[Filleri]

Hello all fellow head fiers. I watch a lot of movies and play some games with my pc, so i`m in need of a good headphone to do just that. My budget is about 300 dollars.
What i seek for is: Good soundstage to use with dolby headphone, Tight, punchy bass( I`m not a basshead) and laid back highs. I also own Senn IE80 that i like a lot. So something like that would be nice. I prefer closed back headphones , but i`m willing to live with open back as well. So basicly i`ve narrowed it down to: Sennheiser HD598 or AKG K550. Let me know what you think of these two or suggest a better alternative.

 

[MadMolly]

Beyer DT990.  I love these for gaming and movies.  Good soundstage. Tight but solid bass impact.  Emphasized treble, but I find the emphasized treble not a big deal in Dolby Headphone mode.   
 
HD650's would be perfect for you. Good soundstage, bassy, laid back, less emphasis on treble... but their out of your price range.  Maybe you can save up a little more?  You're patience will be rewarded

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello all fellow head fiers. I watch a lot of movies and play some games with my pc, so i`m in need of a good headphone to do just that. My budget is about 300 dollars.
What i seek for is: Good soundstage to use with dolby headphone, Tight, punchy bass( I`m not a basshead) and laid back highs. I also own Senn IE80 that i like a lot. So something like that would be nice. I prefer closed back headphones , but i`m willing to live with open back as well. So basicly i`ve narrowed it down to: Sennheiser HD598 or AKG K550. Let me know what you think of these two or suggest a better alternative.

If all your using is on-board audio, you might think of adding a sound card to go with whatever headphones you pick.

 

[Filleri]

At the moment i`m using my Xonar U3 but i`ve been considering to upgrade that. Beyers sound nice but there`s one major problem. Where i live(Helsinki, Finland) the Beyers actualy cost more than the HD 650 and are very hard to find. So basicaly that rulest them out. What about the AKGs i`ve heard great things about them but no impressions how they handle movies and games.

 

[MadMolly]

I think the Q701 has the most realistic soundstage I've heard, not too big but not small either.  Has a kind of 3d effect to it  Great mids and treble is very smooth.  Bass could be better, but I wouldn't call them bass light.  They were my go to gaming headphone before I got my DT990's.  I think you would be happy with them for gaming, I don't quite feel an immersion in movies as I do with my Beyers.

 

[obobskivich]

For just movies and games, I don't think the 701 will offer enough bass impact to be satisfying. Of course this depends on the user. The sound-staging and comfort is spot-on though; they'd certainly be in my top five there. The other models I would suggest would be the Bose AE2, Ultrasone HFI-2400, and Sony MDR-F1 if you could find one. The Ultrasones will probably be the most overall suitable choice as long as the bass impact doesn't offend you - the Bose would probably be the easiest to live with, and the Sony have the best soundstage.

The 701 will probably be a bad choice with an internal soundcard or a device not otherwise designed to drive headphones - they're kind of insensitive.

As far as the AKG K550 - I'd vote "pass" if it were me. The sound is kind of hum-drum, and getting a seal is somewhat finnicky with them; I like neither aspect on a ~$300 headphone.

 

[tee0]

Quote:

For just movies and games, I don't think the 701 will offer enough bass impact to be satisfying. Of course this depends on the user. The sound-staging and comfort is spot-on though; they'd certainly be in my top five there. The other models I would suggest would be the Bose AE2, Ultrasone HFI-2400, and Sony MDR-F1 if you could find one. The Ultrasones will probably be the most overall suitable choice as long as the bass impact doesn't offend you - the Bose would probably be the easiest to live with, and the Sony have the best soundstage.

The 701 will probably be a bad choice with an internal soundcard or a device not otherwise designed to drive headphones - they're kind of insensitive.

As far as the AKG K550 - I'd vote "pass" if it were me. The sound is kind of hum-drum, and getting a seal is somewhat finnicky with them; I like neither aspect on a ~$300 headphone.

+1 I own k702 and I feel the lack of bass. It shouldn't be considered for watching movie and game.

 

[cib24]

Too bad you say you aren't at least a bit of a bass head. The Philips Fidelio X1's are a good candidate as a gaming and movie headphone. 

 

[Filleri]

Quote:

As far as the AKG K550 - I'd vote "pass" if it were me. The sound is kind of hum-drum, and getting a seal is somewhat finnicky with them; I like neither aspect on a ~$300 headphone.

