[Scylin]

Hi Head-fiers,
 
I've finally decided to make an account here since I've gotten so much information from here already by just lurking threads. 
 
I'm kind of new to proper audio equipment and before this I was the type of guy that would even believe in surround sound headsets, I've finally convinced myself that that's impossible and now I'm ready to move on to some proper equipment .
 
Let me start of by saying what kind of things I'd like to do with the headphones, I'd want them to pretty versatile all around headphones since I'd be using it for playing video games (nothing very competitive), music and movies. I know this is a lot to ask from one piece of kit, but since my budget isn't that big and I'm just getting in the scene I reckon there'd be some equipment out there for the audio newbies like me.
 
The music genres I listen to vary, but it's usually rock, dubstep and soundtracks (usually classical ones).
 
In terms of video games, I actually play everything, but usually it's shooters, mmos and mobas.
 
I guess by now you found out that I want to use the cans for my PC, sorry for not putting that in earlier . I've been listening to my on-board sound, so I'm also looking for a decent starters sound card, I think I've narrowed it down to a soundcard I like: Asus Xonar DG, I heard Creatives are better for video games, but since I'm more looking for an all-round gear I guess Asus is better, however that also depends on preference, I suppose I should listen to it sometime, but I honestly don't know where.
 
In terms of headphones, I've narrowed my search down to a couple, but if you guys any other better ones feel free to bring it up!
 
Brainwavz HM5 - Heard these were pretty good all rounders, kinda decent for new people?
Creative Aurvana Live! - Found these on the Mad Lust Envy thread with his comments on cans (actually found almost all of these 4 there), thought they were pretty cool and he gave them pretty good all around grades
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro - Read good things about them, dunno if they're any good for gaming though
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro - What's the difference between these and the 770s?
 
I've also read about the Sennheiser PC 350/360 but they're headsets and I read a lot that you'll get more bang for your buck when you buy a pair of headphones with a decent clip-on mic (any recommendations on that? I heard Zalman clip-ons were pretty good?)
And I also looked at Audio Technica gear, but I read that the A700s have a very good sound stage for gaming, but since they're pretty low on bass they weren't really good for all round usage?
Another piece from Audio Technica were the AD700s, I read good things about them, but also very mixed things, some people told me the bass was pretty lacking, and others told me they were pretty good all round cans, any comments on these?
 
My budget would be around ~100-150 euro, so I guess ~$200 max, but preferably a lot less, as I said, I'm still getting into it and I don't have to start with floor wiping kit, since I'm coming from rubbish, almost everything is an improvement .
 
I would prefer to keep amps out of the picture and keep it to a sound card and cans for now, I guess headphones with amps and everything will come a bit later when I'm a bit more knowledgeable on the subject myself.
 
This is where my knowledge so far ends, so feel free to correct me on any mistakes I made and feel free to comment on my choices so far or tell me about a better set of headphones!
 
Thanks,
 
Scylin
 
Ps. Sorry if this is in the wrong subforum, I've looked around and I supposed this was the best place for it?

 

[MEDO]

DT 770 is DT990 but closed which means the don't have that wide sound stage and the bass a little boomier. so if you don't mind the sound leakage, beyerdynamic DT990 is a really good headphone for the price 170$ on amazon.

 

[Scylin]

Quote:

DT 770 is DT990 but closed which means the don't have that wide sound stage and the bass a little boomier. so if you don't mind the sound leakage, beyerdynamic DT990 is a really good headphone for the price 170$ on amazon.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll keep it into consideration.
 
Now another thing, is the sound card that I was planning on getting actually any good? Is it even better than my onboard? This is my motherboard atm: http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3425#sp
 
I'm also looking at some other soundcards, but then I'm getting into a different pricerange, which I suppose isn't all that bad, but that'd mean I'd have to cut back a bit on the headphones. 
 
The other soundcards I've been looking at are the Asus Xonar DX and the Asus Xonar Essence STX, the STX I suppose I could pick up somewhere secondhanded, as I can't really afford paying ~170 euro for the card, cause that would mean I'd be without headphones.
 
In terms of some cheaper headphones I've been looking at:
 

1. JVC HA-RX700

1. Samson SR850

 
I suppose these are pretty good for their price, but will I get my full potential out of the aforementioned soundcards, and are they actually good overall headphones?

Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[Scylin]

Also, if I were to go for the DT990s, would I need an amp with it? Or will a DG soundcard suffice? Or a DX card for that matter?

 

[MEDO]

sorry for the late reply.
 
you don't need an amp for the 250 ohm but if you wanna push them to the limit just get them an amp for around 100$ like fiio E9 or the topping. if you go cheaper you're not getting the best price to performance ratio. but if you got the DT990 it's hard to find a better headphone technically under 350$ or even 400$.

 

[Scylin]

Quote:

sorry for the late reply.
 
you don't need an amp for the 250 ohm but if you wanna push them to the limit just get them an amp for around 100$ like fiio E9 or the topping. if you go cheaper you're not getting the best price to performance ratio. but if you got the DT990 it's hard to find a better headphone technically under 350$ or even 400$.

Hi,
 
Thanks for the reply once again. I've just taken the plunge and ordered the DT770s because the 990s are open headphones and I'd be using them in different places, so open headphones aren't really going to work for me.
 
Thanks for the advice though. I'm going to be buying an amp later and so far I've been hearing Fiio all over the place so I'll definitely look into the E9s
 
Thanks,

Scylin