surino
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2013
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I am looking for a set of closed back headphones with velour pads for home music listening and gaming. They need to isolate the road noise outside when my window is open and my loud gpu fan (headphones being a cheaper alternative to water cooling). Ideally I'd like to spend less than £130-150 max. The genres I listen to are metal, rock, classical and electronic. I have tried out a few headphones over the past month with reference to recommendation threads on this site and other sites. The headphones I have tried out in order:
Beyerdynamic DT770 (80 ohm)
Shure SRH840
Audio-Technica A900X
Sennheiser HD 380 Pro
The headphones were tested on my Xonar DGX (150 ohm max amp) using Dolby Headphone (DH) in game and standard stereo setup for music (320kbps). The DT770 proved to the best for gaming with the DH setup although the music listening suffered as a result of bloated boomy bass smothering the mids and causing listener fatigue. They were also the most comfortable headphone I have tried so far - I really appreciated the velour pads.
The SRH840 felt heavy in comparison and the headband applied a pressure point on the top of my head causing me too much discomfort to keep them. However, the sound quality was good albeit a little too weak on the bass creating a sense of balance more slanted toward the mids and highs in my opinion. The DH experience was diminished slightly by a frequent echo effect on voice acting within games.
The A900X just didn't fit me at all - applying hardly any pressure to my medium to small head. I tried the rubber band technique but it didn't really help. They would slide down my head and apply a very uncomfortable amount of pressure to my jaw. Needless to say these were boxed up and sent on their way.
The HD 380 Pro produce a balanced flat sound quality with punchy but not offensive bass - although it is not as well refined as the SRH840 in terms of music listening and is underwhelming on DH compared to the DT770. The vice like grip is not too much of an issue for me with my head size but the clamp pressure does cause me discomfort when combined with the lesser quality foam like ear pads.
I was intending on trying out the Sennheiser HD 439 next with the velour pads as a more comfortable alternative to the HD 380 Pro. I have thought about buying the DT770 250 ohm version but I am not keen on the coiled cable and it is rated as 100 ohm above my sound card amp! Another thought is to EQ the DT770 80 ohm to smooth out the bass and pull forward the recessed mids but the Xonar DGX 'Effect' tab EQ options didn't seem to have any effect on the sound output. Any input would be appreciated.
Beyerdynamic DT770 (80 ohm)
Shure SRH840
Audio-Technica A900X
Sennheiser HD 380 Pro
The headphones were tested on my Xonar DGX (150 ohm max amp) using Dolby Headphone (DH) in game and standard stereo setup for music (320kbps). The DT770 proved to the best for gaming with the DH setup although the music listening suffered as a result of bloated boomy bass smothering the mids and causing listener fatigue. They were also the most comfortable headphone I have tried so far - I really appreciated the velour pads.
The SRH840 felt heavy in comparison and the headband applied a pressure point on the top of my head causing me too much discomfort to keep them. However, the sound quality was good albeit a little too weak on the bass creating a sense of balance more slanted toward the mids and highs in my opinion. The DH experience was diminished slightly by a frequent echo effect on voice acting within games.
The A900X just didn't fit me at all - applying hardly any pressure to my medium to small head. I tried the rubber band technique but it didn't really help. They would slide down my head and apply a very uncomfortable amount of pressure to my jaw. Needless to say these were boxed up and sent on their way.
The HD 380 Pro produce a balanced flat sound quality with punchy but not offensive bass - although it is not as well refined as the SRH840 in terms of music listening and is underwhelming on DH compared to the DT770. The vice like grip is not too much of an issue for me with my head size but the clamp pressure does cause me discomfort when combined with the lesser quality foam like ear pads.
I was intending on trying out the Sennheiser HD 439 next with the velour pads as a more comfortable alternative to the HD 380 Pro. I have thought about buying the DT770 250 ohm version but I am not keen on the coiled cable and it is rated as 100 ohm above my sound card amp! Another thought is to EQ the DT770 80 ohm to smooth out the bass and pull forward the recessed mids but the Xonar DGX 'Effect' tab EQ options didn't seem to have any effect on the sound output. Any input would be appreciated.
