Hi Benn, so you need a good open allrounder? Do you prefer a more neutral pr more fun sound signature? I will focus in this post more on the fun sounding headphones since your target is the 990 pro. As i already wrote, i really like the 990s. The have a real massive open soundstage, good separation and a very entertaining bass section. The problem are the highs. They can get very annoying during long gaming sessions and some songs were really unlistenable with them. The k701 and k702s were too neutral, boring and basslight for my taste. They are good headphones but i was missing bass and subbass for Battlefield games or some action movies.I dont know the q701 and the 612, but the q701 seems to have a bad value and they seems too be harder to drive than the other akgs. The 712 pros are really good. They have outstanding dynamics/punch and detail, nice bass and a real good soundstage. I love the depth of their ss. I was torn between the akg712 and the x2. I took the x2s, because they have more bass and for me a little more fun than the 712 pros, they are easier to drive, have a better jack (for example for the boompro) and they are cheaper. All of the headphones you have named should work quite good with both fiios. Even the dt990s. I am not sure about the q701s. Right now i do own the x2s, the Fostex t50rp mk3s and the Sennheiser Momentum Over Ear and the best gaming headphones are the x2s for me. If you are looking for cheap but still entertaining gaming headphones i also can recommend the Superlux HD681 evo.They have some of the charactaristics of a dt990 (they are not as good as the beyers, but they work really good as allrounders and the ss is also very big, the bass also). The X2s and the 712 pros are better than the 990s. the 990s are better than the superlux. All four are great gaming cans , so my best advice is that you should try them in a store by yourself. Take the headphones that convince you the most and which suits your budget. You could also try to get a used pair of x2s or akg 712 for the price of a new pair of 990s.
hey keppes yes sherman told me to buy x2 or hd598
i almost buy the x2, untill i read that x2 earpads bleed ink, and philips seem doesn't sell the replacement pads
here a pro and cons for each of them:
dt990:
pro: huge soundstage, love the v-shape(add more depth for my ears, like i sit on the middle seat at concert hall)
cons: hard to drive, i can't use boompro since it isn't detachable cable(is hard to find modmic 4.0 on local store)
cheapest price at local store: $159
x2:
pro: detachable cable(which i can use v-moda boompro, there is no modmic seller in my country), fun as beyer, soundstage wide similar to dt990, easy to drive
cons: bleeding ink earpads, no replacement earpads
price: $196
hd598
pro: wide soundstage as beyer and x2, many reviewer said it good for gaming fps(positional)
cons: i read it lack of bass which is not good for movie
price: $266 actualy out of my budget, but i could wait a little longer and save some money (i am a student)
but after i watched z review sound demo i love the huge soundstage all of akg he test (k7 ,xx,12 pro q701 and k612 pro). but i don't know if they are all is all arrounder or not. i watch them with my ws1100 anyway, so i feel they have good bass maybe because my ws1100. i think they have wider soundstage than all those three.
k612 pro: find it $150 free shipping on e-bay +purchasing service 10%+tax(i think 10% too)=
k7xx used : $143-$214
what is the difference beetween k712 and k712pro? i couldn't find k712, the "pro" one i found it cheaper than hd598 but +tax+purchasing service and may not ship to my country i think i eliminate this and q701 too.
con: all the akg except k7xx is from e-bay which is i will be charged extra for purchasing service and tax(if the price is above $50), and i can't try all those akg headphone
i think x2 is a good choice from the price, and detachable cable. but if something happens to the earpads i couldn't replace them. honestly my ws1100 left earpad deflated for used less than a month (no warranty for earpads and cable, no return policy exist in my country what the *****! warranty only for driver) but luckily i still can order it with less than 30$. you know my ws1100 become uncomfortable because the left earpads deflated and the right earpads still good. i'm little bit trauma, i don't want something like this happens on my new cans and i couldn't find replacement earpads.
