[Gil80]

Hi everyone,
 
I currently own AT A900x headphones.
 
I use them mainly for gaming because I was told they have a wide sound stage and they should be great for gaming and easy sound positioning. I also listen to FLAC music a lot.
Reading more about these headphones, I realise that they don't have that great sound stage at all.
 
What would you recommend as a desktop headphones which is suited for gaming and music with a wide sound stage?
 
p.s. - the ear pads on the A900x got bad. Should I replace with the same stock ones or would you recommend on something else instead?
 
 
Thanks!

 

[Beanlipe]

Should have gone with the AD700x, those are legendary for competive gaming. And closed headphones have even less soundstage, why would you want it?

The Phillips SHP9500 also worth mention with a big soundstage and very detailed, better all-arounder for music and gaming since the Audio Technica AD series tend to lack the bass.

I highly recommend you to check this article by Mad Lust Envy where you can check several options sorted by price so you can see what fits best in your budget.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-3-18-2016-mrspeakers-ether-c-1-1-added

 

[Gil80]

  Should have gone with the AD700x, those are legendary for competive gaming. And closed headphones have even less soundstage, why would you want it?

The Phillips SHP9500 also worth mention with a big soundstage and very detailed, better all-arounder for music and gaming since the Audio Technica AD series tend to lack the bass.

I highly recommend you to check this article by Mad Lust Envy where you can check several options sorted by price so you can see what fits best in your budget.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-3-18-2016-mrspeakers-ether-c-1-1-added

Thanks!
 
I wish I could get the Phillips. Amazon doesn't ship them to Australia and they are priced much higher on eBay. Now you got me hooked on them and I can't stop searching where to get them from in decent price
 
got any thoughts on replacing the ear pads on the A900x?

 

[Beanlipe]

  Thanks!
 
I wish I could get the Phillips. Amazon doesn't ship them to Australia and they are priced much higher on eBay. Now you got me hooked on them and I can't stop searching where to get them from in decent price
 
got any thoughts on replacing the ear pads on the A900x?

You could try the Brainwavz HM5: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2vdtcp/athad900x_replacement_earpads/

 

[harry501501]

The Philips SHP9500 are OPEN back not closed and are notoriously reviewed as being very bass light.
 
If you want a large soundstage with good bass for gaming then BEANlipe is right you are best going for open back, but the sound does leak so they are not suitable for portable wear or if you don't want others to hear what you are playing.
 
Knowing your budget would help?
 
An open set that sit ON EAR that would be perfect are the Yamaha hph 200. These little things are super comfy and have a very wide and deep soundstage. BIG bass response, very accurate. You can get them for around $80. perfect for gaming, music or movies.
 
Cheaper option that would also be great for gaming with big soundstage and deep bass would be the tiny open back on ear Sennheiser Px ii. These are amazing and for the price... WOW.
 
The best over ear closed back i can think of for gaming and decent soundstage are the logitech UE 6000. Also good bass response and great noise isolation.
 
Depending on your budget you also have the Soundmagic HP100, they have a great soundstage and absolutely awesome bass. very 3D like.

 

[ToonMechaMan]

I thought going open back would be a bad idea but I honestly haven't had much of an issue with mine. Currently using the Q701 and whenever I hear anything else I just turn up the volume. Even at higher volumes the sound leakage isn't that high and only when you have the volume up real high and someone else is in the same room with you with nothing else making noise will the sound leakage be an issue. I use them for almost everything and they get about 8-10 hours of use a day.
 
If you really want sound isolation and great soundstage the LZ-A2S sound fantastic and have an excellent soundstage. They are IEMs but they sound 10x better than the Triton 720 and Skullcandy SLYR I used to use. They are also amazingly easy to drive. I use them for occasional console gaming but mostly for portable gaming and music listening. They're like the IEM version of the Q701 and half the price at $82. The version I've has a built-in mic.

 

[Gil80]

I'd like to explain why I got the ATH-A900x headphones before I dive into buying another set.
 
When I read reviews, the A700 got really good reviews for gaming and all-around use with a great sound stage. However, the A700 are no longer available and I couldn't find 2nd hand.
So I purchased the A700x which are not that different than the A700 from a single review I read.
The difference between A700x and A900x is that the A900x cans are made of aluminium instead of plastic. So I gave the A700x to my brother and got me the A900x.
 
