[gaz552]

Great thread/guide.
 
Have you (or anyone else) had the opportunity to test the V-Moda XS, and try it out for gaming?
 
I'm currently looking for a set of closed back on-ear headphones for gaming and general listening.
(Around ear headphones can give me discomfort/pain due to it touching the glands below the ears, and I use my headphones/game in the same room as the tv so I need closed back so I don't disturb the wife watching tv and vice versa)
 
A few options have caught my eye, the RHA SA950i, Musical Fidelity MF100 and the V-Moda XS (really like the look of this headphone plus a boompro makes it a headset when I need it too).

 

[GrdironTrenches]

I find the Mixamp to be hissy in general. When using just the Mixamp without my Vali, I have to turn it up to around max volume and there's a significant amount of hiss. When I add in the Vali, I can get the volumes that I want but it doesn't reduce the hiss at all.

When I use my Vali with my Omni, however, there's next to no hiss. An amp will just amplify whatever signal is going through it. If you have a hissy source, the amp will increase the volumes coming from the source thus increasing the hiss along with it.

I find that the PS4 has a lower volume output through optical than my Xbox 360. This definitely contributes to the hiss as I have to crank up the volumes.

In the end, you'll have to switch out the source (the Mixamp) to avoid the hiss. I would highly recommend keeping the amp in the chain as the Mixamp seems to make highs harsh and make the bass a little less controlled (this improved with my Vali).

tl;dr Hiss is unavoidable with the K712 and the Mixamp. Keep your amp as it won't cause much (if any) extra hiss.

so whats a good astro mixamp replacement? id like to find a amp to go with the astro replacement as the asgard is wired to my PC, that would be later on down the line though

 

[grumpy1471]

so whats a good astro mixamp replacement? id like to find a amp to go with the astro replacement as the asgard is wired to my PC, that would be later on down the line though

You could take a look at the first page of the thread and compare the different ones if you want. The Mixamp 2011 as well as the Recon3D are supposed to have less hiss but I have no experience with anything other than the Mixamp 2013 and the Omni. Stillhart did a comparison of the Mixamp 5.8 (which is supposed to have as much hiss as the 2013) and the Recon3D a couple of pages back.

 

[dakanao]

What amp/DAC do you guys recommend for the AKG K712 if I want more bass while still being very lively sounding?

 

[GrdironTrenches]

thanks for answering my questions

 

[Murder Mike]

dacmagic plus with sennheiser rs180 and no soundcard. I'm lacking positioning and some details.

 
What's your budget? Do you have the K612 Pro available? You could pick up a basic sound card and hook it up to your DACMagic Plus. It could easily drive the K612 and would probably be better than the HD598 or PC360 (or other variants). 

 

[conquerator2]

Any experience with the Compass2 for gaming?
I reckon MLE owned it for quite some time.
I purchased the C2 [ESS9018] to go with my upcoming HE-560 to replace my Matrix Mstage for general purpose listening - games, songs and movies.

 

[Evshrug]

Maybe I should finally install my copy and give it a play this week.

Buuuuuut I do have Elder Scrolls Online and Watch Dogs to play. And Assassin's Creed 4. And Thief. And...

I had the last two days off work, was streaming Watchdogs which I find quite fun. Stillhart was rofl-ing because there is a mobile app that allows him to invade my game and mess me up, lol.

Ignoring comfort, requiring amp, etc.
What is THE headphone for detail whoring, specifically footsteps?

Are the differences between the AD700(X), Q701, K701/K702 easily noticeable?

Differences in detail are negligible with these. Tonally, they are different, but they're basically the same in detail and the AKGs have nearly the same soundstage.

You could take a look at the first page of the thread and compare the different ones if you want. The Mixamp 2011 as well as the Recon3D are supposed to have less hiss but I have no experience with anything other than the Mixamp 2013 and the Omni. Stillhart did a comparison of the Mixamp 5.8 (which is supposed to have as much hiss as the 2013) and the Recon3D a couple of pages back.

He mentioned the differences, he has a Recon3D (2 actually), but I think he was basing that comparison off of what Mad and I have said about our experiences with the 5.8. The hiss is noticeable, but not too intrusive.

 

[Stillhart]

  Any experience with the Compass2 for gaming?
I reckon MLE owned it for quite some time.
I purchased the C2 [ESS9018] to go with my upcoming HE-560 to replace my Matrix Mstage for general purpose listening - games, songs and movies.

