[spankypwnz]

I have been reading the forums here the past couple of days, looking over all the gaming headphone threads. And it seems that this site definetly has some knowledgable people here. I am no audiophile like some of you, but I do enjoy good sounding cans. It looks like the 4 most recommended gaming cans are:

ATH-A900
DT 770/80
HD 555
HD 595

So I narrowed the list above down to the Sennheiser HD 555 & HD 595. Reasons are mainly I want an open can, and I won't be purchasing an amp either. I need an open can because I go to LAN tournaments, and I need to hear my teammates around me. I can't use an amp at the tournaments since I guess someone smart enough could install hacks or whatever in them. So that knocks off the ATH-A900 and DT 770/80. Now my home PC has an Audigy 2 ZS, that I will be plugging the headphones into. So here are some last questions before I hit the buy button.

1) From the pictures on Sennheiser.com, it looks like the HD 555 headband would be more comfortable with the velour lining/padding than the HD 595, how do these 2 compare in the comfort category, same? I could be wearing them for 8 hours at a time, so long term comfort means alot.

2) When I go to tournaments, most of the time they don't have high end sound cards, and they use the onboard sound. They are usually new motherboards atleast, so the onboard might not be so bad. How will the HD 555 & 595 sound coming from onboard sound?

3) Will there be that much of a difference in sound between the 2 cans, since they are being powered by an Audigy 2 ZS/onboard sound and not a headphone amp?

4) Sound positioning is huge, are both these cans the same in terms of positioning enemies in game?

5) I briefly read about angled drivers, do both the HD 555 & 595 have angled drivers?

Thank you for your time!

Oh, and I don't have a wallet, and this is going to be my only "high-fi" purchase.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900 A900


Why so many, you ask? Because I swear I've posted the recommendation at least that many times in any of the literally hundreds of threads you can find with a simple search for "A900 gaming."

However, the HD555 would be absolutely fine for games, since you need an open can. May I ask why you're going for open over closed, though? In games, there's a real advantage to outside noise blocking, and it would be easy to set up a Skype/Teamspeak/Ventrillo server so your mates could chat amongst yourselves. Your call, though.

 

[spankypwnz]

I need open because we won't be using Teamspeak, Ventrilo, Skype at the tournaments. I do use Ventrilo at home though. I forgot to mention I borrowed the A900 from a neighbor, and after about a 6 hour gaming session, I had 2 dumb spots on the top of my head from the wing design

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spankypwnz I need open because we won't be using Teamspeak, Ventrilo, Skype at the tournaments,

Well, in that case, the HD555 is your best bet for value. The HD595 would be a better choice if your goal was to listen to music, but for gaming, the HD555 are a fine headphone. Frankly, they don't perform badly by any stretch of the imagination in music, either, but are simply outclassed by their more expensive big brother and as such don't enter into popular consideration as much. The HD555 is a good headphone. You'll like it.

 

[spankypwnz]

Well I do listen to mp3's on my computer from time to time. So maybe go with the HD 595 then? Also if anyone who has tried both the HD 555 & 595 could answer my 5 questions pls.

Thanks for the quick replys.