[Blazings]

Hello everyone,
 
You are probably getting these kind of "help" threads all the time, but after returning two headsets I figured I could use some help. I suck at keeping things short so bear with me.

Small history

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
About 5 years ago (I was 18), I bought my first and only headphones on recommendation of a friend. They were the Skullcandy SK Pro's in black/green. They cost me €140 at the time and after only having used standard iPod earbuds, the sound was amazing! It seems they weren't very popular since I can't find much info about them, but the most important info would be: closed back, 64 Ohm, 20-20000Hz, 50mm driver.
But after using them almost every day, especially when I still lived with my parents, the left ear cushion is starting to degrade and the leather is coming off. I decided it was time for a new pair.
 
Since I also play games frequently, I thought it would be nice to get a high end gaming headset so that I could also ditch my €10 Logitech microphone. The first headset I ordered was a Turtle Beach Z300's wireless headset. The moment I put them on my head, I knew I had ordered the wrong product. My ears were touching the hard insides of the earcups and after I wore them for about an hour, I had to take them off because it hurt too much. There was also no bass detected during music (doing some simple youtube Hz tests, it started to produce some sound at around 125Hz). Needless to say, they were going right back into that box, even though the wireless and microphone were pretty good.
 
So back to wired headset it was, doing more research I decided to order a pair of Astro A40's + Mixamp Pro. There were a lot of positive reviews about them and at a price of €249 they had to be good right? Well sort of.. The sound quality was a lot better, the A40's are really bassy and with the added mixamp they produced a nice sound. But going to the mic, it was a whole different story. My friends were reporting a weird "popping" sound from the mic. As if I tapped it every couple of seconds. The quality itself was also rather bad, even my €10 sounded better according to them. After a bit of back and forth posting on the Astro forum it turned out that my mixamp was broken.. great. They asked me to send it back for a repair/replacement, but after reading about so many problems with the mixamp and experiencing the bad microphone, I decided not to take the risk and just return the whole headset and get my money back.

 
 
The future
Well after all that hassle I decided I'd probably be better off with a high quality pair of headphones and a separate mic (like Modmic). It would also be nice if I didn't have to return any more products, so here I am for a bit of advise.
My budget it a bit hard to tell since the conversion from dollar to euro is very different, but let's say it's around $250. Doing some research myself, I came across three difference products that caught my interest. But I am open to recommendations!
 
#1 Sennheiser G4ME ONE - link
This is actually a headset, but because it is made by Sennheiser I thought it might actually have some nice quality. The microphone is awesome from what I can hear on video's, but I don't know what the sound is like. Since these are released last month, I can't find many reviews about it. Was hoping someone might be able to tell me something more about them? One of the few reviewers said that the bass was lacking.
 
#2 Sennheiser HD 598 - link
What can I say, these things look like they were recycled from a Bentley. A well known product that has some amazing reviews from what I can see on the internet. The only problem I have with these is that I keep coming across comments saying there's no good bass in these cans. Is this true or is it only from a perspective from highly experienced audiophiles? I almost couldn't believe it since it has a frequency response of 12-38500Hz.
 
#3 Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro - link
I came across these while looking around on this forum. People say it has a lot of bass and is very comfortable. I'm just a little confused as to which Ohm I should be going for (guessing 80). The design of Sennheiser appeals more to me though.
 
 
 
A little background info on what kind of headphones I'm looking for..
- With the Skullcandy's I'm pretty bass spoiled, so I'd like my new headphones to have adequate bass.
- I don't really care whether it's open or closed back. I'll be using the headset mostly at home where I don't really need to block out loud noises. Occasionally on an iPod if the headset allows it (in terms of Ohm).
- I listen to all kinds of music, which is a great thing until it comes to finding a matching pair of headphones. To give you an example of my music library: Actic Monkeys, Billy Talent, Black Sun Empire, Daft Punk, Eminem, Enya, Evanescence, Foo Fighters, Hardstyle, Lana del Rey, Metric, Michael Jackson, Muse, Nightwish, Queen, Rammstein, The Cardigans, Tarja Turunen and Wintersun. So I guess that is defined as (indie) rock, symphonic metal, drum n bass, electro, indie pop and also add classical music to the list (movie/game music). I really enjoy a solid bass in my DnB.
- In the (near) future I'm planning on adding the Audioquest Dragonfly DAC to my arsenal to really bring out the best in the headphones (also open for suggestions here). I got these recommended by the same friend that told me about the Sennheiser G4ME ONE. Unfortunately she lives very far away, so I can't test it out for myself.
 
