[DestradoImpulse]

Hola Head-Fi'ers!!

It's been a while since the last time I was in this hobby and looking to compliment my gaming PC with a respectable headphone and desktop amp to boot. All of my personal experience when it comes to gear is about four years old now, so anything that's come out since then is news to me. I am interested in the ATH-M50X and Little Dot I+ given that the former is neutral to slightly warm and the latter was good for the price point. Eitherway...

Source
MSI Z170 Gaming 7 motherboard

Requirements for isolation
Closed back preferably, will consider semi-closed headphones though

Preferred type of headphones
Over-the-ear and closed back

Preferred tonal balance
Neutral for the most part, although a little warm is okay with me, Preferably something not clinically cold that the Westone 3, but where the music sounds "alive" so to speak. Like in front of the stage at a live, but not in the middle of the stage nor back in the seats.

Past gear
iQube V1, Westone 3, Monster Miles Davis, Shure SE530.

Genres that pop up often in my playlist
New Wave, Synthpop, Vocal Trance, Epic Trance, Trip Hop, Conscious Rap, Intelligent Drum and Bass, basically any band that uses a synthesizer I probably listen to.

Bands that pop up often in my playlist
New Order, Depeche Mode, Notorious B.I.G., Souls of Mischief, Neon Indian, Armin van Buuren, The xx, Thievery Corporation.

My expectations out of the setup
To feel as if I'm in the middle of a live in front and middle of a crowd, where one can get a good sense of the soundstage. Something that's fairly neutral given that time to time I listen to different genres like Bossa Nova, Jazz, and Heavy Metal but still sounds "alive" and/or slightly warm. The headphone also has to be comfortable to wear for extended gaming sessions too.

Please let me know if the M50X and Little Dot I+ would be a good combo given the guidelines. Feel free to make cable recommendations too.

P.S. everything will be in either 320kbps or FLAC format too.

P.S.S. Consider any cabling, tube amps, and opamps separate from the $350 budget. It's something I planned on upgrading in the future anyhow, and want to know what's out there.

Regards,
Jack

 

[obobskivich]

You mentioned a gaming PC - does all of this new gear need to play nice with games too?

Overall I'm reading your post and hearing "Ultrasone" - others may disagree, but that'd be where I'd start the search. HFI-2400, PRO2900, PRO900 (if you like lots of bass), etc. Amplification isn't a big fuss for any of them - grab a decent soundcard (which may have advantages for gaming) or some basic external box from Fiio or Musical Fidelity or [whatever you like] and away you go.

Some alternate headphone makes/models to consider:
- Audio-Technica A900X
- Sennheiser HD 5x8 series
- AKG 7xx (if you don't need lots of bass)

As far as the M50x - I have not heard the "x" but the original M50 seem like a poor match for your requirements. Specifically because their soundstage is not very good, they're somewhat dead/dry sounding, and they're not as comfortable as I'd like (they get very hot and are clampy). This is all IME/IMO - again others may disagree.

No idea on the Little Dot one way or another - never heard one.

 

[DestradoImpulse]

Yes, it has to play nice with games, but doesn't have to be the most discerning as I don't play competitively.

Thanks for the recommendations, will definitely look into the AKG now.

 

[cel4145]

- Sennheiser HD 5x8 series
- AKG 7xx (if you don't need lots of bass)

The OP said closed headphones. But I agree. If soundstage is important, than open headphones such as these are a much better choice over closed.

 

[obobskivich]

The OP said closed headphones. But I agree. If soundstage is important, than open headphones such as these are a much better choice over closed.

I did provide some closed-back suggestions, and the original post also said isolation doesn't matter. :rolleyes: Beyond that I'm not getting into a deathmatch where we tear "OP" apart like two dogs fighting over a bone.

If you want closed headphones there's the PRO900 and A900X in my first post, and others that you could consider but I've either not heard them (e.g. the NAD VISO) or didn't like them enough to mention them (e.g. Denon D600). Sound-staging on the PRO900 is almost identical to PRO2900 (that is to say, fantastic), and A900X are no slouch either. I also reject the notion that "open headphones" as a generalized category are universally better than "closed headphones" as a generalized category (either when talking soundstaging/positional audio or overall). There are examples of both that are good and examples of both that are bad.

 

[cel4145]

I did provide some closed-back suggestions, and the original post also said isolation doesn't matter. :rolleyes: Beyond that I'm not getting into a deathmatch where we tear "OP" apart like two dogs fighting over a bone.

