[coredump]

I figured I spend so much time gaming that I should write a review for the different headphones I’ve used. The 6 headphones I'll be reviewing are:

Allesandro MS1
Sennheiser HD650
Beyerdynamic DT770 250 Ohms
Audio-Technica A700
Audio-Technica AD900
AKG K701


I don’t believe that headphones are an important factor in non-shooter type games so this review was written with multiplayer competitive shooters in mind. Other competitive or non-competitive games do not apply.

My game of choice for testing is Counter-Strike: Source. It’s always been a personal favorite of mine and it’s the game I’m most familiar with.

Although the X-Fi is a very popular gaming card it’s not effective for powering each headphone tested. The Zero DAC was used throughout the testing and it is actually my preferred DAC for gaming.

Each headphone was rated on a scale of 1 to 5 in the following categories with a score of 5 being the best.

Distance: An accurate feeling of distance between objects and players.
Direction: This is how well the headphones give an accurate sense of direction in the open and through obstacles.
Detail: Clarity of the details. How well footsteps and other small sounds are heard.
Centered: The player should feel like they are in the center of the sound stage.
Congestion: This is the headphones ability to play multiple distinct game sounds. At congestion level 1 a single gunshot might blind you with sound and you will hear nothing else. At level 5 several gun shots, grenades, and footsteps can all be heard and identified at the same time.
Comfort: Level of comfort.


Allesandro MS1
Distance: 1
Direction: 1
Detail: 4
Centered: 2
Congestion: 4
Comfort: 4

Total: 16

Comments: Out of all the headphones the MS1 performed the worst. It’s almost impossible to tell direction and distance. Detail is good but without being able to find your enemies they are almost worthless. I also noticed a very small dead spot center-rear which means you’ll never hear the knife stabbing you in the back.

Recommendation: Not recommended. Even a cheap gaming headset will probably work better than this.

Similar Headphones: May be similar to Grado SR60, SR80, SR125, and more.

Sennheiser HD650
Distance: 2
Direction: 3
Detail: 2
Centered: 5
Congestion: 3
Comfort: 4

Total: 19

Comments: There isn’t much to say about the HD650 other than it’s not a good gaming headphone. Direction was ok but the bass washes over the detail and the distance is difficult to determine. They were probably the second most comfortable headphones.

Recommendation: Not recommended.

Beyerdynamic DT770 250 Ohms
Distance: 3
Direction: 4
Detail: 3
Centered: 4
Congestion: 2
Comfort: 3

Total: 19

Comments: The congestion on the DT770 was the worst of the bunch and the detail was only slightly better than the HD650. Direction, distance, and detail all got considerably worse through obstacles and walls. They’re on center but there is a strong forward presentation with the rear being weaker. The DT770 were a bit of a surprise to me. I’d seen them recommended several times but I found them to be simply average. There are of course multiple versions of these headphones which may lead to some confusion about which is actually being recommended. I found the comfort to be only average.

Recommendation: I wouldn’t recommend buying these for gaming but if you already have them they will make do.

Audio-Technica A700
Distance: 3
Direction: 3
Detail: 4
Centered: 5
Congestion: 4
Comfort: 3

Total: 22

Comments: The weak spot of the A700 is the distance. Everything feels a bit close and distances on outdoor maps are hard to determine. I believe a player can learn to adjust to the distance over time. The distance on the A700 actually improves a lot when paired with an X-Fi in gaming mode. They are very comfortable headphones but I have to take a point off because they get hot after a few minutes of use.

Recommendation: Recommended.

Similar Headphones: May be similar to the A500 and the A900

Audio-Technica AD900
Distance: 3
Direction: 3
Detail: 5
Centered: 5
Congestion: 5
Comfort: 5

Total: 26

Comments: The weak spot for the AD900 is the distance which is stretched out too much. The sound stage feels absolutely huge. This also makes direction more difficult to determine. I believe a player can learn to adjust to the distance over time. Although not as competitive as the K701 the AD900 is a very comfortable headphone that has good gaming performance.

