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Closed Headphones for Competitive Gaming

post #1 of 10
8/21/12 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 

My teammate is seeking closed headphones strictly for gaming for less than $150 max.

 

Preferences:

Good isolation (We play in big lan centers/events with lots of excessive noise)

No modifications required (Plug and play preferred)

Soundstage comparable to open (I know this is abit unrealistic)

Stereo only (The game we play does not work well with DolbyHD or Xfi/Xonar settings)

No Amp Needed (Just not feasible at this time)

Comfort (Sometimes 4+ hour sessions)

 

From some snooping I found these:

Fostex TRP 50 $99 (Seem to require modifications for good sound)

Shure SRH440 $75 (Flat response, reviewer commented on their seal)

Ultrasone HFI-580 $120 (I don't know how the V-shaped eq will work with gaming)

Audio Technica M50 $130

Shure SRH840 $140 (Neutral, possible comfort issues)

AKG K271 $140 (Comfy and bass light which is good for gaming i guess)

DT 770 pro ~$80-100 (used from an old teammate, don't know the care he took of them)

 

I would appreciate your guy's input as I am not an audiophile and don't really know what I am looking at.

Also please make suggestions to other headphones if they aren't on my list that I found. I just snooped around the site abit.

 

Someone also suggested the following: KRK KNS-8400 $115

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post #2 of 10
8/21/12 at 10:33am

Heya,

 

Two options, frankly, in my book:

 

Brainwavz HM5

Beyer DT770

 

 

 

 

 

You'll get a bit more isolation with the HM5. It's a bit more neutral too. The DT770 has a little more fun sound to it, a touch more warm bass.

 

Both are excellent for gaming, and excellent at passive isolation and comfort.

 

They will both run from a typical sound card without issue (I assume there is a 3rd party sound card, and not just motherboard chipset; some higher end boards have decent on-board chipsets for audio, but if not, get a sound card; basic $30 Xonar DG is more than sufficient).

 

Should the budget ever be raised to be useful for just enjoyable audio listening in general for some reason, consider in the future something like the D2000, D5000, A900X, PRO750, PRO900, K550, etc.

 

Very best,


Edited by MalVeauX - 8/21/12 at 10:35am
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post #3 of 10
8/21/12 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 

i personally use the mmx 300 which is comparable to the dt770 i believe.

 

no third party sound card in most cases. the lans mainly have onboard realtek :(

 

he uses his current open headphones or speakers when playing at home. this pair is strictly for loud/noisy lan enviroments


Edited by lpkdoop - 8/21/12 at 10:45am
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post #4 of 10
8/21/12 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lpkdoop View Post

i personally use the mmx 300 which is comparable to the dt770 i believe.

 

no third party sound card in most cases. the lans mainly have onboard realtek :(

 

he uses his current open headphones or speakers when playing at home. this pair is strictly for loud/noisy lan enviroments

 

Heya,

 

The MMX 300 is the same as the DT770.

 

Since using onboard realtek; again, consider something like a $30 Xonar DG. It has an onaboard amplifier that will liven up these headphones that have impedance ratings of 60~80ohms to get a more dynamic sound than what the onboard realtek is likely outputting to you.

 

Very best,

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post #5 of 10
8/21/12 at 12:25pm

I use the Ultrasone hfi-580 for gaming. The v-shape is fine for gaming, as most of the focus is on explosions and little accent noises in the upper frequencies. they have great positioning. you can tell where any noise comes from 360 degrees. I had been using grado's for gaming because they were all i had. As soon as i got the ultrasones it was "wow, never knew games had this level of detail". still prefer grados for music. the ultrasones isolate well. i have no problem with comfort, although some do. you wont need any mods. has a very long cable, although i seem to be the only person on the planet that likes this. 

 

There may be better headphones for gaming (maybe not in this price bracket), but these are pretty friggin good imo. They are leagues ahead of any "Gaming" headset you'll find. 

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post #6 of 10
8/21/12 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MalVeauX View Post

Since using onboard realtek; again, consider something like a $30 Xonar DG. It has an onaboard amplifier that will liven up these headphones that have impedance ratings of 60~80ohms to get a more dynamic sound than what the onboard realtek is likely outputting to you.

 

 

Thanks again for the input,

 

These will be strictly for tournaments at lan centers. We can't just show up with our own sound cards and pop open the case and install them. So what we get is what they have. Sometimes they got xfi/xonar sometimes they don't.


Edited by lpkdoop - 8/21/12 at 3:06pm
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post #7 of 10
8/22/12 at 5:54am

onboard chips have trouble powering high impedance cans right? my laptop onboard has no trouble powering low impedance cans (32ohms).

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post #8 of 10
8/22/12 at 6:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by crepuscular457 View Post

onboard chips have trouble powering high impedance cans right? my laptop onboard has no trouble powering low impedance cans (32ohms).

Doesn't mean it'll power them well.
The Beyerdynamic T5p are 32 ohms but when plugged into a weak source they scream "I NEED MORE POWER!" =/

And OP, scratch the M50s off the list. The M50s have the smallest soundstage of any pair of headphones I've heard.
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post #9 of 10
8/22/12 at 8:25am

As the KRK KNS 8400 are only 32-Ohm, might be a safer choice for on-board sound card.

Brainwavz HM5 might also be a good choice.

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post #10 of 10
8/22/12 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the info on the M5s.

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