[Rodent]

I've been reading this and other forums for a while now and narrowed it down to a few headphones, but I'm not entirely sure which of them are the closest to what I'm looking for.

What I'm looking for is headphones in the ~$100 pricerange, though cheaper wouldn't hurt

, with good sound and positioning, at least a bit of isolation, not too large and should not look too bad either.

I will probably be playing CS matches from an internet café and therefore I need to hear what my teammates are saying, though I'm sure we will be talking quite loud, but I don't want to hear the people sitting 1-2 meters behind me, chairs moving etc.

I will not be using an amp and will probably have a Soundblaster at the café and an Aureal Vortex2 at home, so impedance would be important I think.

I don't want headphones of monstrous size like the Philips HP890, because I have a quite small head and they would make me look silly.

The headphones I'm looking at right now are;

Beyerdynamic DT531
I've heard these are quite good, not much negative but not all that much positive things either.

Beyerdynamic DT931
I can get them for less than half the price (1500 swedish crowns instead of the regular 3300, 1 USD ~ 8 crowns).
Their original price makes me believe that they have incredible sound but I don't know.
Also, they might be a bit big?

Sennheiser HD280 pro
I've heard that the sound is a tad 'boring' and not too exciting? Also heard they lack the bass for games.
Size seems about right though.

Sennheiser Pc 150
First I heard they were good, but now I heard they have awful sound, I dont know what to think.

Sennheiser HD570
Haven't read a lot about them but some said the sound wasn't good at all?
Seem good otherwise.

Grado SR60
Some like their sound, some dont. I heard they are good for games but have a too small soundstage that makes positioning hard?
No isolation.

Koss r55b
I have no idea, but the price is good.

Sony V6/7506
Hard to find, but people seem to like them.

Koss KSC35
Dirt cheap, but are they any good?

BEYERDYNAMIC DT770PRO
Can order them from Germany for an okay price, how are they?
A bit large, arent they?

DT990Pro
Can get them for the same price as dt770pro.

AKG K240DF
You tell me.

AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-910 Pro
They look good, how do they sound?

I'm open for suggestions too, but keep in the same pricerange.
And remember, positioning and how they work in games is the most important for me.

(Yes, I know there are other threads about gaming headphones, I've read them but I didn't want to highjack them)

TIA

 

[terrymx]

i like the sound stage of my sr60 than my v6. the v6 is not for music, but it do very well for fps games and movie. its easy to find than any grados. you can post a buy thread in the gear for sale forum. millionbuy.com have it for $70. ecost had a refurb deal, but is all gone now.

 

[wallijonn]

The DT931 may be too bright when driven from a sound card. They will also be under powered. But what will kill them for gaming is their hard left / hard right separation. The DT770s will be hard to drive, also. The K240DF, I believe, are high impedance cans, also.

The only good thing I can see with the HD570 is their egg shape comfort, and I find egg shapes to be uncomfortable.

I find the V6 to have an unnatural overal tonal balance. To me they are in the same class as the Koss Porta Pros. To me they sound thin, lacking a full bodied sound.

I would just take a chance on the K240S/55 or the DT531.

When it comes to gaming, comfort should be foremost. Nothing worse than an itching, sweating, hot ear canal in the midst of a firefight. Overly bright cans may exacerbate the production of ear wax, which leads to heat build up, which leads to sweat, which leads to itch.

Can you find the Philips HP910 for under $50? They have the same egg shape as the HD570, although they are weird in that they use formed pads, so they do not have the same comfort factor of the cushy HD570, have big bass (when you find the correct volume level), and very sharp transients for that "snick" gun effect sound. They are easily driven from low impedances.

For gaming I would rather have a Grado with a "sock" over the pads to increase comfort. At least your ears will breathe.

 

[Rodent]

Thank you for your replies.

DT531 seem nice, but how big are they?
Also, do they have good positioning?

I have found two different Philips 910,
http://www.technikdirekt.de/main/page.xp?pageid={E5DF7300-EB45-42ED-8D32-8364503B4DAC}&SESSIONID=R/D2GORROXYQCI7SDPN&DS=1&TS=2609572654&type=focus&do ctype=article&focus=331371&focuslayout=full2&focus layout=full2&history=add (or just search on the page)
and
http://se.pricerunner.com/sound-and-...139227/details
Which ones do you mean?
I think that you mean the former, and they're quite a bit more than $50.

I heard that the HFi650s are good, but they're 2000sek. How do the HFI550s stack up against them?