Recommendation: Recommended.

Similar Headphones: May be similar to the AD500 and AD700.


AKG K701
Distance: 5
Direction: 5
Detail: 5
Centered: 3
Congestion: 4
Comfort: 2

Total: 24

Comments: The K701 was another surprise for me. I didn’t expect it to perform well but as it turns out it could be one of the best gaming headphones I’ve ever used. It does have two very noticeable issues which prevent it from being perfect. The first issue is that the center of the sound stage is a few feet in front of the player. While it’s easy to adapt to the misplaced sound stage it can still lead to death in a few situation. Most notably is when an enemy drops down from above or when suddenly surprised by a very close enemy. In either scenario the enemy can sometimes sound like they are in front when they are actually in back. This could be a serious issue for a serious gamer. The other issue is the comfort. Of all the headphones reviewed the K701 were the least comfortable. Perhaps they will break in more as time goes on. Mine still have <100 hours on them.

I found the K701 gave the best feel of the land. No other headphone had sound flowing as accurately around walls and obstacles. Although the sound stage is slightly misplaced, distance, direction, and detail all seemed perfect.

Recommendation: Recommended.

 

[1Time]

Excellent review. Very useful. Thanks

 

[whaleyboy]

Nice write up - thanks.

 

[Nubster]

Sucks you thought the MS-1's sucked for gaming. I am getting a pair soon and I was looking forward to using them for COD in addition to music. It does not matter much though since I am getting them for my tunes rather than my games so I can always get different cans for the xbox later down the road.

 

[ourfpshero]

i am a firm supporter of the audio technica 'a' and 'ad' series for gaming. havent heard the higher open akgs yet, but have heard the others. for the most part i agree tho i always use my x-fi for gaming- need my 3d sound

 

[Fungi]

I can't say I've seen someone seriously compare a "good" selection of headphones for gaming before. I'm not competetive enough for doing that, but it's definitely neat to see what someone with that skill has to say about this.
The K701 comfort issue is a common one. I've seen things from washing and rubbing the pads to putting sponge/foam under the headband for that, maybe you could try that too.

 

[coredump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nubster /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sucks you thought the MS-1's sucked for gaming. I am getting a pair soon and I was looking forward to using them for COD in addition to music.

The MS-1 may perform differently in different game. I've never used them for any other shooter other than Counterstrike. I'm sure they will be fine for the single player COD campaign since the enemies are almost always in front of you in plain sight.

Quote:

i am a firm supporter of the audio technica 'a' and 'ad' series for gaming. havent heard the higher open akgs yet, but have heard the others. for the most part i agree tho i always use my x-fi for gaming- need my 3d sound

I think the A700 does better with the X-Fi than the Zero. The X-Fi magnifies distant sounds which pretty much corrects the distance issue.

 

[Nubster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coredump /img/forum/go_quote.gif The MS-1 may perform differently in different game. I've never used them for any other shooter other than Counterstrike. I'm sure they will be fine for the single player COD campaign since the enemies are almost always in front of you in plain sight.

I think your review is relevant because I play Call of Duty online so it would be the same scenario as you playing Counterstrike with the sound stage and being able to hear where gun fire and footsteps are coming from. It was a good review. At least now I can know what to expect when I give my MS-1's a try.

 

[tintin47]

Nice review. I am a Halo fan myself, and I also love the 701. It really makes you appreciate how much work went into the sound for Halo 3. It's unbelievable. So good in radar-less gametypes because you can hear footsteps and the such. I don't get the off-centered-ness that you spoke of, though. It seems dead on though it could change over games.

I have also found that COD 4 doesn't have much in the way of sound engineering, though. Everything is either left channel only, right only, or full blast on both. There are no echoes, fading or real directionality. You turn and one second you hear gunfire only from the left side, but it is actually only 40-50 degrees left rather than 90.

