[Bariseray]

Hello everyone,
I recently finished building my gaming rig ( a beast i must say ) and now that i have managed to save more money i want to get a good headphone. I do not own a sound card though. My budget is 150-200 GBP. If I have to I wouldn't mind getting a sound card if it doesn't exceed the budget I have. I already own a pair of TMA-1 for listening to music and I love them but they aren't great for gaming sadly. I'd prefer Headphones over Headsets I believe simply because I have had bad past experiences with them and they are not good for the money. So yeah i'm really clueless about what to get, I did look at Mad Lust Evny's guide but he states that he games on consoles and I game on PC so there is that. Any recommendation would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[PurpleAngel]

AKG K612 Pro headphones.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card.

 

[Bariseray]

Thanks for your answers they fit nicely in the budget. One question though would directional audio be good on those cans for FPS games like Battlefield 4 and such ?

 

[Sennhy90]

I would recommend any Sennheiser PC Series. Any starting from 3xx
 
I got PC 320's and they sound great.
 
Well , your budget is pretty good so i would suggest to look for some PC 360's
 
I tried them and i must say that they are REALLY COMFORTABLE.
 
I dont know how they sound but if PC 320 sound great then 360's must sound waaay better.
 
They cost 180 GBP on Amazon

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks for your answers they fit nicely in the budget. One question though would directional audio be good on those cans for FPS games like Battlefield 4 and such ?

So far everything I read about the AKG K612 Pro say they will do well with FPS gaming.
But feel free to read up everything you can about them.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/685483/akg-k702-the-classic-vs-k612-pro-the-upstart-review-and-comparison
http://www.head-fi.org/t/216596/akg-k601-k612-pro-owners-unite

 

[b0000]

You'd ideally want an open headphone that has a good soundstage. The sennheiser hd 598, sony ma900, beyerdynamic dt880, or the akg q701 are among the good choices for a wide open soundstage. As for a soundcard, make sure it supports dolby headphone or cmss3d headphone and you're good to go. You can also use devices like the astro mixamp or the turtle beach ear force dss provided your computer has an optical out.

 

[linszoid]

I'm going to piggy back a little on this thread.
 
I'm also into PC gaming (and some music)  but will be primarily using my laptop. I have a budget of about $250 for the entire headphone system. Will a sound card like the ASUS Xonar U3 Sound Card be sufficient? Do I also need an amp? I was thinking of using the Sennheiser HD598 as my headphones although I'm thinking of getting a closed ear set.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I'm going to piggy back a little on this thread.
 
I'm also into PC gaming (and some music)  but will be primarily using my laptop. I have a budget of about $250 for the entire headphone system. Will a sound card like the ASUS Xonar U3 Sound Card be sufficient? Do I also need an amp? I was thinking of using the Sennheiser HD598 as my headphones although I'm thinking of getting a closed ear set.

The Xonar U3 will work with the HD598, would not have to get an add-on headphone amplifier.
I think the HD558 is a better value (same driver as the HD598).

 

[linszoid]

I can assume that the sound card would give me noticeably better sound right?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I can assume that the sound card would give me noticeably better sound right?

The U3 should at least sound a little better then the laptop's built in audio.
The Creative Labs Omni Surround 5.1 should be better, then the U3.

 

[ACDragun]

I would recommend either the hd598 ,
or the k550 since you were looking for closed headphones.