[tokendog]

LCD-2 is horrible for gaming, sorry.  It's too congested and hard to distinguish where the sounds are coming from.  On top of that, the lack of comfort is distracting from the game.

 

[nassq8]

I own HE-500, D7000, DT 770 Pro 80, DT 990 (250 OHM), Astro A40, Razor Megalodon.

HE-500 - King of Kings - for classical music, Arabic vocal and oud (Arabic stringed instrument) - almost put me in tear for the feeling i get from the sound purity produced by this phone. Very good for gaming, nice positioning, literally makes me turn my head toward the sounds come from rear positions.

D7000 - King of bass and fun - use it for sound tracks, Arabic Nasheed (song) with warm background, gaming, movies, and every single use. this headphone is damn gooooooooooooood.

DT 770 Pro - Kind of positioning and movie theater like sound. Mostly used for video watching, and games with a deep story telling.

DT 990 - I hate it. I don't know why! though it really has a nice mid and bass. But i don't bear it over my ears! huh strange.

A40 and Megalodon - Give them away. low grade in every aspect.

my chain for songs > asus xonar essence ST line out > HiFiMan - Ef5

when gaming > asus xonar essence ST Dolby Digital Live > MIXAMP > Fiio E11 (or Ef5 if using HE-500)

 

[atomikn00b]

since someone said the he-400/500s are no slouch for positional cues in gaming and I hear the Mad Dog mod of the Fostex T50RP is almost comparable to one of those two, I'd like to ask:
 
Has anyone tried the Mad Dog for gaming? Specifically to test for performance in terms of positional cues?

 

[MattTCG]

I wondered about the Maddogs. I haven't done any competitive gaming in a few years, but I do own the MD's so I guess I need to give them a try. 
 
Also, when I was gaming, my favorite hp for positional audio and gaming in general was the hd598!! Great gaming hp for less than $200...

 

[Fegefeuer]

I owned or tested a lot headphones for gaming over the past years. DT990 600, DT880, K701, T90, Pro 2900, He-400, He-500, LCD2 etc....

Both He-500 and LCD-2 are not great for gaming even though they are superb music cans. They lack imaging, they are not spacious enough. They might sound fun with singleplayer gaming but why would you not have spaciousness and super imaging in singleplayer as well? You can't rule that factor out or leave it to multiplayer.

HD 800 and T1 are the best you can get. Both have superior imaging to all others. I'd recommend both but HD 800 really is something special.

And as I sometimes mention. For PC gaming high end headphones are surely something good to invest in, "even" for gaming. For consoles they are a waste since most stuff is presented on devices like the Mixamp or worse + dolby digital/dolby headphone.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

I owned or tested a lot headphones for gaming over the past years. DT990 600, DT880, K701, T90, Pro 2900, He-400, He-500, LCD2 etc....
Both He-500 and LCD-2 are not great for gaming even though they are superb music cans. They lack imaging, they are not spacious enough. They might sound fun with singleplayer gaming but why would you not have spaciousness and super imaging in singleplayer as well? You can't rule that factor out or leave it to multiplayer.
HD 800 and T1 are the best you can get. Both have superior imaging to all others. I'd recommend both but HD 800 really is something special.
And as I sometimes mention. For PC gaming high end headphones are surely something good to invest in, "even" for gaming. For consoles they are a waste since most stuff is presented on devices like the Mixamp or worse + dolby digital/dolby headphone.

I've run D7000, HD800, and LCD-2's straight out of the 1/4" input on my TB XP500 base and it sounds just as bad as the mixamp but still better than the wireless TB's. I'm really surprised someone has not come out with a better solution yet since there are so many people that want just a "mixamp" type of product but something that will have more power, accept HDMI, and pass through DTS HD-MA. 

 

[atomikn00b]

Quote:

I wondered about the Maddogs. I haven't done any competitive gaming in a few years, but I do own the MD's so I guess I need to give them a try. 
 
Also, when I was gaming, my favorite hp for positional audio and gaming in general was the hd598!! Great gaming hp for less than $200...

have you given the the Maddogs a try for positional audio yet?
Let us know how they compare to your "golden" standard.

