[chencoh]

Hi everyone,
I decided to finally buy some headphone and I started to do some research (I'm quite new to this audio world) and I got to the point where I need some help.
the main purpose for the headphones will be gaming, although I will probably be using them for music from time to time (rock & metal).
I understand the AD700 has a huge soundstage and will be amazing for gaming (the lack of bass is a bit disturbing but as I said I'll be listening to music mostlly via speakers).
Only problem is the AD700 isn't marketed in my country (israel) so with shipping costs it will be around 170$.
is it really worth it? or maybe there are other even better options for that price range?
 
tnx for your help.

 

[GREQ]

Beyer DT990 Pro  (really needs amping to perform at it's best)
AKG K240           (amping not required, but preferable)
 
Both also have very large soundstages in that price category. 
I believe the Beyer is the bassiest, but I would still consider them all to be JUST on the bass light side of neutral. 
 
The Beyer should be better for rock and metal though, they can sound quite aggressive which is good for guitars. 
AT and AKG are a bit more mellow - not in a bad way. Just different. 

 

[chencoh]

hmm
never thought about the DT990 but with shipping it'll be quite above my budget.
moreover, like I said music will be much less significant usage wise (but obviously it'll be great squeezing it within the budget).
that being said, any other suggestions?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

hmm
never thought about the DT990 but with shipping it'll be quite above my budget.
moreover, like I said music will be much less significant usage wise (but obviously it'll be great squeezing it within the budget).
that being said, any other suggestions?

What exactly will you be plugging the headphones into.
The Takstar Hi2050 (Technical Pro HPT-990) are a good value for the sound quality.
 
The ATH-AD700 seem to be a great choice for FPS gaming, but their light bass makes them less desirable for movies and music.

 

[chencoh]

Quote:

What exactly will you be plugging the headphones into.
The Takstar Hi2050 (Technical Pro HPT-990) are a good value for the sound quality.
 
The ATH-AD700 seem to be a great choice for FPS gaming, but there light bass makes them less desirable for movies and music.

well, at the moment? nothing special, just the onboard card.
I am planning to buy something decent in the near future, though (BTW suggestions are very much welcomed).

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

well, at the moment? nothing special, just the on-board card.
I am planning to buy something decent in the near future, though (BTW suggestions are very much welcomed).

Asus Xonar DG (PCI) sound card, $27.49 and there is a $10 mail in rebate this month.
So for around $68-$85 total you would have fairly decent sound quality.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

What exactly will you be plugging the headphones into.
The Takstar Hi2050 (Technical Pro HPT-990) are a good value for the sound quality.
 
The ATH-AD700 seem to be a great choice for FPS gaming, but their light bass makes them less desirable for movies and music.

Hmm you could shove an AD700 through a Fiio E11, that should give it some serious bass 

 

[cel4145]

What open headphones are available to you in Israel? Open headphones give a bigger soundstage, which is what people want in gaming.

Hmm you could shove an AD700 through a Fiio E11, that should give it some serious bass 

Might give them serious distorted bass. Just because you might can boost the low end does not mean that it will sound good.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hmm you could shove an AD700 through a Fiio E11, that should give it some serious bass 

I use to try to increase the bass on my ATH-AD700s, just ended up making what little bass there was sound worse.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

What open headphones are available to you in Israel? Open headphones give a bigger soundstage, which is what people want in gaming.
Might give them serious distorted bass. Just because you might can boost the low end does not mean that it will sound good.

 
Quote:

I use to try to increase the bass on my ATH-AD700s, just ended up making what little bass there was sound worse.

Sheesh, well that's good to know... I honestly don't use a bass boost any bigger than 3 my self so I really have no idea how bad it can make things... thanks for the input 

 

[cel4145]

Sheesh, well that's good to know... I honestly don't use a bass boost any bigger than 3 my self so I really have no idea how bad it can make things... thanks for the input 

It will depend on the headphones and whether or not the driver was designed to produce low bass output.

I know with speaker and subwoofer design, harmonic distortion can jump dramatically near the driver's limits for the low bass output at or around its tuning point (generally where the speaker is starting to roll off) and get worse the further down you go. See this harmonic distortion plot of the Power Sound Audio XV-15 subwoofer:


(taken from data-bass.com)

At a 100 db sweep, looks good. 105db, distortion is starting to rise. Then by 110db, it's hitting pretty high distortion in its lowest frequencies--and it's an extremely good, powerful subwoofer meant to get low. To protect it, there's a limiter built into the amp which prevents it from going any louder below 20hz.

Since most headphones have tiny dynamic speaker-like drivers, I would imagine the same might be true. So trying to push a headphone to produce bass well below it's tuning point where it's already say -10 db down to produce an emphasized bass response could easily push it to its limits even though the driver might be below its max with the other frequencies, resulting in very heavy distortion of the bass. And it could possibly even damage the driver if pushed hard enough since there's no limiter to keep it from over driving.

BTW. This is also why I'm impressed by the DT880 and DT990s bass output. It's probably hard to get an open headphone driver to produce such good low bass and still have very excellent mids and highs, and especially when you can buy the DT990 for under $200.

 

[Makiah S]

It will depend on the headphones and whether or not the driver was designed to produce low bass output.

I know with speaker and subwoofer design, harmonic distortion can jump dramatically near the driver's limits for the low bass output at or around its tuning point (generally where the speaker is starting to roll off) and get worse the further down you go. See this harmonic distortion plot of the Power Sound Audio XV-15 subwoofer:


(taken from data-bass.com)

At a 100 db sweep, looks good. 105db, distortion is starting to rise. Then by 110db, it's hitting pretty high distortion in its lowest frequencies--and it's an extremely good, powerful subwoofer meant to get low. To protect it, there's a limiter built into the amp which prevents it from going any louder below 20hz.

Since most headphones have tiny dynamic speaker-like drivers, I would imagine the same might be true. So trying to push a headphone to produce bass well below it's tuning point where it's already say -10 db down to produce an emphasized bass response could easily push it to its limits even though the driver might be below its max with the other frequencies, resulting in very heavy distortion of the bass. And it could possibly even damage the driver if pushed hard enough since there's no limiter to keep it from over driving.

BTW. This is also why I'm impressed by the DT880 and DT990s bass output. It's probably hard to get an open headphone driver to produce such good low bass and still have very excellent mids and highs, and especially when you can buy the DT990 for under $200.

Exactly, the Dt 990 is a most epic headphone!