JdeFalconr
100+ Head-Fier
(Music impressions post link goes here)
After my much-loved Arctis Pro Wireless began to have issues I started on a quest to identify a good pair of headphones for gaming...and here we are! Hopefully these thoughts will be helpful, or at the very least amusing, to someone out there.
Important to understand as you read is that I am comparing these four headphones to each other. I do not have the experience or objective audio knowledge to try and review these against some external standard.
Very big thanks to @Mad Lust Envy for the Headphone Gaming Guide that provided much of the fuel for this effort as well as @Chastity for some great headphone suggestions and advice. Thanks to others too who kindly offered advice and dealt with my help posts and questions.
A key requirement of mine was a hardware chatmix control to mix the level of game vs chat audio, something that's surprisingly difficult to find outside of dedicated gaming hardware unless you really want to go down the rabbit hole. I ended up going with the Sound Blaster X4 as my DAC/amp which not only handles the chatmix functionality but also has done a good job driving all of these headphones, even the DT990's at 600 ohms. The X4 works well, is easy to use, has a ton of inputs and outputs (including analog 7.1 outs for speakers!) and even looks attractive on my desk; I'm happy to recommend it.
Test Methods: Disable system-level as well as Sound Blaster EQ and all audio enhancements, both Windows and Sound Blaster, with the exception of the Sound Blaster virtual 7.1. I tried Dolby Atmos and I did not at all like it; treble was pushed too far and everything had a way-to-spacy sound to it that was not enjoyable to me. I may revisit at some point but for now I've been quite happy with SB's virtual 7.1.
For gaming impressions I used Battlefield 2042 as my test game and over a good week and a half played a number of rounds nightly, swapping headphones at the end of every one or two rounds. I used the "auto" setting for audio mix which should output according to the Windows settings. For dynamic range I used the "headphones" setting. I tried playing some CP2077 but either I wasn't in the right part of the game for environmental audio or the game's sound really isn't that exciting. I didn't feel I was getting much atmosphere from the game regardless of what headphones I used.
I'll be honest, it was tough for me to think critically on what I was hearing while I was in the middle of playing a very engaging game. I'm sorry if some of my observations lack some detail; much of my impressions are a product of me considering post-game what I thought in particular areas. If you have questions I'll do my best to try and answer them for you.
The Actual Impressions
MC450
Exceptionally crisp, responsive, and accurate sound that I was quickly drawn to for gaming. Musically I felt the same about the sound with these coming in a very, very close second to the M1570's based on my preferences. Bass has an unmissable, less-defined shape carrying little heft; you know it's there but it's not tangible. Treble was sharp but not piercing. Soundstage is large and moderately deep. I certainly heard atmospheric elements with these that I hadn't picked up before. The MC450's really made my overall decision difficult as I find I'm drawn to a clear, crisp sound for gaming and music. They were fairly comfortable with lighter weight and solid build. Out of all four headphones these were the only ones whose ear cups swiveled, making not only for slimmer storage but also that extra bit of comfort.
I got these on sale on Amazon for $200 and for that price I'd call these absolutely worth the money.
Monolith/Monoprice M1570
A "warm," slightly dark sound with what I felt was excellent representation across the spectrum. Musically these were my favorite of the bunch with excellent bass, layering, and of course that soundstage. In-game bass and sub-bass are large, well-formed and powerful though without a raw punch. The forward vocals really helps with in-game dialogue or with chat applications like Discord. Wide, spacious, wonderfully huge and deep soundstage. A tiny EQ drop of the mids helped add that last tiny bit of missing clarity. These headphones are GINORMOUS and heavy with a wonderfully industrial, 80's Cyberpunk build to match, bordering on sexy in my opinion. Even the cable is beefy and thick, including chonky mini-XLR's on one end and 1/4" on the other. The included 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter is thick, heavy, and beautiful...shocking, I know. Thankfully the headband helps hold their weight well and the included suede/velour/whatever pads help with clamp that, personally, caused slight pressure after extended wear. Add in the extra-deep stock lambskin pads and you're strapping a pair of lead coffee cans on your head, and you'll damn well like it.
