im looking to buy a new pair of headphones for csgo and other games, so it needs to be able to do really good directional audio with detailed mids and highs for footsteps.
im also getting pretty sick of replacing broken headphones so im looking for something really durable, im thinking it would be better to get a pair thats a few years old and proven to be long lasting(even maybe used).
i also need them to have atleast a bit of isolation because i use a fan alot, the more isolation the better but i know you cant always find closed headphones with the best audio.
i would pay up to 150 dollars but i wouldn't mind less.
i use a modmic btw.
my head is massive btw.
 
thanks for the help.

I don't know if I'm much help, but here goes, as I'm in a similar situation, but I'm playing Battlefield 4.
 
I've had a pair of AKG K514 MKII for about 5 years, I think. They cost about 50 bucks and are about the most unexceptional headphones you can buy. But, I've recently discovered that I haven't been doing them justice, as I didn't think an amp would make a difference with their 32Ohms impedence. But it's night and day. They are open back, which I hate, but blast the volume high enough and your surroundings disappear. However, the audiostage is huge. You can hear everything.
 
You'll ask, "what's your point?". My point is, if it's just for gaming, and you're not playing competitively, go for something like the K514. There are many nice headphones in that price range that may not cut if for listening to music with top-notch quality, but for gaming... Seriously, only the very very expensive headsets from the likes of Audio Technica sound better. If you want them for more than just gaming, this is another story, but I'll stop here.
 
PS : There's isn't something inherently bad in the audio quality of closed headphones, they just lack soundstage. You are very isolated and can't really pinpoint the location a sound is coming from. For music, that's not a problem. But for gaming, you need a large soundstage. Without it, you don't get a real advantage from using headphones.

I'd check out Mad Lust Envy's gaming guide, and personally suggest NXM XPT100's + a cheap soundcard (Xonar DGX is what I have). If you can go open, Sennheiser HD558's are really hard to beat! I use a fan too, and I don't feel like the tiny bit of noise advantage I'd gain is worth the openness and clarity of good open headphones. HD558 (check out the foam mod) + DGX ~= $150, and will last you a long time.

thanks for the advice, i already have a xonar dx. i edited the post.

The DX is an excellent sound card with a nice DAC. But it does not have a headphone amp.

So get the XPT100s or HD558s + a Fiio E11K headphone amp for best sound

wouldn't it be better to by the headphones first to see if they are loud enough before buying an amp?

xflrstx said:

  wouldn't it be better to by the headphones first to see if they are loud enough before buying an amp?

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It's not about loudness only. You get much more "full" sound with a proper amp. It's a waste buying a proper pair of headphones and not driving them properly.

tolis626 said:

It's not about loudness only. You get much more "full" sound with a proper amp. It's a waste buying a proper pair of headphones and not driving them properly.

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Right. Things like dampening factor and impedance variance with headphones affect the sound quality. When you don't have an amp, the headphones will not sound the same as with one.

I own the Xonar DX. A headphone amp will help

That being said, you could get the headphones first then add the amp later.

from my experience(i know nothing about audio) when you turn up the volume on a pair of speakers or headphones close to the max of what the source will allow it starts to mess with the volume of different sounds and generally makes things sound like ****, is that what you mean by not being "full" or is the effect noticeable at lower volumes as well?

xflrstx said:

from my experience(i know nothing about audio) when you turn up the volume on a pair of speakers or headphones close to the max of what the source will allow it starts to mess with the volume of different sounds and generally makes things sound like ****, is that what you mean by not being "full" or is the effect noticeable at lower volumes as well?

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That's the amp clipping. And you are right. Then you definitely want more amplifier power. Even close to max, the amplifier will start to clip the dynamics even before it's apparent through all of the sound you are listening to.

The DX has a line output meant to connect to a speaker amp or headphone amp. Look up "dampening factor" for headphones as one issue that arises when you don't have an amp.

I'd start with just the headphones, and add an amp later. The DGX didn't have a dedicated amp section, but is still more powerful than most stock motherboard audio codecs.

Fyi, make sure you have the Unified Xonar drivers, they're 3rd party. More stable, better sound (less lag). Also, 5.1 is broken on CS:GO, so play in headphone mode.

iv already got the uni drivers because the official ones played audio on different drivers out of sync when using surround sound. as for 5.1 in csgo, i was pretty sure it was 7.1 that was broken, thats what i heard online and i tested it by spinning around slowly next to a bomb that was ticking and the sound almost cut out completely at certain angles but 5.1 was fine for me, i tested 2.1 as well and 5.1 sounded better. and im not worried about sound lag unless i can notice it.

jodgey4 said:

I'd start with just the headphones, and add an amp later. The DGX didn't have a dedicated amp section, but is still more powerful than most stock motherboard audio codecs.

Fyi, make sure you have the Unified Xonar drivers, they're 3rd party. More stable, better sound (less lag). Also, 5.1 is broken on CS:GO, so play in headphone mode.

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I suppose these drivers wouldn't work for the onboard audio of my Maximus VII Formula, would they? The onboard sound card is on the same level as the Xonar DX (or so it's supposed to be) and it's got a TI amp (don't remember the model) and a Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC. And it doesn't sound good. My Galaxy S3, albeit modded, sounds quite a lot better with the same headphones. I think there is something wrong and that this isn't the way it's supposed to sound, but I'm disappointed nontheless.
 
Sorry for hijacking the thread, but I'm trying to figure out what's wrong. If I can't, I'll open my own thread.

Check the driver site, I'm pretty sure they're only for Asus cards.

And recheck the 5.1/headphone situation. That was not my experience, CS:GO doesn't even have 7.1 out. I play better on headphone, YMMV.

i was looking at the a500x's, i like that they're closed but not too closed and have a wide sound stage without over being bearing bass, i can find them for about 75 dollars new which im pretty sure is a sick deal. any objections? i compared them to them to the m40x but people were saying the m40x's where more closed with the bass and smaller sound stage coming along with that.