenkor for your beautifully written guide, I want to ask you from a different perspective, I’m not a competitive gamer, what I’m looking for is audio fidelity for games like dark souls, resident evill 2 remake, final fantasy 7 remake, the Witcher 3 where immersion and clarity and detail is what I’m looking for, amp/dac I’m thinking to get the Atom as I’m playing on ps4/ps5 where usb compatibility is important.

Also comfort is important, budget is 500 dollars not counting the amp/dac

Does your guide also work for my use or is it more for FPS competitive?

Thank you

510

Ty Falenkor! This guide helped me discover the Elegia

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Love the elegia. Not so much for competitive personally it does well but it’s a fantastic closed back for casual and music. Thanks for chiming in @JaVerde

I’ve been asked this a few times. So quite a few of these will work in casual gamer settings but it boils down to whether you like that brighter approach to your sound in game… larger soundstage and accurate imaging though can make the world feel more alive and immersive so it does help. Since each headphone sounds different it’s more difficult to pin down a great headphone for casual gaming rather than competitive since casual gaming has alot more variables… not to mention theres much more headphones I can recommend such as for bass lovers nighthawk carbon and the argon t50rp are fantastic just bad In competitive

If your searching for clarity and detail then yes it should work fine… I’d recommend trying the beyers since they aren’t too expensive and are very well rounded especially in 880s case…

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I might actually get some time off next week so I might actually be able to finish the updated log here. Before anybody asks me… no the gl2000 will not be on this list, focal will be removed(might be In honorable mention), and fostex will be removed… less I decide otherwise as I sit with these headphones while I’m updating

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Thank you for your response, I don’t care much about soundstage, but clarity and detail and imaging along with comfort is my priority, not looking for bass heavy, just a little bass is ok.

So I think dt1990 or sundara might be what I’m looking for, can you clarify on the details and clarity of them ? And the comfort? I’m afraid of the weight to be honest with you.

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both are a bit on the heftier side but not something like an audeze. I would say Sundara is a bit heavier than the 1990 but it definitely depends on what your looking for. 1990 is designed to tear apart music and pick out flaws as its an extremely analytical headphone meanwhile sundara is your laid back very wide airy spacious sound with smooth highs and very present mids more present than the 1990. The Sundara is potentially one of the best bright headphones in it’s price bracket for it’s sound. both do detail retrieval extremely well and both are very clear sounding. However, Sundara lacks in the bass and the sub bass is recessive… this is fixable through EQ but something to note. Meanwhile, 1990 is extremely neutral outside of it’s peaking aggressive treble. Unlike Sundara though, 1990 can be pad swapped like crazy and get a wide mixture of sounds that are all relatively pleasant even so much as going rather dark sounding or being very bassy. Personally, 1990 stock is alright comfort wise but it’s clamp force is a bit much at first… you have to stretch it out or change it’s pads. Sundara is nice but the build quality is pretty awful and you also have hifimans infamous quality control problems to worry about. 1990s build quality well… they are built like a tank honestly… 100% prefer the beyers for comfort over hifiman

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Appreciate the full write up of both ! From my research and your input I think I’m more leaning towards the dt1990, so I might have to just buy it and try it myself and if I don’t like that beyer treble than I might return it and check out other options.

Thank you

516

What is the better headphone or iem than 560s only for directional audio and clarity for gaming. This ytber said that the 560s has a wallhack level of audio, just want to know what others cans is on the wallhack level(not 58x,pc38x,tygr300)

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So, watching this… hes still new to audio and doesn’t seem to have much experience with a wide variety of headphones… hes on a good track though.

the 560s does fine… its brighter signatured with a good slightly above the average soundstage and very nice imaging while maintaining a more reference grade sound. It fits practically anywhere… however lol, wall hack level? no I mean, I guess maybe in something simplistic such as apex and csgo as those two are not at all demanding, slightly more than something simple like overwatch

the pc38x is one of the best gaming headsets you can get for a gamer looking for competitive… its awful for music, and sound quality is all over the place… its only good for gaming and that is it. Good for those who just want a headset without any bells and whistles. However, I am going to discredit this reviewer for claiming pc38x is “neutral” because its not… just like the pc37x its a bright gaming headset just now the bass is brought up however he is completely accurate in that the pc38x has big issues with certain placements. the 560s can be seen as an upgrade to the pc38x as they are of the same tuning but the 560s is the better performer

tygr 300r bests both of them in terms of imaging and soundstage, but does not best 560s in terms of clarity.

