[Iv4nI]

Hello everyone!
 
I currently own Audio Technica ATH-M50x headphones.
They're connected to an "oldie but goldie" Pioneer VSX-D814 which itself is connected via optical S/PDIF to my PC.
My motherboard is ASUS Z87-PRO which has this onboard soundcard:
 

Realtek® ALC1150 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC 
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
- High quality 112 dB SNR stereo playback output (Line-out at rear) and 104 dB SNR recording input (Line-in)
Audio Feature :
- Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound
- DTS Ultra PC II
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
- BD Audio Layer Content Protection

Source: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87PRO/specifications/
 
ATH-M50x is my fist pair of "pro" headphones and overall I'm satisfied with them but unfortunately they aren't that comfortable.
I bought Brainwavz HM5 pads last week and although it improved comfort a lot, I began thinking I should just leave them for music listening (love the sound of them!) and maybe buy something else for gaming (which means long gaming sessions so comfort is a must).
 
So, my requirements are:
- pure gaming use on a PC using the above mentioned setup. They'll never leave the room so portability/"look" is totally irrelevant. 
- comfort is the most important factor (somewhat of a big head + I wear glasses) other than the actual sound output.
 
I've searched this site and numerous others and found these candidates so I'd like your opinion. Of course, feel free to recommend any pair within the price range.
If I go down this route, I'd be buying from either Amazon.co.uk (£) or Amazon.de (EUR):
 
- Sennheiser HD 598 (£176.42 | EUR 158,99)
 
- Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro - 80 Ohm or 250 Ohm (which one if better for me?) (£100.00 | EUR 159,00)
 
- AKG K702 (£134.00 | EUR 176,00)
 
Thank you for reading.
 
Regards,
 
- Ivan

 

[capac]

Beyers are really comfortable, and if you don't use them with an amplifier, get 80 ohm version. You should also consider DT990 (open back version of 770). Do you want open or closed design?

 

[Iv4nI]

  Beyers are really comfortable, and if you don't use them with an amplifier, get 80 ohm version. You should also consider DT990 (open back version of 770). Do you want open or closed design?

Doesn't Pioneer VSX-D814 count as an amp?
As far as open/closed goes, whatever's better for gaming, I guess?
Isn't open better for gaming purposes? Heard raves about HD 598 and its soundstage and how great it is for gaming. That's currently the favorite of the bunch above.
I'll look into DT990, too. Thanks for the tip.

 

[capac]

Sorry, left it out for some reason. Beyers are really comfortable, so with amp, you should be able to drive them. 990s are open, so they should also have better soundstage than closed models.
 
There are also AKG K701 which are really comfortable IMO, but they are really flat on EQ.
 
Haven't tried HD598, but they are probably really good too.
 
Since you already own closed headphones, I assume you are interested in open back.

 

[Monsterzero]

Philips Fidelio X1 or X2

 

[DangerClose]

   
- Sennheiser HD 598 (£176.42 | EUR 158,99)
 
- Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro - 80 Ohm or 250 Ohm (which one if better for me?) (£100.00 | EUR 159,00)
 
- AKG K702 (£134.00 | EUR 176,00)
 
 

 
For pure gaming, the K702 wins.  I'd consider the 598 if wanting to spend less since it'd still be nice, but at those prices it's not even a consideration.
 
I don't know if that receiver is powerful enough to get everything out of them, but it should be much better than if trying to use onboard sound without an amp, so probably not a concern.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Doesn't Pioneer VSX-D814 count as an amp?
As far as open/closed goes, whatever's better for gaming, I guess?
Isn't open better for gaming purposes? Heard raves about HD 598 and its sound stage and how great it is for gaming. That's currently the favorite of the bunch above.
I'll look into DT990, too. Thanks for the tip.

 
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250-Ohm headphones.
The Pioneer VSX-D814 should be able to drive them.

