[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, but the E9 isn't ideal for low ohm headphones like that anyway, right? I mean, the D7000 soes sound great off the E9, but I wouldn't mind better technical synergy. The bass is a bit loose off the E9.

One thing I distinctly remember is that the Lyr REALLY tightened up the D7000's bass by a considerable margin over the E9, though the noise/hum was very detrimental to sound quality overall. On the bass side, it was so good, I didn't see a need for some J$ pads or whatever. The bass was just perfect.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Yeah, but the E9 isn't ideal for low ohm headphones like that anyway, right? I mean, the D7000 soes sound great off the E9, but I wouldn't mind better technical synergy. The bass is a bit loose off the E9.
One thing I distinctly remember is that the Lyr REALLY tightened up the D7000's bass by a considerable margin over the E9, though the noise/hum was very detrimental to sound quality overall. On the bass side, it was so good, I didn't see a need for some J$ pads or whatever. The bass was just perfect.

Well the D7000's are really sensitive so the DAC mini should be fine. no matter how loud you want to listen.  THe lower output impedance hooked to a strong amp should tighten up the bass on the them though so a 1 ohm modded DACmini might do it.
 
Orthos aren't bothered nearly as much by higher output impedances  so the E9 could be a bit better with some of the HiFiMans than the DACmini.

 

[Phos]

Orthos don't change their FR much but I doubt they fair that much better with ringing. They still overshoot. 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Orthos don't change their FR much but I doubt they fair that much better with ringing. They still overshoot. 

Maybe I should do some more A/Bing but my K601 (120 ohm) seem to change a lot more in that department than my T50RPs (55 ohm IIRC) with my Bottlehead Crack OTL with a Z out of ~120 ohms or so.  The 601s don't have one of those huge ~100Hz resonances like the Senns and Beyers do either. so the FR isn't changed much so I don't think that's all the difference I'm hearing..

 

[Phos]

I'm honestly in over my head with this one. 

 

[theguythatthe]

I know this is a lot to ask as my criteria are restrictive, but I would appreciate any help nonetheless.
 
I just returned the Sennheiser HD558.  I'm coming from the Tritton AX720 and will be using the 720 decoder box for all future headphones.  I am using these for gaming (non-competitive and competitive).
 
I enjoyed the clarity and separation that the 558 provided but disliked the lack of bass punch and what I perceived as an emphasis on mids.  I enjoy the Tritton's bass punch but I wish it were less boomy.  I disliked the Tritton's lack of clarity and relatively small soundstage.
 
I don't need to be able to hear pin drops in Call of Duty, but would certainly like good positional accuracy, depth, and clarity.  At the same time I want to be able to experience single player games with the same clarity but have a good dose of the "fun" factor as well for immersion. 
 
I realize that buying two headphones would be an obvious solution, but I would really prefer not to do that.  What is the best pair of headphones I could get from bestbuy.com that would satisfy the above criteria?  My budget is under $200.  Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Eric_C]

chicolom: sorry if you already answered this, but how's that Antlion Mod Mic working out for you? I'm considering one.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Orthos don't change their FR much but I doubt they fair that much better with ringing. They still overshoot. 

 
Quote:

Maybe I should do some more A/Bing but my K601 (120 ohm) seem to change a lot more in that department than my T50RPs (55 ohm IIRC) with my Bottlehead Crack OTL with a Z out of ~120 ohms or so.  The 601s don't have one of those huge ~100Hz resonances like the Senns and Beyers do either. so the FR isn't changed much so I don't think that's all the difference I'm hearing..

 
Ringing is also a result of changes in the frequency/phase response. The impedance of the K601 increases significantly in the treble range, so it is not surprising if it "sharpens" somewhat with a high impedance source.
 

 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

I'm honestly in over my head with this one. 

I know that planars do make some back EMF which you can demonstrated by trying to use them like a microphone but the fact that they all need significant mechanical/acoustic damping will make the electrical damping less important.  I don't know how much less important though and it probably varies between different models/drivers.
 
Quote:

Ringing is also a result of changes in the frequency/phase response. The impedance of the K601 increases significantly in the treble range, so it is not surprising if it "sharpens" somewhat with a high impedance source.

I forgot about that end of it.  I was mostly paying attention to the bass when I was listening for differences.
 

 

[Hailin]

Sub 200 for what you want at Bestbuy there is absolutely nothing due to Bestbuy's 200% mark-up. I would say and I don't know if this is possible. Can you buy amazon gift cards at best buy?
Then you could look at something from Beyerdynamic, Superlux 668B, or Creative Aurvana Live! Those are about the only headphones that are more open sounding that would give you the sensation of impact.(That I personally know of.)
I was in the same position as you with my HD598 horrid bass impact. (Single player gamer) I have since just allowed my ears to get used to them. Now I have to wait for the E17 to come back into stock so I can hopefully get rid on the low level distortion with the Senn's when using 8tracks. Plus I went and bought some FX-66 and Monoprice 8323 for when I want just a little more oomph and isolation while my seamstress friend works on putting together a pair of velours for my Superlux.
 
Quote:

I know this is a lot to ask as my criteria are restrictive, but I would appreciate any help nonetheless.
 
I just returned the Sennheiser HD558.  I'm coming from the Tritton AX720 and will be using the 720 decoder box for all future headphones.  I am using these for gaming (non-competitive and competitive).
 
