[Evshrug]

I'm back from my sister's wedding!

Mad,
Your endorsement for the HE400 continues to sound impressive. I wish I could have a comparable setup and really get a feel for 3D audio gaming, but my sound upgrade I'm pursuing is my own living space so I can set up all my doo-dads. Honestly, I've been using the Q701s a lot but mostly plugged into my Mom's home theater CD player with new CDs of the music I have past loved, but only had the one 30 minute chance to set up MY receiver with the 5.1 to headphone mixing for gaming.

One thing I wonder (& I'm sure worries you) is how do you compare headphones when you don't have them side-by-side? I thought I had a good handle on what my different headphones sound like, but I dug out my Etymotic ER*6i IEMs for the plane rides between Atlanta and home, and I was re-impressed by those. I brought them because I remembered that they were a godsend to block out the crying babies while also being detail monsters, but I rediscovered the longer plugs scratched my ears less, had forgotten how GOOD these could sound, and the refreshed experience surprised me by cleanly and confidently they played my quality test playlist. I don't think I could compare them accurately to the Q701s unless I A-B'd them in the same listening session. How do you keep your rankings straight and avoid recency bias?

Even so, your comparative reviews are immensely more useful than isolated impression reviews.

Btw guys, I've updated the first post with an External Microphone section near the bottom of the first post. Hopefully you guys are happy with it. It's not going to grow much from how it is, but if there are more external mic options that a lot of people take a linking to, I will add them to the list, even without my personal impressions, as I'm not going to be buying any mics anytime soon. I'm happy with my DX mic. I will however, not include the Zalman, as it definitely doesn't get my recommendation.

Awesome addition, good read. Reviews on the Zalman are so polarized without always providing enough context, like what setup is used, so I feel like your conclusion is the final word on that, even taking into account sample variation. On a similar note, I have just earned an Amazon gift card, do you think this mic will perform similar to your DX mic? http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-3-5mm-Hands-Computer-Microphone/dp/B005DJOIHE/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1343685459&sr=1-5

NamelessPFG,
One thing I love about pc gaming is just how long the lifespan of a game can last. Someday I'll have to track down copies of those older games with hardware-accelerated headphone 3D to get a full experience... Perhaps the continued Console stagnation will continue to bring back mainstream PC Gaming for games other than WoW, runescape, and Starcraft. Which FPS would you recommend first as a first-rate sound experience: BF2, BF 1942, or something I'm not even aware of? Have you tried Metro 2033 on PC?

 

[Evshrug]

Telling you though, I'm here listening to one of my fave Chillstep tracks (I always mention this one: 'Synthetic Epiphany - Submerged"), and it's just mind blowing how awesome it sounds on the HE400.
I for damn sure cannot say that the HE400 is lacking bass.
One example of unnecessary bass, is like on the D7000. Certain instruments and vocals would have more rumble than you'd perceive as natural. Granted, I'm perfectly fine with it, but it IS unnatural. The HE400 doesn't have that issue.

I just heard 'Angel' - Massive Attack on a $300 car subwoofer for the first time while on vacation. While calling it boomy and loose compared to the Q701 is an understatement, it was interesting to hear the transformative emphasis on the song's bass as the impact scaled much much more dynamically than possible on headphones. Little scary TBH, LOL!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

That song has terrible mastering in general (way too skewed towards bass, and almost not mid and treble clarity), which is a shame, as it's such a great song.

As for comparisons, I try my best to NOT compare them, which is why I always say that the scores are based on the headphone's own merits, and not when compared to other headphones.

The comparisons I do make are ones I feel comfortable with, as it does come from memory, and not 100% accurate (memory is a terrible tool for comparison).

 

[Evshrug]

I know what you mean, and I agree, I'm particularly disappointed how distorted the (what I assume are) cymbals are through out the song, sort of like a sound reflected off water which is cool at first but lacking in organic depth. I'll have to look up that Submerged track you mention, but I may keep using Angel as a memory reference. I just continue to bring that song to new reviews BECAUSE it has that overwhelming bass, isolating part of the freq spectrum for testing just like the AD700s seem specialized for soundscape and mid-treble.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

[VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBBETgrBeDc][/VIDEO]



This song is ALL about sub bass (after about 1:10), and is MASTER quality clean. The download track, not the actual youtube vid. He had it free somewhere.

