[Zonagle]

First up.
 
Hi, I'm new here. I found this site while looking for information on headphones. While some of my questions have been answered, everything has been a bit too split, and I'm feeling a little confused.
 
Alright then.
 
I'm looking for some good quality gaming headphones. My price range is $0-400. From what I've read in reviews on other sites, and user comments on this one, one of the most important aspects to gaming headphones is the sound stage. I'm not sure if I got it right, but from what I've gathered, the sound stage is relative to how easily you can make out the direction of sound, be it behind, in front, to the left or right. This is something that would be very important to me while playing.
 
I'm not too concerned if the headphones recommended aren't that great for listening to music, the main reason I'm buying them is for gaming. That's the top priority.
 
 
I'm okay with either open or closed. I'm not going to be in a noisy environment, so it's not a big deal either way.

Given that, what I heard was that overall, open tend to have better direction sound, if that's true, I'd prefer open

 
So, my question to all of you is, what do you think are the best gaming headphones within my price range? Some of the ones mentioned to me so far are...
 
Sennheiser PC 360/ PC 350
Sennheiser HD 595/other HD ones
Audiotechnica (unsure of what model)
Ultrasone HFI-780.
 
Thanks again for taking the time to read this, and for any helpful information you might provide me with.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

In that price range for gaming you could do a lot of things.  
 
Beyerdnamics dt770', 880's or 990's
Audio Technica AD700's or ad900
 
Those would be my recommendations.  Although my modded t50rp's just surprised me with their positional audio while gaming.  What source are you using?
 
Open or Closed?  It helps to know these things before giving a recommendation.  

 

[Zonagle]

Quote:

In that price range for gaming you could do a lot of things.  
 
Beyerdnamics dt770', 880's or 990's
Audio Technica AD700's or ad900
 
Those would be my recommendations.  Although my modded t50rp's just surprised me with their positional audio while gaming.  What source are you using?
 
Open or Closed?  It helps to know these things before giving a recommendation.  

 
I'm okay with either open or closed. I'm not going to be in a noisy environment, so it's not a big deal either way.
Given that, what I heard was that overall, open tend to have better direction sound, if that's true, I'd prefer open.
 
 
Beyerdnamics dt770'/880's/990's
Audio Technica AD700's/ad900
 
What is the difference between the Beyer and the Audio headphones, and what is the difference between say, the AD700's and the AD900's? Is the AD1000 better in every way than both the AD700, and AD900? Also, the Beyer headphones, what is the exact model name? I found DT 990 pro, and DT 990.
 
 
What do you mean by "What source are you using?"
Updated first post.
 

 

[Jarrod]

Source means what will be creating the sound, eg cd player, PC soundcard etc. I assume since you're talking about gaming it will be a PC soundcard and you prob won't be using an amp. I this case I think the DT880/990 etc would be overkill for what you need. You would get better results fro the AD900 since they are easier to drive.

 

[ourfpshero]

purely for gaming:
pioneer se-a1000. hugest soundstage ever, a slightly V shaped sound curve, detailed a clear, nice bass thump with no muddiness, and will drive decently from a strong sound card
these are very large open air headphones

 

[Trysaeder]

AD900 is better in every way than the AD700. 
Soundstage is important for gaming, but it's not the size that counts, it's how well it portrays direction.
Take the HD555 for example, it has plenty wide soundstage, but very little information is presented from the front.
It is very hard for stereo headphones to do this, the AD700 is the cheapest headphone that can do it competently. I haven't had enough experience gaming with the DT880 to tell you about it, but my choice for gaming is the AD700, or AD900 if you want to get better sound.

 

[GALACTUS]

Can't go wrong with the AD700's.  Great gaming headphones especially considering there modest price.  They have been my go to gaming phones for a year.  Better than all my other phones for gaming.  However I recently picked a pair of Beyer 880's (600 ohm), and I am loving them for fps.  A noticeable step up from the AD700's.  Very very accurate.  If you don't have an amp I would get the 25 ohm version.....I would imagine there imaging should be close.  Good Luck

 

[juanharu4913]

Quote:

In that price range for gaming you could do a lot of things.  
 
Beyerdnamics dt770', 880's or 990's
Audio Technica AD700's or ad900
 
Those would be my recommendations.  Although my modded t50rp's just surprised me with their positional audio while gaming.  What source are you using?
 
Open or Closed?  It helps to know these things before giving a recommendation.  

x2 on the 880's, I've heard a lot of possitive feedback on them for gaming, get a used pair around 200 and a mix amp and u should be set.

