Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide: (Updated: 5/23/2013. MrSpeakers Mad Dog v.3.2 Reviewed) - Page 824

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 
So a local Head-fier came over my house, and bought the Annie on the spot. He agreed that they sounded very close to the LCD2.

They are gone.

I know it's going to a good home, so I'm okay with that.

They may be gone, but they'll never be forgotten, and they will be my #1 recommendation for all rounder purposes on this thread and then some.

Just because I sold them, doesn't mean I don't love them. They are overall my favorite all rounder outside of the D7000, and my 3rd fave for music/movie use.

No AKG audition for me, I guess...but that makes two happy people down in Florida!

Ultimately, what I'm finding so far is that I already have my favorite headphones for everything, but it's difficult for me to figure out where I stand in the great scheme of things when people are going on about K702 65th this and HD650 that when I've never even auditioned either of them, and don't feel like spending money up-front just to find out.

interesting question, my dt 880s sound better with the volume CRANKED on Low gain, then they do on half'd volume High gain  [with my hybrid tube]

any one have any idea why :o

So I used the Q701 pads again tonight specifically for gaming.  I haven't heard them for about two weeks, and I've been using the Anniversary during that time.

The first two things I noticed were:

1)  I was surprised to hear that the Q701s really weren't too much of an improvement in terms of soundstage and positioning.  The actual soundstage itself is really essentially the same as on the anniversary pads - it really just comes down to the weight of the sounds.  I said all this in my review, and I stand by it.  I was expecting the imaging and positioning to sharpen up more with the Q701s, but it didn't really.  It was basically the same level of diffuseness as on the anniversaries.  The difference was just that the sounds were lighter and sharper.  There's something about lighter airier sounds that gives the effect of making sounds sound farther away then weightier sounds.  But like I said, once you adjust for that "effect", the sounds are still basically coming from the same location/distance in the soundstage.  So the Q701s competitive advantage mainly just comes down to the lighter overall balance (think AD700) which emphasizes and makes things a bit clearer.  The anniversaries are definitely more immersive sounding, and IMO better choice for single player gaming.  Not necessarily because of the bass, but because of the overall body/weight of all the frequencies.  It just gives objects and characters more mass in game, and they feel more 3D and physically "there" (hmm...would that be "imaging?" still not sure what exactly "imaging" means - positioning?, or how sounds are outlined in the space?). This is especially true if your not using a bass boost with the Q701s (I always keep it ON during single player gaming), which leads me to my next point...

2)... I was a little surprised how much more bass the Anniversaries had.  I remembered the differences being more minor last time I tested (which was mainly with music).  I did some tests with the Mixamp 5.8's bass boost, and I found that the Q701 with the bass boost ON actually has fairly similar bass levels to the Anniversaries with bass boost OFF.  The Q701 just has a little more initial impact.  I think the bass also seems to decay quicker on Q701 though, and it doesn't have much support body-wise from the other frequencies compared to the anniversary.  Like the bass is trying to fight to give all the body but the mids and treble aren't helping out much.  The annivesary's entire spectrum gets a volumizing body-boost over the Q701, and since you can't boost the body of the mids and treble the Q701 is at a disadvantage there.  I was expecting Q701 + Bass Boost to fall somewhere in-between the anniversary without bass boost, and the anniversary with bass boost, but it's closer to the former.   Once you turn the Bass boost ON with the anniversaries, they're on another level though.  They leave the Q701s behind in terms of body and impact.  Sometimes it's almost too much bass (or mid-bass) - like your standing near a generator and it's humming louder overtop of the other sounds.  Sometimes it can sound muddy-ish depending on what the game is doing.  I blame some of this on the mixamps muddy bass boost though, which is why....

...I just re-snagged a DSS v1 off eBay  

I miss it's bass boost - it really has a superior bass boost over the Mixamp 5.8.  It's tighter/cleaner, affects less of the mid-bass and more of the sub-bass, and punches significantly harder than the mixamp if you max out the dial.  The mixamps bass is muddier and cuts off slowy affecting more lower mid frequencies.  Not to mention, it clips more.  The added control over the bass is worth it for the $30 shipped IMO.  The DSS has a slightly higher noise floor, but that's pretty much a non-issue with the AKG K70x - they don't really care.

BTW, it sounds like I'm ragging on the Q701, but I don't mean to.  I love them and think they're great.  I'm just trying to clarify some of the differences I hear between the two pads during gaming/single-player gaming in relation to soundstage and bass - only this time I'm specifically coming off of having used the anniversaries for two weeks and normalizing their sound, without being able to hear the Q701s.  The first time I compared, it was coming from using the Q701s as the default and the anniversaries as the outsider, and I said things like they're "slightly too dark," "Forward sounding", "I prefer the air on the Q701," "I like the floating sounds on the Q701", etc.  So it's all sort of relative to whatever you're used to at that moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

So a local Head-fier came over my house, and bought the Annie on the spot. He agreed that they sounded very close to the LCD2.

They are gone.

I know it's going to a good home, so I'm okay with that.

They may be gone, but they'll never be forgotten, and they will be my #1 recommendation for all rounder purposes on this thread and then some.

Just because I sold them, doesn't mean I don't love them. They are overall my favorite all rounder outside of the D7000, and my 3rd fave for music/movie use.

So which one would be your first 2 for music/movie use. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

So basically..... almost everything I've ever told you.
 

xD nice

if I didn't already enjoy my byers I might have snatched these up. Good to hear the new anniversie has more w8

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicolom 

So I used the Q701 pads again tonight specifically for gaming.  I haven't heard them for about two weeks, and I've been using the Anniversary during that time.

