[PurpleAngel]

  Hi all, Long time lurker, First time poster!
I'm struggling to find a pair of cans to completely immerse me in my games (Mainly BF3 and Soon BF4 On PC)
I'm not one for competitive playing, I just like to play games and enjoy my self and want to feel like "I'm there"
I fell for the whole hype of the ATH AD700's and while they're amazing cans, They're just not for me.
Any insight on what I should be looking at? 
Budget is around $350ish for some cans and an DAC/AMP if needed!

I'm assuming you are using a Win PC for gaming?
 
Sennheiser HD558 headphones, $131.26
Sound Blaster Z sound card (SB1500), $94.99
So, $226, plus and sales tax.

 

[chicolom]

  First impressions?
Will you be comparing them, thoroughly, with the K712 and X1?

 
 
I'll have a little more on them later, but Yes - these will be getting a full review and comparison.

 

[widdyjudas]

   
 
Did you see my mini comparison between the K712 and HD650?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/626971/akg-k702-65th-anniversary-edition/3030#post_9819324
 
If you love soundstage, I would go for the K712.  The strength of the HD650 is intimate mids.

Yes, I have read that. Now, I'm leaning towards the k712, since I'm also a soundstage type. I don't like cramped sound.  hoping next year the pricing in HK will be acceptable. The annie now is still 600+ usd in my usual store 

I'm also planning to buy the Aune T1 to replace the e17 and preparing for my next cans.
If it got more bass than 650, then the k712 is perfect. The 650's bass is good for me, but craving bit more.
BTW, congrats for the T90. Waiting for full review and of the k712 and T90, and hoping for comparison with the X1

 

 

[chicolom]

  BTW, congrats for the T90.

Waiting for full review and of the k712 and T90, and hoping for comparison with the X1

 

 
Thanks.
 
BTW there are comparisons between the Anniversary and X1 in my X1 review, and that should be close enough to give you some idea of how the K712 would sound in comparison to the X1.  The K712 will be slightly smoother and slightly open sounding than the Anniversary.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/670318/philips-fidelio-x1-review-comparison

 

[chicolom]

  BTW, congrats for the T90. Waiting for full review and of the k712 and T90, and hoping for comparison with the X1

 

 
Thanks.
 
BTW there are comparisons between the Anniversary and X1 in my X1 review, and that should be close enough to give you some idea of how the K712 would sound in comparison to the X1.  The K712 will be slightly smoother and slightly more open sounding than the Anniversary.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/670318/philips-fidelio-x1-review-comparison

 

[widdyjudas]

   
Thanks.
 
BTW there are comparisons between the Anniversary and X1 in my X1 review, and that should be close enough to give you some idea of how the K712 would sound in comparison to the X1.  The K712 will be slightly smoother and slightly open sounding than the Anniversary.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/670318/philips-fidelio-x1-review-comparison

How is the bass for the 712 compared to the annie? Imo Annie's bass qty is ok for me, but wishing it got a little bit more, just like the hd650.

 

[chicolom]

  How is the bass for the 712 compared to the annie? Imo Annie's bass qty is ok for me, but wishing it got a little bit more, just like the hd650.

 
K712 has slightly more than the Anniversary.  I thought both had more than the HD650 though.

 

[widdyjudas]

   
K712 has slightly more than the Anniversary.  I thought both had more than the HD650 though.

Good for me then... Its might be my next one, if Philips not releasing better X2

 

[Interlopr]

  If you are more into single player experience, then you must try BF BC2 if you haven't already. I got BF3 recently with the Humble Bundle. It is good as a single player, but not great in any way. BF BC2 is so much better, because the characters are so well done, the BF3 characters are pale in comparison. I played BFBC2 at least 7 times through. You might even also look at  COD Modern Warfare 1/2/3 single players have awesome characters and story lines.
For cans and DAC/AMP, you might just read the intro of this thread. It tells you the complete story. For long gaming sessions I can recommend the AKG K7XX line. Very comfy.

Not really that much into single player these days anymore, I mainly play multiplayer, But I don't need some cans that are going to tell me there is something 3 meters to the right of me. I'm wanting something that will simply let me enjoy my game more, The ATH-AD700's didn't do that for me, Basically I'm trying to find something that sounds similar to the AD700's but with some "boom" to them. I've heard that these http://www.noisymotel.com/product.asp?ProductID=333 would provide that, Does anyone else have any insight on these?

  I'm assuming you are using a Win PC for gaming?
 
Sennheiser HD558 headphones, $131.26
Sound Blaster Z sound card (SB1500), $94.99
So, $226, plus and sales tax.

