[bwuak]

@bwuak I played Fortnite and CSGO last night with both Razer sound on & off, and also the 3D Virtual on and off for CSGO. What I found was that with Fornite, it made no difference if the Razer was on or off. I did actually get into a situation where I was on a roof and a guy was inside a house and I could kind of tell he was below me.. but definitely left v right was easy. Maybe my brain knew the person had to be under me since I was obviously above, so the sound presented as more underneath me. Not sure but either way I was happy with that. PS - Holy crap haven't played Fornite in a while.... what's with these Zombies and pink vortex things???

CSGO was totally different though. The Razer being on and CSGO virtual being off made a HUGE difference. With Razer on, sound was more immersive and deep. Call me crazy but I think somehow the sound stage got expanded slightly which was in this case nice because I could hear footsteps a bit further away. The one downside was guys who were maybe like 10ft away and 20ft away therefore sort of sounded the same as far as audible level of noise. However with 3D turned on and Razer off, everything seemed anemic and hollow.... Something was just "missing". I went back and forth between the settings like 10 times and I felt like the Razer was best. Imaging was definitely better. Maybe Razer EQ's the low mids and upper bass to make the sound fuller? Either way, I enjoyed playing more with Razer on.

Now as far as the AD700's vs buying something else... I'll probably slowly start buying headphones and testing them out head to head to see if any will improve the experience.

Hey I decided to go for hd 598 yesterday! Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

 

[Yethal]

Thinking about it, what alternatives for soundstage exist at $599? Hopefully others can chime in with more recent experience with headphones. So many new releases the last two years, since I've done extensive listening to different models. Is there good competition to the new Massdrop HE-XX? What else? I'm curious, because I think this headphone is a big deal at this price point. If it's your listening style, it's a really nice listening experience. Not as efficient as the HE-X, 10 dB lower. Still in line with most normal Headphones. It's not like the HE-X is portable, and really isn't that easy to drive. Good sacrifice to save money. Most would never know anyway.

At $599? Dunno. Below that? Entire Sennheiser 5XX series line, AKG K7XX line, Audio-Technica AD700 and its derivatives. Add $100 and you have Aeons

 

[Xspearo]

Hey I decided to go for hd 598 yesterday! Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

Yea I just order the HD 598 off of Amazon, I'm going to give them a whirl. I have the K7XX and have tried the ad700x and Beyerdynamic(600ohm). I didnt have a amp/dac at the time to properly drive the Beyerdynamic so now that I have the G6, I might try the 250ohm.

 

[illram]

Thinking about it, what alternatives for soundstage exist at $599? Hopefully others can chime in with more recent experience with headphones. So many new releases the last two years, since I've done extensive listening to different models. Is there good competition to the new Massdrop HE-XX? What else? I'm curious, because I think this headphone is a big deal at this price point. If it's your listening style, it's a really nice listening experience. Not as efficient as the HE-X, 10 dB lower. Still in line with most normal Headphones. It's not like the HE-X is portable, and really isn't that easy to drive. Good sacrifice to save money. Most would never know anyway.

How big is its stage?

The e-stat Koss ESP95x at Massdrop ($499? I think) is not a killer soundstage but its imaging and detail are top tier. It's my current favorite after the HD800S particularly with the new pads. (I have the non Massdrop model with my own velour pads).

The HE-560 is half the price and has a decent stage and also great imaging. I would hope the XX would be an improvement over it though. The LCD2 classic was originally on sale for $599 and is also fantastic but is warmer. Same for the THX00 but both of those have such a radically different (bassier) sound that the HiFiMans that they are hard to compare, and just talking about stage does not do those cans justice.

I don't know why but I hate the 7XX. Maybe VSS does something weird to mine, it just does not sound like a big stage to me. I try not to rag on it too much as I am in the clear minority in hating that headphone. I much prefer the 598 which is honestly an amazing value for what it is. Not that the size of the stage is everything but I don't get the 360 degree effect with the 7XX as much as others like the 598, 400i, 560, the ESP950, etc. It also sounds sort of muddy and not as clear. I feel like throwing VSS into the mix can in some cases radically change a phones' stage, like the 400i. My unscientific theory is it becomes about how well the cans can imitate an artificial stage rather than how big their natural staging is. Stereo? 400i, as one example, has a just average stage, nothing special. VSS? Sounds like my speakers are still on.

I also tried the X2 and was not a huge fan. Fun, sounds great, but VSS staging sortsof collapses on me. Another set I'm in the minority on.

In unrelated news the Super X-Fi is dropping in the US on Nov 1!

 

[TeeReQs]

I don't know why but I hate the 7XX. Maybe VSS does something weird to mine, it just does not sound like a big stage to me. I try not to rag on it too much as I am in the clear minority in hating that headphone. I much prefer the 598 which is honestly an amazing value for what it is. Not that the size of the stage is everything but I don't get the 360 degree effect with the 7XX as much as others like the 598, 400i, 560, the ESP950, etc. It also sounds sort of muddy and not as clear. I feel like throwing VSS into the mix can in some cases radically change a phones' stage, like the 400i. My unscientific theory is it becomes about how well the cans can imitate an artificial stage rather than how big their natural staging is. Stereo? 400i, as one example, has a just average stage, nothing special. VSS? Sounds like my speakers are still on

In unrelated news the Super X-Fi is dropping in the US on Nov 1!

I agree with you on the 7XX. I prefer my 598s over the 7XX in comfort and soundstage.