 

[twilightrevenant]

I don't think my senns are good gaming headphones. mine don't pack as much punch as grados or beyers, but I bought them because they i like how they treat my music better. and for sure the bass isn't very extended without good amplication.

luke

 

[Sand]

KSC-35s do sound quite good for music, and are very light and comfortable, but are a tad muddy, and open.

I find my 7506s to be great for gaming. Very detailed and sensitive, can hear the slightest little thing clearly in them, and they're not so fatigueing generally for games as for music. They may cause some trouble with you beaing able to hear others well, depending on how loud you have them set.

I don't own them, yet, but if open's ok, Grado SR60s should be great. Good punch to them, and they're very comfy with the flat pads.

 

[psyco1]

Might want to add the Sony CD780's to the list.

 

[Rodent]

Will the 280Pro's highs bother me while gaming?
Will I be able to hear the people next to me even with the isolation(we wont be talking but not really screaming either).

Should I just give up this and get some midrange, okay sounding headphones, because every time I find a good pair of headphones, someone points out a large flaw in them.

I found the Koss R65b for 500, would they be awful?


I also found the K240Studios for 1300, will they be worth the price?
Would some cheaper suffice in gaming(have to be closed and have good positioning)?

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rodent DT531 seem nice, but how big are they? Also, do they have good positioning?

They are a little smaller than the DT831 or DT931. As far as positiong cues, I have no idea. They are regarded as "groovelizers", so they probably have nice bass punch with a slight ramping of the upper midrange frequencies (air guitar).

And thinking of positioning cues, perhaps what is necessary is a headphone with hard right / hard left seperation, with little middle channel merging.

For me, I use an old Beyer Dynamics DT440. The overal tonal quality seems to be just about right. I also use a DT831 for gaming, as well as a modified Grado SR80. Grados would seem the obvious choice for slam and snick.

If you can build a portable amp the DT770 are probably the best for gaming. I would build a Meta 42 and house it inside the computer, preferably inside a 5" bay. You may want to add some larger power supply caps to it to filter out the computer power supply +12v switching noise.

As for the Philips, I meant the HP910.

From Tyl's desription of the K240S/55 on his website (Headroom), the frequency response ramps down from the bass to the treble. Which may help in mitigating high frequency fatigue from a bright sound card like the Creative Sound Blaster series.

here's the Head-Fi search for positioning:

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/searc...5&pagenumber=2

 

[00940]

Best positionning cans I had were the sony V6. They also have a fast and alive bass which makes easy to spot gunfires (the bass of most other cans I tried in this application wasn't as good under this respect). They're really great for CS.

Isolation is not that great, that's perfect for you.

However, comfort is lacking in stock form. You'll need the beyer velvet pads and then, they're very, very comfortable.

 

[Rodent]

Hmm, does anyone know anything about the Denon AHD-650?
I've searched here and on google but I can't seem to find anything, however their predecessors, the 350s, have had good reviews and so hade the 550s.

 

[EyEPoD]

You forgot the Beyer 250-80s. (170$)

They are easier to drive and best the 2 other beyer phones you have listed for gaming.

However in the ~100 range i recommend the sony v6, Senn HD280s, or the Refurb Senn HD570s

Good luck

 

[Rodent]

Hmhm, I've read some more and I think that the HD280Pros, AKG k240s, akg k141s or some cheap, but still okay sounding, headphone like the ksc35 is what I'm looking for.
However I dont know anything about the positioning of the AKGs since there arent many users around here.

Do you have any information about that?

 

[wallijonn]

Rodent,

From what I remember the Denon AHD-650 was not well received. The AHD-950 was liked a little more.

Is it worth $30 more (Beyer Pads) to make the V6 comfortable? You may want to first buy the V6/V7506 and then see if you love them enough to want to buy more comfortable pads. Every now and then there is a pair for sale in the used section.

As to the HD280, some like them, some hate them. It seems that they are overly large and have a lot of head pressure.

Quote:

Every time I find a good pair of headphones, someone points out a large flaw in them.

uh, this is Head-Fi, remember? We're a very discriminating lot. We can find fault in any piece of gear.

As far as gaming goes, you'll just have to try out a few and see which ones you like best.

It'll probably come down to $. Check out EBay and see if you can't find a steal. Just make sure that you check the Head-Fi used section first.

 

[00940]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn Is it worth $30 more (Beyer Pads) to make the V6 comfortable? You may want to first buy the V6/V7506 and then see if you love them enough to want to buy more comfortable pads. Every now and then there is a pair for sale in the used section.

Wally : you have no idea how comfortable they get. They're far more comfortable than the HD580, more comfortable than the K501.

It really worth it.