Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide: (8/18/2022: iFi GO Blu Review Added)
Jan 18, 2011 at 6:07 AM Post #31 of 48,561
No, the M50 isn't very good for gaming, particularly multiplayer competitive. I did play through most of the BlackOps campaign with it and enjoyed the balls to the wall bass presentation immensely.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 6:23 AM Post #32 of 48,561
I think it's one of the few headphones that I feel work better in normal stereo mode than DH.
 
You gotta try the D7000. XD
 
Man, it makes me grin when I use them for gaming and movies. :D
 
I love it because it doesn't sacrifice the mids, but the bass is stunning. Voices never sounded so accurate with any other headphone to me either. I still can't believe I actually bought these. O_O
 
I was watching Despicable Me on Blu-Ray last night, and I literally felt like I was Iistening to a sound from the movie theater.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 6:29 AM Post #34 of 48,561
Yeah. To be completely honest, it isn't as impressive as with gaming. In fact rear audio cues are hard to discern with any headphone when watching movies. The benefit of using DH with movies is the sound field you're enveloped in, but it isn't exactly worthwhile over normal stereo. It's just really good crossfeed to me.
 
I know that when I watch videos, episodes on my PC, I get better directionality in normal stereo vs DH with movies. But it definitely sounds more natural in DH mode.
 
Just in case people try DH with a normal stereo signal.... umm, it makes the sound worse. Only use DH if you have Dolby Digital 5.1 at least.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 6:36 AM Post #35 of 48,561
Yeah I also use DH when watching movies but only because my MixAmp has a channel imbalance in normal stereo mode. You do sacrifice some bass with DH but it makes up for it with the illusion of space.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 6:39 AM Post #36 of 48,561
Yeah, pretty much my thoughts exactly. I think the Mixamp is garbage in stereo mode anyway. If I was gonna watch a movie in stereo mode on my PS3 (or listen to music of it), I'd just go:
 
PS3 --> Composite cables (for the RCA out) ---> RCA female to 3.5mm male --> Amp (E7 or E9) -- Headphones.
 
Much better than the crappy 2 channel of the Mixamp. Though it is more to deal with, lol.
 
The Mixamp is somewhat bass light to begin with.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 6:47 AM Post #37 of 48,561
Yeah for me the MixAmp has a place in my setup strictly as an enhancer for gaming and also for the convenience of using it as somewhat of a preamp to get sound from my consoles to my Audio-GD amp. If the Fun had more than one optical input I'd just go digital stereo straight into it. You're right though, if you have a better amp there is no reason to use the MixAmp in stereo mode.

And yeah, I'd love to hear the D7k but I think I'm done with my headphone setup for now. There are some Dali Ikon 6 floorstanders beckoning to me at the moment.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 7:08 AM Post #38 of 48,561
I still really wanna try out the HD650. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it's signature, but it's something I won't be satisfied with until I at least hear it once.
 
The only headphones I really wanna try out in the future would be the RS1i, 325i, LCD2, and a high end Stax setup. Other than that, I have no desire to listen to anything else. Not that I'd buy any of these...
 
Maybe a really good pair of IEMs with a sound similar to the D7000 for on the go, but I can't justify spending a lot on IEMs, as I'm not exactly careful with them. My RE0s made me paranoid when I had them. I'm pretty happy with my heavily EQ-ed JVC Marshmallows (EQ-ed the hell out of the high end, for sparkle, lol).
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 7:16 AM Post #39 of 48,561
My iem is the Radius "Atomic Bass" lol. It's actually quite decent with the bass reducer eq on the touch. I don't mind it so much as I didn't pay for it and it's of no value so I'm not precious about it. Perfect fit for a knock about iem imo.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 7:20 AM Post #40 of 48,561
I was gonna buy the Monster Turbines when Amazon had them for $56, but was worried about the 'smooth' top end, and their comfort.
 
One thing I like about the Marshmallows is the memory foam. It isolates so well, and it's almost impossible for them to fall out unless you really force them out. With other IEMs (including the RE0s), they constantly would fall out of my ear.
 
