[Mad Lust Envy]

It shouldnt as the 770/80s are 8x the the impedance of the Fiio E9k, which is the sweet spot. The 250ohm will be more than fine out of the E9K.

 

[cbristol802]

I'm hoping to pick up a pair of headphones for gaming and for listening to hip-hop, rap, beatstrumentals, etc. I like the Q701's but have not purchased them because of the comments that the bass and sub-bass are recessed. I'm not looking for Sony XB territory, just something that will pair well with those genres and be decent for gaming.  Any advice would be great.
 

 

[modulor]

Quote:

I'm hoping to pick up a pair of headphones for gaming and for listening to hip-hop, rap, beatstrumentals, etc. I like the Q701's but have not purchased them because of the comments that the bass and sub-bass are recessed. I'm not looking for Sony XB territory, just something that will pair well with those genres and be decent for gaming.  Any advice would be great.
 

Perhaps consider the Philips Fidelio X1 or HiFiMan HE-400 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm hoping to pick up a pair of headphones for gaming and for listening to hip-hop, rap, beatstrumentals, etc. I like the Q701's but have not purchased them because of the comments that the bass and sub-bass are recessed. I'm not looking for Sony XB territory, just something that will pair well with those genres and be decent for gaming.  Any advice would be great.

 

Fidelio X1 as it's relatively easy to drive. It's made for your genres of music. The mid-fi epitome of all rounder with a lean towards bass, but not overly so. The X1 has overtaken the HE-400 for me in everything but refinement. And basically renders the DT990 obsolete, unless you absolutely can't afford the price jump (and you all know how much I enjoy the 990s).

K702 Anniversary if you want more balance but still good bass. The mid-fi epitome of all rounder with a touch of warmth and smoothness.

Those will probably forever be my top two recommendations that don't break the bank (by Head-fi standards).

I'm sorry the X1 review isn't up (guys have to give me some time, as I'm still testing them). It should hopefully be up this coming week. Sneak preview on the scores (not final but should be close to what it will be)

Fun: 9, Competitive: 8, Comfort: 9.5

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I'm sorry the X1 review isn't up (guys have to give me some time, as I'm still testing them). It should hopefully be up this coming week. Sneak preview on the scores (not final but should be close to what it will be)

Fun: 9, Competitive: 8, Comfort: 9.5

 
My review will be up today, I'm formatting the post right now.
 
The only thing  I would change about those scores is raising the competitive score a bit, as when comparing back and forth with the Anniversary I feel they're pretty close.

 

[Change is Good]

I actually agree with Mad's competitive score for the X1. Yes, the soundstage is about on par with the Annies... but the bass gets in the way.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm not completely in love with the X1's positional cues. I dunno if it's the fact that I haven't been playing console games lately and I've been testing it with THX TS and the PC's Dolby Headphone, but I feel like it doesn't have the best rear cues, certainly not Annie level. More along the likes of 990 level.

Also, not that it's unexpected, but it doesn't have the same level of refinement as the Annie and HE400, and the bass isn't as clean as I would've liked and come across lacking in texture and control. Then there is the fact that the treble can be fatiguing at times. Was playing DMC and it did grate on me at times. Same when I watched some anime with it.

The X1 isn't completely inoffensive, nor perfect. Far more likes than gripes, but gripes I certainly have.

 

[chicolom]

The bass can get in the way, but IMO the soundstage and imaging is slightly better than the Anniversaries in-game, so it counteracts things a bit. 

 

[Change is Good]

Quote:

The bass can get in the way, but IMO the soundstage and imaging is slightly better than the Anniversaries in-game, so it counteracts things a bit. 

 
Oh, I don't disagree with you, I was amazed at how the X1 was able to pull such a thing off. However, try riding in a tank on BF3 with all that bass on the X1 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
Oh, I don't disagree with you, I was amazed at how the X1 was able to pull such a thing off. However, try riding in a tank on BF3 with all that bass on the X1 

 
Ya, I do remember standing to next to some type of "generator" in a game and it was rumbling a bit too much. 

 
Has anyone tried using a bass-reducing EQ with them?

 

[SniperCzar]

Sounds like a lot of the complaints about my beloved 770 Pros. Slap a bass reducing EQ on em and go nuts.

 

[Change is Good]

I ordered the Annies with Saturday shipping, yesterday, and they just arrived. I almost forgot how wonderful these babies sound...

. Oh, how I missed them so much.
 
I'm scared to do a bass frequency test, though...

 

[cbristol802]

Thanks for the advice. I'm leaning towards the X1's. I found them for $300 at Sonic Electronix, and if yoou buy them from your phone and use the code SEMOBILE10, you get 10% off. Is $270 as cheap as you've seen the X1s or should I wait for a better sale?
 

 

[Kamakahah]

Thanks for the advice. I'm leaning towards the X1's. I found them for $300 at Sonic Electronix, and if yoou buy them from your phone and use the code SEMOBILE10, you get 10% off. Is $270 as cheap as you've seen the X1s or should I wait for a better sale?

 

I've been looking for an excuse to buy and try the X1, so price monitoring is one thing I've been doing. $270 is the lowest I've seen outside of the sale forum (one sold for $250).

As long as shipping is free or low cost, then that's a deal. Sure they'll go down in the future, and probably be on sale come November, but if you don't want to wait months then "do it".

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I'm scared to do a bass frequency test, though...

 
You could always just not do the test.  Outside of the isolated tests I don't think I would ever notice it.