58x jubilee is the alternative to 560s and still remains one of the regular use headphones with fantastic clarity and imaging

the headphones on this list are those I hand picked for this level of play… though I need to update it cause theres a few that don’t belong now that I have more experience in the hobby. HE400i absolutely does not belong in the mix for that video it is absolutely not good for competitive gaming… its a neutral all rounder but a bit too much in the bass region and really doesn’t do well with placements

I won’t sit and list every single headphone thats good because theres a ton that will work…I can however shoot name brands

AKG: mainly only the k7 series

Audiotechnica: MSR7 series and AD—x series

Sennheiser: 500 series primarily, less your playing narrow games then 600 series works fine and has best sound quality. Note: sennheisers are more neutral than others and may fit anywhere such as casual gaming

Beyerdynamic: quite literally… just take your pick… these typically have the most ludicrous imaging levels and soundstage in most cases to the point of straight overkill

Focal: the step up from sennheiser, I adore these headphones as a gamer but they don’t best beyerdynamic in comp performance

Denon: may need some slight bass adjustments but the imaging is spot on for closed backs

HarmonicDyne: either of these two work fine… haven’t got to the zeus

Dan Clark: aeons have been on my wall for quite some time now and remain there… fantastic all rounders as a planar

Hifiman: the alternative to Beyerdynamic as a planar… Haven’t tried better bright sounding planars, just be wary which one you buy… primarily youd just want Sundara

I get asked about IEMS a few times here and there… I honestly cannot recommend IEMs for proper competitive gaming… but if you really want a solid one… personally I would recommend something such as Final Audios IEMS as they surprisingly do well with soundstage and imaging. However, the performance from headphones will far exceed that of IEM… IEM are used in venues these days as a form of isolation.

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Just anything that is better than 560s, that reviewer is trustworthy. Recommendation?
Not tygr300r, too expensive in my country. Would be good if I don’t have to drive/power the can

519

Guys glad i tumbled across this page. I currently use a schiit hel + pc37x and its good, but not great for competitive gaming. I mainly play warzone and COD games. Most gamers endgame seems to be the hd800s and dt1990’s. What am I missing? Are there better sources to consider other than the Hel?

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Yes there are much better sources for gaming then hel but they are not labaled as a gaming product and are more expensiv

1990 and hd 800 are top notch for gaming

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I’m leaning on hd800s… any source suggestions?

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The strength of the 800s for gaming is the big stage imaging and seperation. But the soundsignature itself is very bright and cold i would maybe consider somthing that adds a bit of warmth but i should know you budget

The 1990 has very accurate imaging but the stage is not that big compared to 1990. It has a more energetic and powerful touch to it but it can be overwhelming the point is the 1990 can change its signature like a chamelion thru all these available dekoni pads and beyer foam disc maybe consider that option too

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Would not recommend doing this… honestly… while yes it performs well, warzone and cod have their own limitations and cannot make use of about 35% of this headphones performance. ALso, the headphones ridiculously expensive and you really want an amp and dac that goes along with this of an expensive variety as well.

