[Mad Lust Envy]

By saying that, I mean that I'm good regardless of whatever headphone I use. You're misinterpreting me.

The headphones you use will help to heighten your sense of awareness. It's obvious to me that analytical headphones will do this MUCH better than a fun bassy headphone like the D7000. You dig?

Congrats on not being distracted by headphones with a slamming lower end. Unfortunately, there's plenty of people who ARE, and these are the types that would agree with me, and not you.

Since you seem to be fine with bassy cans, then why the hell would you spend so much money on flagships for gaming purposes? Not saying that's what you did, but this is a GAMING thread, not a music/typical head-fi related thread. This is why I would easily recommend the PC360/HD598 over the D7000, and other serious flagships any day of the week.

I'm a bit more realistic than you are, and my recommendations are for those who don't have $600-$1200 to spend on a flagship like you. I wasn't even gonna add the D7000 to my list of recommendations since it's largely unrealistic and overkill for the purpose of gaming. Game audio is a far cry from music, and you can maximize performance and enjoyment from headphones costing considerably less.

Telling people that they should just go for the T1/D7000 as they're 'great' for gaming would be utterly ridiculous to me. For that price range, I would hope people consider a helluva lot more than just gaming performance.

Let me quote myself about the D7000's performance to make myself MORE clear:

They are also GREAT for hardcore gaming, but in all honesty, the bass is so good, you'll find yourself paying attention to it when you should be picking up the finer details, which is why I'd still choose something with quicker, and less present bass like the AD700, K701, HD598, and even DT990 for hardcore gaming. Still, yes, they can do it all.

So yes, I do agree with you, but I wouldn't put them in the same league as those I have mentioned for hardcore gaming.

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

By saying that, I mean that I'm good regardless of whatever headphone I use. You're misinterpreting me.

The headphones you use will help to heighten your sense of awareness. It's obvious to me that analytical headphones will do this MUCH better than a fun bassy headphone like the D7000. You dig?

Congrats on not being distracted by headphones with a slamming lower end. Unfortunately, there's plenty of people who ARE, and these are the types that would agree with me, and not you.

Since you seem to be fine with bassy cans, then why the hell would you spend so much money on flagships for gaming purposes? Not saying that's what you did, but this is a GAMING thread, not a music/typical head-fi related thread. This is why I would easily recommend the PC360/HD598 over the D7000, and other serious flagships any day of the week.

I'm a bit more realistic than you are, and my recommendations are for those who don't have $600-$1200 to spend on a flagship like you. I wasn't even gonna add the D7000 to my list of recommendations since it's largely unrealistic and overkill for the purpose of gaming. Game audio is a far cry from music, and you can maximize performance and enjoyment from headphones costing considerably less.

Telling people that they should just go for the T1/D7000 as they're 'great' for gaming would be utterly ridiculous to me. For that price range, I would hope people consider a helluva lot more than just gaming performance.

Let me quote myself about the D7000's performance to make myself MORE clear:


Quote:

They are also GREAT for hardcore gaming, but in all honesty, the bass is so good, you'll find yourself paying attention to it when you should be picking up the finer details, which is why I'd still choose something with quicker, and less present bass like the AD700, K701, HD598, and even DT990 for hardcore gaming. Still, yes, they can do it all.

So yes, I do agree with you, but I wouldn't put them in the same league as those I have mentioned for hardcore gaming.

Yes I obviously didn't spend $1000 or $1300 for gaming headphones. I bought them both for music, but as everyone in this thread hopefully knows, "gaming headsets" are far surpassed in audio quality by audiophile headphones, so I also use them for gaming. If you're referring to the PX5, it's because I use it for the same purpose as the AD700, and they're basically identical for soundwhoring but the PX5 is just better for kicking back and relaxing, which is what I tend to do when I'm playing with friends. And you said it yourself, it's best to have one can for "fun" SP gaming and one for competitive, and though my take is different with the D7000 (everything but MP w/ mic), I agree. I guess the PC360 is alright since it's a sort of audiophile can to start with.
 
