Headphones for computer gaming?

[rodbac]

I've always thought the DT770s were a blast for gaming- the details are easy to make out and the bass is unrivaled for sheer amount.

 

[juni0r]

HD 570/590, HD 555/595, and maybe HD 580/600/650. You definitely can't go wrong with the first two sets, though.

 

[Numero1Latino]

I am also looking for some headphones for Xmas. I am leaning towards the senns because of comfort and positive reviews. My price range is under $300.

Thanks

 

[dragnink]

One of your points was that you don't want to hear the case noise of your pc.

Let's look at it this way - When you're gaming, if you go with an open-design headphone, you're not going to hear much external noise when you're playing a game.. not as much as you'd think, anyway.

I was just playing some Joint Ops and didn't notice the hum of my case, except for in-between level loads when my ears weren't being overloaded with ambient game noise, gunfire, etc.

I use Sennheiser HD-580's and they suit me well. I'd much prefer an open, rather than closed design. Depending on the volume, with an open design.. I'd say 75-90% of external noise is blocked out while playing.

If you play at really low volumes through your headphones, then by all means - a closed phone would suit you better. I like to feel like I'm a part of the action, so I have the volume up enough so that my ears don't ring after an hour to few hours of gaming.

 

[halcyon]

Has anybody auditioned Larry's DT770 with Darth Beyer recabling extensively?

How is the bass, mids and highs now?

It'd be interesting to hear comments of DT770 recabled version against A900 as well, in case somebody has auditionted these two.

 

[Thaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN I'm surprised the Audio-Technica ATH-A500/A900 has not been mentioned yet.

Yeah seriously...this guy needs something to block noise, provide awesome sound, and be comfortable.

Based on the critieria you listed, I would get either the Audio Technica A500's or A900's, or...look into the Beyerdynamic DT 770/80. The Beyers have pretty good positioning, as well as enough bass to really make you feel the explosions

 

[Thaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by halcyon Has anybody auditioned Larry's DT770 with Darth Beyer recabling extensively? How is the bass, mids and highs now? It'd be interesting to hear comments of DT770 recabled version against A900 as well, in case somebody has auditionted these two.

I heard them at the Pittsburgh meet, I wasn't impressed at all. To me, the bass was still overwhelming, the mids recessed, and the highs were nothing to write home about. That was for listening to music though, these things would be absolutely awesome for gaming.

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobojoe ( the fans on my computer are extremtly loud )

In this kind of situation I'd seriously consider investing some time, thought and possibly a little money into getting the %§&")! thing quieter. Even a state of the art gaming PC, while being difficult to get absolutely silent, doesn't have to sound like a moderately sized jet engine. If it does anyway, it's frequently because of too many and too fast case fans arranged inefficiently (so airflow may be even worse than with fewer, slower fans in a better configuration), possibly accompanied by a screamer of a CPU fan and not the quietest graphics card fan. A few simple measures may help significantly, which even when going with closed cans will be appreciated when these are not worn. There certainly is no reason for giving in to PC noise.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chia-pet Gamers prefer open cans to closed cans. Having a pair of closed cans myself (as I mentioned) is horrible for gaming, because not being able to hear all the cool sh!t going on around you at a LAN sucks. Besides, a can being open doesn't really impede your ability to hear--you can adjust the volume and you'll always hear sounds over the roar of the crowd.

If you're a hardcore Q3 1v1 dueller, you should probably know that using open cans at a lan can and will distract you from playing your best. It happened to Z4 at ESWC or QCON, don't remember which, and it happened to me, though it wasn't a competitive lan, just playing with friends. In any case, this is definitely a consideration.

Using the HD600 is a bad idea for gaming since it needs an amp in order to shine. Without one, it doesn't have much soundstage to speak of, and soundstage for a gaming headphone is a MUST. Take it from either me or sp1N, who ARE good quake 3 duellers (well, he is, i'm just alright

any good pro like Pangu or Exorcist will slap me around pretty well, though i'm not too far behind).

