[AmB3r]

Hey guys,
 
New here to the forum, I've been readin a lot of threads and reviews on here for the past week or so, but I've run straight into a brick wall so to speak. Trying to figure out which cans to get... Apologies for the long read
 
Let me start by explaining my situation:
 
I'm a pc gamer and music entusiast by nature. I'm basically finish building my new rig. Got myself the Roccat Kave 5.1 gaming headset. Awesome - or not...
 
Issues I ran into are the following:
 
Whilst gaming is nice using this headset, listening to music is absolutely disasterous, it's very heavy, starts to hurt my head after a couple hours and I don't use the 5.1 feature as it's a mission to plug my speakers out of the onboard sound to plug in the headset, so I normally just plug it into the front audio jack. So I'll be looking for a good set of cans and I'll just get a desk mic for the gaming.
 
This basically lead me to start searching for a proper set of headphones that will be amazing all round for my music, movies and gaming. After reading up I've decided to get the ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card - easy enough, but I've no idea which cans to get.
 
Now I know going into proper headphones is not a cheap game to play, so I need to be sure as I can't buy a set and not be happy with them and replace them. First set needs to be the right set.
 
Initially I decided on the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's - until I heard that the headband breaks easily. Then I thought I should get the HD 25's - price is a bit high and they're supraaural which I'm afraid might hurt my ears after prolonged use.
 
A music store that I've bought some of my instuments from have the Roland RH-D30's, which I've managed to test and they sound really nice. Only problem is I can't find any review on them to get a professional opinion. At the moment I'm quite leaning towards them, from their feel and sound to the tech specs I've seen online.
 
I haven't been able to test the above Sennheisers but I've tested the HD 595's and they're quite nice too, but I don't think open back phones will work for me as I don't want to disturn people around me and I go to LAN's quite often and I don't want them to disturb me.
 
I've tested the M-Audio Studiophile Q40 for comparison, but these seem to have a very pronounced top end.
 
I'm in South Africa, so a lot of the cans I can get seem to be at a premium price in comparison to Europe.
 
To give you an idea, the cans are about the following prices:
 
HD280Pro / HD25SP-II - R2000
HD25-1-II - R3800
Roland RH-D30 - R2300 (I think this is a discounted price, guy recons sale price is R4000)
M-Audio Studiophile Q40 - R1800 (Discounted price)
 
Total budget I have to spend is roughly R5000 (sound card is R1500, which leaves me with R3500 for the cans, but I'd like to spend less if possible, without compromising on the quality too much)
 
Does anyone have any suggestions or comments / advice to dish out?

 

[Eric_C]

Hi, have you considered the Sennheiser HD201? I tested them when I was looking for my first pair of 'serious' headphones and was very, very impressed. The build quality is quite cheap, but so is the price, yet the sound quality is quite something to behold (at that price). It is also closed back, as per your criteria for headphones.
No harm trying it out, right?

 

[AmB3r]

I have had a look at them as well as the 437's, but the build quality is a little off, I'd rather take the plunge and get a serious set of cans.

 

[Eric_C]

Fair enough =)
 
I have no first-hand experience, but I do know the HD 600 gets a lot of love here. On a related note, I came across this article that says the (much cheaper) HD580 is essentially the same as the HD600: http://www.headfonia.com/?p=745

 

[definitionz]

I would certainly suggest sticking with the sennheiser tree if your looking at gaming.
A lot of my friends are competative gamers and they all use them.
I personally prefer the HD25's due to my taste in music.
 
You might want to re-consider using open headphones as they have better soundstage thus better for FPS games. Don't think it really matters much on mmorpgs. It also helps communicating with your teammates if you play at LAN competitions rather then using vent or the in-game voice chat.

 

[AmB3r]

I've never seen the HD 580's for sale in South Africa.
 
Another reason I thought closed cans are better, is I tend to disturb my partner at night if the sound is too loud. I can get the HD 595's for R2500, which isn't bad, but the Roland's are a lot more comfortable for cheaper. I can't really say how their soundstage is, but I could clearly differentiate between the instruments. The sales guy did say though that the sound is not too loud, but it would depend on what sounds you're listening to, it can get quite loud.
 
I listen to the lightest classical all the way down to proper metal. I listen to choir music quite a lot as well.
 
Has anyone ever heard the Roland's? I quite like them, but as you say, if the open cans have a LOT better soundstage, I might need to re-think...

 

[Mr Joboto]

Can you get hold of Audio Technica AD700s? Because that's what I would recommend.
 
EDIT: Just saw you would probably be better off with closed cans. Maybe something like the Beyerdynamic DT250s would be good. However, the AD700s will have a far larger soundstage.