[HyperDuckling]

Hi Head-fi
 
this is my first thread on this forum, and i'm pretty new to this "hifi" world, so bare over with me!
 
- anyways, i'm looking for a pair of open headphones for my gaming sessions (mainly fps games) and for music listening (rap electronic, pop, rock), so the soundstage has to be good (for pinpointing enemies location). But i still don't wanna compromise on the sound for when i'm chilling with my music!
 
So far i've looked at these:
Philips Fidelio X1 - it should be the "funniest" headphone with a really nice bass and a great soundstage, though the earcups are not replaceable which is a huge con IMO
Sennheiser HD 558 - should sound great, and be a little more neutral than the X1, but should also have a great soundstage
AKG K701 - the sound should be rather linear, with a little lack of bass, should also be pretty hard to drive, but soundstage should be great
Audio-technica ATH-AD700X - the soundstage should be phenomenal on these cans, should offer plenty of detail, but i've heard that the treble should be rather "harsh"
 
They're gonna be driven by a Fiio E9I or any other AMP/DAC in this same price segment, recommendations?
 
So as I stated earlier the soundstage is REALLY important, but i dont wanna compromise on the sound either!
 
bring it on!

 

[TiTaN]

I own the X1 and AD700 and have owned the Q701 and K701, HD598 and HD595 and Sony MA900. The AD700 are what I used until I started getting upgrade happy and for the price I've still not gotten rid of them as they are great all around, comfy cans, but my current love are my X1s.
 
the HD598 quite honestly weren't good enough at anything that I'd keep them over any of the above headphones, and from what I remember the HD595 were close. Cannot comment on the lower HD555/558 though, just know it shouldn't even be quite as good as the 59X series.
 
The MA900 were absolutely great, but personal fit issues and the price I got them for ended up in their return.
 
The Q701 were quite excellent as well, very similar to the MA900 in my tests, but absolutely need a solid amp to get what you want out of them. For that reason, they also were returned as I didn't want to pony up $150+ for an amp at the time.
 
The X1 are exactly what I wanted. The removable 3.5mm cord makes attaching the Vmoda BoomPro mic a no brainer, and the added bass makes them much more fun for gaming while still retaining a great level of detail and accuracy. Obviously you'll sacrifice some soundstage, but even for me being a rather competitive FPS player, it isn't enough to have made me keep the Q701 or MA900 over the X1s.
 
I had all of them concurrently for 2-3 weeks and swapped them out mid-game/song throughout that time and the X1 won out for me.
 
That said, i have a pair of K612 Pros on the way to test out that are rumored to be very good as well.

 

[HyperDuckling]

  I own the X1 and AD700 and have owned the Q701 and K701, HD598 and HD595 and Sony MA900. The AD700 are what I used until I started getting upgrade happy and for the price I've still not gotten rid of them as they are great all around, comfy cans, but my current love are my X1s.
 
the HD598 quite honestly weren't good enough at anything that I'd keep them over any of the above headphones, and from what I remember the HD595 were close. Cannot comment on the lower HD555/558 though, just know it shouldn't even be quite as good as the 59X series.
 
The MA900 were absolutely great, but personal fit issues and the price I got them for ended up in their return.
 
The Q701 were quite excellent as well, very similar to the MA900 in my tests, but absolutely need a solid amp to get what you want out of them. For that reason, they also were returned as I didn't want to pony up $150+ for an amp at the time.
 
The X1 are exactly what I wanted. The removable 3.5mm cord makes attaching the Vmoda BoomPro mic a no brainer, and the added bass makes them much more fun for gaming while still retaining a great level of detail and accuracy. Obviously you'll sacrifice some soundstage, but even for me being a rather competitive FPS player, it isn't enough to have made me keep the Q701 or MA900 over the X1s.
 
I had all of them concurrently for 2-3 weeks and swapped them out mid-game/song throughout that time and the X1 won out for me.
 
That said, i have a pair of K612 Pros on the way to test out that are rumored to be very good as well.

Ok thanks, I'll go for the x1 then!