Very excited to about the Super X-Fi!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Hope you guys noticed the massdrop Edition XX or whatever is using the VERY OLD headband style of Hifiman. I wonder why? Is it really that much cheaper to retrofit those headbands on it? Ugh.

 

[illram]

Hope you guys noticed the massdrop Edition XX or whatever is using the VERY OLD headband style of Hifiman. I wonder why? Is it really that much cheaper to retrofit those headbands on it? Ugh.

Yeah, they did the same with the 4XX (vs. 400i). I assume whatever cost cutting "magic" they do includes these, or Massdrop wants to just do something specific for the Massdrop ones and that's what was lying around. Or probably both.

Are the old ones much worse? I never used them, only the newer suspension type.

 

[mbyrnes]

I have no issues with the V2 HE-X headband, which added notches for smaller heads. I don't have a problem with it. It was a complaint overall with the model though. Not surprised a different headband was used here.

The HE-X has a soundstage that rivals the HD800. For $600, I just don't see an alternative close in price. Hopefully I can here these in a few weeks at a local yearly meet.

 

[z1ggy]

The pricing of the new Massdrop HE-XX is awesome! I may jump on a second pair down the road. Hope to hear these!

At $600 it seems like a great price. Looking at the frequency response though... these look to be particularly lacking in the upper mids?? Looks to be a -2dB drop between 1 and 2k. Entire bass and low mids look awesome though. Just worry vocals will suffer bit. Am I right in thinking this? Can anybody with more experience chime in?

 

[mbyrnes]

Vocals are a strong point for me. It's not in your face, but sounds very real. Well, it's how I like it to sounds. The HE-X thread is informative. These should be pretty close to the sound signature of those. I love mine. I'm glad the cost is coming down. I bought mine used for just under $900 two years ago. At the time, I was stealing them. The original launched at $1799. Dropped to $1299 with the revision, and that price was solid. These are over half as much cheaper. That's awesome for the market. Glad others will get to enjoy these cans.

 

[z1ggy]

From what I hear, for competitive there isn't much better than ad700x, hd 598, akg k702(a bit better? not used as much for gaming because it needs an amp). After that price point you get into more bass and nothing really helpful competitively. However if you look for something more immersive, there's plenty options! I'm a noob that has done a lot of research, so take it however you want.

As far as imaging goes, AD700 is excellent, but there is better. However, for comp in particular you don't want a massive sound stage and you don't want tons of bass. For the price AD700 is probably the best value for games. Technically 702's have better imaging and overall better sound, but the sound stage is wider which doesn't give you any kind of advantage really for games. You don't want foot steps to sound massively wide and far away from your head as somebody who's only a few feet from you may sound much further away.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/sound-quality/imaging

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/audio-technica/ath-ad700x-audiophile
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k702

For competitive, I'd stick with AD700s (I have them, they are very good) and for "fun" casual where you just want huge explosions and rumbling... there's a lot of possibility depending on budget. I'm actually going to be buying up a bunch of cans in the coming months and I will probably be posting brief reviews here as far as that's concerned.

 

[z1ggy]

Vocals are a strong point for me. It's not in your face, but sounds very real. Well, it's how I like it to sounds. The HE-X thread is informative. These should be pretty close to the sound signature of those. I love mine. I'm glad the cost is coming down. I bought mine used for just under $900 two years ago. At the time, I was stealing them. The original launched at $1799. Dropped to $1299 with the revision, and that price was solid. These are over half as much cheaper. That's awesome for the market. Glad others will get to enjoy these cans.

Well from the looks of it the XX will have less mids even than the original but catches up in the low trebs. It looks like it would be a particularly warm sound of out these?

 

[mbyrnes]

They are a warm, laid back sound. Easy listening, non fatiguing. Good detail in the highs, but recessed. This is my overall preference. I have headphones with other abilities. Playing with Loki recently, and it handles EQ well. It's funny, they don't really have a stand out feature, but they do everything well.

They're revealing, but not overly so. I didn't like that about the HE-1000. Most music I listen to is not recorded well. The HE-X is a nice compromise level for me. They do well with what I listen to.

 

[z1ggy]

Do you game with them at all?

Also semi off topic, but.. does Massdrop let you return product you don't like? Not sure I could buy a drop blindly if I couldn't return for a refund if I didn't like the sound.

 

[Xspearo]

As far as imaging goes, AD700 is excellent, but there is better. However, for comp in particular you don't want a massive sound stage and you don't want tons of bass. For the price AD700 is probably the best value for games. Technically 702's have better imaging and overall better sound, but the sound stage is wider which doesn't give you any kind of advantage really for games. You don't want foot steps to sound massively wide and far away from your head as somebody who's only a few feet from you may sound much further away.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/sound-quality/imaging

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/audio-technica/ath-ad700x-audiophile
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/akg/k702

For competitive, I'd stick with AD700s (I have them, they are very good) and for "fun" casual where you just want huge explosions and rumbling... there's a lot of possibility depending on budget. I'm actually going to be buying up a bunch of cans in the coming months and I will probably be posting brief reviews here as far as that's concerned.

Do you game with them at all?

Also semi off topic, but.. does Massdrop let you return product you don't like? Not sure I could buy a drop blindly if I couldn't return for a refund if I didn't like the sound.

I think that's the issue I have with my massdrop K7XX that sound stage is to big and i have difficulty in Black Ops 4 hearing footsteps and pin pointing them sometime. I have order the ad900x, HD 598, and pro 990 to see if any of them are better.

Yes I would like to know the same thing about Massdrops return policy because I want to get the HD 58X and dont want to be stuck with them if I dont like them.