As per title. I have a different thread where I’m asking for advice for myself, but here I wonder which phones you guys prefer to use for this or similar type of games and why. This includes both your personal tastes and your practical reasons, so if you wouldn’t mind describing them that would be great. For myself, I certainly don’t mind a long read, so don’t hold yourself back if you’re feeling chatty. I’m just keeping the OP short to keep it as non-specific as possible.
assuming you mean headphone and not regular phone.
as for me, for just casual use? really depends on my tastes at that point… there a lot in my collection. I think the most enjoyable usually are my higher end Aeons I used the Open X variant for quite some time before upgrading to Aeon 2, been wanting to check out noire and dan clark stealth but havent gotten to them plus they are like ultra expensive. Anyway, I found something like harman tuning of sorts to be extremely enjoyable that plus the added planar slam, speed, texture, and a large soundstage was quite nice when it came to immersion in my rpgs.
Others that are more interesting are headphones that are more dynamically impressive… which brings Focal to mind as their headphones are very good dynamically and for story driven games they are quite engaging and forward. I use the Clear MG but you can always get an elex which gets you most of the way there without breaking the bank on that one. I personally adore the Focal series of headphones and find them far superior than that of the Sennheisers in many regards its just that sennheiser saves money
one of the newest additions I have been checking out more though has been Denon. Now I have a fostex in here purple heart to be exact and while its nice and bassy… the denon brought better imaging alongside a good bass to the closed back… I just found it far more enjoyable in multiple headphones from them compared to Fostex… the exception being the Argons which are a fostex mod but that takes forever to obtain as is… Personally I like these types of headphones more for like… games such as Doom of sorts as it makes explosions and all the battles much more lively… I can say the same about my old nighthawk carbon but thats semi open back the only other in there would definitely be the old T1 3rd gen that im in the process of reobtaining… ridiculously warm and bassy that one
When it comes to those games though where I still need some sort of placement like casually playing that game GTFO as an example… good to hear where things are… I just rely on my T1 2nd gen which is the same headphone I use for regular competitives… it has a very versatile signature, great comfort, very wide soundstage, and exceptional imaging… lets me do alot of things I wouldn’t normally be able to with a regular set of cans or headset for sure
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If you’re going to bother with EQ, HD Zeus is probably the best value now, because of positional imaging, bass performance, stage size and depth. Without EQ I just hate their tuning personally and I agree with Falenkor that Harman-like or close to that tuning is great for immersive gaming
I personally find them fine without EQ but everyones different… Zeus are on my wall still and damn good for what they are… Personally speaking, if they were cheaper I think the Zeus would be a much better bargain… as I just can’t take them over my beyers… I just dont feel they are worth $400 when I can get a 1990 or T1 2nd gen at that same price… same with argons, sundaras, nighthawks, among others… it has too much competition you know? Its a fantastic headphone… but far too much in terms of competition… it needs to drop to like $300 then itd be much more worth in my opinion… hell I would recommend that hands down at that price for both casual and competitive.
as for harman, absolutely… since harman is more considered to be “natural” in tuning for sound or relatively just “neutral” it makes things feel more lifelike that added to a large soundstage and accurate imaging just makes larger games like rpgs come to life, even better if it has rumble and depth to its sound…
before people ask, if you want a cheap entry harman level headphone just to kinda try it out? (make sure you have return policies please) check out akg k371… its not the best mind you in terms of this tuning but its a very good example and entry into that particular signature… some stores carry it and some case will let you try them out… they are normally a little over $100. If you want a VERY good harman tuning… look into DAN CLARK AEON those headphones are gorgeous for harman curve… make sure its the RT version or open x… open x is more neutral than RT as RT is more V shaped… AEON 2 is the step up from there and then you can study NOIRE or STEALTH if you really want to take a further step… There are some other harman curves but personally speaking from my experience? Aeons lineup is easily one of the best values for that signature… the quality you get from that headphone is superb.
For that price range what do you think are the best ones for the mentioned games
Doesnt focal has less soundstage tho?
