[wol-va-rine]

okay, I finally have a decent set of headphones to compare to the Barracudas from a gaming standpoint, I am no audiophile and just got the 900s, so this is straight out of the box impressions with no "burn in"...

comfort - the first thing I noticed right away was that the 900s are waaaaay more comfortable, I thought the Barracudas were comfortable as well, but I hardly even notice having the 900s on, the lip for the ear pad covering is pretty much even all the way around for the Barracudas while the 900s are thicker in the back which I think contributes to the comfort because there is more room for the ear lobes...?

weight - the Barracudas are way, way lighter, the 900s are weighted down behemoths in comparison, but oddly that doesn't affect the comfort...

sound - the directional positioning is pretty much the same with both pairs, I know where shots and foot steps are coming from, not just to the left or right, but behind or in front to the left or right, even though the bass is there with the 900s, there's more bass impact with the Barracudas, I like that but enough to sway me either way...

mic - not much of a comparison here as the 900s obviously don't have one, I will say this though, even though the Barracuda's mic is low quality and pretty much just sucks, there is a mic mod that can be done that solves this, it really does make the mic usable...

functionality - this is probably where the 900 pulls ahead for good, the 900s use a simple 1/4 " plug adapter that can plug straight into the front bay of my X-Fi Platinum, therefore allowing me to have my 5.1 speakers also plugged in the sound card in the back to give me the option of listening to the speakers without much hassle, the Barracudas have to be plugged into the sound card in the back because of their connectors (front, rear and center/subwoofer) so switching to speakers would be a bigger hassle...

I've been switching back and forth all day and my guess is that the 900s will become my primary cans for everything and my son will be getting the Barracudas, he'll definitely be pleased with all the "blingy" LEDS and huge bass impact...

this simple "review" wasn't really intended for the audiophiles here because every one of you knows more about this stuff than me, this is really just a simple guide to help out audio noobs (like myself) and noobettes who are looking an affordable gaming option...

 

[wenhui]

Cool mom

Nice review of the Barracuda in gaming, but how (terribly, or not?) does it do music wise?

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wenhui /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cool mom Nice review of the Barracuda in gaming, but how (terribly, or not?) does it do music wise?

mom...?

they sound "decent" for music (to me, but again, I really don't have an ear for distinguishing the quality of the sound) and they definitely have more bass, the 900s are better for music sessions just on comfort alone though, maybe I'll notice a distinct difference once they burn in...? who knows...?

 

[wenhui]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wol-va-rine /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been switching back and forth all day and my guess is that the 900s will become my primary cans for everything and my son

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wenhui /img/forum/go_quote.gif

cool dad...?

 

[wenhui]

Haha yeah, my bad. I read the next sentence below and thought that you were a noobette.

Quote:

this is really just a simple guide to help out audio noobs and noobettes (like myself)

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wenhui /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haha yeah, my bad. I read the next sentence below and thought that you were a noobette.

oh wow, yeah, now that I read it again I can see why you thought that...

I edited it to make it a bit more clear...

 

[Stitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wol-va-rine /img/forum/go_quote.gif mom...? they sound "decent" for music (to me, but again, I really don't have an ear for distinguishing the quality of the sound) and they definitely have more bass, the 900s are better for music sessions just on comfort alone though, maybe I'll notice a distinct difference once they burn in...? who knows...?

Just listen to both and write down the differences you notice. Like soundstage and the high/low/mid areas. Noone will tell you its wrong or right what you hear. It may even start a nice discussion.

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just listen to both and write down the differences you notice. Like soundstage and the high/low/mid areas. Noone will tell you its wrong or right what you hear. It may even start a nice discussion.

actually, the more I listen to the 900s the more the highs (gunfire) are becoming somewhat "tinny" (I think that's what y'all call it) and almost painfully piercing to my ears, the highs are maybe too high...? after putting the Barracudas back on the sound seems to be somewhat "muddy" (another term I've seen used here, and no, I'm not just parroting terms I've heard, these are actually very good descriptions and I'm applying them), but for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. the muddiness is not such a bad thing, the highs are becoming way too high with the 900s, though it may just be the maps on specific servers...? different maps on different servers seem to have a different sound signature and the ones that sound really high and "tinny" seem to be the ones where there is a noticeable echo effect more so than other servers, I say other servers instead of other maps because the same map can sound different depending on which server you're on...

 

[RallyMaster]

The RX900s are shrill if you don't remove the felt. The "s" in speech would stab my eardrums every time. Even after removing the felt and also removing several holes in the felt, the shrillness for the most part went away but I still found the mid-bass sloppy. I had to EQ a bit. However, EQing a tiny bit ends up screwing over the balance of the headphone and I was left with mids and highs that were just weird for lack of a better word. It's a tricky headphone to get right.

Earlier this year I would have told you that it's a fine phone but after listening to a lot more headphones, the mistakes of the RX900 become much more apparent.

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RallyMaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif The RX900s are shrill if you don't remove the felt. The "s" in speech would stab my eardrums every time. Even after removing the felt and also removing several holes in the felt, the shrillness for the most part went away but I still found the mid-bass sloppy. I had to EQ a bit. However, EQing a tiny bit ends up screwing over the balance of the headphone and I was left with mids and highs that were just weird for lack of a better word. It's a tricky headphone to get right. Earlier this year I would have told you that it's a fine phone but after listening to a lot more headphones, the mistakes of the RX900 become much more apparent.

exactly what I was trying to say, thanks, also, I get what you're saying about the sound quality, but the 900s sound great for less than $60 USD and I honestly just don't have the ears or budget for top of the line headphones, especially when the 900s are pretty satisfactory in my case...

 

[mritt400]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wol-va-rine /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...I edited it to make it a bit more clear...

I'm not sure you have.

 

[Landis]

New reviewers are always welcome here! It all starts somewhere... One day you're reviewing a JVC HA-RX900 out of an X-FI soundcard and six months later you're making another review on an HD800 out of an Eddie Current Zana Deux!


Razer products aren't very well built from experience... Very light weight, but feel like they would shatter upon dropping just one meter to the floor. I'm sure find after some extended listening that the HA-RX900 will grow on you even more!

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mritt400 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure you have.

so this edit "this is really just a simple guide to help out audio noobs (like myself) and noobettes who are looking an affordable gaming option" doesn't clarify that I'm a dad and not a mom...?

 

[wol-va-rine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landis /img/forum/go_quote.gif New reviewers are always welcome here! It all starts somewhere... One day you're reviewing a JVC HA-RX900 out of an X-FI soundcard and six months later you're making another review on an HD800 out of an Eddie Current Zana Deux! Razer products aren't very well built from experience... Very light weight, but feel like they would shatter upon dropping just one meter to the floor. I'm sure find after some extended listening that the HA-RX900 will grow on you even more!

yeah, I took my first Barracudas apart and was amazed at how cheaply they were built, they're now fixed because I got sent a dongle from RAZER email support after the phone support said that I couldn't even buy one...