 
That is correct, I currently already own the Asus XONAR Essence STX sound card, So am strictly after a pair of cans at this moment, The 558's in my country how ever are not that cheap, Ranging from $200 - $300
 
The site I'd like to buy of would be http://www.noisymotel.com/default.asp
 
Or anywhere else in Australia that I can find something decently priced.
 
EDIT: Simply Put, I want a headphone that is Competitive for online FPS and at the same time being a very fun headphone to listen to (Booming Sound)

 

[calpis]

Bought the Windwaker Wii U bundle. Time to try out DH on that bish.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Wait, Wii U doesn't have Dolby Digital for games. How are you gonna get DH out of it?

Oh... wait, I forget if receivers convert LPCM to DH...

Chico... that's a surprising choice, considering all the hate the T90 gets for it's peaky treble. I guess it will be quite the contrast to the K712. Lemme know how it goes. I may beg you to let me do a review for it. I don't mind treble jumps as much as others do, though I won't buy headphones with large treble peaks anymore.

Personally thought you'd hold out for the HD800, or went for an HE-500 or something.

The MA900 made me become interested in spacious soundstages again. I really wanna try the HD800.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Not really that much into single player these days anymore, I mainly play multiplayer, But I don't need some cans that are going to tell me there is something 3 meters to the right of me. I'm wanting something that will simply let me enjoy my game more, The ATH-AD700's didn't do that for me, Basically I'm trying to find something that sounds similar to the AD700's but with some "boom" to them. I've heard that these http://www.noisymotel.com/product.asp?ProductID=333 would provide that, Does anyone else have any insight on these?
 
That is correct, I currently already own the Asus XONAR Essence STX sound card, So am strictly after a pair of cans at this moment, The 558's in my country how ever are not that cheap, Ranging from $200 - $300
 
The site I'd like to buy of would be http://www.noisymotel.com/default.asp
 
Or anywhere else in Australia that I can find something decently priced.
 
EDIT: Simply Put, I want a headphone that is Competitive for online FPS and at the same time being a very fun headphone to listen to (Booming Sound)

A lot of headphones on that site (Noisy Motel) that I know zero about.
But two you might look into, the Sound Magic HP100 and the Fischer Audio FA-011.

 

[Fegefeuer]

The T90 sibilance put me off in the end. For gaming though they image better than all the AKGs and their clarity is very welcome. Beyer is hard to beat in terms of imaging. 
 
I went for an ugly green Q701 loaner over the weekend because I didn't dare opening the Annies (got them for much cheaper than the regular price here) to be dissapointed, and being a year-long Ex-K701 owner I surely notice improvements, though the imaging is basically the same (tonality wise of course different as in a bit smaller, less air) with its very oval shape and not much depth. And then there's still the treble grain (not a problem with games imo) But then I am used to the HD 800 and a comparison is probably not fair. For the Mixamp it's more good enough, actually "too good" but imaging with T90 and T1 is definitely better to me, especially with the phantom center. Kinda sad though that a flagship starts to have the "right" tonality (to me) for a Beyer, with the exception of the DT770 LE AE.
 
Of course I can't fully judge on the Annies imaging but I strongly doubt it's a huge improvement. On the other hand it looks nice...

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The Annie won't have the same detail retrieval due to the obvious glossing over and smoothing, for less fatigue and more warmth over the Q701. If you bought the ANnie for detail-whoring, you're making a mistake. The Annie is basically for those that found the other 70x too lean or lacking in bass. More an enjoyable experience, and more of an all rounder, rather than more specialized and situational .

Imaging is always gonna be better for detail oriented headphones. So the Q701 will be better than the Annie for imaging. But I still found the ANnie to be a beast for gaming on all fronts.

 

[chicolom]

Chico... that's a surprising choice, considering all the hate the T90 gets for it's peaky treble. I guess it will be quite the contrast to the K712. Lemme know how it goes. I may beg you to let me do a review for it. I don't mind treble jumps as much as others do, though I won't buy headphones with large treble peaks anymore.

Personally thought you'd hold out for the HD800, or went for an HE-500 or something.

 
 
HD800 is the eventual goal, and me getting one is pretty much inevitable.  But I can't afford one yet so I wanted to try something else in the mean time.  I thought about trying the HE500, but I'm pretty sure I need more soundstage than it can give me.  I'm also not a huge fan of Hifiman's comfort (mainly weight).
 
 
The thing about the T90's treble is simply that it's forward.  It's not even a treble spike, it's just broadly elevated over the rest of the frequencies (aka, forward).  With that said, I don't hear any sibilance or "zinginiess" being produced by the T90.  The actual treble quality is some of the best I've heard in a headphone.  It's clean, detailed, and very resolving.  It makes the X1 and K712 sound blurry and grainy.
 
IMO the potential issue is not the treble quality but the quantity.