[maler23]

Ok, so I've spent far too much time going back between this forum, headroom.com, and ebay trying to find the perfect cost/performance ratio for a set of gaming cans.

Yes, this topic has been done to death, but I can't bear to do any more searches, so i figured I'd waste some 1's and 0's(as in binary) on this board in hope of finding enlightenment.

Still with me? Good.

What i'm looking for is a pair of good, closed circum-aural(if possible) cans to be driven out of my soundcard.

I *had* narrowed it down to the Senn HD280's, but now I hear tell of "weak bass" and "hard to drive". This makes me nervous.

On the other hand, the V6's sound like a gamer's dream come true except:

-I hear their imaging(possibly soundstage? these two are often used interchangeably which is confusing) is awful

-Their treble/detail coupled with a sound card does not flatter sound effects at all(meaning, harshness is amplified, very easy to pick flaws out of non-audiophile grade explosions, gunfire, etc..)

Maybe both of these can be solved with EQ?

And yes, i've seen this review:

http://byrneweb.com/sunburn/audio/hd280vsv6.html

and this one

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ight=hd280+280


Thoughts/comments/suggestions? Is there some thread I've missed that sums up all of my questions? Price difference between the two is not an issue.


thank you for dealing with my rambling.

 

[miroslav]

Quote:

Originally posted by maler23 Thoughts/comments/suggestions? Is there some thread I've missed that sums up all of my questions?

This one is a classic and probably the best place to start from and then widen the search for models which cought your attention.

My experience is limited to HFI-650 Trackmaster exclusively. I love them, they work very well unamped and from a non refined source, haven`t tried them with a sound card, though. Good luck.

 

[maler23]

Thanks miroslav! I've seen that one before, but you made me realize(once again) there's only so much I can read before I just need to buy one of them. I hereby quit my message board window shopping! I'm going for the V6's since they seem to have the most consistent sound quality out of a soundcard.

 

[ph0rk]

I Haven't found the 280's weak or hard to drive. The bass does need 30-40 hours at least to come together though.

Hearing the really low subsonics in explosions/machinery is really cool when playing games

What soundcard are you going to be using? Do you know if your soundcard is bright dark or neutral?

 

[maler23]

Ph0rk,

thanks for the response.

It will be the output from an integrated NVIDIA Soundstorm2 processor on an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 Motherboard. I have no idea what the sound characteristics are as I haven't purchased it yet. I'm slowly cobbling together a gaming system in anticipation of Half-Life 2 and it's on my check list.

As I recall, there is a sound EQ to adjust treble/bass and I've heard that EQ adjustment greatly benefits both phones when driven out of a soundcard.(extra bass for unamped 280's, a little less treble for the V6's to help roll off extreme detail)

Though, now that I think of it, I could probably run a line to my home receiver and then hook the 280's to those.

Anyone have experience with these out of your run of the mill headphone jack on a receiver?

As an aside, does anyone know the power output of your typical soundcard/motherboard output?

This really has put me into a quandary. Based on musical tastes I would go with the 280's, no question, but I'm reserving my musical can purchase for the Sony CD3000's. So, i really need a "fun" pair of cans to help liven up my gaming.

If i could get the circum-aural equivalent of the KSC-35's, that would be the best.

 

[ph0rk]

alot of all-in-one dsp/amp chips these days out out anywhere from 1000 to 3000 mW, or up to 3 watts. More than enough for the 280's.

Are you buying speakers? If so, I'd recommend the klipsh promedia's, all models after the 2.1 have an integrated headphone jack with a -lot- of juice. (then again, the speakers themselves have a lot of juice

)

You can usually find the power output of the speaker/headphone jack if you dig deep enough online.

 

[Jasper994]

I have no problems driving the 280's off my soundcard (Audigy Platinum ex) the quality is another story... to much hiss! As far as bass goes, the 280's are missing the mid bass hump that most people are acustomed to so they find it bass lite... I think they have a lot of bass though, and they're low low bass is to die for. If you are one of those people that likes the mid bass hump, there is a mod that somebody posted recently that should give it to you, or you can simply bump up the bass setting in your soundcard's eq.

 

[Patrickhat2001]

Maler23--
I'd recommend that you buy both phones and see which you like best. Keep the one you like and send the other one back. Just be sure that you get both from places with 30-day, no questions asked return policies. It's my belief that recommendations found here on head-fi can show you the recommended paths, but they can't really tell you which is the right one for you and your equipment. If your anything like me you'll find many times that you don't really like phones you thought you would love and love those you thought you wouldn't like.