 

The first two things I noticed were:

 

 

1)  I was surprised to hear that the Q701s really weren't too much of an improvement in terms of soundstage and positioning.  The actual soundstage itself is really essentially the same as on the anniversary pads - it really just comes down to the weight of the sounds.  I said all this in my review, and I stand by it.  I was expecting the imaging and positioning to sharpen up more with the Q701s, but it didn't really.  It was basically the same level of diffuseness as on the anniversaries.  The difference was just that the sounds were lighter and sharper.  There's something about lighter airier sounds that gives the effect of making sounds sound farther away then weightier sounds.  But like I said, once you adjust for that "effect", the sounds are still basically coming from the same location/distance in the soundstage.  So the Q701s competitive advantage mainly just comes down to the lighter overall balance (think AD700) which emphasizes and makes things a bit clearer.  The anniversaries are definitely more immersive sounding, and IMO better choice for single player gaming.  Not necessarily because of the bass, but because of the overall body/weight of all the frequencies.  It just gives objects and characters more mass in game, and they feel more 3D and physically "there" (hmm...would that be "imaging?" still not sure what exactly "imaging" means - positioning?, or how sounds are outlined in the space?). This is especially true if your not using a bass boost with the Q701s (I always keep it ON during single player gaming), which leads me to my next point...

 

 

2)... I was a little surprised how much more bass the Anniversaries had.  I remembered the differences being more minor last time I tested (which was mainly with music).  I did some tests with the Mixamp 5.8's bass boost, and I found that the Q701 with the bass boost ON actually has fairly similar bass levels to the Anniversaries with bass boost OFF.  The Q701 just has a little more initial impact.  I think the bass also seems to decay quicker on Q701 though, and it doesn't have much support body-wise from the other frequencies compared to the anniversary.  Like the bass is trying to fight to give all the body but the mids and treble aren't helping out much.  The annivesary's entire spectrum gets a volumizing body-boost over the Q701, and since you can't boost the body of the mids and treble the Q701 is at a disadvantage there.  I was expecting Q701 + Bass Boost to fall somewhere in-between the anniversary without bass boost, and the anniversary with bass boost, but it's closer to the former.   Once you turn the Bass boost ON with the anniversaries, they're on another level though.  They leave the Q701s behind in terms of body and impact.  Sometimes it's almost too much bass (or mid-bass) - like your standing near a generator and it's humming louder overtop of the other sounds.  Sometimes it can sound muddy-ish depending on what the game is doing.  I blame some of this on the mixamps muddy bass boost though, which is why....

 

...I just re-snagged a DSS v1 off eBay  

 

I miss it's bass boost - it really has a superior bass boost over the Mixamp 5.8.  It's tighter/cleaner, affects less of the mid-bass and more of the sub-bass, and punches significantly harder than the mixamp if you max out the dial.  The mixamps bass is muddier and cuts off slowy affecting more lower mid frequencies.  Not to mention, it clips more.  The added control over the bass is worth it for the $30 shipped IMO.  The DSS has a slightly higher noise floor, but that's pretty much a non-issue with the AKG K70x - they don't really care.

 

 

BTW, it sounds like I'm ragging on the Q701, but I don't mean to.  I love them and think they're great.  I'm just trying to clarify some of the differences I hear between the two pads during gaming/single-player gaming in relation to soundstage and bass - only this time I'm specifically coming off of having used the anniversaries for two weeks and normalizing their sound, without being able to hear the Q701s.  The first time I compared, it was coming from using the Q701s as the default and the anniversaries as the outsider, and I said things like they're "slightly too dark," "Forward sounding", "I prefer the air on the Q701," "I like the floating sounds on the Q701", etc.  So it's all sort of relative to whatever you're used to at that moment.

Do you still stand for the pads as a difference between Q701 and Anniversaries? 

Also I'm getting my first serious Solid State! 

Any one know how to roll opamps <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Tonberry 

I don't know if you guys can help but I'm trying to figure out a good setup for gaming and music.  I was thinking of either getting the Steelseries Audio Mixer (or maybe DSS?), cheap clip on microphone, and CAL or just get the Monoprice 7.1 headset.  I'm mainly going to be using the headphones for music so I figured the CAL would be the better option but I'm not sure how that setup is for gaming.  I know the Monoprice is pretty decent for gaming but I have no idea how it is for music. I assume it's just ok. If anyone has experience with any of these, I'd like to hear what you have to say because I can't find enough info on the equipment

Can anybody help me? I'm fairly new to gaming setups

This is new    http://www.whathifi.com/news/sony-launches-mdr-xb910-extra-bass-headphones 

I know this has probably been asked and this is a common battle of products, but searching for both products and the word 'ears' in this thread I couldn't find a definite answer.

I have large ears and my decision between the CAL or M50 is coming down based purely on which one might be more comfortable for those with large ears. I have both in my Amazon cart right now and am just waiting to click buy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by roguegeek 

MLE, have you tried the Shure SRH940 for competitive gaming (or any other use) yet? If so, initial thoughts?

 

I picked these up very cheap this week to fulfill a need I had with their signature and am finding them to be quite analytical and a detail monster. Wonder how that would translate to positional audio with competitive gaming. Obviously, there's going to be some major drawbacks with the closed back and smaller soundstage.

Anyone else have thoughts on these in terms of competitive gaming?