 
Well that turned out to be a pretty huge wall of text

I thought it would be better to give you guys as much info as I could.
I really hope I can get some advise here that will allow me to decide what pair of headphones to go for. A thanks in advance for anyone who replies.

 

[jhao19]

Why don't you try out the Philips Fidelio X1?  It's not too bass heavy, but still has a sort of punch to it.  It's also quite easy to drive, so you should have no problems with that.
 
Here's the link to amazon in case you're curious

 

[b0000]

First things first. Frequency response range has nothing to do with sound quality.
 
And yes, the hd598's bass will dissapoint you in quantity. In fact, if you're looking for headphones with a decent bass quantity, you're mostly out of luck with open headphones until you get to hd650 and orthodynamics like the hifiman he-400 and audeze lcd-2. Closed headphones are better in terms of bass quantity.
 
For games, you're going to want a headphone with a wide soundstage. Bad news is, it's mostly open headphones that has a good soundstage.
 
consider the dt880. it has good soundstage, and is good with a lot of types of music.
 
get ultrasone headphones if you like bass a lot.
 
or you can try your luck and try to find a used hifiman he-400 somewhere. It's an open headphone that has very good sub-bass and a pretty good soundstage. (it's also the cheapest orthodynamic headphone out right now)

 

[tomb]

I think I know what you're saying, but frequency response has a great deal to do with quality.  It's just not the entire game, for sure.

 
The HD580 and HD600 have plenty of bass - just as much as an HD650 (granted, the 580 is not sold anymore). However, there are plenty of examples of open headphones with huge bass that are quite cheap - Koss PortaPro's come to mind - KSC-75's, for that matter.  Sennheiser PX-100's are another example.  I haven't tried them yet, but the HD-239's might be another.  For sure, the old HD485's had oodles of bass.  Grado PS-500's, too, have tremendous bass, but granted - that's getting up there in price.
 
Just my personal opinion, but I'd stay away from any Ultrasone - no matter the model.

 

[Blazings]

  Why don't you try out the Philips Fidelio X1?  It's not too bass heavy, but still has a sort of punch to it.  It's also quite easy to drive, so you should have no problems with that.
 
Here's the link to amazon in case you're curious

 
Thanks for the suggestion I took a look at them and they're quite stylish. I'll definitely keep them in mind!
 

  First things first. Frequency response range has nothing to do with sound quality.
 
And yes, the hd598's bass will dissapoint you in quantity. In fact, if you're looking for headphones with a decent bass quantity, you're mostly out of luck with open headphones until you get to hd650 and orthodynamics like the hifiman he-400 and audeze lcd-2. Closed headphones are better in terms of bass quantity.
 
For games, you're going to want a headphone with a wide soundstage. Bad news is, it's mostly open headphones that has a good soundstage.
 
consider the dt880. it has good soundstage, and is good with a lot of types of music.
 
get ultrasone headphones if you like bass a lot.
 
or you can try your luck and try to find a used hifiman he-400 somewhere. It's an open headphone that has very good sub-bass and a pretty good soundstage. (it's also the cheapest orthodynamic headphone out right now)

 
Yeah I was afraid the HD 598's wouldn't meet my need for bass. Why do they have to look so pretty..
I ordered a pair of DT 770 Pro's 80 Ohm today. Found them at a store with $80 discount and I can return them in 60 days if I don't like them. I'll keep your suggestions in mind if the 770's are going back.
 

  I think I know what you're saying, but frequency response has a great deal to do with quality.  It's just not the entire game, for sure.

 
The HD580 and HD600 have plenty of bass - just as much as an HD650 (granted, the 580 is not sold anymore). However, there are plenty of examples of open headphones with huge bass that are quite cheap - Koss PortaPro's come to mind - KSC-75's, for that matter.  Sennheiser PX-100's are another example.  I haven't tried them yet, but the HD-239's might be another.  For sure, the old HD485's had oodles of bass.  Grado PS-500's, too, have tremendous bass, but granted - that's getting up there in price.
 
Just my personal opinion, but I'd stay away from any Ultrasone - no matter the model.

 
Oh dear, that's the biggest problem I come across when searching for reviews online. One person thinks a product is the best in the world and another hates it. Who to believe?

The Grado PS-500 is indeed a liiiittle bit out of my budget haha