[SubSt8]

Hello looking for some advice concerning a set of headphones for gaming mostly. I currently use an Astro A40 headset and feel a bit disappointed and I figured this would be a good place to start to look for a replacement. 
 
My main concern is that I want to keep my surround sound, and then I am interested in something that will provide really good sound quality. I have done a bit searching around and I think I have narrowed it down to these three options:
 
Audio-Technica Audiophile ATH-AD700
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826402014
 
Audio-Technica ATH-AD900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826402080
 
Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO
http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-770-PRO-250-ohms/dp/B0006NL5SM

Is there really a $100 difference between the 700 and 900? Will I be able to keep my surround sound using these headsets? If so, how? I do have the Mix Amp that comes with the Astro headset. Do I need to get a different one? Should I WANT to get a different one?

Thanks for any advice,
SubSt8


Also as a side note, I am streaming audio to a second PC for recording gameplay and streaming but I am getting a buzzing sound on the second PC. This can be heard here (at the begining mostly when there is no sound):
http://youtu.be/kJFNa557FGg
Any ideas what might be causing this? A short somewhere perhaps?

 

[Suopermanni]

Having had both the Ad700 and the AD900, I can say that there is only slight difference between the two. You get a bit more bass and more balanced sound out of the AD900s...as well as the more eye-pleasing colour scheme. Though, I don't think it's worth the $100 extra they put on it. The DT770 Pro is a different beast altogether, it sounds quite different from the Audio Technicas.
 
Your main questions you need to answer are:
 
1. How do you like your mids?
2. How much bass do you like?
3. How much treble can you stand?

 

[PurpleAngel]

I'm assuming your plugging the Astro Mix-Amp. into the motherboard's optical port and the motherboard's built in audio comes with DDL (Dolby Digital live)?
 
Headphone wise, get a used ($110-$148) Sennheiser HD558 off Amazon's website.

 

[streetdragon]

^ 
there OP, excellent choice

 

[Roller]

What kind of gaming are you planning on doing, competitive or immersive gaming? If you want to do competitive gaming, the ATH-AD700 are a very good choice (the ATH-AD900 improve on that at a bit too much money over the ATH-AD700), with the DT770 being a rather poor choice for that, but for immersive gaming it's the other way around, with the ATH-AD700 and ATH-AD900 not being that suited while the DT770 being a better option. Balanced headphones for both competitive and immersive gaming are Ultrasone HFI-580/HFI-780/HFI-2400, Beyerdynamic DT990 and Sennheiser HD598.

 

[SubSt8]

Hmmm I should pre-face this with, I have very little audio experience, especially with these terms. I talked with my girlfriend a bit and she has more audio experience then me and she says what I guess makes sense, "bass and treble to be high, and mid tones to be medium." Which makes sense to me.


 

I'm assuming your plugging the Astro Mix-Amp. into the motherboard's optical port and the motherboard's built in audio comes with DDL (Dolby Digital live)?
 

Yes that is exactly how it is currently set up. Would this be good with any stereo headset and provide me with surround sound and good sound quality?

 

[SubSt8]

Quote:

What kind of gaming are you planning on doing, competitive or immersive gaming? If you want to do competitive gaming, the ATH-AD700 are a very good choice (the ATH-AD900 improve on that at a bit too much money over the ATH-AD700), with the DT770 being a rather poor choice for that, but for immersive gaming it's the other way around, with the ATH-AD700 and ATH-AD900 not being that suited while the DT770 being a better option. Balanced headphones for both competitive and immersive gaming are Ultrasone HFI-580/HFI-780/HFI-2400, Beyerdynamic DT990 and Sennheiser HD598.

Well I suppose I lean more to the competetive side, I would like good directional audio and audio quality being second to only that.

Oh and I suppose you are asking this because of the difference between closed and open back I assume? With closed back being more immersive and open back being better to tell direction?

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Well I suppose I lean more to the competetive side, I would like good directional audio and audio quality being second to only that.

Oh and I suppose you are asking this because of the difference between closed and open back I assume? With closed back being more immersive and open back being better to tell direction?

 
While closed versus open back play its part, I'm mainly talking about each headphones native ability to handle different types of gaming. How far can you stretch your budget?
 
Also, the ATH-AD700 has the best price/performance ratio when it comes to competitive gaming.

 

[SubSt8]

Oh gosh...I really wouldn't want to spend more than 300, although keeping it under 200 seemed more appropriate lol. Honestly though if you know of some amazing headset for under 400 I might just consider it lol. But it would have to be worth the money, and I realize most of the headphones are worth the money when you pay more.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Oh gosh...I really wouldn't want to spend more than 300, although keeping it under 200 seemed more appropriate lol. Honestly though if you know of some amazing headset for under 400 I might just consider it lol. But it would have to be worth the money, and I realize most of the headphones are worth the money when you pay more.

 
If you're looking for a headset, then the best one money can buy is the Sennheiser PC360, which packs both solid headphone and clear sounding mic.

 

[SubSt8]

Quote:

 
If you're looking for a headset, then the best one money can buy is the Sennheiser PC360, which packs both solid headphone and clear sounding mic.

Oh sorry, I am still trying to keep them seperate, headset and headphone. Looking for headphones.

 

[SubSt8]

At least from what I've read, everyone says a headphone will always sound better than a headset. Or is that Sennheiser PC360 better then a few of the other previously mentioned headphones?

 

[Roller]

I find both Ultrasone HFI-2400 and Beyerdynamic DT990 to be better headphones than the Sennheiser PC360. You can then add a clip-on mic or a boom mic, and you'll get both high quality headphones along with performing mic.

 

[SubSt8]

Quote:

I find both Ultrasone HFI-2400 and Beyerdynamic DT990 to be better headphones than the Sennheiser PC360. You can then add a clip-on mic or a boom mic, and you'll get both high quality headphones along with performing mic.

Woa...those are two very different priced headphones there lol. Well it seems I have quite a few headphones to look through now lol.

[size=1.7em]  [/size]

beyerdynamic DT 990: ~$350
 
Sennheiser HD 598: ~$235
 
ATH-AD900: ~$230
 
ULTRASONE HFI-2400: ~$185
 
Sennheiser HD 558: ~$180
 
ATH-AD700 : ~$105

Alright...these are just the prices I have seen on either amazon or newegg. I am going to go ahead and say no to the DT990, just a bit too much there and unless I am going to notice double the difference between the next set down I am not gonna drop that much at this time.

 

[Roller]

I recommend the Ultrasone HFI-2400 for both competitive and immersive gaming, and the ATH-AD700 for competitive gaming alone, but its lack of bass presence makes it useful for just competitive gaming, immersive gaming will be hurt quite a bit.