murder mike said:

  Endorsements basically. The nicest pair of headphones I've seen on a non-professional stream is the HD595. I've seen a lot of nice mics though. 

Click to expand...

Well, that's my point They don't know what they're missing probably, though. A lowly K612 [or MA900, or X1] stumps over any 200+ headset... But we already know that
It's a shame though... I'll make sure to promote good gaming peripherals in my upcoming LPs [if anyone watch them xD]

Anybody knows when the Astro 2013 Mixamp will be available in Canada or USA, and where???

Cant find them anywhere...

Thanks.

conquerator2 said:

The thing is, a lot of popular YT channels use both a gaming headset and a quality dedicated condenser/dynamic mic... How do you justify that, other than by pay checks? 

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Well, a great mic raises the quality of their channel. And, if people recognize a headset (more ppl recognize Razer or ask about them, who knows about AKG and Beyerdynamic?), that adds interest in their channel. The YT person is probably willing to sacrifice some quality to get those other attention/subscriber benefits. There may also be a product support chain in for professional/business users. AKG doesn't reach out to pro gamers like Razer, Turtle Beach, Astro, and Mad Catz (Tritton).

Plus, they might be too busy working/editing/youtubing to explore audio.

boubos said:

Anybody knows when the Astro 2013 Mixamp will be available in Canada or USA, and where???

Cant find them anywhere...

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Try Astro Gaming's website for where to buy, also I got a good deal at the Microsoft store. There are also alternatives to the Mixamp... the 2013 went out of stock before in like October.

[quote name="Evshrug" url="/

Plus, they might be too busy working/editing/youtubing to explore audio.
Try Astro Gaming's website for where to buy, also I got a good deal at the Microsoft store. There are also alternatives to the Mixamp... the 2013 went out of stock before in like October.[/quote]

What are your suggestions for the alternatives; I want something as good if not better. The setup is intended for FPS on a XB1.

boubos said:

What are your suggestions for the alternatives; I want something as good if not better. The setup is intended for FPS on a XB1.

Click to expand...

Have you listened to the videos in the first post of the guide?  Did you find any of the different surround effects worked better for you?  MLE and many others find DH to work better and so they prefer the Mixamp.  Personally, I find the THX to work better for me than DH, so I was happy to score a Recon3D for less than the cost of a Mixamp.

knightwolf15 said:

  So pro gamers use and push gaming headsets cause of endorsements I'm guessing?

Click to expand...

 
Well, the headsets do the job fine, they look cool, and they're handy. I've seen many amazing players who aren't paid to wear **** but use $150 headsets to great effect. I've heard people use $20 IEMs and be stellar gamers.
 

leperkhaun said:

  Hey all,
 
brand new here.  Im currently looking for a headset to use for pc gaming, movies/tv, and then music.  I know basically nothing about quality headphones and Iv decided that its time for me to get one that will last and one that will amaze me.
 
I saw that the Philips fidelio X1 is highly recommended, however it is an open headset.  I saw that there is a closed version called the M1.
 
The reason I want closed headphones is that I dont want to disturb my family and I also would want to use them while traveling. 
 
How does the M1 compare to the X1.  I had read that people say its the exact same, but when I looked up the prices the M1 is a 100 bucks cheaper.
 
The next question is how does the M1 stack against the sennheiser momentum.  From what i have read the sennheiser seems to be considered a very well regarded closed headphone.  How is the comfort of the sennheiser compared to the X1?  Iv also heard good things about the AKG K550.  How does that stack up?  One main concern is comfort since i do wear headphones up to several hours at a time.
 
Or should i just get the X1 and accept that its an open headset?  Also how far away can you hear them?  For example if im sitting on a couch and my wife is on the other end of the couch will she be able to hear it or is it something that she wont hear unless she sits directly next to me?
 
If anyone else has any recommendations my budget is around 300ish. 
 
Thanks.

Click to expand...

 
I've been negotiating with that problem as well, except I've also had to handle having large ears and seeing my options and choices diminish dramatically as a result.
 
In the end I've gone with the AKG K550—they'll arrive later this week. They have large earcups, effective isolation, wide sound stage, and detailed precision in the width and depth of the field. I wanted an all-round set of headphones for everything, but eventually I had to sacrifice on portability and go with the K550's. The Philips L2 were also a viable option as apparently they possessed a wide and deep sound stage yet isolated noise better than the X2 or other open-ear equivalents.
 
If you have small or 'regular' sized ears, the world is your oyster. Basically anything will be effective, especially ones with a renowned sound stage and neutrality to the signature. The NAD VISO HP50's and PSB M4U1's are an example of this. You mentioned the Momentums... they're supposedly very good headphones for a variety of styles, but I don't know how functional they would be as a gaming headset. I can't imagine the small earcups would be comfortable for lengthy gaming sessions.
 
You also should consider the Audio Technica ATH-A700X and A900X models.

stillhart said:

Have you listened to the videos in the first post of the guide?  Did you find any of the different surround effects worked better for you?  MLE and many others find DH to work better and so they prefer the Mixamp.  Personally, I find the THX to work better for me than DH, so I was happy to score a Recon3D for less than the cost of a Mixamp.