And yes I understand most don't have the much to spend, a year ago it took me two weeks to finally take the leap for a pair of X41s. That's kind of why I keep saying AD700, D2000 etc. As for being able to MAXIMIZE game audio performance at that range, that my friend is simply untrue. Thus far the D7000 has maximized my enjoyment for gaming, and that's no surprise considering it's labeled the king of fun. You can certainly get great experiences for a lot less, but you used the word maximizing, which isn't true, even as compressed as game audio is.
 
The T1/D7000 recommendations you didn't read very carefully. The T1 was just me giving a quick review of them, because they are indeed a bit better than the AD700 for soundwhoring. That's not surprising, and I wasn't intending to undermine every other headphone, I'm just saying in case anyone happens to have/plans to get it and is wondering, and because I felt like it. The D7000 was to the guy who already owned a pair of D7000s, why would he get anything other than a mixamp in that case? He already has the best SP can and wants to pinch pennies. If for MP, AD700 obviously.  I'm not crazy, I don't tell people to just jump straight to $1000+ cans, it was only a quick impression post and to a guy who already owns them.
 
I personally would never take my D7000 off while gaming were it not for the big static that comes from their sensitivity and high mic+game volume. A few of the games I remember most fondly in Black Ops come from the immersion provided by them. The bass really doesn't get in the way for me until I'm in such a big game where the only thing I'm soundwhoring is what's <ten feet from me. I dunno, maybe it's the intense hundreds upon hundreds of hours of soundwhoring with the X41's that trained me to ignore bass when hunting for footsteps. But hey if that's not the case with you, that's fine bro, no harm done.
 
By the way, did your 600ohm 990s come with the adapter? Mine did, and I feel like I got the 32ohm again... why the 600ohm be 3.5mm by default?
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

All the premium Beyers are terminated at 3.5mm and come with the screw on 1/4" adapter. It makes the most sense that way, and I wish ALL headphones came like that. 3.5mm is small, and the screw on adapter on the Beyers works so good that once it's screwed on, you wouldn't think it's originally terminated in a 3.5mm. When it's terminated in 1/4", the 3.5mm adapter tends to look quite bulky when directly compared to a 3.5mm with a screwed on 1/4".

Beyer knows what it's doing in that department, IMHO.

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

All the premium Beyers are terminated at 3.5mm and come with the screw on 1/4" adapter. It makes the most sense that way, and I wish ALL headphones came like that. 3.5mm is small, and the screw on adapter on the Beyers works so good that once it's screwed on, you wouldn't think it's originally terminated in a 3.5mm. When it's terminated in 1/4", the 3.5mm adapter tends to look quite bulky when directly compared to a 3.5mm with a screwed on 1/4".

Beyer knows what it's doing in that department, IMHO.

I prefer it that way too, it's just that nobody else does it. Pretty much all the mid-fi and all the hi-fi cans come with the 1/4 default like they're telling you "dont you even think of plugging this right here into an ipod". Surprised the hell out of me when I first got my D7000, had to wait an extra 4 days to get an adapter from Amazon since it was Thursday night

 
Only problem with the beyers is there's no way to tell the OHM outside of the one sticker on the box. And yea, I still hate the recessed midrange/highs

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Have you looked at the plug near where the gold is? My 600ohm beyers both had '600 ohm' right on there. My 32ohm Beyer also had a label right on the same spot.

I know not all of them have it, but mine sure did.

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

Have you looked at the plug near where the gold is? My 600ohm beyers both had '600 ohm' right on there. My 32ohm Beyer also had a label right on the same spot.

I know not all of them have it, but mine sure did.

Oh you're right, nice.

 

[Jae304]

I'd never heard of the bass light version, but thats good to know.  Still, it would be a huge gamble to buy a set and only hope to get one of those!
 
I don't mind dealing with an external mic but I can definitely see the appeal of having one built in.
 
