Hey, new on the forum.
I'm a gamer / hi-fi enthusiast / DJ / music producer and I'm looking good step up from my ****ty TB X31's. I'm looking for a great all around set up with a focus on gaming, but it should also work for movies, heavy music and some music production. So a good mix of analytical and fun sound with decent immersion and big soundstage. Would be super grateful for any input on this:
After doing a lot of research of reading this thread and other forums and reviews, I've come to the conclusion that I want to go down the route of Astro Mixamp Pro 2013 (or maybe earlier versions are better if EQ is not needed?) + a great third party headphone + Dx mini clip-on mic.
I've already got a NAD C320BEE amp (which I guess will be able to drive the headphones?) and a TC Electronic Twin Impact soundcard for music production, which I'm not sure if it's for any use in this case. It has microphone preamps and sounds great overall. Also, the NAD has EQ for low's and hi's which could render the latest 2013 mixamp EQ feature useless, if I've understood this correctly.
So far, I've narrowed down the headphone choice to:
- Beyerdynamic DT990 250 ohms - 125 USD
- Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohms - 120 USD (Can my NAD really drive this beast? Would it work at all plugged into my Ipod?)
- Sennheiser HD598 - 170 USD
- Sennheiser HD555 modded to 595 - 90 USD
- AKG K702 Annies - 350 USD (really sure not sure if I want to spend that much, though)
I play fps, racing and role playing/adventure games (cod, bf3, forza, skyrim, mass effect). I don't professionally compete, but I'd like to be very competitive in the shooters, if that makes sense. Still, I don't want to sacrifice too much bass or immersion for soundwhoring. I'm also gonna use the headphones for movies and some bass heavy music listening / production (hiphop, techno, house, dubstep).
I'm leaning at either the DT990 or the HD598 atm. The 598's would be 50 bucks more though, but I've read Sennheisers in general pair well with the NAD C320BEE.
Thoughts?
Thanks