 

[denl82]

Thanks for a very helpful review. I'm also a competitive gamer(Quake 2 rocket arena 2), and enjoy Battlefield 2 a lot. I've also had CS:S for a month or two. With all three games I've used the DT 770/80, DT 880'250'05, and the K701. Imo all three cans were "wallhackish," with the DT 880's pulling quite ahead of the dt770's in direction and especially detail, and the k701 forging ahead the dt880's slightly in direction(mine only had about 200 hours of formal burn-in).


Even though the K701 had an impressively tall soundstage(which BF 2 took great advantage of, with fighter jets soaring high above), it was the DT 880's hi-end qualities along with its heftier bass that truly won my ears. I find it important that you've included congestion in your categories. Anyone who has played the BF 2 map "Strike at Karkand" with 64 players running a muck knows what I mean.

In the beginning of the round in that map, approximately 20+ U.S Marine Corps "boggies" are advancing down the hill towards a fenced area to capture the flag, tossing grenades to flush out roughly 20+ Middle East Coalition "soldiers." If you're in that area, all you hear is "BANG." BANG!!!! following each other in 1-2 second intervals. With the dt 880's, all the explosions are kept within their respective spot in a wide soundstage, while the bass adds some fun factor. It's really a joy to hear such a headphone own with ease.

Really and truly, hi-end cans offload the burden of locating opponents in fps'. But as I've read in another thread, imo a true gamer would rely on map knowledge and experience, regardless of their headphone

 

[coredump]

I think the sound can be off in a lot of games. Bioshock comes to mind. Hearing my own foot steps off center would drive me bonkers. I always though someone was sneaking up on me.

 

[coredump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Imo all three cans were "wallhackish," with the DT 880's pulling quite ahead of the dt770's in direction and especially detail, and the k701 forging ahead the dt880's slightly in direction(mine only had about 200 hours of formal burn-in).

I didn't want to hear that. I had hoped the DT880 weren't any better than the DT770 because I almost bought a pair.

If I could find a headphone that does as well as the K701 but is as comfortable as the AD900 I would be very happy. I still choose the AD900 sometimes because I can wear them for hours.

I haven't played BF2 in a long time. I might have to pull it back out. I love 64 player maps.

 

[wizia]

thanks for the review

 

[Rubadubbbb]

I'd just like to add my opinion on the K601's in regard to gaming. They are superb (probably fall short of the 701's). I have used them for years now with no amp. The lack of impact and low end is not missed. The soundstage is still phenomenal and footsteps, reloads, etc. are very easy to pick out. Volume might be the only thing lacking with no amp depending on your playing environment.

 

[tdockweiler]

I'm also one of those who think the K601 is severely under-appreciated for gaming. Often you can find them for $120-$170 and that's a really good price if you can't find a K702/K701 for cheap.
 
When I had my K601 it seems to be a better match with my Asgard than the K702 at the time. When I got the E9, the K702 was far, far better than before. On my Asgard the K702 background details seem to get lost and are too distant. On my E9 it's NEVER like this. Because of the E9, I went from hating the K702 for gaming to loving it. Yes, really!
 
I'd love to buy another K601 some day. I compared them to the K702 and found that the K702 had more detail and better clarity. At the time I felt the K601 had a more accurate soundstage and possibly better imaging. The sound of the K601 was definitely less clear than the K702, but not too bad.
 
In the end, I think the foward mids of the K601 really helped and I prefer that for most games instead of slightly better clarity.
 
K601 kind of reminds me of the Hd-598 in some ways. Not that they sound alike, but have a similar signature.

 
Quote:

I'd just like to add my opinion on the K601's in regard to gaming. They are superb (probably fall short of the 701's). I have used them for years now with no amp. The lack of impact and low end is not missed. The soundstage is still phenomenal and footsteps, reloads, etc. are very easy to pick out. Volume might be the only thing lacking with no amp depending on your playing environment.