Here's to your quest for headphone nirvana!

 

[maler23]

Interesting that no V6-ers have chimed in on this one. They're probably playing Counterstrike right now

So, really it comes down to whether out of a soundcard, an EQ would be good enough to tame either of the faults of these phones.

Patrickhat/scarymonsterperson, I would love to be able to buy both, but my budget is a bit stretched.

Ph0rk, i thought about just getting the Klipsch's or maybe some lower end Logitech and combining those with my KSC-35's for a surround sound/headphone extravaganza, but I prefer the "transportation to another world" effect of closed headphones for gaming.

thanks for all of your help folks. If you got anything else(maybe a cheap used pair of either to help with my decision

) feel free to chime in.

 

[SunByrne]

Hmm, do I count as a V6-er? I must not, because I'm not playing Counterstrike.

Anyway, as the author of one of the head-to-head reviews you cited (thanks for the plug, by the way), I felt I should chime in here.

I don't find the HD280s to have weak bass when driven from a decent source, and if your soundcard really puts out 1000+ mW, then you really shouldn't have a problem with bass. I just think the lower midbass push on the V6's is more involving for rock/techno, particularly from a weaker source, and they're more portable--so for a portable rig, I'd go V6.

But for gaming from a soundcard that has reasonable juice, I'd go HD280, and you probably won't have to EQ it much, if at all. Others may disagree, but that's at least my take.

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jasper994 ... too much hiss!

Connect the soundcard to a receiver or integrated amp or basic amp with volume controls and the hiss should go away (and the bass comes in, and the midrange recession goes away). I've successfully used a Crown D60, Technics SUV96, Radio Shack STAV3250, and Yamaha A500 with my soundcard. Just use whatever is laying around, or find in a dumpster, or garage sale, or at the Salvation Army stores, which sounds acceptable to you, and until such time that you can afford something better.

 

[maler23]

SunByrne, you can be an Admiral Superus V6er Kickass Megalord. Happy?

Seriously though, thanks for the advice, I should have PM'd you and asked since you've had direct experience between the two.

I broke down and just bought the HD280 Pro's for 77.97 shipped on Ebay.

Actually, the net cost was only 44 due to some extra Paypal funds lying around. Love it when that happens

I will of course share my thoughts with y'all once I've received them and given them their proper burn in.

Wallijonn, that's interesting about the hiss. I would think a receiver would simply take what's given from the soundcard and increase that times whatever the volume knob is at. Well, here's hoping since I do have that option with my computer.

Sheesh, all this fuss over being able to hear simulated gun shots better...i really should subscribe to a cycling forum, maybe actually get off my butt once in a while.

 

[SunByrne]

Quote:

Originally posted by maler23 SunByrne, you can be an Admiral Superus V6er Kickass Megalord. Happy?

Thrilled.

Actually, I was kinda serious--I'm not sure if I really count as a V6er or not. I mean, I like 'em, but for specific uses. I think I listen to the HD280s more...

Quote:

Seriously though, thanks for the advice, I should have PM'd you and asked since you've had direct experience between the two.

Happy to offer whatever I can.

Quote:

I broke down and just bought the HD280 Pro's for 77.97 shipped on Ebay.

Congrats, I think you'll be happy with them.

Quote:

Sheesh, all this fuss over being able to hear simulated gun shots better...i really should subscribe to a cycling forum, maybe actually get off my butt once in a while.

LOL. I don't think you could fit the HD280s over a bike helmet, so why on earth would you want to do that?

 

[Tyson]

Check out the bluetak tweak for the 280's, it boosts the midbass a bit, and smooths out the upper midrange peak quite nicely, taking the 280's from good to very good closed headphones. Good call on not getting the V6's, those things are terrible sounding, IMHO.

 

[Patrickhat2001]

Quote:

Patrickhat/scarymonsterperson, I would love to be able to buy both, but my budget is a bit stretched.

He, he isn't that what credit cards are for?

The only thing I use my credit card for is to buy headphone gear--then not a single red cent comes out of pocket till I decide if I want to keep the equipment, well except for a little bit for interest. Just don't buy more than you can afford and if you already have some maxed out credit cards just get a new one and designated it as your "headphone stuff only" card.

**Whoops, I see you bought the 280s already. That was fast!**