I would recommend the following, in that order:

1) Audio-Technica ATH-A900
2) Beyerdynamic DT770/80 (not the 250 version since it has to be amped)
3) Audio-Technica ATH-A500 (haven't heard the 700 so can't comment)
4) Sennheiser HD280 Pro
5) Sony MDR-V6

Personally, I use a Senn HD590 amped out of my Denon PRA-1500 pre-amp, which is decent, but not quite up to par with a dedicated headphone amp, which fortunately is on the way. The 590 is a very good gaming headphone, with great bass, detail, and soundstage - but I wouldn't recommend it for lans since it's open. It's not really any better than the A900 except in the bass, and if you want to kill two birds with one stone - a good music and a good gaming headphone - then you cannot go wrong with the A900.

 

[toor]

I heard the speedlink medusa 5.1 was good for gaming. Does anyone have any actual experieince comparing it to a higher end headphone like the HD 600s?

 

[PinchyCM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobojoe I've recently decided that I would like to get a pair of headphones to use while im playing various computer games. I would like a set of headphones that can block out the outside sounds very well ( the fans on my computer are extremtly loud ). I would also like the headphones to offer surround sound. I don't know of a whole lot about most brands, my only experience with quality headphones are when I used my buddy's Sennhieser's, which were very comfortable. I really don't want to spend more that $200, but if there is a set that is substantially better than other sets of headphones, that $200 budget is flexible. These headphones will not be used for listening to music, so I am looking for a set that will be best for gaming. I would appriciate any recommendations you guys can give me. Thanks!

i think anything more than a senn. hd212 would be overkill. it's gaming.

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodent Wow, I thought the Ultrasones where the best. How much further away do you hear the enemy, assuming your using the same actual volume? The bad thing with the HD600s is that you probably need an amp for them to do any good(I don't know, haven't heard them). I wonder how SK's HD600s sound, I dont think theyre amping them. I know one guy, Nebb, who had a really hard time getting proper sound out of his 600s at an event at a café.

I'm unsure how much farther I hear, but it's definitely noticable. There's a certain point when good cs players know when to start walking (as they approach listenable distances), and that's where the advantage comes from. You can hear them running still before they start walking. Their perception of how far they can be without you hearing them is skewed by their own inability to hear that far. My teammates were amazed that I could hear where the enemies were and they couldn't--they thought I was cheating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch If you're a hardcore Q3 1v1 dueller, you should probably know that using open cans at a lan can and will distract you from playing your best. It happened to Z4 at ESWC or QCON, don't remember which, and it happened to me, though it wasn't a competitive lan, just playing with friends. In any case, this is definitely a consideration.

I actually used to duel competative in Quake 3 before I started playing Counter-Strike. I also used to follow the scene very closely. At the higher levels of Quake 3 duelling, it's not so much about sound as it is about instincts. Players like fatal1ty and zero4 know where people are because of their instincts, not because of sound. When 2 minutes is rolling around, you know your opponent is coming for the megahealth--and depending on where you last heard your opponent, you know where they're going to come from. Players don't "track" their opponents with constant sound. I would argue that sound plays a much larger role in Counter-Strike than it does in Quake 3. In CS, mobility is limited, stealthiness is much more prominent, and map designs are much more linear. When you hear your opponent, you know they'll be where you heard them. In Q3, opponents can drop down to different tiers of the maps, and can move in unpredictable ways. They can appear anywhere, regardless of where you heard them, because strafe jumping/bunny hopping allows for fast and fluid movement around all maps. But if you say zero4 got distracted in a match because of environmental sounds, I guess I'll have to take your word for it, even though I don't believe it. A professional like zero4 should know how to zone out background noise, and like I said before, they aren't THAT reliant upon sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinchyCM i think anything more than a senn. hd212 would be overkill. it's gaming.

Personally, I think a better pair of headphones give a competative gamer a slight edge--and to a competative gamer, it's very much worth it.

 

[Snoodge]

cant believe HD280 hasnt been mentioned yet... I play CS Source with my HD280's running outta my Yamaha DP-U50 which gets a surround signal from my sound card via toslink, then the dp-u50 mixes it into dolby headphone... sounds amazing.

 

[GoRedwings19]

For playstation 2 gaming I use a grace 901 amp fed by the optical out of the PS2 driving MS-2 and senn hd600 headphones when I kick my brothers ass at smackdown V Raw

 

[Zeruel the 14th]

Wait, are Ultrasones any good for gaming? The marketing talk seems to give the impression...some sort of surrounding thingy (S-surround?). I think they cost quite a bit more than $200...and they look flimsy too. Like they might break if you take them on and off alot.

I wonder if having good phones is like cheating...