I was fortunate enough to pick these up on a $200 off sale for $400. I don't have enough higher-end audio experience to say it for myself but others on this forum seem to indicate that's a great price for these headphones and that $600 would even be reasonable given how they can perform. At $400 I'm certainly happy.
Let me also tell you a brief story about the M1570's soundstage. BF2042 by default will give sounds that are farther away a muffled characteristic. I heard this far more on the M1570's than the MC450's as I swapped between them several times mid-game. This perplexed me briefly because I knew the headphones themselves weren't doing any audio processing and the source was the same for both the M1570 and MC450. I finally realized the M1570's huge soundstage made those audio cues much more audible whereas they were a bit out of range for the MC450's. Wow.
HE400SE
Acquitted itself surprisingly well given my other experiences with these (see my music impressions). Overall sound still shallow and withdrawn, like I'm sitting in front of a TV watching a recording of someone playing. Even with that there was a decent sharpness to the sound. Positioning was surprisingly great. Soundstage was significantly wider than I'd expected.
On the assumption my experiences with the sound of these (see below) was out of the ordinary but the gaming characteristics were not then I would still say that even for their sale price of $130 you can do better than these. Some of their characteristics I felt were quite good (imaging and positioning) even in comparison to the other three headphones I tested. However their overall audio profile - not to mention music performance - was not at all to my liking.
If you see my musical impressions the overall sound of these just did not match up with the reputation others have given the HE400SE's. I don't know if I have a defective pair, if I truly need to go through the 150-hour burn-in period, if they need some EQ work, or something else. I would strongly advise NOT making a decision on these solely based on my experiences; please treat them instead as a data point.
DT990 600 Premium
Top performer out of all four from a competitive perspective (as opposed to "fun"). If for you everything takes a backseat to maximizing your in-game advantages then go get a DT990 600. Soundstage, positioning, imaging and detail are incredible on these, just as advertised. You then pay for that with ear-shredding peaks on anything high-pitched. Speaking for myself it became fatiguing after extended play. Mids are MIA and bass is distant and boomy. I wouldn't mind the sound having more meat on its bones but, again, we're pulling out all the stops for competitive advantage. I found the DT990's exceptionally comfortable, including for long periods, thanks to their extremely low weight. These are so light that when I received the shipping box from Amazon I worried someone had gotten to it first and taken out the headphones. The included fuzzy-slipper earpads are...fuzzy slippers for your ears. Make of that what you will. The cable is non-detachable. I'm new at this higher-end audio stuff but I found that annoying. Even the HE400SE's at $50 less had a [God awful] detachable cable.
I would say for competitive gaming purposes the $170 I paid is a worthwhile price; just keep in mind that if you get the 600ohm version (regarded as the best flavor, though the others are no slouch) you also need to have gear that can drive them. That may or may not represent an added expense.
After my much-loved Arctis Pro Wireless began to have issues I started on a quest to identify a good pair of headphones for gaming...and here we are! Hopefully these thoughts will be helpful, or at the very least amusing, to someone out there.
Important to understand as you read is that I am comparing these four headphones to each other. I do not have the experience or objective audio knowledge to try and review these against some external standard.
Very big thanks to @Mad Lust Envy for the Headphone Gaming Guide that provided much of the fuel for this effort as well as @Chastity for some great headphone suggestions and advice. Thanks to others too who kindly offered advice and dealt with my help posts and questions.
A key requirement of mine was a hardware chatmix control to mix the level of game vs chat audio, something that's surprisingly difficult to find outside of dedicated gaming hardware unless you really want to go down the rabbit hole. I ended up going with the Sound Blaster X4 as my DAC/amp which not only handles the chatmix functionality but also has done a good job driving all of these headphones, even the DT990's at 600 ohms. The X4 works well, is easy to use, has a ton of inputs and outputs (including analog 7.1 outs for speakers!) and even looks attractive on my desk; I'm happy to recommend it.
