[indoman14]

Hello,
 
first off all, I did a lot of research but because of a lack of knowledge I'm not sure what headphone/headset would give me the best gaming experience for my budget. My budget is 400 euro for the headphone/microphone/soundcard. If an amplifier is needed or gives me fair performance boost I might be able to adjust my budget.
 
The headphones that got my attention:
 
AKG K701 - ath-ad700 - Sennheiser HD598 - Sennheiser pc 360 - Astro a40 - turtle beach SEVEN.  
 
Of course I'm open to all other headphones. From what I've read soundstage and treble seems very important for gaming. So I need a headphone that gives me that. I'm happy whit the music quality of my creative fatal1ty , so the headset only has to be optimized for gaming. A cool thing about the turtle beach is that it can boost the treble, which can let me hear footsteps louder, but I've heard that they break fast and that they are uncomfortable. I want a Headphone with good positioning, if possible louder footsteps ( like TB) , comfortable, they shouldnt hurt my ears when I turn the volume up and they must give me an overal gaming good experience.
 
Would be cool if I could get some advise about any good headphone or where i have to be looking at when I'm picking a headphone.

 

[Meremoth]

I use to use the ath-ad700 for competitive gaming and thought they were great.  They were fine for movies and TV too.  Actually I would hear sounds in the background of TV shows that I think they didn't even mean for you to hear with it.  
 
They were very good for pinpointing footsteps.  
 
I used them plugged straight into my PC, but I'd assume you could get a cheap DAC that could give you even better positional quality.  

 

[indoman14]

Yeah ive read a lot of positive reviews about the ath-ad700 . Do you think a cheap DAC will perform better than a decent sound card with for example an astro 5.8 mixamp for gaming?

 

[genclaymore]

Audio Technica A900X is another good choice, it does have a big sound stage for being closed back, of course it not bigger then the open back vers. But it easy to drive but you will need to make sure your source is up to par.
 
You can get it off amazon.co.uk for 140-160. Also the AKG K701 will need a headphone amp to be used or it wont sound right. Also it is picky with amp's as well.

 

[indoman14]

Hey thanks. Unfortunatly that is not gonna be an option for me. I would like to buy it in a shop so that I can also test it. But they cost 399 euro around here, thats a bit over the top for just the headphone.

 

[davidsh]

You need a soundcard and a headphone (no more, no less). Could be the ad700 and a Creative Soundblaster X-fi Titanium (HD or non HD) even though it is not the newest sound card, it features CMSS-3D, which is said to be really good.
 
Astro/Turtlebeach - stay away from that. 
 
Look into MLE's gaming guide too: http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-4-30-13-koss-esp-950-added

 

[formula1]

Quote:

Yeah ive read a lot of positive reviews about the ath-ad700 . Do you think a cheap DAC will perform better than a decent sound card with for example an astro 5.8 mixamp for gaming?

 
If you're concerned about gaming quality/effects and such, you will like the Mixamp. I've read that you can add a headphone amp to it, in case you need more driving power. 

 

[indoman14]

Yeah it's all about gaming. I'm leaning towards an ATH-AD700 with a mixamp or a  sennheiser pc 360
 
Another interesting feature I just read about was the scout mode. This is a feature of some creative soundcards like the creative sound blaster Z. It is supposed to make footsteps and reloads louder. Is it as impressive as it sounds?

 

[davidsh]

The scout mode is just some EQ applied. Nothing special, that you can't do yourself if you really wanted...
Anyway you get more for your money with a soundcard than the mixamp. The mixamp only applies dolby headphone, soundcards have more different technologies. The mixamp is only worth it if you play over console. 

 

[indoman14]

Do you think a pc360/ATH-AD700 with a Creative Soundblaster X-fi Titanium + mixamp will do the job?

 

[davidsh]

You don't need the mixamp at all. It has no reason to be in your chain if you have a soundcard. Maybe a proper headphone amp would be relevant, but you don't really need that for any of the mentioned headphones except the k701

 

[indoman14]

Will ATH-AD900 give a better gaming experience? It will be allmost double the price, but price isnt an issue if it gives an ok performance boost. 

 

[Meremoth]

Quote:

Will ATH-AD900 give a better gaming experience? It will be allmost double the price, but price isnt an issue if it gives an ok performance boost. 

 
I don't think the AD900 will give you a competitive edge over the 700.  The 700 actually might have the edge because the more bass of the 900 might cover up subtle footstep sounds.  
 
If all you care about is being competitive, I'd just go with the 700's.