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require gaming headpones <$200

post #1 of 13
12/2/02 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
as the topic states, i'm looking at getting some gaming headphones for under $200. The game I play is counter-strike so postional sound is very important.

I would prefer

*Closed headphones
*Must be comfortable
*Don't care how bulky they are
*Don't care how ridiculous they look

thanks guys!
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post #2 of 13
12/2/02 at 10:59am
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD280's that I use at work and for gaming. Particularily Unreal Tournament and Medal of Honor. I find them pretty darn good for this application. Supposedly they are one of the better imaging closed cans. Soundwise they're fairly accurate, the bass is good but not overdone and the high end can err towards brightness on occasion. Alot of people complain that they find them too analytical sounding thoug. Some people have found them to be uncomfortable but I've personally not had the problem. Rest assured if you do get them you will look like a dork, there's just no way around it with these babies.
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post #3 of 13
12/2/02 at 11:19am
$200NZ or $200US?
If it's $200NZ, I just had a chance to spend a bit of time with the Audio Technica ATH-A55 and I'm pretty impressed with them overall.

Easy to drive from a soundcard, closed, good all round sound and good price.
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post #4 of 13
12/2/02 at 11:25am
Thread Starter 
$200 US

so roughly $400 NZ

the senn 280pros look like they'd do the job but I'll keep looking
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post #5 of 13
12/2/02 at 11:25am
I would say the beyer dt250-80.

Snufkin, how do you find the sound of A55 when compared to the beyer? I have not heard the A55 yet...
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post #6 of 13
12/2/02 at 11:37am
My short experience with isolating closed headphones is that if you want good isolation, get prepared for some head hugging.

For example, the Ultrasone HFI-650 which I find good for gaming is hot and crushes my ears a bit. Not very comfortable, but the sound isolation might be better than on HD280 Pro according to some. With smaller ears/head this might not be a problem (?)

I would also like to find the following headphone:

- Closed
- Good isolation from outside noise
- Decent, not overbearing bass
- Easy to drive from a sound card source (or portable)
- NOT bright (to me Ultrasone and Grado are a tad too bright for longer durations, esp with poor sources like most sound cards)
- Comfortable
- cost c. 200-400 € (euro)


I've already tried Audio Technica W100 and while they are comfortable, they do not block almost any noise at all.

So, am I doomed to wear either comfortable, but not isolating or unfortable, but well isolating headphones?

regards,
Halcyon
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post #7 of 13
12/2/02 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally posted by Guyferd
I would say the beyer dt250-80.

Snufkin, how do you find the sound of A55 when compared to the beyer? I have not heard the A55 yet...
Well I'd say the A55 hold their own pretty well in regards to sound, it's probably not as refined as the 250-80 being a little more coloured, but they're quite enjoyable to listen to.

The major difference between the 2 would be build quality, the Beyer is much better in this regard.

spinal - if you can afford $400NZ the Beyer DT250-80 would be a good choice, especially if you're going to be transporting them often.

halcyon - etymotic?
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post #8 of 13
12/2/02 at 12:00pm
Snufkin,

Sorry to hijack the thread but I'm curious why you choose the A55 over the A500? Why not one of the higher models like the A700 or A900? Sorry just curious.
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post #9 of 13
12/2/02 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
woops double post

the A55's look nice, attractive price too
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post #10 of 13
12/2/02 at 12:17pm
elerno: it's hard to find reasonably well priced closed headphones that are easy to drive from a soundcard and sound good


I'll get around to having a listen to the A500, A700 and A900 - I had no specific reason for choosing the A55 over the others really
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post #11 of 13
12/2/02 at 12:21pm
Quote:
Originally posted by halcyon
My short experience with isolating closed headphones is that if you want good isolation, get prepared for some head hugging.

For example, the Ultrasone HFI-650 which I find good for gaming is hot and crushes my ears a bit. Not very comfortable, but the sound isolation might be better than on HD280 Pro according to some. With smaller ears/head this might not be a problem (?)

I would also like to find the following headphone:

- Closed
- Good isolation from outside noise
- Decent, not overbearing bass
- Easy to drive from a sound card source (or portable)
- NOT bright (to me Ultrasone and Grado are a tad too bright for longer durations, esp with poor sources like most sound cards)
- Comfortable
- cost c. 200-400 € (euro)
I'd recommend the Porta CORDA (or other value portable amp) + DT 250-250. The combo would be nicely between 200 and 400, durable, slightly bulky, although not freaky, good comfort and isolation, great sound, easy to drive (with help from the amp of course)... be warned though, the 250-250's suck accus empty comparably quickly.
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post #12 of 13
12/2/02 at 1:43pm
Ramtha604,

thanks. I have PC II already so I guess DT 250 would not be a bad choice (except for it's power consumption).

I'm still hoping that some of the AT cans provide decent enough isolation as I did like the W100 sound quality for non-critical use and the comfort factor was quite high.

regards,
Halcyon

PS Etymotics, oh yeah Instead of head-hugging, I get canal-widening. Guess I must try them one day, but they are expensive in Europe. VERY expensive
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post #13 of 13
12/2/02 at 2:14pm
From what I have heard, out of these headphones:

Sennheiser HD590 (open)
Ultrasone HFI-650 (closed)
Beyerdynamic DT250-80 (closed)

the DT250-80 was the best for Counterstrike, because you could hear footsteps from further away. This was from a member of Head-Fi one who competed in CS tournaments professionally...

I suggest getting an Audigy 2 and the DT250-80.
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