 

[Zonagle]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't really plan on buying an amp anytime soon, so I think I'll go with the AD900's for now. Besides, the DT880's are a little out of my price range in Australia. They're sitting at about $500, while the AD900's are $323.
 
I'm currently only using my onboard sound card, how important do you think it would be get a proper sound card? How much difference would it make?
 
Once again, I appreciate all the help you guys provided.
 
 
Quote:

AD900 is better in every way than the AD700. 
Soundstage is important for gaming, but it's not the size that counts, it's how well it portrays direction.
Take the HD555 for example, it has plenty wide soundstage, but very little information is presented from the front.
It is very hard for stereo headphones to do this, the AD700 is the cheapest headphone that can do it competently. I haven't had enough experience gaming with the DT880 to tell you about it, but my choice for gaming is the AD700, or AD900 if you want to get better sound.
 

What's better? Stereo headphones for gaming, or 5.1 surround sound? I've read arguments for both, so I'm confused. What makes one or the other better for gaming?

 

[Zonagle]

Bump for previous question.

 

[Thommohawk]

The Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro are great headphones for gaming, movies and music imo....I'm certainly loving the hell out of mine even out of basic tv headphone out ports.
 
But the Audio Technica AD 700 (the fairly cheap, funky looking purple headphone!) is the one that everyone seems to suggest for it's soundstage in gaming especially. I'd probably point you in that direction. On the other hand there's a thread on head-fi that Audioholic made which he tried lots of headphones for gaming purposes and if I remember correctly the Beyerdynamic DT 880 won out.
 
But for what you're asking, I'd definitely punt for the purple Audio Technica's. They're fairly cheap, don't require amping unless I'm mistaken, seem to be spot on for what you mainly want to use them for and they're comfort is supposedly second to none because of it's wing system stretchy band that conforms to your head. Only negatives I can see are apparently lack of bass, the colour of them, and that they make you look like Cyberman 3000!  Still it's my opinion that those headphones are known for their superior soundstage and apparently they're excellent for music too and they have won awards. 
 
I'd have a pair myself if they didn't look so funky and apparently lack bass. So personally I've gone with the Beyer DT 990 Pro instead. I'll probably try the Audio Technica's one day though I can't see myself keeping them....

 

[krash3x]

Ok Hopefully I gI'm Going to do my best to answer your questions but first I'm going to ask you if you heard of the Psyko 5.1 headset?.  The first one that I'm going to answer is your question about 5.1 Surround sound vs Headphones.  5.1 surround sound is great for positional audio, and stereo headphones are great for Detail.  Headphones are great if you are playing at night when you don't want to bother someone or if you aren't sure about something someone said in a movie.  Where surround sound is better at spotting front and back sounds.  That's not to say that headphones don't do that well but they usually have to use DSP technology to do it.   The other thing you need to consider when choosing between the to is do you really want all those wires everywhere?  I have both 5.1 surround sound and Headphones and wires on the ground with chairs with wheels are a pain in the ass.  Sennheiser hd 595 are awsome headphones for gaming.  A downside of them is that they need a headphone amp in order for you to get good balanced loud sound from it.  I ended up hooking up a surround reciever to my pc and game consoles to get them to where I thought they were loud enough.  When you connect them to a pc sound card that didnt have a headphone amp built in it they get comfortable but not really loud.  I ended up going to a pair of ultrasone pro 900's because they were only 40 ohms and were driven pretty good with my psp and zune and they had pretty good directional sound.  Lucky for you though you can get the best of both worlds.  Psyko audio makes a pair of headphones that give you best of both worlds in the form of the psyko 5.1.  The psyko 5.1 is supposed to give you the best directional audio for a pair of headphones.  They put the drivers on the top of the head band and channel it to down the and have the front sound come from the front side of cup of the headphones and the back side go from the back side of the earcup.  They have a subwoofer built in each cup and let you control the amount of base you want.  The only bad thing I hear about them is that they arent very good with movies and music that isn't 5.1.  Hopefully you read this in time lol. 
http://www.psykoaudio.com/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Surround-Sound-Headsets,review-1357-6.html

 

[beamthegreat]

If you are going purchase a headphone solely for gaming purpose, then I would recommend purchasing a 5.1 one. A 5.1 headphone has a lot of advantage over a normal stereo headphone (for gaming purposes only) because you will be able to hear 360 degrees around you and know where your opponent is. However, it is not meant for listening to music and will sound significantly worse compared to a stereo headphone at the same price range. 
 
In addition, if you are willing to spend 400$ on a headphone you should split the budget into 2 parts: 100 for gaming and 300 for a dedicated "audiophile" headphones to listen to music. Good luck!