[pathawes]

Hi all,
 
I currently use a pair of AT AD700s for PC gaming. They are fantastic and tick all the boxes except as they are open, background noise can be very intrusive and mask important cues during a game.
 
I'm very interested in purchasing a pair of headphones with active noise cancelling and am currently looking at the two below:
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-AUD-ATH-ANC7B-Headphones-Wired/dp/B002HWJT1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351772072&sr=8-1
 
http://www.asus.com/Peripherals_Accessories/HeadphonesHeadset/Vulcan_ANC/
 
I wonder if any of you own these and can provide an opinion please? Or if you know of any better models? I've heard before that gaming headsets tend to steer towards a flashy, attractive design rather than focusing on high quality sound which is why I'm unsure about the Asus pair. My main aim is to avoid excessive amounts of bass and to focus more on a good quality high-end as this significantly improves on in-game cues.
 
I'm not bothered about the addition of a microphone.
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[KCxSmacker]

What kind of background noise are we talking about that you need active? Here on head-fi most avoid the active as it kills the quality of sound. You can get some GREAT isolation with passive. enough more most people unless you are on a plane or something ^_^. Also what is your source (amp/dac/soundcard). Last what is your budget ?

 

[pathawes]

Hi,
 
Thanks a lot for the reply.
 
Most of the time it'd just be normal speech noise as well as noise from a TV that is right next to my PC. However, I do attend LAN events which can be very noisy and result in me turning my headset up to uncomfortably loud levels. I was keen to investigate these further as a friend of mine had the ASUS headphones I mentioned above and they had an incredible affect on background noise at LAN. You are right though, the quality of sound was not the same as my AD700s.
 
My source is an Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card.
 
My budget would be roughly <£150.

 

[KCxSmacker]

hmmmmm. Sorry for the slow response I have been trying to think of a good headphone that has the soundstage a gamer would want in a closed headphone other then the dt770s. I have looked around a the ath-a900x's look nice : http://www.head-fi.org/t/608889/review-audio-technica-ath-a900x there is a review. These are all passive. I think for mostly everything but lan both cans would be good. Though they should be MUCH better then the wide open 700s. I cant suggest active noise isolation as I cant stand it. I tried the Bose QC15 and they just sound really bad. Granted its the best isolation I have ever heard but they did not even come close the the dt770s. The ath-a900x is said by a few reviews I have seen to sound even better then the 770s. For the best isolation I think the k550s would be nice but those are out of budget.
 
hope I helped. I have been up for like 20 hours ^_^

 

[pathawes]

Thanks a lot for the reply. I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I like the look of both, you've certainly given me food for thought! If only I could trial them out somehow. My only concern would be for them to give too much bass. Don't get me wrong, I love plenty of bass  in music but need to avoid it whilst gaming.
 
Thank you

 

[KCxSmacker]

Quote:

Thanks a lot for the reply. I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I like the look of both, you've certainly given me food for thought! If only I could trial them out somehow. My only concern would be for them to give too much bass. Don't get me wrong, I love plenty of bass  in music but need to avoid it whilst gaming.
 
Thank you

Well depending on where you order from, I think you can always send them back if you did not like them/ match your expectations. I agree about the bass issue with gaming, but I also like a bit of warmth when gaming as it makes the whole experience more enjoyable. 
 
for something very neutral the Brainwav hm5 is a really neutral headphone and gives an average amount if isolation that you would get from many closed headphones. 
 
cheers

 

[pathawes]

Using the link below (by clicking on the graph) I was able to compare the dt770, A900 and ANC7b frequency responses:
 
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/beyerdynamic-dt-770---600-ohm.php
 
It looks as though the dt700 packs a punch at the high-frequencies which I like the look of. The dt770 apparently gives approx 18dBA noise isolation, however I came across the dt770 M which gives approx 35dBA isolation! This sounds huge and I was wondering if this would impact on the sound quality? Beyerdynamic mention this can give a less punchy bass response (not too bothered) but does not mention how it impacts on the high frequencies. I wonder if you had any thoughts?
 
Another thing to mention is the need for an AMP? Do you think this is required for gaming or would I get away with using my soundcard?
 
Thanks!! 

 

[Drooshz]

FYI - you can't cancel noise like speech from a TV. Active noise cancellation only works well when trying to cancel out a consistent ongoing sound wave like that of a jet engine. There is a good thread out there on best headphones for 3d sound for gaming. I went with the Senn 598s which you wouldn't want since they are open. I suggest looking for the thread and picking a good pair of closed over the ear headphones with a very accurate 3d soundstage.

 

[musiclife]

Quote:

FYI - you can't cancel noise like speech from a TV. Active noise cancellation only works well when trying to cancel out a consistent ongoing sound wave like that of a jet engine. There is a good thread out there on best headphones for 3d sound for gaming. I went with the Senn 598s which you wouldn't want since they are open. I suggest looking for the thread and picking a good pair of closed over the ear headphones with a very accurate 3d soundstage.

Correct me if im wrong, but active noise cancellation will always mean a drop in sound reproduction quality from the input. Maybe for gaming it will be less noticeable, but I would be looking for passive noise reduction instead...