[Evshrug]

So now that I've learned that I'm looking for an open or semi-open headphone, what would you recommend to be fun and comfortable?

The first page lists Beyer 990, but those are $300 on Amazon.  They sound awesome (great sound, great spacial positioning, enough bass to make games fun, very comfortable) but they're also really expensive since I'm only going to use them for gaming.

1) I've seen the SR850 and HD668B recommended ($50 + $35 for velour pads on Amazon = $85 total), but heard they have strong clamping force. I think a local Sam Ash has the SR850, so I'll see if I can try them out.  Any recommendation whether the SR850 or 668B design is more comfortable? 

1a)  I've heard that you can find velvet pads on Ebay for $15 for them, but I couldn't find anything other than the AKG pads for $35. Am I just doing it wrong?

2) I've also seen the Panasonic RP-HTF600-S listed as an option ($30 + $23 for Beyer velour pds = $53 total). How would these compare to the SR850/668B? Which would you recommend?

3) It seems like I'm jumping from $30-50 phones + $23-35 for pads to $300 phones. Any other models that I should look at? 

Have you considered the AD700? They started to become the only headphone I used for gaming, and they now seem like a redundant part of my collection. Expect them to show up on the For Sale forum soon.

 

[audiophizile]

Also AudioPhizle, I can attest that Xbox Audio sounds fine through adapters and a cheap E5 or E6 amp, I've been playing that way for years, and a microphone such as this one [=http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mini-clip-on-microphone-7080][/] is so cheap that it's negligible to the overall cost. All this is assuming you don't want equipment to enable Dolby Headphone or similar surround-to-binaural decoding. If you only have $200 you may be better off overall getting a CAL! and the Astro Mixamp.

I already have the astro mixamp and pc350's but are buzzing putting any volume to them. I ordered hm5's that are waiting for me at home. I have played with open cans (hpx) and outside noise distracts me too much to really want to go back to open but if the hm5s aren't what I expect I may go to the 360's since finding a sub$200 set of closed that are clear, aren't overly bassy and have a good soundstage/pinpointing footsteps seems hard haha

 

[Stn.]

Newbie here - so basically, you need to spend >$300 (MixAmp, cheap headphones, mic) if you want a quality headset soloution? Otherwise I should be okay with a Steelseries Siberia V2 USB?

 

[audiophizile]

Newbie here - so basically, you need to spend >$300 (MixAmp, cheap headphones, mic) if you want a quality headset soloution? Otherwise I should be okay with a Steelseries Siberia V2 USB?

Since you said USB I'm going to assume you're on a PC. From what I can tell the CAL! Would be better and cheaper or same price as the siberias. And getting a senn 555/558 and a mic and turning it into its big brother or a pc 360 would be the next step up. Pretty sure you don't need an amp to power those These guys know better then me though

 

[Timobkg]

Quote:

Have you considered the AD700? They started to become the only headphone I used for gaming, and they now seem like a redundant part of my collection. Expect them to show up on the For Sale forum soon.

I've heard that all the Audio Technical cans are rather bass shy, which is good for competitive gaming, but not as for recreational / singleplayer / coop gaming that I tend to do.
 
That's why I was looking at the 668B, SR850, RP-HTF600-S, RX-700, and CAL as those have all been recommended as fun gaming headphones. Now I just need some advice for narrowing down my options in terms of what would be better and more comfortable.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

M50s aren't bass shy. However, they don't work well with Dolby Headphone.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Anyone have suggestions for a closed competitive sub-$100 headphones (used or new)? Are the A700's same as the AD700 but closed?  I'm looking for headphones for competitive FPS gaming (ESEA CS1.6, CSS, etc).  I was concerned about open headphones leaking out too much sound and disturbing my parents for late night gaming, but if Open is the best for competitve gaming then I'm alright with it.  These wouldn't be used for music or anything else (got D7k's for that).  Bass really doesn't matter to me, as my main issue with the D7K's is that the bass can be fatiguing after an hour of gaming.
 
Also I have a Creative X-fi Ti Fatal1ty (non-HD) that these would be running with using the Creative CMS 3D, EAX, etc. Is that pretty much the same as the Dolby headphone?

 
You could just set up the D7000 on your gaming computer and EQ down the bass through the X-Fi to more comfortable levels. Might as well use what you've already got, right?
 
CMSS-3D Headphone out of an X-Fi card serves the same function as Dolby Headphone, pretty much. You just have to make sure you set it up properly for games that use software audio. (Make sure to scroll down to the bottom, where it mentions Game Mode; obviously, that's the mode you want to use.)
 
Also, you may want to set MacroFX and Elevation Filter to "On" instead of the default "Auto".

 

[Evshrug]

I've heard that all the Audio Technical cans are rather bass shy, which is good for competitive gaming, but not as for recreational / singleplayer / coop gaming that I tend to do.

That's why I was looking at the 668B, SR850, RP-HTF600-S, RX-700, and CAL as those have all been recommended as fun gaming headphones. Now I just need some advice for narrowing down my options in terms of what would be better and more comfortable.

