Grado SR80i vs. Audio Technica ATH-AD700 vs. Audio Technica ATH A700 for Gaming?

Nobody uses Grado for gaming.

AD700 is your answer - one of the best gaming headphones available! It's got a big soundstage, but don't except huge bass. They are for competitive gaming where you need to hear all directional cues.

Sennheiser HD-558, like the ATH-AD700s, but with more bass.

Hey, I'm probably one of the few that can chime in on this as I've owned both the SR-80i and the AD900(close enough ) and used both for gaming.

The Grados I found amazing for gaming actually, they sound a little off in games, but if your playing competitively your be very happy with your purchase. I was playing Crysis multiplayer and was able to detect an enemy all the way across the map(a small map) by the faint buzzing sound of his invisibility cloak. He was crouched behind a crate up against the side of the map, I headshotted him the second I came around the corner. I believe the game went 10 to 0 before he gave up, Grados are good for this kind of gaming. Grados are not bass monsters, but they do great with the 'punchy' bass gunshots and explosions need to shine. The rumble of your ship in ME will be lacking in feel but will still sound great. Headphones with great bass will put you next to the ship.

Now for the AD900s, they sound big, as I was walking through a cave in minecraft I could hear the sound of my footsteps echoing throughout the cave, very impressive. They too have pretty good accuracy within the soundstage, but I feel that the Grados did better for competitive gaming. The 'airy' sound of the ADs was a bit distracting and the lack of bass made gunshots and explosions sound flat and distorted. Back to the ME example, the rumble of the ship sounds fake and artificial.

For music I found the AD to have an addictive airy sound, but the music itself all seemed to clump together into a loud mess. The lack of bass makes everything sound off. I couldn't listen for more than an hour before throwing them off. Grado on the other hand, you will feel that you are in a small room with the band, nothing really will sound off and well different instruments will overlap a bit they won't be sitting right on top of one another like the ADs.

And in case your wondering, the AKG K81s that I have, while I find them to better the Grados for music purposes are horrible gaming headphones. For example, I'm charging an enemy in mount and blade, I hear footsteps behind me and spin around. I get a sword in my back before I realize that what I was hearing were my own footsteps poorly positioned a few feet behind me, not good gamers at all.
Edited by MohawkUS - 2/5/12 at 6:34pm

Oh, you already have the 60i? A lot of people actually prefer the 60i to the 80i(I bought the 80i before I found head-fi). I wouldn't bother switching to another pair of headphones unless your looking for a different sound completely. Nothing quite sounds like a Grado. I'm the odd one out here in that I prefer on-ear designs, I find the big headphones bulky and uncomfortable. The Sennheiser HD598 was a comfort nightmare for me, while others call it the most comfortable yet.

I don't know much of anything about the Samson but it sounds like something worth trying out. The AD700 has less bass than the 900, and I found the 900 to be very very light on bass. A lot less than the SR-80i, and much less than the 60i.