themanbeast
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2008
- Posts
- 271
- Likes
- 10
First off, hi! It's been quite a long time since I've made a post on these forums, over a year I think. I usually post in the full size forum, but I am in dire need of something smaller now.
As a background, I am an avid gamer. I travel around the US going to gaming events, usually attending 9 or 10 a year. I play Counter-Strike:Source competitively, and if anyone here reading this has done that, you know how much good directional sound can help you perform.
I've always typically used full sized headphones to compete, but due to the rigors of travel, I have gone through more than my share of nice equipment (we're talking Denon d2000s, Beyers, AD700s etc. broken over time). Today, I was playing a game from home using my only pair of canal phones (I own a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-CKM50A) because I needed more sound isolation, when it hit me - I've owned these for far longer than any of my full-sized cans have survived, and they have excellent sound quality! The only issue I have with these are the soundstaging capabilities. While they are good enough for normal circumstances, they just don't have the depth for me to feel I can rely on to know where my opposition is.
So, naturally, this has put me on a mission of sorts - find a set of IEM or canal phones that have the soundstaging I'm looking for. In a nutshell, what I need is:
- As open a soundstage as I can find
- Easily driven (Most events use tournament computers, and I would be using onboard computer audio to plug into)
- Moderate to light bass if possible
- Preferably under $200 (If there is no alternative to spending more, I will save, I would just prefer to spend as little as possible
I am willing to sacrifice just about anything SQ wise to get the kind of soundstaging I need, as these AT canal phones are excellent and would fulfill my music needs. =)
With all that said, can anyone lead me in the right direction? I am looking at the lower end Shures, the Ultimate Ear line, and Etymotic right now. I'm not sure what to pick, because this definitely is not my domain.