 

[tnt23]

D7000 is too bass-heavy, LCD 2 is physically too heavy for long-time gaming.
I would vote for HD800.

 

[judy1992]

Quote:

I do game, and actually play the game the OP asked about.
 
I have both the HD 598 and the HD 800. I use the 598 exclusively because using my 800 makes no sense. The sound in CoD BO2 is not at a quality level where you will be able to extract significantly more detail out of it with a top-tier headphone than you would with something much more inexpensive.
 
I don't see why you are verbally attacking people for being "snobs" for steering the OP away from expensive headphones. They are simply trying to save the OP from needlessly spending large sums of money only to be disappointed in the results.
 
Sound-whoring is also significantly more difficult on BO2. You'll be fine with a much more inexpensive option clam

Not my experience. MW3 is like a new game audio wise with my T1's.. 1 second in I noticed audio I missed.. & BO 2 sounds so very clear with my T1's, and the grenade blasts are hair raising good.. Good games have excellent audio.. The best rendition of Sympthony for the devil I ever heard was on BO 1... Hearing blast with the LCD 3 will leave you numb.. I would personally get the LCD3/TH900/009 for gaming.. Which would be used for music and movies.

 

[autoteleology]

I'm surprised nobody here has mentioned Stax. I think they'd be right up OP's alley in terms of price range and whatnot.
 
Get a Stax Lambda / Sigma and a Stax SRM-1/MK-2 and you're golden. Just make sure you have a good DAC to go along with that.

 

[azeral]

Well hello there.
 
Just going to toss my two cents in to this discussion:

I own the D7K, an Ultrasone HFI-780 and an ATH-AD700, and also play competitive FPS semi-regularly. I saw a similar list of phones floating around near the beginning of this thread, and for me, the AD700 edges out the other two in terms of it's handing of positional audio. It's arguably less "refined" in comparison to the other two in terms of an engineering perspective, but I find the soundstage to be quite good, and of the variables which lend to my spatial perception of sound, this one seems most important. Though I can't honestly claim that it has given me any sort of real edge in these games, I'm extremely satisfied with their performance here.
For non-competitive gaming and movies/video, I usually throw on the D7K, since I'm more interested to get a richer, more immersive tone (they are also my primary music cans).
My Ultrasones, as much as I love them, have become my travel headphones and don't get much use outside of that purpose.
 
Anyhow, the Audio Technica's can be had for very little money. If you'd be willing to splurge a bit - grab that D7K if you're even remotely into music, and if you'd like a fantastic all-rounder for games and movies, and roll the AD700 for competitive gaming. 
 
Cheers, and good luck with the decision (though, given this thread's age, I'm guessing one has already been made)!

 

[Croozer]

The Denon D7K is a excellent gaming headphone.

 

[Oberst Oswald]

With the headphones & equipment I have my goto 'phones is almost always the Senn HD 800's. 
 
The LCD 2's are a poor choice for games & movies but excellent for music.  But being uncomfortable for extended periods makes them the classic "white elephant". 
 
The Denon 7000 are used when open headphones are not allowed by the resident house dragon.  Good second fiddle for all things...
 
My STAX Lambra's are vintage 1980's and a little light on bass.  Excellent for games but I find the HD 800 a better all-rounder and more comfortable. 
 
All my amps sound good and switch often between the Beta 22 and Bijou.
 

 

[Timestretch]

Quote:

What are the differences between Immersive and Competitive gaming.

In competitive multiplayer games, you need an audio system that gives you positional audio. So you can hear footsteps and just *know* that those footsteps are to your left, a specific distance away. You can hear a guy behind a wall before you can see him. If your ears are solid, this literally gives you a competitive advantage versus other players.  
  
For immersion, though, position doesn't matter nearly as much. You just want a beautiful sound, and strong bass helps, too. 

 

[Uchiya]

DT880's and Q701's shredded my ears during bouts of heavy action, very annoying,  I can't even imagine using the HD800's.  LCD 2's were awesome for gaming; clean sound, bass like a sub and your ears don't bleed when the bullets fly.  I feel people exaggerate the weight of the LCD's but then I'm not built like a flag pole.  When a tank round blows up the wall next to me, I want to feel it but whatever floats your boat.