I have a 15.32 (Wolfson DAC) coming tomorrow that I'll be testing against my M-stage.  I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on how the Sabre DAC in there sounds compared to the M-stage.

 

[conquerator2]

I have a 15.32 (Wolfson DAC) coming tomorrow that I'll be testing against my M-stage.  I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on how the Sabre DAC in there sounds compared to the M-stage.

Will do, if the Mstage is still on hand by then

 

[Change is Good]

I am absolutely loving the HP200. Nice wide soundstage, precise detail and imaging, and a neutral tone with great extension. My K612 is going to have a tough time, I believe, matching up against it. The only thing I assume the K612 would be better at would be the soundstage, but not by much...
 
We'll see when the K612 returns. Might just write a "K612 vs HP200" review...

 

[conquerator2]

^ sure do

 

[Jedipottsy]

Hi guys,
 
Great thread. I'm looking to upgrade my headphones from the samson SR-850 to something better, can you guys give me some advice please?
I mainly game with these headphones with occasional music listening.
 
Im using a soundblaster z pci-e card and i prefer the SBX over DH personally.
 
I'm looking to spend around £150 and it seems my options are
AD700x, K702, HD598 and possibly Q701 however they are a little out of my price range and ive heard i'd also need a decent amp to power them well.
 
I'm leaning towards the AD700x because i really dont care about bass and they dont require an amp. My question is how do the K702 and HD598 compare? I.e. is positional accuracy between all three negligable? In that case ive heard the K702 and HD598 give better overall sound?
 
Thanks

 

[Stillhart]

  Hi guys,
 
Great thread. I'm looking to upgrade my headphones from the samson SR-850 to something better, can you guys give me some advice please?
I mainly game with these headphones with occasional music listening.
 
Im using a soundblaster z pci-e card and i prefer the SBX over DH personally.
 
I'm looking to spend around £150 and it seems my options are
AD700x, K702, HD598 and possibly Q701 however they are a little out of my price range and ive heard i'd also need a decent amp to power them well.
 
I'm leaning towards the AD700x because i really dont care about bass and they dont require an amp. My question is how do the K702 and HD598 compare? I.e. is positional accuracy between all three negligable? In that case ive heard the K702 and HD598 give better overall sound?
 
Thanks

 
You'll be happy with any of those 4 headphones, I'm sure.
 
The K702 and the Q701 will both require amping to get the best sound out of them, but they don't sound BAD out of a SBZ.  You definitely don't need the amping from the SBZ as much as you would with the Mixamp on a console; I need to have my Mixamp almost maxed with my Q701 and I've got plenty of headroom with my Omni (same as the Z but USB).
 
Or to put it another way, if you're using a Mixamp to drive the AKG's, you'll need an amp simply to get adequate volume levels.  If you're using a Sound Blaster, you'll be fine on volume levels.  If you want the headphones to sound even better (for music), you can add an amp and it will improve the sound.
 
Personally, I've never heard the HD598 or the AD700 so I can't speak to how they sound from experience.  But based on what I've read, all 4 of those headphones will be great for gaming.  I use my Q's for listening to music also and I absolutely love them.  I don't think I've ever read about people using the HD598 or AD700 for pure music listening pleasure.
 
As always, opinions are like a-holes:  everyone has one and they all stink.  I'm sure you will find plenty of people who disagree with mine so take it for what it's worth.

 

[conquerator2]

   
You'll be happy with any of those 4 headphones, I'm sure.
 
The K702 and the Q701 will both require amping to get the best sound out of them, but they don't sound BAD out of a SBZ.  You definitely don't need the amping from the SBZ as much as you would with the Mixamp on a console; I need to have my Mixamp almost maxed with my Q701 and I've got plenty of headroom with my Omni (same as the Z but USB).
 
Or to put it another way, if you're using a Mixamp to drive the AKG's, you'll need an amp simply to get adequate volume levels.  If you're using a Sound Blaster, you'll be fine on volume levels.  If you want the headphones to sound even better (for music), you can add an amp and it will improve the sound.
 
Personally, I've never heard the HD598 or the AD700 so I can't speak to how they sound from experience.  But based on what I've read, all 4 of those headphones will be great for gaming.  I use my Q's for listening to music also and I absolutely love them.  I don't think I've ever read about people using the HD598 or AD700 for pure music listening pleasure.
 
As always, opinions are like a-holes:  everyone has one and they all stink.  I'm sure you will find plenty of people who disagree with mine so take it for what it's worth.

 
No. 

 Either of mine smells of violets 

 
The rest of the post is correct