 

[serman005]

You might also check out the HE400S, which has an expansive soundstage and is extremely comfortable. Very lightweight.

 

[cel4145]

Doesn't Pioneer VSX-D814 count as an amp?
As far as open/closed goes, whatever's better for gaming, I guess?

Open is better for gaming. Bigger soundstage. So stick to them to narrow your choices.

On average, headphone output on AVRs tends to be better optimized for driving higher impedance headphones. So you could likely (just a guess since we don't know your receiver's headphone output) get a bit better sound quality out of 250 ohms vs 32 ohms.

 

[Iv4nI]

OK, after reading some more and narrowing my budget, here's the final showdown (all prices listed are the lowest I found to get them ordered here to Croatia, EU):
 
AKG K702 - I can get them for a total of £151.72 via Amazon.co.uk
 
Sennheiser HD 598 - I can get them for a total of 181.41 EUR via Amazon.de
 
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm - I can get them for a total of ~ 152 EUR / £120 locally here from a shop in Croatia.
(only concern for these is can my amp , the Pioneer VSX-D814 drive them properly)
 
So, taking into account that
- these will be used with the equipment mentioned in the OP;
- purely for gaming use;
- where other than the actual sound quality, COMFORT is the main parameter (long gaming sessions ,etc.)
 
... which ones should I buy and why? 

 

[cel4145]

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm - I can get them for a total of ~ 152 EUR / [COLOR=545454]£[/COLOR]120 locally here from a shop in Croatia.
(only concern for these is can my amp , the Pioneer VSX-D814 drive them properly)

Well, your concern is backwards. See my previous post:

On average, headphone output on AVRs tends to be better optimized for driving higher impedance headphones. So you could likely (just a guess since we don't know your receiver's headphone output) get a bit better sound quality out of 250 ohms vs 32 ohms.

So typically it's low impedance headphones you might have to worry about with AVRs, not 250 ohm headphones.

 

[DangerClose]

 
AKG K702 - I can get them for a total of £151.72 via Amazon.co.uk
 
Sennheiser HD 598 - I can get them for a total of 181.41 EUR via Amazon.de
 
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm - I can get them for a total of ~ 152 EUR / £120 locally here from a shop in Croatia.
(only concern for these is can my amp , the Pioneer VSX-D814 drive them properly)

 
K702 is (a little) harder to drive than DT990 250.  If you can drive one, you can probably drive the other.
 
At that price, HD598 is out.  It's the worst of the three anyway imo.  
 
Can't know for sure about comfort without trying them.  Should be fine.  I guess K702 might be slightly more comfortable, if the headband doesn't have the bumps.  None of these headphones are bad.  They're all very popular for a reason.  
 
I'd say K702 is better for gaming due to a bit bigger soundstage and more separation.  DT990 is more fun though, and music sounds more like music. Do a search on DT990 and K701/K702 and read many comparisons of them if you want.

 

[capac]

Dude, I own K701 (pretty much the same as K702, but without detachable cable and in white color). You can get them for less than 150 EUR at thomann currently. Just buy them. 

 

[faultfracture]

I find beyers uncomfortable due their round and thin ear pads that are actually too big. The x2 will isolate some and likely be the most comfortable of the group.

 

[Iv4nI]

This headphone business is really driving me nuts. sorry everyone, as an audio noob I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of this. I apologize.
Fidelo X2s are way out of my budget.
Seems like K702 are dropping out of the race, too.
The reason they're this cheap compared to before is that they've been making them in China for a while now, not Austria. Bummer. :/
Also, putting that aside, I don't think I have good enough equipment to run them properly because everywhere I read is that they sound *really* good and that they're especially punishing if you don't drive them properly or feed them high quality content.
 
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pros on the other hand I can actually TRY before buying next week so I'll most certainly do that before committing to a purchase.
 
Again, sorry I've being undecisive or whatever, I'm just having a hard time to process all of this info since they're so many pros and cons to each of them. *sigh*