Test Methods: Disable system-level as well as Sound Blaster EQ and all audio enhancements, both Windows and Sound Blaster, with the exception of the Sound Blaster virtual 7.1. I tried Dolby Atmos and I did not at all like it; treble was pushed too far and everything had a way-to-spacy sound to it that was not enjoyable to me. I may revisit at some point but for now I've been quite happy with SB's virtual 7.1.
For gaming impressions I used Battlefield 2042 as my test game and over a good week and a half played a number of rounds nightly, swapping headphones at the end of every one or two rounds. I used the "auto" setting for audio mix which should output according to the Windows settings. For dynamic range I used the "headphones" setting. I tried playing some CP2077 but either I wasn't in the right part of the game for environmental audio or the game's sound really isn't that exciting. I didn't feel I was getting much atmosphere from the game regardless of what headphones I used.
I'll be honest, it was tough for me to think critically on what I was hearing while I was in the middle of playing a very engaging game. I'm sorry if some of my observations lack some detail; much of my impressions are a product of me considering post-game what I thought in particular areas. If you have questions I'll do my best to try and answer them for you.
The Actual Impressions
MC450
Exceptionally crisp, responsive, and accurate sound that I was quickly drawn to for gaming. Musically I felt the same about the sound with these coming in a very, very close second to the M1570's based on my preferences. Bass has an unmissable, less-defined shape carrying little heft; you know it's there but it's not tangible. Treble was sharp but not piercing. Soundstage is large and moderately deep. I certainly heard atmospheric elements with these that I hadn't picked up before. The MC450's really made my overall decision difficult as I find I'm drawn to a clear, crisp sound for gaming and music. They were fairly comfortable with lighter weight and solid build. Out of all four headphones these were the only ones whose ear cups swiveled, making not only for slimmer storage but also that extra bit of comfort.
I got these on sale on Amazon for $200 and for that price I'd call these absolutely worth the money.
- Soundstage: Spacious with moderate depth. The environment echoes around you convincingly. Explosions did muffle other sounds on occasion, other times they fit in naturally.
- Detail: Sounds are all very crisp with moderate detail. Pleasingly sharp without discomfort.
- Separation: Good
- Imaging: Good positioning, enough to turn to face based on sound cues.
- Rear Cues: Also good as with Imaging.
- Bass Bleed: Didn't notice any.
- Verticality: None that I picked up, sadly, and I could have used it in-game. Could easily have been the fault of the game (BF2042) or my surround config.
Monolith/Monoprice M1570
A "warm," slightly dark sound with what I felt was excellent representation across the spectrum. Musically these were my favorite of the bunch with excellent bass, layering, and of course that soundstage. In-game bass and sub-bass are large, well-formed and powerful though without a raw punch. The forward vocals really helps with in-game dialogue or with chat applications like Discord. Wide, spacious, wonderfully huge and deep soundstage. A tiny EQ drop of the mids helped add that last tiny bit of missing clarity. These headphones are GINORMOUS and heavy with a wonderfully industrial, 80's Cyberpunk build to match, bordering on sexy in my opinion. Even the cable is beefy and thick, including chonky mini-XLR's on one end and 1/4" on the other. The included 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter is thick, heavy, and beautiful...shocking, I know. Thankfully the headband helps hold their weight well and the included suede/velour/whatever pads help with clamp that, personally, caused slight pressure after extended wear. Add in the extra-deep stock lambskin pads and you're strapping a pair of lead coffee cans on your head, and you'll damn well like it.
I was fortunate enough to pick these up on a $200 off sale for $400. I don't have enough higher-end audio experience to say it for myself but others on this forum seem to indicate that's a great price for these headphones and that $600 would even be reasonable given how they can perform. At $400 I'm certainly happy.
Let me also tell you a brief story about the M1570's soundstage. BF2042 by default will give sounds that are farther away a muffled characteristic. I heard this far more on the M1570's than the MC450's as I swapped between them several times mid-game. This perplexed me briefly because I knew the headphones themselves weren't doing any audio processing and the source was the same for both the M1570 and MC450. I finally realized the M1570's huge soundstage made those audio cues much more audible whereas they were a bit out of range for the MC450's. Wow.
