[Tugainuk]

Hello new here, looking to upgrade my sound system on my pc , mainly gaming and some music.
 
I currently own a Soundblaster Z and i use a pair of Turtlebeach PX5's from my old 360, not bad sound but im no expert, plus i neva listened to a decent pair of headsets to know any different.
 
Im happy with my soundcard since its still highly regarded in many audiophile community's from what ive read so far.
I am lookin to buy a new headset cant really spend more then £200 (yeah in the uk  not really sure about closed ear and opened ear headsets, my background noise is around medium level depends really on whos screaming around the house.
Also been trying to understand how i can amp headsets as by what i understand my sound blaster can amp to 600oHm but i dnt even know if i need a separate device for that.
i also what to be able to use my sound cards ability for surround sound since i play shooters and positioning is crucial.
 
Any help would be really appreciated since i'm a noob at this.

 

[pbui44]

Search for "MadLustEnvy Gaming Guide".

 

[jodgey4]

In attempting to guide to towards the best cans for you... I would ask you to answer these questions::
 
Do you plan on using these in a portable situation, or mostly at desktop?
Do you mind having some sound leak in and out?
How important is a full bass sound to you?
What music will these be used for?

 

[Tugainuk]

they will not be leaving the desk, i doubt it very much
im not to bothered about what other people hear in my house from my headset
bass is important to me, i want to be able to EQ some bass without the sound distorting ( within reasonable levels of course) luv my bass
music i listen to everything really i have rock - pop - dance - dubstep - classical ... it goes on 
 
i was lookin at the seinheiser pc355se , and the seinheiser hd598 + ath m50 + the ath ag1 and adg1
 
update: just been to the mad lust envy guid and its amazing looking at the 

K712 Pro they seem to be beast , neva had open cans though but still​

 

[Tugainuk]

another silly question, 

K712 Pro need amping from what i read in the review, he uses a desktop amp which i dnt have and cnt really afford to get aswell tbh , now woould my 600Ohm on mu soundblaster z be able to do a good job of it ? and how woth the virtual surround be on them frm my sound card too ? ​

 

ty again in advance for all the help ​

 

[jodgey4]

That Z is a pretty good card, both for power and for DSP. I have the Q701's, which are basically the same as the K712's, except with different pads. In my experience, they're not as hard to drive as many claim, and I think your card would do a good enough job. To save money, you could get the Q's and do a simple, reversible bass mod to get more low bass quantity. They respond pretty well to EQ, but here's why that might be troublesome. To do EQ properly, you should reduce what you don't want, instead of adding what you do. This is because you can't add information that isn't there, so going up makes things totally bloated and grainy. However, since overall volume has been decreased, you need more power from your card to get the same volume. Depending on how much bass you want, you might need an amp with the AKG's.

Also look into the Phillips X1 and Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro. I'd choose an open can over closed, because it's better for gaming. That means avoid the M50's. Also, I don't think the HD598's will have enough deep bass for you.

 

[Tugainuk]

funny enough i was looking in to the phillips x1 and also the beyer dynamics too, but with the beyrs theres is alot of versions which got me really confused tbh although they seem exactly what i want, the akgs are very good but the £300 is a bit steep atm so trying to find something jst as good or close for less so those definatly seem good, would like some insight on the beyrs dt 990 to find exactly which version you would recomend , and ill keep lookin into the philips too, ive also looked at the akg 612 pro they seem good and in budget

 

[cel4145]

Great sounding headphones, but AKG K612 Pros are even more difficult to drive than Q701s. Could be you would be satisfied with the volume you get from them with your card, or maybe not.

However, if bass is so important to you that you want to EQ the bass in, I think you should probably consider the DT990 Pro 250s which will have some bass emphasis.

 

[Tugainuk]

ty for the recomendation, ive noticed the 612 pro have 120ohm vs 250 of the DT990 pro's, im a noob but dosent that mean the the latter is harder to drive ? still learning the things

 

[appsmarsterx]

if you need more bass, I think Fidelio X1 would probably suit you more.

 

[jodgey4]

Impedance is usually a good guideline for how hard or easy something is to drive, but you also have to look at sensitivity. The 250 ohm Pro's can actually be easier to drive than the lower ohm models because of this.

I'll attach a thread I wrote here soon with reviews on some cans in question.

 

[jodgey4]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/726848/headphone-palooza-shoot-out-8-cans-reviewed-here

Despite the low rank of the X1's... I know that most of my gripe is just an issue of personal taste. I would absolutely recommend them as a great open choice with bass and good gaming ability. I hope to try the DT-990's one day.

 

[Tugainuk]

well i wanted to say ty vm for you recomendations ive purchased the sennheisers 598, based on the soundstage and also them being great for gaming they are lower on bass but alot better then what i currently have, if the bass proves to be to underwhelming for me ill send them back and try a pair of DT's, what put me off the DT's was theyr durability on the cable damaging quite easily too many reports of that happening ive read ( have been here playing eve and looking into heasets for 8 hrs) if im going to dish money out like this i want something that lasts, but i finally took the plunge into audiophilia will report soon when i get em. again ty very much for support

 

[jodgey4]

Sure thing, I'm glad to help!

 

[Tugainuk]

so i got my hd598 they sound really good, but my fear came true... the BASS is jst not enough for me ... i got the surround sound workin and every thing but as much as im playing with the EQ i cnt get that punchy bass outta of em which i kinda knew might happen i was just hoping i wouldnt be so demanding when it came to bigger booms  
 
started looking at other option even whith closed cups which i understand tend to have alot better bass
 
Any recomendations for closed cups with punchy bass but not a bad sound stage? ty