I bought my friend a pair of JVC RX-900 (with the top-pop mod, by top-pop) as a graduation gift. He loves them, and I thought they were pretty great too. No comment about imaging, but they definitely didn't have the soundstage. I think they're good, well-rounded cans for music, but I've never tried them for gaming.

As for the AD700, it's fine if you don't want them; they are very popular and someone else will enjoy them. But there's a reason they're popular; the soundstage and detailed sound often makes sounds that trick you into thinking you just heard something outside the headphone. the bass isn't boosted or neutral but it does play deep sounds when called to task and it is very, very controlled. Takes well to FiiO's bass boost and EQ-ing, too. Most sounds in gaming aren't even that bassy, mostly massive explosions reach that low. They won't compare to your $1000 Denons, but that was the point: it's complementary to what you have (Open, light cans with sweetened highs) and punches way higher than it's price level.

But like I said, you make your choice, I'm pretty confident either way someone will want them.

 

[Evshrug]

You could just set up the D7000 on your gaming computer and EQ down the bass through the X-Fi to more comfortable levels. Might as well use what you've already got, right?

CMSS-3D Headphone out of an X-Fi card serves the same function as Dolby Headphone, pretty much. You just have to make sure you set it up properly for games that use software audio. (Make sure to scroll down to the bottom, where it mentions Game Mode; obviously, that's the mode you want to use.)

Also, you may want to set MacroFX and Elevation Filter to "On" instead of the default "Auto".

Yes, I was curious (especially since you were computer gaming) why you wouldn't just try to make your $1k headphones work.

 

[0sync0]

I've never found cans that don't become uncomfortable after a few minutes. Can you get decent surround sound with IEMs?

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

I've never found cans that don't become uncomfortable after a few minutes. Can you get decent surround sound with IEMs?

 
Fans of the EDGE Acoustics GX400 (basically an Etymotic ER-4P with an in-line volume control and mic) suggest it's possible to get great gaming audio with IEMs...but I don't know if they were talking stereo or binaural/HRTF.
 
Since I have yet to find any IEMs that were uncomfortable after a few minutes (yet I can tolerate circumaural headphones for long periods of time), I'm hesitant to plunk down the cash and find out the hard way.

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

Newbie here - so basically, you need to spend >$300 (MixAmp, cheap headphones, mic) if you want a quality headset soloution? Otherwise I should be okay with a Steelseries Siberia V2 USB?

 
MixAmp = $130
Zalman mic = $9 / Antlion Modmic = $40
AD700 or HD 595 (used) = ~$70 - 90
 
That's less than $300, not more than.
You could also grab a PC 360 at ~$200 from Amazon right now, and save up for a new/used MixAmp later (~$100 to $130).
 
I read that Siberia USB < regular Siberia; you might upgrade your soundcard at some point anyway, so why limit yourself to the built-in DAC/amp on the Siberia USB?
 
Quote:

I've never found cans that don't become uncomfortable after a few minutes. Can you get decent surround sound with IEMs?

 
What cans have you used before?
I don't get the impression IEMs really do that well with virtual surround, at least via MixAmp. Tried JH13, wasn't convinced. In stereo gaming, I've tried the Senn IE8 (often praised for wide soundstage)--also wasn't convinced.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The RE0s perform quite well with Dolby Headphone, but it's still a far cry from what you'll hear with a full sized headphone in terms of soundstage and positioning. It works, but I wouldn't ever replace a full sized headphone, and would use the RE0s as a secondary if you're really insistent on using an IEM.

 

[Ztrains]

Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I don't see how to get headphones (Planning on Audio Technica ATH-AD700) and a mic (Zalman Clip On) to work with an Xbox.  Do they go through the Astro amp?  Also, if I used the amp would I have cords all over the place?  Currently I am using Turtle Beach x11's, and have cords running from one side of my room to the other because my TV/Xbox is on one wall and I sit against the other wall to play, so I have a cord running across my whole floor.  If this sounds confusing let me know and I can try to explain it better.
 
PS - Is there anywhere that sells the amp cheaper than $160?  I am a poor student and I don't think I can afford both the amp and headphones.

 

[AxelCloris]

Quote:

Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I don't see how to get headphones (Planning on Audio Technica ATH-AD700) and a mic (Zalman Clip On) to work with an Xbox.  Do they go through the Astro amp?  Also, if I used the amp would I have cords all over the place?  Currently I am using Turtle Beach x11's, and have cords running from one side of my room to the other because my TV/Xbox is on one wall and I sit against the other wall to play, so I have a cord running across my whole floor.  If this sounds confusing let me know and I can try to explain it better.
 
PS - Is there anywhere that sells the amp cheaper than $160?  I am a poor student and I don't think I can afford both the amp and headphones.

 
Depends on the amp you're wanting and if you go used. I got my Mixamp Pro on the forums here under $90. Though you don't see them often on here. I see them used on ebay all the time. I guess people just want the headphones and then sell the mixamp after. Shame really, as it's the best half of that combination.
 
As for the first question, kinda. You run the mic into the mixamp, then there's a cable coming out of the mixamp going to the controller. It sounds complicated, but it's actually quite easy to work with.