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PC Gaming headphone questions and recommendations?

post #1 of 18
9/18/12 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 

Hey all,

 

I'm looking to upgrade from my Sony XB500's that are currently running straight from my motherboard's onboard sound card. I've tried to do a lot of research on this forum to find the right solution for me without having to post a, most likely, redundant thread topic, but I haven't been able to find all of the answers I'm looking for. Thank you for any advice you're able to give.

 

I'll start with what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a total package price tag of under $250, preferably a bit lower (under $200). I play all sorts of games, ranging from RTS, MMOs, and FPS. I do play CS:GO (which is a FPS) competitively. I'm looking mostly for something that will be good for competitive FPS games on PC. I also spend a good amount of time listening to music on my PC through headphones, my main genre's are reggae and acoustic folk/indie with some rock, rap, and whatever else. That being said I would like headphones that can provide a deeper/warmer sound than the Ety hf3 IEM's that I just bought. I can appreciate the clarity and accuracy of the Ety's, but I prefer something with more powerful lows to really accentuate the dancing bass lines in reggae music.

 

I did read Mad Lust Envy's headphone gaming guide, and about a week ago was the first time I had heard of Dolby Headphone. I was thinking of picking up this card to throw in my system. I was leaning towards Audio-Technica AD700s, however I was turned off by his negative comments regarding the bass. I was also considering the M50's, but the low "competitive" score and cited poor performance with Dolby Headphone also has made me hesitate. Also I was wondering if an amp is necessary for better performance from the headphones.

 

Thanks again for your help!

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post #2 of 18
9/18/12 at 2:02pm

I have the M50's and they are fantastic, but there is a much smaller sound stage. For an example, sounds like someone is behind you to the left, but you don't know if they are in your face or if they are a aways away.  My HD 650 really make me fell like have more depth to the sound, but they are not as sharp or acurate as I would like.  The M50 have great detail and really is a sound stage I would prefere, but personaly I care more about whats going around me than how it sounds.  My perfect headphones would be have the depth of sound  and comfort of the HD 650, but I would want more details that I get from the M50.  I can get that from my M50, but I am sure I would need an amp like the B22 for just my headphones.  I personally have been thinking about getting the PC360.  Soulds like it would be a good comprise. 

 

I also got a mix amp for my xbox and I am loving it. If you game on anything other than your PC than get the mix amp or some other DAC.  I have been though many sounds cards and they just never meet the standards I would like.  I had a zero, but the optical port stoped working.  I need to get a better DAC and amp, but I got kids.


Edited by scaz - 9/18/12 at 2:07pm
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post #3 of 18
9/18/12 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scaz View Post
My HD 650 really make me fell like I am in an open are vs everything is right next to me. 

I gamed for the first time with my 650's yesterday aaaand this^^

 

Open headphones seem to be superior for gaming when positioning, sound effects, and dynamic are paramount. HD 600 is in your budget range but do know that they don't isolate and are not low end monsters.

 

Also this is just my opinion, but stick to plain stereo headphones with no processing. surround headphones and all that DSP stuff doesn't improve anything.

 

Also, you can totally get away without an amp if you just game because the volume level isn't as high. Unless you buy a soundcard with a amp.


Edited by RushNerd - 9/18/12 at 2:09pm
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post #4 of 18
9/18/12 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 

thanks for the suggestions, however I'm not finding the HD 600's anywhere in my price range :( It's sounding like the M50's aren't very good for FPS gaming due to the small soundstage, so I'm still looking for other options that satisfy both needs (larger soundstage for FPS gaming, and also decent or above average bass for music). I'm not sure if these are conflicting attributes or not, however I don't need window-shaking bass that is going to distort the sound. I would just like something at least a little bit warmer/darker than the Ety hf3's that I just got. Something that can deliver and accentuate the bass lines in reggae music.

 

edit: I forgot to mention that noise isolation isn't the most important attribute either. There isn't much noise in my computer room besides a few air pumps and filters running on a fish tank, and I don't care if other people can hear the noise produced from the headset.


