Chico's review compares the annies directly to the X1's IIRC. I love the annies, but currently you can get the akg k712 pro for cheaper. Also keep in mind that you cannot service the X1's pads. So if they get damaged you are sol. 
 
Have you considered the sony ma900? I have demo'd these and they are outstanding. For 200 bucks you cant go wrong here at all. 

<-- now has a K712 PRO for sale
 

change is good said:

  <-- now has a K712 PRO for sale
 

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...wut?

Obviously the Denon AH-D7000 has the X1 beat in terms of fun and overall, but what about the AH-D2000 and 5000? How would they stack up to the X1?

 
Quote:

vangogh said:

  Thanks so much.  What sort of soundcard/amp would you recommend to go with the Koss?

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It depends on what surround sound DSP you like.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal#post_9067400
 
I'm not familiar with the latest cards, but Asus and Creative are the two main vendors.  This is presuming you have a desktop PC. 
 
Another option is to use an external (optical) DAC/AMP and then a device like the Asus U3 to just process the signal.
 
 

axelcloris said:

   
But the bass didn't help with the sharks.

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Are Sharks a new killstreak reward? 
 
 

vsha said:

Maybe I'm misinterpreting here, but that statement sounds pretty damning to me, especially the adjective "one-note-ish". 

 I also read Chicolom's comparison and review and he shares the same sentiments, and yet he owns the headphone. Are the flaws in the X1's bass outweighed by its positives in that same region? And does the Annie contain significantly more bass "finesse" despite lacking quantity of bass compared to the X1?

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I wouldn't worry about it too much. 
 
The AKGs don't contain "significantly" better bass quality, but they are a bit better.  The bass on the X1 is more fun and immersive though.  So it's a tradeoff.  The X1 bass sounds somewhat similar to how the AKGs would sound if you bass boosted them.  You would trade a little quality for more quantity. 
 
If you want a big fun bass that's suited for movies and single player games, the X1 is a good choice.  If you only want perfect bass technicalities, you'll need a more expensive and neutral headphone.
 

change is good said:

  <-- now has a K712 PRO for sale
 

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O RLY?
 
What did you find that's better?  The Shures?

Change is living up to his name.

I wonder what made that happen...

As fkr the X1, it's a great choice for fun and immersion. I was overly analyzing it's sound characteristics for the sake of the review. The bass is fine. It won't win awards in quality. But the overall package makes the X1 a must have for the price.

As for the sharks, Axel is referring to my livestream of the CoD campaign, where I harassed some sharks and got killed a few times, lol.

I received the 1840 yesterday as an exchange for something I returned to avoid a hefty restocking fee. I was happy with the K712, but the recent price drop and limited choice selection I decided to give them a try...
 
First, I'll say they are some sexy beasts...especially next to their more manly counterpart (1540)
 
The differences between the two are very minor. The 1840 has slightly less bass (in between the Q701 and K712) but is faster and more detailed. It's mids are slightly more forward and has less grainy treble than the K712 to my ears... making it a smoother experience. As for soundstage, the K712 wins in that department. Not that the 1840 lacks it, it's just that the size of the cups and natural openness of the AKGs make it hard for most to compete. I even went as far as doing a no music test with my TV on in the background; and while these differences were also minor I clearly noticed that the K712 was more open.
 
Still, in the end, I found myself enjoying the 1840 more with its purposes because of it's better clarity; even with the slightly smaller soundstage. I wanted to spend more time with the two but I am in need of funds after these last few weeks.
 
And man, those K712s sold quick!

Glad they sold quickly for you. Now sell those Westones

davisman said:

I could give you mine

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Weapons are higher damage than Black Ops 2. There are a few two shot AR's in the game, the most used would be the MSBS. From Drift0r: It has 55dmg per shot, and is a 3 round burst rifle. Think of the Type 95 from MW3, or somewhat similar to the M16 in cod4, although it has a higher rate of fire. The MSBS currently has a time to kill of about 1/16th of a second or roughly 4 frames (out of 60 frames per second). 

The game can play a little slow, because of how loud footsteps are, and how fast you die. This places a high priority on stealth, and some lobbies are really campy.

IMO the best streak setup is support. There are no Lock on Launchers (Except for the one in the support streak loadout), but air streaks are pretty weak and are able to get shot down with regular guns pretty easily. The Loki (15 assault kill streak) is terrible, and the rival streak in the support loadout Odin is a lot better. 

The new game modes are pretty decent, I really enjoy Hunted, Blitz, and Cranked. Cranked is pretty full of tryhards, so it can be annoying. 

I forgot to mention the maps. They are huge, and clearly meant for 9v9 game modes. The 3 lane map design that Blops2 had is gone.

There are some good, and some really bad. Overall Blops2 maps were a lot better IMO. 

Click to expand...

