[motorwayne]

MLE - In your review of the K612 Pro you suggest a warmer AMP as a match up...Any opinions on what might be good?
 
I'm a gamer and run a Titanium HD for a sound card...currently powering through an O2 amp.

 

[Change is Good]

^Schiit Asgard 2, Matrix M-Stage, iFi iCAN

 

[jdubsss]

Currently beating my head against the wall trying to figure out what direction to go after reading this thread.  I'm looking for a closed headphone and ended up buying the DT770 (250ohm) and I'm not happy with them at all.  I tried using them in a competitive setting (should have listened to the review, lol) and the bass is just too boomy to cue in on the little details in a game like cs:go.  That being said, I'm pretty much set on one of the mad dog or alpha dog variants, but I can't figure out what the hell I want.
 
I have a bifrost/asgard 2 combo that would be driving them.  My main question is is the alpha dog worth twice the cost of the mad dog?  They'll be used for music as well and I basically listen to everything except for country.  Then MrSpeakers went head and threw in the Mad Dog Pro to make the decision even tougher.  Money isn't really a problem, but the alpha dogs would be far the most expensive cans I have coming from HD598s and HD650s. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

  MLE - In your review of the K612 Pro you suggest a warmer AMP as a match up...Any opinions on what might be good?
I'm a gamer and run a Titanium HD for a sound card...currently powering through an O2 amp.

 
You might look into replacing the two JRC2114 op-amps on the Ti-HD
The LME49720 op-amps are low cost, like $4 each.

 

[Stillhart]

There's a crazy ass deal for the Sony Gold Wireless Headset right now for anyone interested.  I ended up paying $16 for mine:
 
$90 Headset
$15 filler item
$6 shipping
$0 tax
-$15 instant coupon
 
$96 out of pocket cost
 
-$50 MIR for headset
-$15 MIR for filler item
-$15 cash back from Amex
 
$16 Total
 
For that price, I just had to grab one.

 

[xero404]

  Currently beating my head against the wall trying to figure out what direction to go after reading this thread.  I'm looking for a closed headphone and ended up buying the DT770 (250ohm) and I'm not happy with them at all.  I tried using them in a competitive setting (should have listened to the review, lol) and the bass is just too boomy to cue in on the little details in a game like cs:go.  That being said, I'm pretty much set on one of the mad dog or alpha dog variants, but I can't figure out what the hell I want.
 
I have a bifrost/asgard 2 combo that would be driving them.  My main question is is the alpha dog worth twice the cost of the mad dog?  They'll be used for music as well and I basically listen to everything except for country.  Then MrSpeakers went head and threw in the Mad Dog Pro to make the decision even tougher.  Money isn't really a problem, but the alpha dogs would be far the most expensive cans I have coming from HD598s and HD650s. 

The Mad Dog was a really good set of closed cans coming from HD280s. Very nice bass response, great isolation but it had no doubts that it was a closed headphone. I upgraded to alphas in the spring and to me they are worth the extra price due to the soundstage (i get pretty fooled how large it is for a closed can). The mad dog pros i tried on keep that bass response and overall is a better can than the mad dogs but both easily lose out to the soundstage from the alphas (i haven't touched the bass screw on my alphas btw). I'd get a mad dog and see if you like the sound signature and upgrade if you want better soundstage.

 

[Yethal]

  There's a crazy ass deal for the Sony Gold Wireless Headset right now for anyone interested.  I ended up paying $16 for mine:
 
$90 Headset
$15 filler item
$6 shipping
$0 tax
-$15 instant coupon
 
$96 out of pocket cost
 
-$50 MIR for headset
-$15 MIR for filler item
-$15 cash back from Amex
 
$16 Total
 
For that price, I just had to grab one.

And how'd You like it? The sound quality the virtual surround and the mic?

 

[AxelCloris]

  And how'd You like it? The sound quality the virtual surround and the mic?

 
Seeing as he just ordered I doubt he has it yet.

 

[Yethal]

Damn, if the sq is right and the virtual surround isn't **** it could be a viable option.
 
Stillhart, can You review these cans for us as soon as they arrive?

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
I did not disable to the on-board audio but I have never installed the drivers for it
I should have specified that I did a new pc build entirely and there was fresh windows install
I have looked at the 880s but what drew me towards the 990s was mad lust's review.  At least what I pulled from it was that it was a fun headphone, still having bass and highs, while still maintaining directional accuracy.

 
Even if you did not install the on-board audio drivers yourself, Windows would have load basic generic drivers for your on-board audio chip-set, maybe even updated those drivers automatically off the Internet.
So you still might consider disabling the on-board audio, in the BIOS.
If the DT990s seem to offer what you want, then get the DT990s

 

[jdubsss]

  The Mad Dog was a really good set of closed cans coming from HD280s. Very nice bass response, great isolation but it had no doubts that it was a closed headphone. I upgraded to alphas in the spring and to me they are worth the extra price due to the soundstage (i get pretty fooled how large it is for a closed can). The mad dog pros i tried on keep that bass response and overall is a better can than the mad dogs but both easily lose out to the soundstage from the alphas (i haven't touched the bass screw on my alphas btw). I'd get a mad dog and see if you like the sound signature and upgrade if you want better soundstage.

So if I want to use them for gaming 60% of the time it's a no brainer to go for the Alphas then?  I don't want to make the mistake I did with the DT770 which now have to go back to amazon. 

 

[Stillhart]

  Damn, if the sq is right and the virtual surround isn't **** it could be a viable option.
 
Stillhart, can You review these cans for us as soon as they arrive?

 
Yup, for sure.  And since I don't have a pressing need for them, I would be willing to send them to MLE temporarily to review (if he decides he's up for it).

 

[Yethal]

It would be a bummer if he discovers they are absolutely phenomenal for gaming and we've been wasting our time with the mixamp for all these years.

 

[AxelCloris]

  It would be a bummer if he discovers they are absolutely phenomenal for gaming and we've been wasting our time with the mixamp for all these years.

 
Seeing that the Gold headset is limited to use with only the Sony headphones then the Mixamp has more utility. It can be used with any headphones, not just the ones pre-packaged with the USB dongle. That's why the Mixamp is so popular around here. And seeing as they're closed back headphones I doubt they'll be phenomenal. They could probably do well but they won't hold up to the positional queues of open cans.
 

  So if I want to use them for gaming 60% of the time it's a no brainer to go for the Alphas then?  I don't want to make the mistake I did with the DT770 which now have to go back to amazon. 

 
The Alphas are excellent closed back headphones. They have a nice big soundstage considering the shortcomings of a closed can. Sometimes I nearly forget that they're closed. Nearly, they're not as big as some of the open headphones I've owned but they definitely do it well. The Mad Dogs are great headphones too. They have an excellent fun sound. Honestly I'd say it all comes down to budget. Alphas are better than Mad Dogs for me since I like more linear sound. But the Mad Dogs are still a great choice for immersive gaming. I wouldn't recommend them as highly f your focus is competitive. Then there's also the MDP. A lot of people rate the Pro directly between the MD and AD. If you can spend the money on the AD's then you'll definitely enjoy them for gaming. Oh yeah.

 

[Yethal]

The Gold Headset has a 4 pole 3.5mm input so it can actually be connected to most audio source. Hmm I wonder if they'll fare better when connected by wire to the mixamp. That would be funny as hell