Edited by cupofDoug - 9/18/12 at 8:03pm
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post #5 of 18
9/18/12 at 9:12pm

The Xonar DG is a pretty decent choice for a cheap sound card, but Newegg's also selling X-Fi Titanium cards for $45 shipped. CS:GO might be able to leverage the X-Fi's positional audio capabilities better if you can set "snd_legacy_surround 1" in the console and point ALchemy to the installation directory.

 

As for headphones, the Samson SR850 gets a lot of rave reviews around here for having bass presence while still having good soundstage and imaging for gaming, but I haven't auditioned it. At $50 or so, at least it's cheaper than the typical AD700, let alone the M50.

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post #6 of 18
9/19/12 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 

I might check out the SR850's as a cheap alternative to the HD 600's. Although part of me really would like to experience $300 headphones :) I'm quite new to this.

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post #7 of 18
9/19/12 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cupofDoug View Post

I might check out the SR850's as a cheap alternative to the HD 600's. Although part of me really would like to experience $300 headphones :) I'm quite new to this.

Technical Pro HPT990 (Takstar hi2050) headphones only $45 at J&R

Head-Fi thread on these headphones

http://www.head-fi.org/t/585356/takstar-beyer-oem

link to J&R

http://www.jr.com/technical-pro/pe/TAE_HPT990/

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post #8 of 18
9/19/12 at 10:19pm
Sony mdr said-3000.
I heard they are good for gaming
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post #9 of 18
9/20/12 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 

Well alright, thanks again for the suggestions.

 

Anyone that can compare between the Takstar hi2050 (Technical Pro HPT990) and the SR850's? From the comments on the thread that PurpleAngel linked it seems as if I should purchase an amp for the 2050's, any suggestions on one for around $50-100? Do the SR850's require an amp? Keep in mind that in addition to gaming I do listen to quite a bit of music on my computer. I really appreciate everyone's help and wisdom here.

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post #10 of 18
9/20/12 at 4:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cupofDoug View Post

Well alright, thanks again for the suggestions.

 

Anyone that can compare between the Takstar hi2050 (Technical Pro HPT990) and the SR850's? From the comments on the thread that PurpleAngel linked it seems as if I should purchase an amp for the 2050's, any suggestions on one for around $50-100? Do the SR850's require an amp? Keep in mind that in addition to gaming I do listen to quite a bit of music on my computer. I really appreciate everyone's help and wisdom here.

The Technial Pro HPT990 is 60-Ohms, the Samson SR850 is 32-Ohm.

Asus Xonar DG sound card is $20-$30 comes with a half-way decent headphone amplifier good for headphone up to 150-Ohm

and Dolby Headphone surround sound.

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post #11 of 18
9/20/12 at 6:46pm

or for the price you could get both the 700s and the m50s. one for great soundstage and one for fun ^_^.

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post #12 of 18
9/20/12 at 6:50pm

SR 850s with Dolby Headphone on the DG will give you a pretty well balanced sound. They are really lightweight but the pads are a bit sweaty.

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post #13 of 18
9/24/12 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 

Well I ended up choosing the Xonar DG with Technial Pro HPT990's. Thanks again for your help everyone.

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post #14 of 18
9/24/12 at 7:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cupofDoug View Post

Well I ended up choosing the Xonar DG with Technial Pro HPT990's. Thanks again for your help everyone.

Give the HPT990 lots of burn in time, I like to play metal music at a higher then normal volume, and leave the music on all night, put the headphone in box to cover the audio.

Also try the "Unified Xonar Drivers" at the Brainbit website.

 

And if for some reason you do not like the setup, put me at the top of your list for people to blame.

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post #15 of 18
9/25/12 at 2:33am

HD650 is very good for gaming. Brainwavz HM5 too.

 

Many other headphones are terrible for gaming, like ATH M50, it's directional is terrible.

 

The best gaming HEADSET I tried so far is PC360 from Sennheiser.

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