MInd if i ask, but what you mean by "hum-drum". Also you got me interested on the Bose AE2. Haven`t got a clue how they sound.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Quote:

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

Hello all fellow head fiers. I watch a lot of movies and play some games with my pc, so i`m in need of a good headphone to do just that. My budget is about 300 dollars.
What i seek for is: Good soundstage to use with dolby headphone, Tight, punchy bass( I`m not a basshead) and laid back highs. I also own Senn IE80 that i like a lot. So something like that would be nice. I prefer closed back headphones , but i`m willing to live with open back as well. So basicly i`ve narrowed it down to: Sennheiser HD598 or AKG K550. Let me know what you think of these two or suggest a better alternative.

 

 
if closed back look into some beyerdynamic dt 770
if open the sennehsier HD 598 fits the description

 

[obobskivich]

MInd if i ask, but what you mean by "hum-drum". Also you got me interested on the Bose AE2. Haven`t got a clue how they sound.

Nothing really sticks out to me, SQ wise, from them. A little mid-treble forward but otherwise fairly average sounding - which isn't "good" for $300 imho. Build quality feels good, aside from the seal concerns, but sound-wise I don't think they're a $300+ headphone. Nothing terribly offensive though - I mean I don't think you'd complain if you got them.

As far as the AE2 - I'll link my impressions:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/643986/american-middleweights

For gaming and movies they're a good choice - good soundstage, good isolation (which helps with wide dynamic range material and so on), and a laid-back sound that is very easy to listen to (very comfortable physically too). I think they very much epitomize what you're asking for, if I'm understanding the first post correctly and so on.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hello all fellow head fiers. I watch a lot of movies and play some games with my pc, so i`m in need of a good headphone to do just that. My budget is about 300 dollars.
What i seek for is: Good soundstage to use with dolby headphone, Tight, punchy bass( I`m not a basshead) and laid back highs. I also own Senn IE80 that i like a lot. So something like that would be nice. I prefer closed back headphones , but i`m willing to live with open back as well. So basicly i`ve narrowed it down to: Sennheiser HD598 or AKG K550. Let me know what you think of these two or suggest a better alternative.

 
Heya,

The HD598 is bright. DT770 is bright. You want laid back highs. That doesn't compute.
 
Here's some headphones to consider:
 
Mr Speaker Mad Dogs
AKG K550
AKG K167
AKG K271 MKII
AudioTechnica A700X
AudioTechnica A900
Shure SRH840
 
If you wanted to go open air:
 
Sennheiser HD650 (find a used/sale one)
Hifiman HE-300
AKG Q701 (might be a little bright for you)
Beyer DT880 (might be a little bright for you)
 
Very best,

 

[MadMolly]

Here's something that helped me get started when I was first venturing into the audio gaming world, not sure if you've seen it already though: http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-1-7-13-astro-a40-added

 

[Filleri]

Okay so i`m interested on Beyer DT 880, because i play only for fun and enjoyment,and i want the most immersive headphones to play with. There`s only one problem, i can only find the 250 Ohm version and i`m not sure if my little Xonar U3 can drive it. There is a gain option with three modes < 32Ohm, 32 -64Ohm and > 64ohms. So the question is can it drive the 250Ohm DT880 with decent volume.

 

[Monir]

If you want a pair of really immersive headphones then I can wholeheartedly recommend the Ultrasone PRO 900. Some say that it has shrilling highs and overemphasized bass - and it's all true. But in the consideration of listening areas, which in this case is movies and games, then I think that the V-curve in the PRO900's frequency response fits really well with just movies and games - but that's my 2 cents.
 
The DT990, which some other have recommended, are similar in that they emphasize treble and bass, but its more treble oriented than bass oriented for the reason of it being an open headphone - but I found it to have slightly wider soundstage than the PRO900 by sacrificing the immense and powerful bass that the Ultrasones have. After trying them I never play any games without first plugging in the PRO900 - they bring forth an entirely new dimension to games like Battlefield 3 and even Skyrim. Movies is something entirely different though, personally I would prefer PRO900 for most action-packed movies, but if a film lacks such sonically dynamic scenes and puts emphasis on acting (ie lots of voices/dialogue) and music then I would rely on more laid-back headphones with open-end design. Overall however, Ultrasones brings that immersiveness in games especially with lots of explosions, roars and/or gunshots while emphasizing detail - but this detail we speak of may (depending on genre) be sibilant, so be wary of that. For music I found it only working for EDM and Dubstep but too shrill for other genres.
 
DT990 is a good allrounder, not too excessive treble, but they're still fairly bright. And all though they are a tad smoother they lack the immersiveness I found in PRO900 and the midrange representation in the HD650. But whatever you pick, amplification will be an important factor in all of it - even the low impedance phones PRO900 benefit greatly from it. If you're not going for amplification maybe the ATH-M50 may fit your bill more perfectly, they're also cheaper. But by all means, avoid the HD598 if you're looking for immersiveness - they are more transparent/neutral than the aforementioned cans.