[pietcux]

I have the Sennheiser HD650's but wondering if i should just keep them for music and invest in Sennheiser GSP 350 which comes with virtual surround software. I guess its the same as the one used in GSX 1000? What you guys think? Would i sacrifice alot of sound quality by dropping the HD650's?
It just seem to be the easiest way to get a good set of headphones with Sennheisers good surround software.

The good thing about the Sennheiser headsets to me is the mic. It has decent sound quality, only records your voice and mutes when moved out of the way. If you need the mic, go get it. If not, you could try sonic for Windows, which is included in Windows 10. I find it equal to the GSX1000 solution and it will give you height and depths cues from sources that provide them. The HD650 sounds better like the GSP 350 for music for sure. I will receive the new GSP600 tomorrow. Let's see how it sounds compared to my game one and the HD650.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Razer Seiren X + HD700 : FTW!
But if you want an all in one headset with better quality go for HD588SR,CS or HD599.
They have a mic in teh cable that is nearly as good as the one found on most headsets.
Those headset mics don't beat a desktop mic though.

 

[Avean]

The good thing about the Sennheiser headsets to me is the mic. It has decent sound quality, only records your voice and mutes when moved out of the way. If you need the mic, go get it. If not, you could try sonic for Windows, which is included in Windows 10. I find it equal to the GSX1000 solution and it will give you height and depths cues from sources that provide them. The HD650 sounds better like the GSP 350 for music for sure. I will receive the new GSP600 tomorrow. Let's see how it sounds compared to my game one and the HD650.

Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos for Headphones is actually the reason im planning to buy a new headset. They just dont work unless you are playing a game that presents a 5.1 or 7.1 signal which most games dont.
Also GSP 600 dont include the surround dongle from Sennheiser for some weird and odd reason.... no idea why. But GSP350 have it. So i was thinking the GSP350 to get the virtual surround software from Sennheiser without getting the GSX1000.

Ive also had the Razer Seiren X which is an amazing microphone if you are playing from a quiet room. But if you have kids like me then it picks up everything in the room, its incredible sensitive but amazing quality.

 

[pietcux]

Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos for Headphones is actually the reason im planning to buy a new headset. They just dont work unless you are playing a game that presents a 5.1 or 7.1 signal which most games dont.
Also GSP 600 dont include the surround dongle from Sennheiser for some weird and odd reason.... no idea why. But GSP350 have it. So i was thinking the GSP350 to get the virtual surround software from Sennheiser without getting the GSX1000.

Ive also had the Razer Seiren X which is an amazing microphone if you are playing from a quiet room. But if you have kids like me then it picks up everything in the room, its incredible sensitive but amazing quality.

We have this discussion ongoing forever in the GSX1000 thread, does Atmos or Sonic for Windows work properly when the games or the control panel for playback devices only show stereo. For me it works very good, no matter if i read stereo or 7.1, most games have multy channel, and the Windows software takes it to create a VSS downmix to two channel, as your headphone has two channel only. When you use this, you can keep your HD650, it is a very good gaming can.
The GSP600 does not have this dongle, because pro gamers play in plain stereo. They would not buy the such dongled can. There will probably be a different version with the dongle later.

 

[pietcux]

Razer Seiren X + HD700 : FTW!
But if you want an all in one headset with better quality go for HD588SR,CS or HD599.
They have a mic in teh cable that is nearly as good as the one found on most headsets.
Those headset mics don't beat a desktop mic though.

The headset micros are good for voice over, not for recording Hifi stuff, that is true. They have a limited frequency range on purpose I think. But honestly they are conveniant to me.

 

[jagardaniel]

Hi! First of all, thanks for a great thread! I'm also looking for a new pair of headphones after using "gaming headsets" for many years. I still play a lot of FPS but it is starting to be less and less gaming and a little bit more music or movies. The problem is that I'm very very picky when it comes to comfort. I have a Sennheiser HD598 but they have always felt uncomfortable (I'm probably the only one in the world). Not tight but I have to adjust it all the time. Same thing with other headphones in the HD5xx-series I have tried. My friend has a pair of HD650 that I tried and they fit much much better but they were too "tight" and I couldn't wear them for more than a few minutes. I gave up the thought about them until I tried a more used pair in a shop. Great fit but without the "clamping" force. I was almost going to order them (I saw posts about how to "stretch" them) but then something happened. I accidentally tried a pair of HD700 and ohhh.... they were super comfortable. And then ohhh again when I saw the price. I also bought DT 990 (Edition, 250 ohm) recently but they also don't fit very well and I don't think it is because of the clamping. I can't really explain why. I will give them a little bit more time when I get my AMP/DAC though.

I have gone through many pages in the thread and another popular recommendation seems to be the AKG K712 and they are almost the same price as the DT 990 here in. How are they comfort-wise? I think it was AKG Q701 I tried in a shop but they sat very loose. But they could also have been used a lot. I have heard similar things about the AD-series from Audio-Technica and the comfort for us with smaller heads. Are there any other options that could be interesting and is someone picky like me and have found something they really like? I don't have an issue paying a little bit more if I know that it is something I like and are gonna use for several years. HD700 could therefore be an option (I saw that they are good for gaming because of the soundstage) but people seems to have very strong opinions about them, especially on reddit. And it would also feel like I spent a lot on them just because of the comfort.

Thanks!