I just wish they sounded better. They are very warm/smooth, which is a major turn off, but since EQ them to hell, I pretty much destroy their original sound signature. <_<
 
I'm not too anal about the SQ when I'm on the go, but I would like something better stock than my Marshmallows.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 7:25 AM Post #41 of 48,561
I have fit issues with my Radius at times but when it's in just right and with the bass reducer eq it reminds me of the M50. :blink: Otherwise it's an overwhelmingly muddy piece of crap.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 7:39 AM Post #42 of 48,561
Hahaha. XD
 
I just wish JVC would sell the memory foam separately. I'd use them with any IEM. My ex's Galaxy S came with a pair of Samsung IEMs that sound pretty crisp. Very mid and treble centric, but lacking bass. The memory foam of the Marshmallows doesn't look like it'd work with typical IEMs, but it does. The barrel of the Samsung IEM was too big for my taste though. So even though it sounded better than the Marshmallows, it was a bit heavy, and didn't sit well in my ears. I still have it though. It's crazy, when I use them for a few minutes, then go back to the marshmallows, I literally have to EQ the heck out of the bass, as it's waaaaay too boomy. Psychoacoustics for sure. Once I get used to the JVCs again, I bring back the bass to normal levels.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 8:13 AM Post #43 of 48,561
Great thread Mad Lust Envy, another vote for sticky. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the HD650 as I think its better than it perceived gaming performance impression. I have been using the HD650 for FPS gaming for 6months and thought the positioning was better than my previous ultrasonne 780s which I think was in part due to when using the PC Xonar  implementation of DH you have 3 modes 2 of which introduce reverb causing the sound to become too artificial on the closed 780s (tinny \ metallic). The open back helped alleviate this. 
 
I have jusr bought some D2000 and from inital impressions think could be a winner with DH as they sound suprising airy.
 
Congrats on the D7000 I hope to upgrade to the 5000s or maybe MarkL mod my 2000s some time down the line. 
 
If you get some please review on the Denon V3 J-money pads for gaming enhancement as these are looking to be my next purchase. I'm thinking the sound stage enhancements and bass tightening would probably improve their competitive ranking even more?
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 8:17 AM Post #44 of 48,561
Quote:
It would be good if you could get hold of some Pro900s as I'd be interested to see how they compare to the others in your opinion.
 
For me, Pro900s + Dolby Headphone = aural wallhack

 
I own the Ultrasone PRO 900's, along with the AD700 and DT 880. I agree with Envy's ratings of the AD700 being 6/10 fun 10/10 competitive, and the DT 880's being 8/10 fun 8/20 competitive.
 
That said, my personal rating for the PRO 900 is as follows:
 
Ultrasone PRO 900 (S-Logic PLUS)
 
Fun: 10/10
Competitive: 9/10
 
I've explained in another thread that I believe the S-Logic "natural surround sound" label is a little misleading and targeting consumers who are not familiar with soundstage or what it sounds like. To me, the S-Logic is simply technology that makes a wide and immersive soundstage possible for closed headphones in which they are generally not known for, with outstanding separational clarity. The soundstage on the PRO 900 is at least as good at the DT 880's; I have not worn my DT 880's since to bother A/B'ing the subtle differences. I will say that despite the large soundstage, the PRO 900's being closed does not have the same airiness to them as other open headphones do. Perhaps this gives them a more "home theater" feel than a "realistic" one, but I feel that the closed design in this particular case allows the more subtle details (enemy reload sounds, grenade pins, footsteps) to be heard easier than with open headphones.
 
And since bass is always common topic of concern, the bass on the PRO 900 is an easy 10/10 quantity with a 10/10 quality. I'm not sure if this is a result of the separation due to the S-Logic, but the bass has everything a basshead wants, without sacrificing the mids or washing down the highs at all. It's it's own separate monster; the way I describe it is powerful, and non-invasive.
 
That's just my opinion anyway.
 
Jan 18, 2011 at 8:21 AM Post #45 of 48,561
Damn, I really wanna try them. :p The bass sounds like what I get from the D7000. It sounds separated from the mids and highs... it's a weird sensation, that I've only heard with the DT990 and D7000. Big bass, no bloat, and no smearing.
 
How's the comfort vs DT880?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top