I enjoyed the clarity and separation that the 558 provided but disliked the lack of bass punch and what I perceived as an emphasis on mids.  I enjoy the Tritton's bass punch but I wish it were less boomy.  I disliked the Tritton's lack of clarity and relatively small soundstage.
 
I don't need to be able to hear pin drops in Call of Duty, but would certainly like good positional accuracy, depth, and clarity.  At the same time I want to be able to experience single player games with the same clarity but have a good dose of the "fun" factor as well for immersion. 
 
I realize that buying two headphones would be an obvious solution, but I would really prefer not to do that.  What is the best pair of headphones I could get from bestbuy.com that would satisfy the above criteria?  My budget is under $200.  Thanks for any suggestions.

 

 

[theguythatthe]

Quote:

Sub 200 for what you want at Bestbuy there is absolutely nothing due to Bestbuy's 200% mark-up. I would say and I don't know if this is possible. Can you buy amazon gift cards at best buy?
Then you could look at something from Beyerdynamic, Superlux 668B, or Creative Aurvana Live! Those are about the only headphones that are more open sounding that would give you the sensation of impact.(That I personally know of.)
I was in the same position as you with my HD598 horrid bass impact. (Single player gamer) I have since just allowed my ears to get used to them. Now I have to wait for the E17 to come back into stock so I can hopefully get rid on the low level distortion with the Senn's when using 8tracks. Plus I went and bought some FX-66 and Monoprice 8323 for when I want just a little more oomph and isolation while my seamstress friend works on putting together a pair of velours for my Superlux.
 


 

Thanks for the suggestions.  It's funny you mentioned the CAL! as I keep coming back to that pair in my research.  I might just bite the bullet and get a pair from Amazon.
 
Would the CAL! be an overall improvement over the AX720?
 
 

 

[Telltale]

Quote:

Sub 200 for what you want at Bestbuy there is absolutely nothing due to Bestbuy's 200% mark-up. I would say and I don't know if this is possible. Can you buy amazon gift cards at best buy?
Then you could look at something from Beyerdynamic, Superlux 668B, or Creative Aurvana Live! Those are about the only headphones that are more open sounding that would give you the sensation of impact.(That I personally know of.)
I was in the same position as you with my HD598 horrid bass impact. (Single player gamer) I have since just allowed my ears to get used to them. Now I have to wait for the E17 to come back into stock so I can hopefully get rid on the low level distortion with the Senn's when using 8tracks. Plus I went and bought some FX-66 and Monoprice 8323 for when I want just a little more oomph and isolation while my seamstress friend works on putting together a pair of velours for my Superlux.
 


 

Thanks for the suggestions.  It's funny you mentioned the CAL! as I keep coming back to that pair in my research.  I might just bite the bullet and get a pair from Amazon.
 
Would the CAL! be an overall improvement over the AX720?
 
 

If you do get the CALs then let us know what they're like.

I'm very interested in getting then for my next pair of 'phones do any more opinions on how they perform, particularly in regards to gaming and dh, would be great.

 

[Hailin]

Another cheap offering is the Panasonic HTF 600. They seem really hit or miss with people. I really dislike them I found them dark and veiled until you switch to velor pads then they opened up a lot. I still don't enjoy them over my other headphones though. There is a massive thread about them on here and they are only 30 bucks or so. At 30 bucks you could give them a try and not feel ripped off.
 
I have really wanted to try the CALs but I can't get them in my country. The driver in them is a fostex driver based off the Denon 1001 I believe. Which is suppose to be an amazing headphone but again almost impossible to find in Canada.
 
If I stumble across any other ideas I will let you know.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I know this is a lot to ask as my criteria are restrictive, but I would appreciate any help nonetheless.
I just returned the Sennheiser HD558.  I'm coming from the Tritton AX720 and will be using the 720 decoder box for all future headphones.  I am using these for gaming (non-competitive and competitive).
I enjoyed the clarity and separation that the 558 provided but disliked the lack of bass punch and what I perceived as an emphasis on mids.  I enjoy the Tritton's bass punch but I wish it were less boomy.  I disliked the Tritton's lack of clarity and relatively small soundstage.
I don't need to be able to hear pin drops in Call of Duty, but would certainly like good positional accuracy, depth, and clarity.  At the same time I want to be able to experience single player games with the same clarity but have a good dose of the "fun" factor as well for immersion. 
I realize that buying two headphones would be an obvious solution, but I would really prefer not to do that.  What is the best pair of headphones I could get from bestbuy.com that would satisfy the above criteria?  My budget is under $200.  Thanks for any suggestions.

I found the HD-558s have plenty of bass for me.
If you had removed the black rubber tape from inside the cups and gave them 50 hours of break in, you might have liked the bass better.
 
 
 

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

The soundstage on the HTF 600 seemed pretty small to me. I wasn't too impressed with them for gaming. 
 
Quote:

Another cheap offering is the Panasonic HTF 600. They seem really hit or miss with people. I really dislike them I found them dark and veiled until you switch to velor pads then they opened up a lot. I still don't enjoy them over my other headphones though. There is a massive thread about them on here and they are only 30 bucks or so. At 30 bucks you could give them a try and not feel ripped off.
 
I have really wanted to try the CALs but I can't get them in my country. The driver in them is a fostex driver based off the Denon 1001 I believe. Which is suppose to be an amazing headphone but again almost impossible to find in Canada.
 
If I stumble across any other ideas I will let you know.