Many other alternatives and theres zero reason to jump to such a crazy high price bracket. High price bracket headphones really should have properly priced amps and dacs… though this makes the particular headphone much more expensive then people seem to realize… I have had people message me running the 800S off something small or entry level wondering why they weren’t getting the most out of there headphones… when you get to that point in the price brackets the headphones are very picky… gotta make sure you have the right setup

depends on the game

Good for what it is, but its a one trick pony on that soundstage. I hated the comfort, hated the build, hated how peaky that treble was even as someone who prefers brighter headphones, hated the overall tonality of its signature traits… it just wasn’t all that great considering its $1k+ price tag…

Theres only one game in existence for FPS that can make use of that staging and thats Tarkov and I wouldn’t recommend this headphone for that game either… once you go past that $500 price the returns are so marginal I really don’t feel its worth while… The big $1k boys are headphones like Hd800S, Arya, Clears, and others but they are much more worth it for musical performance not gaming

sorry vintage, didn’t see this at the time. More than likely not going to get away with not needing an amp in this case less you go back to gaming headsets… I don’t recommend motherboard usage whatsoever…

Better than 560s would most likely be the DT 880 at 600 ohm less your looking for reference grade headphones… Step up from those two is my own headphone T1.2. I say this because all 3 are more mid centric with a brighter tonality but at the same time still being closer to the neutral line on both bass and mids. Of course the step past that would be the 800s or aryas less you wanted neutral then it would be the clears.or elex

there is plenty better sources then the Hel, as the Hel is honestly not that great to begin with… It’s a good unit but in comparison to a dedicated entry level at $200 it falls a bit short… combo units lose headroom and potential quality by being an all in one unit. If going to the 1990, that one isn’t too picky in particular but I would still recommend going to the $200 per unit price tag so $400 setup + headphone… if your going to the HD800S I would say going to the next price bracket which is around $400 per unit is more recommended to get the most out of that headphone… 800S being a picky headphone you definitely want to make sure you get the source correct to capitalize on that stage, imaging, and detail retrieval otherwise it can sound very veiled and fall short on its signature.

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I want to add that I’m not looking for a gaming combo as my primary. I love music, so I want something mid tier that happens to also be an extremely good gaming combo, so coming from that angle.

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Most of the headphones here are of the brighter spectrum… I would first say to check and see if you can tolerate high amounts of treble in some manner…

SIgnatures that work are Neutral, Bright, V, and Harman depending on the soundstage and imaging.

Depends on the signature your looking for… but I definitely wouldn’t say to jump from a $100+ headphone up to a $1k+ headphone as that’s a bit absurd in my opinion… there is plenty for less that can suit you just fine and you may even prefer much more.

526

Long time lurker (and fan of Zeos rambling)

Great write up you have here!

Based on all reviews I found I bought the PC38x, which I am very pleased with so far. An upgrade for sure over my K612. However, I am having a hard time with the clamping. Therefore I am looking for replacement earpads. Has anyone had some experience with these headphones?

I am debating between getting the dekoni choice, or 4 sets of brain wavz (velour, hybrid, perforated, micro suede). The single set of dekoni, or the 4 sets of brainwavz would both cost me 50 bucks in europe. So I am leaning towards the brainwavz, but some additional insights would be very much appreciated! With the 4 sets I could try and see what I think fits bets with the headset, but on the other hand, the dekoni are specially made for the headset (although it is made for 4 headphones, with different sound signatures so IDK…)

I do sometimes use the headphones for music as well, but only on hot days, if it is not hot I use my audioquest nightowls (closed back) for music, which sound a lot better imho.

p.s. after some more reading here I kind of agree the fact that they start to lack once you get multiple sound ques around you. I wasn’t all too aware of it while gameing, but now I read about it here that seems to match my experience. Might just have to try and sell these off for a pair of sundara or byern, but on the other hand, that is more expensive and results in more desk clutter (I do have a cheap desk-mic I used with my AKG k612). Think I am going to see if there is a learning curve on these headphones, and might buy a better amp (Mayflower arc I think, comming from mixamp).

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I mean, its absolutely not bad for a headset… just bad as a headphone in my opinion but it definitely depends which game you use it on.

I haven’t bothered with pad swapping that one so maybe someone else has, but pad swapping the 38x will alter its signature as well. something to keep in mind.