Quote:

Quote:

MLE, 
 
I find it confusing why you'd consider the MMX-300 based on the parts I bolded below...The MMX is based on the DT770 but costs so much more that what you can find 770s for -- why is the Beyer built in mic worth it to you where others are not?  Also, the MMX are not at all bass neutral so again, why would you consider it when your preference is the opposite?
 

 

There are two MMX300s floating around. One is bass light, just as there are bass light DT770s around. Problem is, you never know which one you're gonna get.

With me, I do find the MMX300 overpriced, but if I were in the market for it, I'd still get it because I know it has the performance I want. I wouldn't have bought the PC360 if it were at MSRP either, luckily I got mine well south of the MSRP.

Not having to deal with an external mic was just one thing I really wanted.

 

 

[Pearlsea]

I need for some advice to replace my setup because my pair of HD 555 cracked beyond repair. I'm a fairly hardcore PC gamer who appreciates good stereo sound for spacial positioning and general enjoyment. I don't know a lot about audiophile terms yet, so please bear with me. My genre preferences for gaming are FPS, MOBA (League of Legends), and rhythm (osu!), and I don't really have a music preference.
 
I've been looking at HD 598 as a natural progression as I've been wearing the design for a few years ago, and it's gotten some good reviews as a gaming headphone. What I really get lost with is the sound card and dac/amp options. All I've used with my HD 555 is integrated sound because I never had the budget for anything more. I'm willing to spend up to $200 to test if I really like the improvement to the sound as long as it does not interfere with my gaming. I would really appreciate if I could get some answers for these questions:
 
Does an DAC/amp need a good sound card to be effective?
 
Will a sound card like Auzen X-Meridian 7.1 2G be all I need?
 
Will any of the external DAC/amp options distort or delay the sound information? I'm mostly just concerned about FPS gaming. For any consistent delays for rhythm games I can adjust the offset.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

HD598 + a good souncard that has Dolby Headphone will be epic. Though if you're used to plain stereo, you may not like DH. I personally think those people who prefer regular stereo over Dolby headphone are crazy, but that's just me.

 

[Phos]

If you have the slot for it I'd go with a PCIe sound card.  PCI slots are starting to be more and more rare.  
 
And I'm also curious about delays and the like.  I think the DSS adds a delay, but that might be because of the processing it has to do not being very powerful.  I'll probably get a card with line out, so I can switch between  DAC+Amp and just an amp, probably a Asus Xonar + AudioGD FUN.  

 

[Pearlsea]

I decided to order the HD 598 and ASUS Xonar Essence ST today. I'm like $250 over budget but for some reason I'm really pumped and can't wait, especially when I play osu!
 
I'm pretty sure I've never used Dolby Headphone before, I've always been good at spacial perception even with just stereo sound. Will be interesting to try though. I went with the ST because I've read that it has better circuit paths so it's better for the sound, and will fit perfectly under my GPU away from the fan intake (HD 6950), leaving me with a pci-e x4 slot if I ever need it.
 
Also as a small bonus, I seemed to fix my HD555 for now with some krazie glue and industrial tape. I hope it lasts till I get my HD 598! It's the second crack I've fixed with tape on the left arm. Poor things got abused by my family over the years.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I never gamed on PC, so just make sure you set up your games correctly or Dolby Headphone won't work correctly. I know some people think its automatically functional... its not.

 

[Alghazanth]

So, I just realized something about soundwhoring headphones:
 
My PX5s, on main preset, are completely flat and have even less bass than the AD700. In fact, when I put on the AD700 after using the PX5 for a day, I thought the 700s were insanely muddy. The PX5's are not like the previous TB's that use the dumb 4 drivers per cup, these have the usual and best 1 driver per cup+ Dolby Headphone. They have soundstage out the ass: I tested it for quite a while with my friend, and the very endpoint of me being able to hear his footsteps/reloads/gunfire was the same with the PX5 and AD700 (D7000 stopped at like 2 inches shorter because of bass+howling wind but it isn't even noticeable). The AD700 is already mildly inferior for soundwhoring to the T1s and HD800s, and by mildly I mean it isn't noticeable in 99.9% of situations, as all of these games have compressed audio and the engine stops you hearing things at a set distance regardless, plus nobody is going to keep $1300-14000 cans around for a miniscule advantage. 
 