Geez. No need to get defensive. If you'll notice, I agreed those could be a good choice for him

 

[obobskivich]

Geez. No need to get defensive. If you'll notice, I agreed those could be a good choice for him

I've seen too many threads degrade into a back-and-forth between responders over "well OP said..." this and that, and IME nothing productive comes out of it. I have no way of knowing if that's what you were after or not, without saying something. I apologize if my post came across as defensive/combative, especially as you were not after such a conflict.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Source
MSI Z170 Gaming 7 motherboard
Requirements for isolation
No matter
Preferred type of headphones
Over-the-ear and closed back
Preferred tonal balance
Neutral for the most part, although a little warm is okay with me, Preferably something not clinically cold that the Westone 3, but where the music sounds "alive" so to speak. Like in front of the stage at a live, but not in the middle of the stage nor back in the seats.
Past gear
iQube V1, Westone 3, Monster Miles Davis, Shure SE530.
Genres that pop up often in my playlist
New Wave, Synthpop, Vocal Trance, Epic Trance, Trip Hop, Conscious Rap, Intelligent Drum and Bass, basically any band that uses a synthesizer I probably listen to.
Bands that pop up often in my playlist
New Order, Depeche Mode, Notorious B.I.G., Souls of Mischief, Neon Indian, Armin van Buuren, The xx, Thievery Corporation.
My expectations out of the setup
To feel as if I'm in the middle of a live in front and middle of a crowd, where one can get a good sense of the sound stage. Something that's fairly neutral given that time to time I listen to different genres like Bossa Nova, Jazz, and Heavy Metal but still sounds "alive" and/or slightly warm. The headphone also has to be comfortable to wear for extended gaming sessions too.

 
I would say it's better to spend more of an audio budget for headphones, then the DAC/amp (or sound card).
For your budget, I think I would go for a Schiit Fulla ($79, USB/DAC/amp) and spend the rest of the audio budget for headphones.
 
If your into FPS gaming, then get the Sound Blaster Z sound card ($80)  and spend the rest of the budget for headphones.

 

[cel4145]

I've seen too many threads degrade into a back-and-forth between responders over "well OP said..." this and that, and IME nothing productive comes out of it. I have no way of knowing if that's what you were after or not, without saying something. I apologize if my post came across as defensive/combative, especially as you were not after such a conflict.

Your best bet is not to make assumptions about the motivations of others

 

[obobskivich]

Your best bet is not to make assumptions about the motivations of others

I did not make any assumptions about your motivations. I simply stated my own position. I think we're done here either way.

 

[DestradoImpulse]

Thanks for the recommendations guys, the out of the box recommendations are welcome.
 
Upon further thought, it will have to be a closed back headphone as I have roommates to the mindful of. Will definitely look into the Ultrasones now, and even forego an amp for the time being.

 

[obobskivich]

Thanks for the recommendations guys, the out of the box recommendations are welcome.

Upon further thought, it will have to be a closed back headphone as I have roommates to the mindful of. Will definitely look into the Ultrasones now, and even forego an amp for the time being.

Like I said, I think PRO900 are probably best based on your description, but I have no idea what the current pricing is like. Amp-wise, they're fairly easily driven at 40 ohms and ~100 dB/mW. Most portable devices shouldn't have a problem with that, let alone any sort of desktop unit.

 

[DestradoImpulse]

Just throwing it out there: How about the DT880s from Beyer?? Yes, their semi-closed, but how loud are they really compared to fully opened cans??
 
That or the DT770s.

 

[cel4145]

The AKG K550 and K551 are more neutralish class of headphones that have a very big soundstage for a closed headphone. Not difficult to drive, so you can even use them on portable devices.

 

[obobskivich]

Just throwing it out there: How about the DT880s from Beyer?? Yes, their semi-closed, but how loud are they really compared to fully opened cans??

That or the DT770s.

Never been a big Beyerdynamic fan myself, so I'll defer that to someone else. Speaking more broadly, I don't agree with the assertion that closed-back means some sort of horrible compromise on fidelity just to deal with "environmental factors" (e.g. not pissing off your roommates). Closed cans can sound majorly good, just like open cans can sound majorly good. There is no singular, linear, factor that determines whether or not a given pair of headphones sound good or bad (or have good or bad soundstaging, or imaging, or anything else). The PRO900, for example, have almost identical sound-staging to the PRO2900 (which are open) - both are very good at imaging and positional audio.

What do you mean by "how loud are they really"? Do you mean sound leakage? Honestly even with "fully open cans" (like Sony MDR-F1) there shouldn't be a concern about leakage unless your roommates are right on top of you (e.g. you share the same bed and want to listen while they're sleeping) - from another room or across a flat/house/etc it's not going to be a problem, especially if you listen at sane levels. With something that's not "fully open" like the K701 or HD 598 or what-have-you, it's even less of a consideration.