Awesome dude, thanks! I my gang skipped BLOPS 2 because of reported lag issues (not that P2P connections can't be laggy, but BO2 was inconsistently laggy which is harder to compensate for, difference from other CODs may be down to packet size) and a general lack of enthusiasm, though there is some for this new Ghosts.

vangogh said:

Thanks so much.  What sort of soundcard/amp would you recommend to go with the Koss?

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Nice thing is the Koss KSC75 is so cheap, you can get a good surround processor which you would overall be happy with your system. I was just listening to the Koss KSC75 (the package says "Pulse" on them), and I could see how this could be all the sound quality someone could need. Of course you can do better, but if you don't mind open headphones the KSC 75 (or sporta-pros, I guess, FWIR people usually preferred the PortaPros) stand up really well against anything in the sub-$100 range, especially when you take in account their near-free price.

You want processing for a desktop computer? You could stay super cheap and get an Asus Xonar U3, but since you save so much headphone bucks you could get a Creative Soundblaster Z or Omni and be well-set. I just got a Z for $64 from Amazon at the end of last week, I bet you'll find deals soon on sound processors. I like the idea that the Omni (has native Mac drivers, and) is an external device that puts the plug-in jacks, volume control, and stereo mics in convenient reach, and wouldn't be too hard to transport to a friend's house or LAN. I bet there will be deals on these things soon... set an alert on PcPartsPicker.com to get notification if a piece of kit you're interested in goes on sale.

change is good said:

<-- now has a K712 PRO for sale

h34r:

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... wut?

chicolom said:

It depends on what surround sound DSP you like.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646786/evshrugs-if-i-knew-then-what-i-know-now-discussion-journal#post_9067400


Are Sharks a new killstreak reward? 

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LoL sharks killstreak!?? Better than dogs! Man, I WISH I'd seen this stream!

I'll add SBX ProStudio to the virtual surround list, add demo if possible.

evshrug said:

LoL sharks killstreak!?? Better than dogs! Man, I WISH I'd seen this stream! 

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Twas an excellent stream indeed. Partially because MLE shooting sharks in the face is epic and partially because it kept me through several hours at work. A couple of co-workers started watching the stream as well and were quite enjoying the multiplayer content. Then MLE turned on the mic and all became even more entertaining. It made me desire a PS4. I probably won't buy one for quite a while as I'm about to buy a house, but I now want one none the less.
 
New floor speakers (for my 7.2 setup), Panasonic VT60 TV, PS4... damn I have expensive wants right now

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I put the alacantara pads on the 1840 it turns it into a completely different headphone.
 
It gives it a rather significant boost in bass; almost to a point where it's mind boggling how much more there is compared to stock. I would consider it a "fun" open headphone at this point; where only the X1 has more and only by a slight margin. This bass, however, is much more controlled and refined than the X1... making it a winner in that regard from all the open headphones I've tried.
 
It's soundstage, however, decreases to the point to where it defeats the purpose of what I own an open headphone for. Therefore, I am sticking with stock and using them for gaming, classical, jazz, etc. It's stock bass isn't lacking, it's actually neutral to my ears... so it's perfect for it's purpose.

Wildly swinging opinions on the 1840.

You want to review them? I'll send a pair of both pads with them so you can see the differences for yourself...
 
I'm not going to say they're "better" than the K712. It's just that since my ears have gotten used to the 1540 with Alpha pads it was hard adjusting to the K712's peak up top when switching. The 1540 still has a peak, but it's smoother to my ears. Others, however, will say it's "less detailed" and less "transparent."
 
Also, the slightly less bass and slightly more forward mids than the K712 are making these 1840s better competitive cans for me... even with it's smaller soundstage. I'm able to hear footsteps better while still having good pinpoint accuracy... and chatting has benefited, too.
 
Detailing and imaging wins hands down with the 1840.

HERE IS A SHOCKER: Xbox one only supports DTS and stereo through the optical out, with no mention of future Dolby support.

A MASSIVE **** YOU to all of use virtual surround gamers, unless you have a receiver, SU-DH1 or Headzone/Smyth Realizer.

What a nightmare.

I'm assuming this will spawn a new wave of virtual surround tech, so that's one good thing to come from this... either that or the Mixamp 2014 will take a page off the JVC-SU-DH1 and add in DTS decoding into DH encoding.

Sorry to break the discussion, but here's some bad news (sorta) for anyone looking to buy an Xbox One and continuing to use their Mixamp/DSS with it.
 
So the bad news; you can't. Not directly at least.
 
The Xbox One's optical out only encodes 5.1 in the form of DTS Digital Surround, no more in Dolby Digital 5.1/Live. So going from Xbox One to Mixamp/DSS via optical would pretty much mean that the console is just sending stereo PCM.
 
The fix is to send DD 5.1 through HDMI to your TV, then your TV optical out to the Mixamp/DSS. Most entry level TVs in the last couple of years should output DDL through optical out, but if your TV doesn't then... you're SOL.
 
Microsoft isn't looking to implement DDL through the Xbox One's optical out anytime in the near future though, so yeah.. even more bad news there.
 
*EDIT*
Damn it, MLE beat me to it.