Headphones for PC gaming and game music?

I just signed up here and could use some advice on headphones. I have used a Beyer DT250/80 for many years and have been quite pleased with them, but I recently tried my brother's DT770/32 and the difference is much bigger than I expected. They sound less accurate than mine, but "richer." At the same time, I occasionally found their extended treble uncomfortable to listen to on certain music pieces, even at a reduced volume.

I will use these for music and PC gaming and will run them out of an x-fi sound card, possibly with an entry level amp like the Fiio E11 or E9 (haven't decided on that yet). The music I listen to consists entirely of PC game soundtracks (mostly electronic music, no lyrics) and the source quality is highly variable, so I want something that colors the sound a bit and is not completely neutral. I normally use a V-shaped response in Winamp's equalizer with the DT250 and it dramatically improves the stuff I listen to, but I found that this was no longer necessary with the DT770. They also need to be good with positional audio and typical explosion/gunfire sounds in games. I'm inclined to try out open headphones, having used only closed ones so far, although if closed ones would fit my needs better then I'll stick with those. Apart from the sound quality, I want large, velour pads and ideally a one-sided, detachable and coiled cable. They should be comfortable and not fatiguing to use for long periods. I don't need much isolation as long as things like computer fans are not audible, since I still have the DT250 for travel and office use.

I am looking at the HD598, HD650 and the various DT880 and DT990 versions, but am open to other suggestions. I like Beyer's overall ergonomics and the DT990 is said to have strong bass, which I want, but I also see complaints about the emphasized treble hurting your ears, similar to what I noticed on the DT770. The HD598 seems to be generally good but people say it's weak on bass (and I don't care much for the looks), while the HD650 has more pronounced lows but costs more than the rest and will require an amp as well. I have in mind about $300-400 for both the headphone and any amp, although I can go higher if it's really worth it for my usage.

One problem with the Beyer models I've used is that the left and right sides are not properly balanced, with the left sounding a bit louder. This is slightly noticeable on my DT250, and I have the Windows speaker volume to be slightly biased to the right to make up for it, but is even more apparent on the DT770. Is this a common issue with Beyer headphones?

Thanks for the suggestions.

I didn't look at some headphones that closely purely for ergonomic reasons. I prefer velour pads over leather or other materials for extended listening. I found the DT770 to be excellent in terms of comfort, so anything with a similar shape and pads would be good. The Ultrasone 2400 and 900 both look interesting though from the frequency response graphs. I would like slightly bigger earpads in line with the models I mentioned, but I might have to compromise somewhere to get the kind of sound signature I want.

I didn't even know there was a global equalizer on the x-fi. I have to try that out. I use some of the other processing stuff the card does, like the crystallizer and reverb effects. It adds some color to my fairly neutral DT250 and the often low quality source audio.

Bump

So I ended up with a DT990/32 based on various threads here (that big Beyer comparison thread was especially helpful) and generally like it a lot so far, for both music and games. The stock sound is a bit like the equalized DT250 with the V-shaped curve I was using, but the bottom and top ends have noticeably better clarity and a more airy feeling with a better sense of distance.

The treble is definitely harsh on some songs and gun sounds without any equalization, although I find it to be more tolerable than the DT770. Turning down 8k and 16k by 1-3db in the X-fi equalizer made the treble perfect, very detailed but still comfortable. For me, the issue is not so much the bump around 8k but the extension way up into the 16k-20k range without falling off. However, on low quality (very low bitrate or 22khz) music, the default treble actually sounds better and adds extra sparkle to the normally muddy sounding music. On the other hand, it also brings out hisses and pops in bad recordings at higher bitrates that were less noticeable on the DT250. I will probably stick with the rolled off treble for regular usage.

The comfort level is excellent, with less sweatiness than I get on the closed DT250. The straight cable is a bit annoying, but I didn't want the higher clamp force on the Pro versions that have coiled cables. The forks also sometimes make a weird cracking sound when I put the headphones on, as if they're snapping into place somewhere. From what I'm reading this is apparently normal.

How much difference would an amp make, and what would be a good match? The DT990 already sounds plenty loud at 60% volume out of the X-fi (anything higher than that is too loud) and the bass/treble seems fast and undistorted, but I would like to get the best out of it. The Fiio E11 looked perfect until I found out that you can't run it off AC power. Is there anything else around that price range that can run powered, while still being reasonably portable?