[Bazooka]

Hi.
I am looking to buy a pair of headphones for Gaming purposes Only.Though if they provide Better Music Quality as well,thats a real plus,but i think anything in this Price range should be good in both departments as well.no?

Anyway,i was thinking of buying the Senns HD-580's.What do u guys think?
Btw previously i had HD-570's and although they were good,but in Games........umm.....dunno why but i think they were lacking somethin

So plz tell me Any cool Gaming Headphones in this price Range,may that be Senns,or Koss or Grado whatever......

I am a Headphone Newbie btw

.

Thanks a lot in Advance.

 

[nierika]

I'm going to guess you'll be using them directly out of your sound card? You would definitely need an amplifier for the HD 580s. If you're indeed unamped:

*the soon-to-be-released Sennheiser HD 515s or 555s
*Ultrasone HFI-500 DJ1/HFI-650 Trackmaster/HFI-700 DVD
*Sony CD780s (or the 1700s which are discontinued and you'd have to find them used)
*Audio-Technica A500s (or this A900s which are $25 over your budget

)

 

[Bazooka]

Oh yeah sorry,I forgot to mention about that.yes i have an Audigy 1 Sound Card.

Are u really sure i would be needing an AMP?

Alright,sure no problem.But plz tell me which AMP should i buy for the HD-580's?Hey will the AMP that u r going to recommend me,let me connect it to my Regular 2 Desktop Speakers as well

?

If so thats really cool

Thanks.

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bazooka Oh yeah sorry,I forgot to mention about that.yes i have an Audigy 1 Sound Card. Are u really sure i would be needing an AMP?

The 580s will not sound even close to their best directly out of your Audigy card.

Quote:

Alright,sure no problem.But plz tell me which AMP should i buy for the HD-580's?Hey will the AMP that u r going to recommend me,let me connect it to my Regular 2 Desktop Speakers as well ? If so thats really cool Thanks.

A pair of 580s plus an AMP (headphones only, no speakers) is going to put you WELL over $170. I would check out the Amplification forum for amps in the $150+ class such as an Airhead or PIMETA.

 

[mxs1030]

Actually a used 580 ( $100-$120 ) + A CHA 47 ( $50-80?) might fit your bill.

 

[Jbroad572]

I'd recommend the A900's for gaming. More upfront and can be used unamped and sound great.

 

[Distroyed]

Senn280 Pro's ($60-90) or Beyer dt250-80's ($150-200). You can get by without an amp with both and both sound better than most headphones when it comes to positional audio (though I only know from experience from the former).

You'd do best if you have the livedrive with your audigy, since it has a headphone out that I would guess provides around 50-75ohms (interestingly I cant find any detail as to the headphone output of the livedrive for any of creative's soundcards...).

 

[tortie]

How about the 590s? I really like them for gaming. But if you could cough up extra dough for a used amp, the 580 would be a better all around performer.

 

[marios_mar]

Quote:

Need to buy Gaming Headphones in 170$'s Range

Cant wait to see what budget youll set when you decide to get a pair of cans for music!

 

[Jodiuh]

Bazooka,

If it's mainly for gaming, grab a closed pair. The 580's were incredibly scratchy and bright out of my audigy imo, so I would definitely recommend a little amp if you grab those. I went for the 580's too and they eventually moved their way to the recliner for music loving. Not that they weren't good for gaming, they were great. It's just that the music...oh the sweet smoothness they added to my collection. Now I'm using my 770's and I have to say they rock for gaming. They present a better spatial awareness when I'm frantically running away from a drunk on a Warthog or while sniping. They also have the same velour or velvety ear muffs that don't get hot, sticky, or sweaty like pleather does. You may also consider the Sony V6 + Beyerdynamic 250 velour ear muff replacements for <$100.

Good luck!!

p.s. I made a thread for gaming phones, but due to my current schedule (moving, new job, etc.), am unable to finish it at this time. You'll find mainly pictures, but a little info is provided about an amp here.

Jod

 

[SumB]

The DT770's won't be beat by anything provided you can give them decent amplicication. Just fantastic all-around gaming cans, with a visceral bass that reaches the very bottom.

 

[CamelBackCinema]

Most important thing to gaming is not quality of sound but accuracy of the soundstage!

First person shooters and flight simulators are pretty disadvantageous to play without knowing where everyone is without seeing them.

I'd really try the Senn 580s and 590s first... they are excellent!

 

[luukas]

Quote:

Originally posted by SumB The DT770's won't be beat by anything provided you can give them decent amplicication. Just fantastic all-around gaming cans, with a visceral bass that reaches the very bottom.

The 770 Pro or "vanilla"? Don't these cans require an amp to sound what they are worth? How does the 770 compare to the 880?

 

[Rempert]

I think we should split evals for gaming headphones into two aspects: enjoyment and competitiveness. Different gamers will have very different priorities between these two. Enjoyment would be comfort, avoiding ear fatigue and shrillness, providing realistic sound details and great atmosphere. Competitiveness would be accurate positioning and clarity of all relevent details (being able to hear footsteps or distinguish the type of gun that is firing, for example). Isolation can be relevant to both.

I find my A900s to be very enjoyable cans for gaming. They are comfortable, do not fatigue as much as Sennheiser 497s did for me, and make most of my games sound great. I'm not yet prepared to rate them in terms of competitiveness, although they are clearly better than speakers for hearing important details. I have a hard enough time hitting someone in a shooter when they are right in front of me, so I find it somewhat laughable that I would be able to wheel my mouse around a lay out a perfect shot based on sound positioning alone. But the approximate idea is definately there.

 

[Distroyed]

Im actually going to say, contrary to logical speculation, that a big soundstage is actually going to hurt your gameplay. Why? I was testing out my hd650's with my audigy2 in the UT2k4 demo - I usually use my 280pro's. With the much larger soundstage, I barely heard the scorpion with its extended blades coming at me from behind until the last second; I barely dodged it. You really want a pair of in-your-face cans for gaming because you need to hear that distant sound asap, and it's too stressful on your ears for a more realistic headphone that's got a big soundstage like the 580/600/650. I still recommend the hd280pro or dt250-80
That's my 2 cents worth.