I’m curious what your main gaming chain is. I have tygr 300r and I wasn’t impressed with their immersive gaming performance compared to Zeus on my tube amp. But I haven’t experienced other beyers that you mentioned, so I’m curious how different they are in comparison to tygrs and the Zeus
will say this till im blue in the face, no such thing as best
I can provide what I think is better in very particular cases or certain sounds but it depends on which games you mean by what was mentioned… though I wouldn’t bundle something like doom in with an fps for example… very different sound spectrum there, granted zeus will be fine in both cases… zeus can get a bit tiresome after a while due to its treble being a bit on the sharper side
Focal has a strange bubble like stage… its not intimate but soundstage isn’t everything. If your in this massive open world where you want the world to feel alive? focal probably isn’t the best… the stage is around average to above average but the sound is quite aggressive and very mid/high forward. For regular rpgs i would encourage something large and more relaxed for regular immersion honestly… Not all story driven games are large world rpgs though. Focal fits in pretty much anywhere you don’t need a lot of bass to sound good honestly… as I find it a rather large step above sennheisers.
Don’t really have one, my setup changes a lot…
Not really surprising honestly… zeus has much more soundstage and isn’t as dampened… zeus just sounds absolutely massive and shares a sharper yet similar signature to the tygr… in terms of immersion for single player gaming… i would definitely encourage a zeus over the tygr. However, tygr I find better performance in fps gaming as zeus while good at imaging isn’t as sharp in that regard, the highs are a bit piercing in some cases which can cause issues, the bass has a bit too much rumble, and in some cases that stage being that large is a hinderance.
If your curious about other beyers… tygrs are probably the worst case example of how beyerdynamics really are if I am being quite honest on that… Beyers are notoriously bright or very V shaped in sound signature. Lets look at the lineup that are most common… even tygr
Tygr: Subtle V shape, relies more on the warmer side of its signature in terms of presentation, is just a redone up DT 990 in actuality just without the extremely sharp treble, lost all of its scaling with higher grade amps, can’t really agree with tube amps, pad swaps are big hit or miss and kinda meh outside of perforated or stock velour
DT 770 & DT 990: both here are very sharp and two sides of the coin. Closed vs open back. 770 isnt as sharp as 990 and is the bassier while 990 is the opposite… less bass more treble. 990 is absolutely piercing as all hell and is why I caution those who consider getting one. They sound amazing and even in the case of a 770 despite being closed it has an astonishingly large stage within its budget one of the largest I have sat with since 770 can be found around $100 on the used markets. Both have incredibly sharp imaging on the same level as the tygr, in terms of detail however these two best the tygr, in terms of scaling they best the tygr, 990 has a 600 ohm variant opening a lot more doors and better sound capabilities including tube amps, extensive EQ, heavy changes with pad swaps, etc the 990 is just a better headphone but only if you can tolerate its treble peak same with the DT 770 if you need closed
DT 880: neutral bright with some bass tones… the black sheep of the family which from the looks of it stemmed towards the creation of the DT 1990 and T1. Semi open back, EXTREMELY adaptable to any form of signature change you want to throw at it even a pad swap to suede will make this headphone suddenly sounding like a warm signature, 600 ohm gives it ridiculous scaling capabilities detail on the level of headphones price brackets above, can eq just fine, essentially can be regarded as one of the best of beyers lineup due to how agreeable and versatile it is… people sometimes even prefer this over the 1990 which I can agree with in some cases.