- Soundstage: Spacious with huge depth. My in-game audibility range was absolutely extended by these.
- Detail: Good, not spectacular and definitely not bad; that "warm" sound again. Might adjust with some EQ. I'm unsure if we're talking preference at this point as opposed to objective performance.
- Separation: Excellent. As with music the M1570 seems to "layer" sounds and preserve their audibility very well.
- Imaging: Great positioning; I found myself more responsive to my sides and rear, turning to face sounds easily.
- Rear Cues: Rear and sides both were excellent.
- Bass Bleed: Bass definitely did not get in the way.
- Verticality: At times maybe, other times nope. I could have used it in-game. Could easily have been the fault of the game (BF2042) or my surround config.
HE400SE
Acquitted itself surprisingly well given my other experiences with these (see my music impressions). Overall sound still shallow and withdrawn, like I'm sitting in front of a TV watching a recording of someone playing. Even with that there was a decent sharpness to the sound. Positioning was surprisingly great. Soundstage was significantly wider than I'd expected.
On the assumption my experiences with the sound of these (see below) was out of the ordinary but the gaming characteristics were not then I would still say that even for their sale price of $130 you can do better than these. Some of their characteristics I felt were quite good (imaging and positioning) even in comparison to the other three headphones I tested. However their overall audio profile - not to mention music performance - was not at all to my liking.
If you see my musical impressions the overall sound of these just did not match up with the reputation others have given the HE400SE's. I don't know if I have a defective pair, if I truly need to go through the 150-hour burn-in period, if they need some EQ work, or something else. I would strongly advise NOT making a decision on these solely based on my experiences; please treat them instead as a data point.
- Soundstage: Wide and decently spacious, to my surprise.
- Detail: OK. Still a bit shallow and muffled.
- Separation: Good
- Imaging: Very good, bordering on excellent. The HE400SE's made it unmistakable what direction sounds came from. I was impressed by it.
- Rear Cues: Very good, in line with Imaging.
- Bass Bleed: None that I picked up.
- Verticality? Nope.
DT990 600 Premium
Top performer out of all four from a competitive perspective (as opposed to "fun"). If for you everything takes a backseat to maximizing your in-game advantages then go get a DT990 600. Soundstage, positioning, imaging and detail are incredible on these, just as advertised. You then pay for that with ear-shredding peaks on anything high-pitched. Speaking for myself it became fatiguing after extended play. Mids are MIA and bass is distant and boomy. I wouldn't mind the sound having more meat on its bones but, again, we're pulling out all the stops for competitive advantage. I found the DT990's exceptionally comfortable, including for long periods, thanks to their extremely low weight. These are so light that when I received the shipping box from Amazon I worried someone had gotten to it first and taken out the headphones. The included fuzzy-slipper earpads are...fuzzy slippers for your ears. Make of that what you will. The cable is non-detachable. I'm new at this higher-end audio stuff but I found that annoying. Even the HE400SE's at $50 less had a [God awful] detachable cable.
I would say for competitive gaming purposes the $170 I paid is a worthwhile price; just keep in mind that if you get the 600ohm version (regarded as the best flavor, though the others are no slouch) you also need to have gear that can drive them. That may or may not represent an added expense.
- Soundstage: Medium-large and fairly deep. "Focused" is the adjective I'd use.
- Detail: Sounds are all sharp and detailed, yep I definitely heard things I hadn't before, which was awesome.
- Separation: Generally good.
- Imaging: Good for the most part. I had some rear cues sound like they were coming in front of me once.
- Rear Cues: Good though things get a bit mushy from 7-9 o'clock, just as noted by @Mad Lust Envy . I also experienced some rear cues that failed to come through as behind me (I thought they were in front or possibly below) even though they were quite close.
- Bass Bleed: None that I picked up.
- Verticality: Can't say for sure, maybe? If so it wasn't particularly definite.
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Guess I'll get in line...