The vid is a bit boomier and uncontrolled, even on my HE400. The 320kbps MP3 is perfect though.

 

[Mrniceguy633]

I remember you mentioning synthetic epiphany before and honestly I have never heard of chillstep before. But I will check it out! On a side note, I looked up the he400s and it looks like I can fill them up with water and use them as swimming pools they seem so big. I have a pretty small head and wear glasses. You thinkeeither of those would pose an issue?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The cups are pretty big, and they are on the heavy side, but the weight is distributed very evenly due to the headband design. I've had bigger cups, and a lot less comfortable fit (the D7000 has a weird fit when sitting on the head, though it's alleviated by the pads). The HE400 can also be retracted to fit TINY heads, so I don't see you having a problem with fit.

edit: Yeah, I don't know when it happened, but testing out new music, the bass on the HE400 has absolutely come alive. There's absolutely no reason for me to own a basshead can with these.

Gonna have to definitely rate the bass quantity as an 8-8.5

 

[seanmcloughlin7]

Quote:

 
What I've noticed is that no matter where an explosion goes off, there's always a left-right pan regardless of where the explosion happened. For that matter, I have a hard time localizing ANY sound in BF:BC2. (Can't speak as much about BF3 due to only having played a brief bit of the public beta, but it still appears to have the same audio mixer.)
 

Can't say I've noticed that now but then again I wasn't looking for it so next time I jump in I will hear for it. What I noticed about explosions is they always originate from behind me. apart from the initial burst like a grenade or something big rumbling explosions in the distance seem to be directed to rear channels as if to show the scale of the explosion that it's heard all around you. 
They have the very best gun sounds and vehicle sounds in any FPS I've heard but their panning and localisation is a bit mediocre. But it's still good enough for me to blast some fools

 

[seanmcloughlin7]

Quote:

This song is ALL about sub bass (after about 1:10), and is MASTER quality clean. The download track, not the actual youtube vid. He had it free somewhere.

The vid is a bit boomier and uncontrolled, even on my HE400. The 320kbps MP3 is perfect though.

Holy crap that sounded awesome.That bass is killer, Such a great track to try out my new HPs

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm just glad that I'm not the only one to notice that the recent Battlefield games (from Bad Company 1 and 2, Medal of Honor, BF3) are quite lacking in positional cues. It's really a damn shame because the sound quality is absolutely among the best I've heard in a video game.

 

[Ziion]

Thank you so much for this guide. Very informative and I appreciate your honest opinion and taking the time to experience countless headphones.

 

[seanmcloughlin7]

Quote:

I'm just glad that I'm not the only one to notice that the recent Battlefield games (from Bad Company 1 and 2, Medal of Honor, BF3) are quite lacking in positional cues. It's really a damn shame because the sound quality is absolutely among the best I've heard in a video game.

Yeah I was used to the TV speakers for a while and didn't care but when I started messing with 7.1 headsets and a crappy real 5.1 speaker setup I realised the positional cues weren't as good as I was expecting. They still do the job and I know if a guy walks behind me etc. but it's not as pin point as some other games. I think it's to give a sense of scale and the chaos that's really going on

 

[Mrniceguy633]

Well that's reassuring. I hope they don't jam up against my glasses. That's my biggest issue as far as comfort. I'm glad to hear the new headset is getting better and better tho

 

[seanmcloughlin7]

I have no idea how the DT990s produce such low deep bass for an open set, and the soundstage in them is amazing. There have been times when playing that I was stunned at how far out the sound went. It wasn't all inside my head but surrounded me quite well. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Thought you guys might enjoy this. This is from the Ultrasone Demo CD that came with the Pro 900s (and I assume others like the Pro 2900). It's a binaural recording, and sounds like the band is playing right around you.

Just put on your headphones and enjoy. Those with open headphones should appreciate it even more.

edit: I have no idea where the link is. XD