I always said something like this about the K702 also when I had my Asgard. I do think this distance problem varies between amps (not synergy issues here!). On the Asgard (not good for K702) the soundstage seems artificially huge and not accurate. Details seemed so distant and hard to hear. It almost felt like recessed mids, but it wasn't that! On the E9 it was a lot better and slightly more accurate, but still a bit weird during games. It made me go from hating the K702 for gaming to really liking it!
I don't know why, but when I switched to a third amp (Headroom Micro Amp) with some forward mids I lost this effect in games. The soundstage and everything didn't seem so distant anymore and now more natural. I don't know if it's making the soundstage smaller on my new amp or what, but it's quite nice now. I never get the feeling everything gets lost in the soundstage like before. I like an amp for the K702 that gives me more of a front row like experience for music. I haven't gotten that yet, but maybe 2nd row? Good enough for me.
I can't see how these problems could turn it into being bad for gaming unless it's for competitive gaming. Isn't that kind of nit-picking? I always do this, so I guess I'm the same way.
I have to admit though that I CAN'T use Dolby Headphone with the K702. For casual gaming I think the K702 is still very good. I still think it's not a problem and can be corrected with specific amps (I'm NOT talking about synergy). For some it's just not worth the trouble.
I've found the K601 fixes the massive soundstage problem of the K702 and it has better imaging IMO. The K601 soundstage to me never feels super huge and a little more accurate.
For 90% of the time I prefer the K601 for gaming and this is why I suggest it over the K702. I don't know why, but on Uncharted 2 I prefer the K702 and it could be due to the clearer sound and more treble. Fallout 3 seems unplayable on my K702 for whatever reason.
Basically it comes down to preferences. Some people will just hate the K702's soundstage for gaming. My best advice is to just try it or take the safer option and get the K601
It's also a better match with the E9 than the K702 to me. I'm not a huge fan of the K702 on the E9, but it's still quite good.
Quote:
I agree to an extent. While the K701 has great imaging for games, the soundstage kind of makes the experience wonky for me. I can hear where stuff is coming from but it sounds more distant because of the width of the stage. The K701 does not have good height or depth so it throws the sound off a bit.
So in the end the K701 is not a good gaming headphone. The abnormal width and lack of depth/height to the stage makes gaming feel abnormal or more disproportionate. It really throws you off when trying to figure out where sounds are coming from.
I would recommend the E9/7 over the Asus STX any day as the Asus STX can not do any justice to the DT880. In comparison to the Fiio amp, the STX sounds lackluster IMO. If the DT880 is the one to be used even the PHENIX G3 would be a better solution. Not to bash the Asus as the integrated headphone amp in it is far superior to stock on boards headphone amps, just in comparison to those amps it's not as good.
