Good ~$100 headphones for console JRPGs?
Aug 6, 2010 at 11:31 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

bleepbloop

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Hi, I'm looking for some headphones that will bring out the magic of JRPGs from the Playstation 1 era up to present. Would headphone recommendations for this genre be similar to that of recommendations for gaming headphones (they are video games after all)? If so, let me know and I'll continue my search in private by browsing earlier threads on gaming phones.
 
I have a feeling RPGs may be different from the general gaming category though, in the sense that many are very music-driven compared to other sounds going on---especially the PS1 era of RPGs where BGM was just about all you heard when traveling in fields or dungeons.
 
I currently own a pair of HD-555s, but have noticed that the music gets drowned out by voices and sound effects during battles, and in cutscenes where nothing but good music is playing the HD-555s seem to lack the "directness" that drives the emotion of the music (for me anyway).
 
So! Conditions:
 
Budget- ~$100
 
Other- I do not have an amp, therefore I just run the headphones through the jack on an HDTV. The phones should be able to be driven well without an amp, as I also want to get good volume out of my PSP handheld as well.
 
Grado SR60i is what I'm currently looking at; I would appreciate some thoughts on those for my needs (if you feel they aren't good for my setup and sources, please let me know why). From what I read they drive great from portable devices (according to some folks even better than the SR80 or Allessandro MS1, which is a plus for PSP gaming), have an in-your-face sound and are more music-based than gaming-based (which RPGs seem to be soundwise anyway).
 
Thanks!
 
Aug 6, 2010 at 11:43 AM Post #2 of 4
I think the bottleneck is the headphone output of your HDTV.  I would shop for a used old receiver with a good headphone output.  Harman Kardon might fit your needs here and you could even get one that comes with Dolby Headphone which is great for simulating surround sound.  HD 555 is plenty good enough for any video game music.  I have a 595 and most people on this site will tell you they sound very similar.
 
Aug 6, 2010 at 12:05 PM Post #3 of 4
Just wait for the AD700's and HD555 suggestions! 
tongue.gif

 
Aug 6, 2010 at 2:45 PM Post #4 of 4
Quote:
Just wait for the AD700's and HD555 suggestions! 
tongue.gif


Lulz...
 
With the AD700s I bet you could even hear the random battles sneaking up on you! 
wink_face.gif

 
Seriously now...
 
Just about none of the gaming suggestions in other threads are going to apply to you since they are all based on how well you can hear someone sneaking up behind you in an FPS.  Since it sounds like you're looking for a little more treble emphasis, the SR60s seem like a reasonable choice.  Off the top of my head I can't think of anything similar in your price range.
 

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