Click to expand...

It was my thread that has all the samples of different surround processing, and a list of different DSP equipment you can use.

It's linked in my signature, for anyone cutious.

evshrug said:

It was my thread that has all the samples of different surround processing, and a list of different DSP equipment you can use.

It's linked in my signature, for anyone cutious.

Click to expand...

Oh man, I was totally looking for something from your thread and couldn't find it anywhere.  Thanks for reminding me of it!
 
To be fair though, the Bioshock Infinite video in this thread was the one that made it most clear for me.  At least, between DH and THX.  I am really excited for DTS Headphone X, but it's vaporware until I can hear more than one demo video. 

Hey Mad Lust Envy and everyone else ... what are your thoughts on true 5.1/7.1 gaming headsets such as these : 
 
http://www.razerzone.com/ca-en/gaming-audio/razer-tiamat-71/
 
 
http://www.rosewill.com/products/1964/ProductDetail_Overview.htm
 
I hear they are very good  in competitive gaming, but the soundquality is garbage....what are your thoughts ? 

sam21 said:

  Hey Mad Lust Envy and everyone else ... what are your thoughts on true 5.1/7.1 gaming headsets such as these : 
 
http://www.razerzone.com/ca-en/gaming-audio/razer-tiamat-71/
 
http://www.rosewill.com/products/1964/ProductDetail_Overview.htm
 
I hear they are very good  in competitive gaming, but the soundquality is garbage....what are your thoughts ? 

Click to expand...

 
I personally don't care for the sound most of them produce. Instead of a single nice sounding solid driver you get a handful of tiny, very limited sounding drivers and the sound suffers because of this. I would prefer a nice pair of headphones with a DSP over dedicated "true" 5.1 headsets.
 
If you want real 5/7.1, get a speaker system.

angrygoldfish said:

  I've been negotiating with that problem as well, except I've also had to handle having large ears and seeing my options and choices diminish dramatically as a result.
 
In the end I've gone with the AKG K550—they'll arrive later this week. They have large earcups, effective isolation, wide sound stage, and detailed precision in the width and depth of the field. I wanted an all-round set of headphones for everything, but eventually I had to sacrifice on portability and go with the K550's. The Philips L2 were also a viable option as apparently they possessed a wide and deep sound stage yet isolated noise better than the X2 or other open-ear equivalents.
 
If you have small or 'regular' sized ears, the world is your oyster. Basically anything will be effective, especially ones with a renowned sound stage and neutrality to the signature. The NAD VISO HP50's and PSB M4U1's are an example of this. You mentioned the Momentums... they're supposedly very good headphones for a variety of styles, but I don't know how functional they would be as a gaming headset. I can't imagine the small earcups would be comfortable for lengthy gaming sessions.
 
You also should consider the Audio Technica ATH-A700X and A900X models.

Click to expand...

Im pretty sure I fall into the small/regular size of ears and I know i have a smaller head than a lot of folks (wear size 7).
 
I dont live near any place where I can go and try these on so I have to try to figure out what i might like just from reviews and such.  For me the most important feature would be to be able to hear distinction between the sounds and have crisp sounds.  I think that something that allows me to listen to classical music I think would work well for me as for gaming I would like to hear everything as clear as possible over say, having a bass heavy headphone.
 
the issue i run into is that for every person who knows what they are talking about who likes a given headset, there is another person who is just as qualified who doesnt like it.  This is an issue because Im new to the premium headphone market and I dont have a lot of experience trying various models out and being able to interpriute a lot of the reviews other than "ok he liked it and it was clear" "ok he didnt like it because this other headphone had clearer highs".
 
At the moment I am leaning towards the X1s, but im just not sure about the openness.

At this point in time, I'd really be interested in a wireless dac/amp. Fiio and NuForce already have wireless DACs... but they really need to do an all wireless setup, like the Mixamp 5.8... but audiophile level. I would love a wireless E17 with the power of the E12.

Sorry, just rambling. Just getting tired of clutter. Cable management is the future of audio for me.

So I know this was sort of covered in the guide, and has probably been asked, but.... DT990 Pro $140 on Amazon. Fidelio X1 $232. I am ready to buy. Is the Fidelio worth the extra $$$? If it helps at all, it is for "fun" gaming, I listen to classic rock, and I am probably going to hook up my Titanium soundcard with CMSS-3d to my Onkyo receiver via optical and use it for a DAC/amp.
 
Thanks!

The X1 is a safer choice. The DT990 has some thin mids, and the treble may irritate you as they're very prominent.

Just...get the X1.

If beyer ever manages to revamp the 990s with less treble, and a little bit more mids, then it may be a better buy, since the bass is more articulate, and the positional cues are sharper.

This is probably the most asked question now. I get a LOT of pms asking between the two.

Gotta love it when people ask if fill in the blank is worth the extra $?? over fill in the blank... lol