So, I assumed that the A700 and the A900x are not that different. If anything, then the A900x are superior to the A700 in some aspects, but all in all, it's just a new revision of the A700 with aluminum cans.
 
Can anyone confirm that the A900x actually have less sound stage than the A700?
 
Needless to say, for my gaming use I don't mind open backs and as for bass, I'm not a bass freak and I can always tweak EQ to compensate a bit.
 
Very important to note: I'm driving the A900x with SoundBlaster Z series sound card and not from the average RealTek onboard sound card.
 
 
Price wise, I'd like to try the Phillips since it will fit my current budget. It's just a matter of luck to get it in reasonable price in Australia.

 

[Gil80]

anyone?
(bump)

 

[harry501501]

  I thought going open back would be a bad idea but I honestly haven't had much of an issue with mine. Currently using the Q701 and whenever I hear anything else I just turn up the volume. Even at higher volumes the sound leakage isn't that high and only when you have the volume up real high and someone else is in the same room with you with nothing else making noise will the sound leakage be an issue. I use them for almost everything and they get about 8-10 hours of use a day.
 
If you really want sound isolation and great soundstage the LZ-A2S sound fantastic and have an excellent soundstage. They are IEMs but they sound 10x better than the Triton 720 and Skullcandy SLYR I used to use. They are also amazingly easy to drive. I use them for occasional console gaming but mostly for portable gaming and music listening. They're like the IEM version of the Q701 and half the price at $82. The version I've has a built-in mic.

Not to hijack the thread, but can you go into more detail on the LZA2S... in particular their sound signature?

 

[atarione]

for gaming I have used quite a lot my Beyerdynamic DT770's which have pretty good sound stage for being closed headphones.. and are super comfortable for playing for awhile.
 
mostly at home I use the my semi open DT880 Premium 250 Ohms headphones .... which are very good for gaming and are even more comfortable... but as semi open will obviously leak more sound in and out.

 

[Gil80]

  I'd like to explain why I got the ATH-A900x headphones before I dive into buying another set.
 
When I read reviews, the A700 got really good reviews for gaming and all-around use with a great sound stage. However, the A700 are no longer available and I couldn't find 2nd hand.
So I purchased the A700x which are not that different than the A700 from a single review I read.
The difference between A700x and A900x is that the A900x cans are made of aluminium instead of plastic. So I gave the A700x to my brother and got me the A900x.
 
So, I assumed that the A700 and the A900x are not that different. If anything, then the A900x are superior to the A700 in some aspects, but all in all, it's just a new revision of the A700 with aluminum cans.
 
Can anyone confirm that the A900x actually have less sound stage than the A700?
 
Needless to say, for my gaming use I don't mind open backs and as for bass, I'm not a bass freak and I can always tweak EQ to compensate a bit.
 
Very important to note: I'm driving the A900x with SoundBlaster Z series sound card and not from the average RealTek onboard sound card.
 
 
Price wise, I'd like to try the Phillips since it will fit my current budget. It's just a matter of luck to get it in reasonable price in Australia.

I don't mind open or not, I do mind if I can get feedback on my assumptions as previously stated
 
Based on my assumption and my current setup, did I do a mistake by using the A900x?

 

[ToonMechaMan]

  Not to hijack the thread, but can you go into more detail on the LZA2S... in particular their sound signature?

I think this review sums up most of my views on LZ-A2S http://www.head-fi.org/products/lz-a2s/reviews/16257
 
I certainly agree with the weak bass but it really does have a surprisingly wide soundstage. Some of the other reviews I've found found it to be lacking but I vastly disagree with them. I mostly listen to film/game soundtracks and rock/metal music and I find all of the string instruments to sound "bright" and spacious if there are a lot of them. You can certainly pick out these instruments with ease. Bass can be very feint to almost absent, even while using an equalizer to help put emphasis on the bass.

 

[Gil80]

What about my questions?

 

[ToonMechaMan]

I've never used the AD-900X. It was one of the ones I considered buying before settling on the Q701 though and I'm aware of their reputation which others have covered earlier. I bought the Q701 based on Mad Lust's guide and another guide here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/715478/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution.

 

[ToonMechaMan]

Also, something not mentioned in Levap's guide is that, while great for music, the Shure 840 aren't good for gaming because it apparently has poor positional accuracy from what I've read elsewhere.