I’m Ostuni and a former gaming headset user with higher end products like Arctis Pro and Audeze Penrose. One day I tried the stereo Pc38x out of curiosity. I loved it…open backs for natural sounds. Now I use HD800s for gaming, more of Warzone. Have a big dac/amp to power it. I can help the gaming community to make the switch…..there’s 200 million gamers still using inferior headphones.
Gamer that uses open backs
- Thread starter ostuni
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- fiio k9 pro hd800s
cantcacheme
100+ Head-Fier
I think barrier to entry is a tough pill to swallow for most gamers, usually they prioritize 'consumer' features like bluetooth, mic, rgb lights etc over sound quality, and in your case cost is also a factor, HD800 being a 1000+ headphone.
Plus streamers use name brand $150 headsets. And easy lobbies to make it look good.
MisterMoJo
500+ Head-Fier
Do you miss surround sound and positional audio?
I use dolby atmos app on my pc. Embedded in the pc system > sound settings.
Razer THX is also available.
MisterMoJo
500+ Head-Fier
My bad pictured you as a console gamer. I just tried on my ps5 and used a Creative Labs G6 that worked. Hooked it up to my dac and regular headphones and got great sound. First I tried with a Schiit Modi I have. But it didn't work on the PS5. I think the dac needs to do UAC 1. I don't think my modi supports that. This is much better sound than my wireless headphones. And it supports sony surround sound. I would not have thought to try it if not for this thread. Thanks!
If you want to convert gamers, put a string of LED Christmas lights on your headphones and it'll go viral, and they'll switch. If anyone put an Audio Technica adh1000x into a wireless gaming controller they'd lose their minds how good they are for gaming. Easy to drive too, works on anything.
Lol.
The 1000 model was released in 2012, and non audiophiles will think its old tech. Without realizing its stereo headphones. No bs software.
Livingformusic
New Head-Fier
Hi ostuni,
This is a really interesting thought, as it makes me think about how I would’ve made the switch to a high-end set of open-back headphones for gaming from the time when I was using an inexpensive gaming headset back in pc bang days and gaming phase almost 20 years ago. The only peripheral and headset brands I knew at the time were Steelseries, Logitech, Plantronics and Microsoft (yet from my understanding, Microsoft were only making keyboards, wired/wireless mouse and os software at the time). I had no clue what a Sennheiser or Grado was until later on around late 2005.
If I were to make the change then, I think I would’ve been in the same kind of mindset thinking spending anywhere near the thousand dollar mark for a high end set of open-back headphones for gaming would be dissuasive in some ways.
But, nowadays, I think price is somewhat becoming less of a dissuading factor for gamers, musicians and audiophiles alike who want the best possible experience by going for high end (or something close to being ‘high end’) for most of the components they use in their system. And, fast forward to about a year ago (sometime in December 2021), after years of doing some reading about HD800 from Innerfidelity to Headfi, all the built-up curiosity I had about the HD800 over the years got me to buy a new set of HD800S headphones.
Although a bit bright and revealing for music & movies when streamed and played online, the HD800S is an enjoyable set of open-back headphones with a grand-wide presentation of sound that’s focused in getting a fairly sharpened and spacious sense of presence of instruments, vocals, subjects, nuances and other parts of the music, with a slight addition of warmth and subtly delicate touch of softness to its crisp edged transients.
Lastly, like others here who have mentioned some thoughts about the aesthetics and design of audiophile-grade headphones, maybe making some slight changes to the aesthetics (and also trim down the overall size a bit) and design of the HD800S (with an available option to add a mic) would make it a little more appealing to gamers in terms of form factor, ergonomics and overall fit & use.
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I just use HD800S to kill other players in battle royale. It’s competitive
ProtegeManiac
Headphoneus Supremus
Why I don't really use my reference headphones for gaming
Desktop : I don't want to hear my keyboard and mouse while playing Total War in the dead of night.
Laptop : I don't want to hear the fans and I absolutely do NOT want someone sitting next to me in a public area - especially a freaking airport - to hear "Bomb has been planted" and end up like Harold and Kumar getting interrogated by a racist twit from DHS thanks to some overreacting, idiot Karen and similarly dum racist twits in the TSA
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