So what I'm getting at is this: Why use any of these soundwhoring cans over the PX5? Granted, I haven't tried the K701, but no way will that have better detail retrieval than T1s. What's the point of using DT880s, 990s, A40s, AD700s, K701s, etc exclusively for soundwhoring if the PX5 allows you to soundwhore as much as possible on the main preset? And then you have the attached mic, meaning I don't have to deal with a mess of cables at my lap when I want to talk. And they have the convenience of wireless. Plus the bluetooth and customs presets are always nice, hell there's a preset specifically for footsteps that I haven't tried.  Same, if not better, soundwhoring and a ton of convenience, ease, and utility thrown in. Why would you go for anything else if your goal is to soundwhore? Sure other audiophile cans sound better overall in MP, but these actually sound surprisingly good on preset 4 while maintaining the same footsteps advantage. And besides, you won't be using your K701s or AD700s for SP, so overall SQ is a moot point. As you've said MLE, it is best to have an SP and MP can, and I don't see how these can be beat for MP. 100% soundwhoring potential, wireless, attached mic... why go for anything else provided you have the money?
 
Now singleplayer is a different story. Perfect as the PX5's are for MP, they suck for SP. As I mentioned, preset 4 sounds a lot better than expected, but the issue lies elsewhere. These cans can pump out bass, but the drivers simply cannot handle loud, deep, or sub-bass. Turtle Beaches have always been a soundwhoring can above all else, and it's easily evident here. The bass is a disaster for SP. Some examples: In Section 8 Prejudice, when the spaceship is landing, there is obviously a very loud rumbling. On any other can, even those with little bass, it's still a rumble. With the PX5's, it's a mess of crackling. In Black Ops SP, on the 'Nam level, when the mines blow and set off an enormous explosion, the PX5's is all crackling. Gears 3 beta, the desert map when the sandstorm is arriving, all crackling. Basically, huge explosions= crackling, and that kills immersion obviously. Sad part is when I used X41s for the longest time, I thought the crackling was how it was SUPPOSED to sound. And obviously ANY decent audiophile can is going to have overall far superior sound quality. When I got my mixamp and tried my D2000s out, it was a revelation. So yea, crackling bass, inferior overall sound versus any audiophile headphone, PX5s are not good for SP.
 
The best setup imo is now the D7000/LA7000(getting the LA soon so we'll see) plus the PX5. I'm going to use the PX5 for Multiplayer w/ mic or when I just feel like kicking back and relaxing, chatting with friends, streaming some music from my iPhone, etc. For SP and MP w/o mic, I will use my D/LA7000. D7K for SP and mic-less MP enjoyment and immersion, and PX5's for all MP w/ mic or relaxing. Perfect.

 

[Eric_C]

Hey guys sorry to revisit an old question, but this is on Xbox 360 game/chat audio mixing (again).
Anyone heard of Xjacker? They claim to be able to amp and mix the 2 audio signals, plus adapt a regular PC headset's mic for use on 360. Here's the link:
http://www.xjacker.com/instructions_gaming_headset_amp_kit.php

Doesn't look any different from plugging my headphones into an amp, and having the 360's wired headset around my neck (for use of mic).
Problem with that setup is chat audio isn't amped independent of game audio--again, Xjacker looks to run into the same problem. What do you guys think?

 

[Inquartata]

I know I use my A40 and mixamp for MP/soundwhoring/when I need a mic, but I've been using the HFI-780 with the mixamp for everything else. I really, really hate using the A40 now unless I'm playing a shooter. The difference is ridiculous. I can't imagine what it must be like for the really good headphones. (I got the A40s and the mixamp before I really understood anything about audio. Regretting the A40 purchase a bit, but definitely not the mixamp.)