[Midnightawakene]

Hi guys! I require headphones mainly for gaming(bf3 and bf4), but i also listen to music from a variety of genres. The latter part is what is making the decision so hard.
I have been lurking around these forums but couldn't find any definitive answer.
To start off with im from India(insert poor developing country joke here) so my choices are limited.
 
Right now i am using a philips SHP1900(don't laugh)
 
Here are some cans that i have shortlisted, with their price in my currency(INR)/I'll be getting these of amazon.in-
 
1) AD700 - 6230
2) AD700x - 9100
3) hd 558 - 10,600
4) hd 598 - 13,600
5) superlux hd 668b - 3200
 
Basically i play games, but im not a professional;as in i don't play it to earn, so it depends on my mood to be competitive and go infantry or just go chilling in a tank/helicopter. 
 
Regarding the music i listen to, it could be any type of music that i might like. I'm not a basshead, but i require a minimum amount of bass, neither too much nor too less. Since i am paying so much for headphones, i'd like them to do both gaming and music well.
 
Now some opinions i have developed about these cans-
 
1)AD700- Very large soundstage, great mids/ poor fit, very large, bass anemic
2)AD700x- same as the ad700, but cool looking
3)HD 558- Good for music, adequate bass/smaller soundstage than ad700
4)HD 598- Same as 558, but a bit more refined(?) and lower bass
5)superlux hd 668b - very good sound for the price/ poor comfort
 
Now i am not going to mention the songs i listen to, because you guys here might not like them. But i like both rock and bass-light music.
 
I had been leaning on the HD 558 up until now, when suddenly the AD700x came in stock. It's about 1.5k bucks cheaper meaning i could get a Xonar DG to EQ the bass of the ad700x for just 500 bucks more and call it a day, unless the sound quality(and bass) of the HD558 is adequately better.
 
I also like the looks of the AD700x(they look badass).
 
The 598s are kinda out of my budget and the 668b are reported to have poor comfort over long hours of wearing(ears sweating and such).
 
So, is the AD700x's bass so bad that i cannot improve it with a touch of EQ? Can i still have some fun running around punishing n00bs in a chopper and still have the fun of listening to my rockets blazing? How would it compare to my current phones? Is the HD558 better for my needs?
 
Thanks for help!
 
PS. i *think* i have a small head(im just 18) so *maybe* the ad700x won't fit me.

 

[cel4145]

Note that you can very easily mod the HD558 to sound very similar to the HD598. Sennheiser apparently stuck a piece of foam tape inside to make them sound more different.

 

[Trunks159]

I'd recommend:
 
DT880
DT990
HD598
HD558
Fidelio X1
MDR MA900
ATH AD900X
 
The MA900, DT880, and Fidelio X1 are my faves.

 

[Midnightawakene]

Note that you can very easily mod the HD558 to sound very similar to the HD598. Sennheiser apparently stuck a piece of foam tape inside to make them sound more different.

I've heard that after a while people start liking the stock version better so i'll not be modding it.

  I'd recommend:
 
DT880
DT990
HD598
HD558
Fidelio X1
MDR MA900
ATH AD900X
 
The MA900, DT880, and Fidelio X1 are my faves.
 

From your list only the sennheisers are available to me. Probably you didn't read the OP.

 

[Midnightawakene]

Bump

 

[BillsonChang007]

Note that you can very easily mod the HD558 to sound very similar to the HD598. Sennheiser apparently stuck a piece of foam tape inside to make them sound more different.

Hello,

+1 for the mod or/and the Sennheiser. They have excellent imaging, instrumental separation for gaming and music. No amping is required as well

Hope it helps!
Billson

 

[Midnightawakene]

Hello,

+1 for the mod or/and the Sennheiser. They have excellent imaging, instrumental separation for gaming and music. No amping is required as well

Hope it helps!
Billson

Hi, have you tried the AD700/700x? Is the HD 558 worth the 1.5k bucks more over it?
 
Thanks for the response!

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hi, have you tried the AD700/700x? Is the HD 558 worth the 1.5k bucks more over it?
 
Thanks for the response!

I do prefer my HD558s over my AD700s.

 

[Midnightawakene]

 
I do prefer my HD558s over my AD700s.

Hi, thanks for responding. During my lurking here i saw you helping a lot of people so kudos to you.
 
But i need something more elaborate than that. Which one would you recommend for say, 70% gaming(of which 60% will be competitive and 40% for fun) and 30% music, because i am really leaning on the AD700x for now, they look really cool, but will i be able to fix the bass with EQing(i might buy a xonar DG as well). How much of an upgrade will both of them be, over my current philips shp1900?
 
Thanks!

 

[Midnightawakene]

Either way, that's 2 votes for 558s and none for AD700x.

 

[BillsonChang007]

  Either way, that's 2 votes for 558s and none for AD700x.

The ATH-AD700x value comes only from its really big soundstage... but that's all at least, when compared to the Sennheisers

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hi, thanks for responding. During my lurking here i saw you helping a lot of people so kudos to you.
 
But i need something more elaborate than that. Which one would you recommend for say, 70% gaming (of which 60% will be competitive and 40% for fun) and 30% music, because i am really leaning on the AD700x for now, they look really cool, but will i be able to fix the bass with EQing(i might buy a Xonar DG as well). How much of an upgrade will both of them be, over my current philips shp1900?

I own the AD700s, not AD700Xs
I guess the ATH-AD700 are a great choice for FPS gaming, but their light bass is a turn off for music and
(action) movies.
I doubt EQing will make a big difference, but I really do not read up a lot on the AD700Xs.

 

[Midnightawakene]

  I own the AD700s, not AD700Xs
I guess the ATH-AD700 are a great choice for FPS gaming, but their light bass is a turn off for music and
(action) movies.
I doubt EQing will make a big difference, but I really do not read up a lot on the AD700Xs.

They supposedly use the same drivers so your opinion matters
 
Is the bass really that bad?I'm not a basshead by any means. Have you tried EQing your's?

 

[BillsonChang007]

  They supposedly use the same drivers so your opinion matters
 
Is the bass really that bad?I'm not a basshead by any means. Have you tried EQing your's?

^ that's how bad the ATH-AD700's bass can be. The good thing is there's no mid-bass bump so no worries about boomy bass, but even before 100Hz, there's already a roll off D:

 

[Midnightawakene]

^ that's how bad the ATH-AD700's bass can be. The good thing is there's no mid-bass bump so no worries about boomy bass, but even before 100Hz, there's already a roll off D:

Both headphones seem to have their own cons, the 558s said to have a 'veil' kind of thing.

It's a bummer I can't see and try them both, because as much as the 558 is better I don't think i would be able to stay happy with it knowing I wanted the ad700 for some reason.