 

[AppleheadMay]

Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos for Headphones is actually the reason im planning to buy a new headset. They just dont work unless you are playing a game that presents a 5.1 or 7.1 signal which most games dont.
Also GSP 600 dont include the surround dongle from Sennheiser for some weird and odd reason.... no idea why. But GSP350 have it. So i was thinking the GSP350 to get the virtual surround software from Sennheiser without getting the GSX1000.

Ive also had the Razer Seiren X which is an amazing microphone if you are playing from a quiet room. But if you have kids like me then it picks up everything in the room, its incredible sensitive but amazing quality.

The headset micros are good for voice over, not for recording Hifi stuff, that is true. They have a limited frequency range on purpose I think. But honestly they are conveniant to me.

The headset mics are indeed handy (if you need them to be near you all the time) and enough for gaming.
I usually game at my desk but when I game in front of the big screen I use a pair of cans like HD598CS (or SR if you want open) or HD599 (also open) which have a mic in the wire that is almost as good.
At my desk I used the Seiren before, recntly the Seiren X but sent it baxk to get the new Seiren Pro. For adding voice to video recordings or a screencast the Seirens (or some other dedicated mics) give a deeper and warmer sound to the voice, where as I found those gaming headsets (and mics on the wire) pretty nasal.

The difference for me is that it gives me a much better headphone sound. I tested the game One which I hear to be about the best gaming headset out there and the sound doesn't compare to a HD598/599 I use on the couch and surely not a HD700 at the desk,

But if you move around much a good headset is of course an option.

 

[Avean]

The headset mics are indeed handy (if you need them to be near you all the time) and enough for gaming.
The difference for me is that it gives me a much better headphone sound. I tested the game One which I hear to be about the best gaming headset out there and the sound doesn't compare to a HD598/599 I use on the couch and surely not a HD700 at the desk,

Yeah i think i will keep my HD650's. I highly doubt a gamer headset will reach that level of sound quality. I was thinking i really needed virtual surround but maybe its just better playing in plain stereo. There must be a reason why the new GSP600 from Sennheiser is stereo only as well.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Yeah i think i will keep my HD650's. I highly doubt a gamer headset will reach that level of sound quality. I was thinking i really needed virtual surround but maybe its just better playing in plain stereo. There must be a reason why the new GSP600 from Sennheiser is stereo only as well.

Why not connect it to a Senn GSX 1000 or SoundBlaster X7 (better)? You'll have it all then ...
And indeed, the HD650 is going to give you much better sound than those gaming headsets.
But if you want a more spatial sound a HD700 is a marvel. I got one for 440€ off Amazon.

 

[dakanao]

I ordered the HD 579 to use them for gaming. They're said to be very similar to the HD 598, only with less grain and tighter, more extended and more emphasized bass

 

[Avean]

Why not connect it to a Senn GSX 1000 or SoundBlaster X7 (better)? You'll have it all then ...
And indeed, the HD650 is going to give you much better sound than those gaming headsets.
But if you want a more spatial sound a HD700 is a marvel. I got one for 440€ off Amazon.

GSX1000 only supports 150 ohm headsets. Right now im using a Asus Essence STX card which supports up to 600ohm.
X7 dont have that superior virtual surround that Sennheiser has, so its better to just stay with the Essence card.

 

[AppleheadMay]

GSX1000 only supports 150 ohm headsets. Right now im using a Asus Essence STX card which supports up to 600ohm.
X7 dont have that superior virtual surround that Sennheiser has, so its better to just stay with the Essence card.

And how many do you think there are that plen to use 600 ohm phones for gaming with a little surround amp?
An HD700 for example is only rated 500 ohm.

And I think many people won't agree the GSX is better than the X7.

 

[Avean]

And how many do you think there are that plen to use 600 ohm phones for gaming with a little surround amp?
An HD700 for example is only rated 500 ohm.

And I think many people won't agree the GSX is better than the X7.

My point is that if im going for virtual surround i want the very best which many agree upon, is the software that comes with the GSX 1000. The ones that comes with Asus (Dolby Headphone) and Creative X7 (CMSS3D) is bad in my opinion. They add too much reverb and effects on the sound while Sennheiser is very neutral and flat. Thats why its so good.
Cant combine that amp with my headphones right now cause its not good enough. My only choice is to either get a lower requirement studio headphone or the GSP350 headset from Sennheiser which includes the surround module so u can use the VSS software.

 

[pietcux]

And how many do you think there are that plen to use 600 ohm phones for gaming with a little surround amp?
An HD700 for example is only rated 500 ohm.

And I think many people won't agree the GSX is better than the X7.

Isn't the HD700 rated 150 Ohm like my HD660S, as they share the driver?

 

[pietcux]

My point is that if im going for virtual surround i want the very best which many agree upon, is the software that comes with the GSX 1000. The ones that comes with Asus (Dolby Headphone) and Creative X7 (CMSS3D) is bad in my opinion. They add too much reverb and effects on the sound while Sennheiser is very neutral and flat. Thats why its so good.
Cant combine that amp with my headphones right now cause its not good enough. My only choice is to either get a lower requirement studio headphone or the GSP350 headset from Sennheiser which includes the surround module so u can use the VSS software.

Just played some Wildlands with the HD650 on the GSX1000 to test how it sounds and which volume level it needs. 7.1 active on the GSX1000 and in W10 playback device settings. Volume was on 48 out of 100. I worked fine overall, the VSS was very good and convincing. So you could do it, keep the HD600 and buy the GSX1000.