DT 1990: two versions of this actually but in one case. A pads are like the dt 880 B pads are like the DT 990… so again were back to being able to be V shaped. Analytical as all hell and designed to pick out flaws, very bright but a bit more tolerable than the 990, 250 ohms no 600 ohms… so scaling is a bit less but still just as good, definitely built sturdier due to the addition of more steel and harder plastic… the pads of the velour also change to a more premium material. In terms of this headphones clarity, speed, slam, detail, etc compared to tygr… this headphone demolishes tygr in practically every single regard outside of personal preference
T1 2nd gen: I personally prefer 2nd gen as the 1st gen was just like another 1990 but I definitely wasn’t the biggest fan of first gen. Third gen the newest one is more of a bass lovers headphone… its extremely warm if thats your thing but that one is over a grand. 2nd gen is discontinued but can be found used market around the same price as 1990. 2nd gen has the largest soundstage due to less dampening compared to 3rd gen which adds dampening, curved drivers which is the only one in the beyer lineup with them, less clamp force than usual so it lays on the head easier unlike 1990 which clamps rather hard, has a more HD800 sound signature… bass is slightly raised above the neutral line but mids and highs are more in the mix unlike the usual V signature… its a bit less neutral than the 1990 A pads… with the bass being recorded in the middle of the two pad changes and more emphasis on the mids and highs. Overall the signature of the T1 compared to the 1990 is that T1 is more relaxed and rounded while 1990 is very aggressive analytical and has more slam to it. T1 between these two is the better well rounded headphone due to how relaxed it is… making it rather good at both types of gaming… while 1990 is so aggressive that I find it a hard recommend for those who game casually… This particular headphone though, T1 2nd gen, can be regarded as the upgrade to the DT 880 in some cases… as it also 600 ohms and shares pretty much all the characteristics of the 880 just improved further.
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Mainly non competitive games like doom skyrim etc
assuming that you want large stage for your open world, and bass to go alongside that… hmm… Id say depends on budget but if were just talking like… rough ball park… around $300? Argon or Zeus will probably be in that area… argon is more on the darker bassier side of things… zeus more on the V shape side of things
How is the soundstage compared to argons, dt1990 and nighthawks
nighthawks will have stage similar to the 1990 due to 1990s natural dampening… if you want more stage switch that to the T1 2nd gen… however, regardless argons will have more stage than those… in terms of stage and depth between argon and zeus they tend to go head to head to my ear… they are very different sound signatures though… and while zeus is good… it doesn’t respond as well to pad swaps… I highly encourage never changing zeus’s pads… I have had nothing but rather poor results there honestly… though argon is a t50rp(or T60RP that has a different signature though. more neutral and bright) mod and harder to acquire… it can take weeks if not months to get an argon from modhouse less bought 3rd party. Argons have more depth and better bass quality than the zeus though to my ear… by a good margin though the zeus just feels more worldly… more air
Edit: never try using argons for competitive gaming… if you plan to do competitive @Apaar_Arora as well as that casual… go with zeus over argon… zeus is much better as argons are heavy on that bass and definitely aren’t what your looking for in terms of fps
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Do you argons on your wall then?
For competitive i think i might get dt880 600 mainly for tarkarov or apex
Argons were essentially my basshead headphones for a while there so no, I replaced those with a purple heart from fostex…
Does the bass bleeds into mids tho ? Aside from fun gaming are they good for music too?
my purple hearts? not really no, I lost a bit of stage but overall signature just sounds so much better… then again… purple hearts are not only discontinued but expensive lol. Fostex lineup is the way to go for bass lovers, just not competitive fps… like… none of them I found good for competitive fps except like… maybe th900… but if I wanted closed back fps like that… id just grab a denon… but at those prices… your really gaining more musicality rather than gaming performance.
no the argons
they do but only by a small amount, not enough to really be annoying less your a huge lover of the mid frequency
Edit: I should add btw… argons are power hungry as all hell, if you don’t have a strong amp for them you can just forget it… They are more thirsty than a 600 ohm beyer. Zeus however, is not… its very easy to drive then again… zeus is not a planar driver like argon either
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Yeah i am getting liquid spark so powerwise i should be good. Only issue with argons are TIme to recieve them.What should be the alternative around same price and same soundstage and similiar sound ? Have you tried the unmoddex fostex t50rp
it definitely isn’t as good as argons. From my experience honestly I think argons are probably the best variation of that headphone… the t50rp and t60 respectively are essentially modders friendly sets of cans… they aren’t that great whatsoever before modding.
argons are more like a step up of a nighthawk carbon… though that definitely depends on which pads you have on them… as the pads change a lot about argons. In terms of upgrades? I would swing towards either towards audeze if you prefer the darker sound traits without that much bass or stay with Fostex and go up the chain… there really isn’t a big alternative to the argon to my knowledge… it sits in at its own lane