[Playstation]

Hello everyone,
 
I'm glad to be here with such a passionate and extremely knowledgeable community. I apologies in advance for creating a new thread, but I'm very particular about what I need to know.
 
I own the Sennheiser HD- 555 and the Sony STR- DH520 receiver. I will be upgrading to a different set of headphones. My 555s are getting old and I want the next-best-thing, within the mid-range price tag. The receiver is still within the 30 day return policy, so I'm curious about a dedicated amplifier.
 
I'll try to explain what I want, in my own terms.
 
HEADPHONES 
Sennheiser, Audio Technica, AKG. Top three choices.
Price cap - $300.
Comfortable, nothing extremely heavy with bass, not too laid back, preferably closed back.
 
AMP
I know nothing about amp brands.
Price cap - $200.
Doesn't have to be portable but is preferred.
Optical audio input
Headphone jack output. Any size.
 
The setup will be for gaming, mostly.
So. What upgrade options do I have?
 
THANKS!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[BotByte]

Your receiver is the younger brother to mine, it will suit you fine but speakers will be underdriven. Big woop! Speakers.....
 
Your receiver acts as a Amp and a DAC, so don't upgrade because it will suit you better then a cheapy amp and cheapy dac. Best to upgrade your cables connecting to the receiver though.
 
Closed and gaming does.... not..... compute
 
Why closed only?
 
ATH-A900 would suit you fine for games and music. I enjoy my AD500 for gaming and music and the A900 are closed and the same comfort design while giving more sound quality

 

[ZARIM]

It's hard to find better closed cans under this budget over HD555 without plenty of bass. I can only recommend some open back cans like SA5000, AD1000, AKG K702, HD650 and Pro 2900.

 

[Playstation]

OK cool. Thanks you two.
 
My theory about the closed back is, they'll sound better. The 555s are open. I thought a change would do me good. I don't mind staying with the open type. Thanks for all the recommendations. I will keep my receiver as well.

 

[Playstation]

Hey Botbyte. So closed sets don't work as well for gaming purposes?
 
 
Hey Zarim.I don't mind bass. The HD555s have a perfect level of bass. I meant anything with crazy-gaming ruining-bass. The HD598 are on sale, so I defiantly considering that pair.
 
Thanks guys!

 

[Chris_Himself]

Can't go wrong with 598's! Lots of people love 'em. You won't need an amp either so don't worry about that. The headphone stage of your receiver is more than enough to power most moderate mid tier headphones. Just order the 598's since thats the sonic signature you're expecting but better, and you'll be happy! 

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Can't go wrong with 598's! Lots of people love 'em. You won't need an amp either so don't worry about that. The headphone stage of your receiver is more than enough to power most moderate mid tier headphones. Just order the 598's since thats the sonic signature you're expecting but better, and you'll be happy! 

Yeah, but I use my HD598 for writing
 
But for gaming they would work well.
 
Open cans work better for gaming because they have a more natural and wider soundstage. Like a Grado you can't hear where the gunfire comes from, but from my AD500, I know it's from the right rear.
 
Open are also better for music
 
Call up J&R and get them shipped for $180 in the states
 
EDIT:
the HD558's are about the same. Debates on if the drivers are the same but are black, cheaper and if you open them up and remove a strip of tape, they sound about 95% the same as the HD598

 

[Playstation]

The HD598s are made with burl wood parts. That makes me question their durability.
 
The HD 555s wear out easily on the pivoting arm that connects to the phones. They crack up at the top where the adjustable band starts. Maybe my head is bigger than a Germans. -_-

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
This is for mostly GAMING. Because of that, I would not get into most of this stuff. Game audio is not the highest quality stuff, it's not lossless, with a few exceptions. So putting a ton of money into equipment just to listen to compressed game sound is not exactly going to send sparks flying.
 
My suggestion to you is to simply get a good gaming soundcard that has a good amplifer. This will give you the best positioning and control over your gaming audio experience. When you output an optical signal to a receiver and then to your headphones, what's happening is the 5.1 (or whatever the audio is originally) is being converted to stereo and then put to your headphones. You need to prevent having a receiver DAC touch your headphones if you want to game with them and care about positioning and surround effects.
 
Suggested setup:
 
Creative Titanium-HD soundcard.
BeyerDyanmic DT990 250ohm to 600ohm.
 
That's all you need for a very awesome gaming audio setup. Tweak the sound to your delight. Enjoy excellent positioning. No other equipment needed.
 
Only down side is that it's not portable since it's in your machine--but you wanted a gaming setup, so I would imagine that's fine.
 
Very best,

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

The HD598s are made with burl wood parts. That makes me question their durability.
 
The HD 555s wear out easily on the pivoting arm that connects to the phones. They crack up at the top where the adjustable band starts. Maybe my head is bigger than a Germans. -_-

What are you talking about?
 
The HD598 are not wood, it's some over-lamenated wood band that's work molded into a shape. It's not wood cut and shaped, it's wood inserted into a dye so Senn could call it wood.
 
Sennheiser makes headphones that look and feel cheap but are build like tanks. Compared to other headphones, they are built strongly because plastic is STONGER then metal. Strength is not in stiffness but how well it bends before it breaks.
 
The HD558 is what I'm telling you to get. It's the same can but with a different color, no wood gimicks and a piece of tape.

 

[Playstation]

Actually I game on console, hence my name. I want digital audio, it's an option I have and is better than the red and white av. Now I hear that hdmi is uncompressed, that is also another option. hmmm

 

[Playstation]

Exactly BotByte.
 
How flexible is the wood and what exactly is wood on the HD598s?

 

[Playstation]

Hey MalveuX.
 
The headphones I'll be getting don't have 8 speakers inside of them(like the Tritton ax pros do), only the two. I need a DAC/AMP.  Trust me. I hooked up the
 
HD555s with a YSplitter(only $14) to the TV. The receiver made a huge difference. However, the receiver has a lot of extra features that I don't need, that's why I was
 
curious about a dedicated headphone DAC/AMP. I haven't seen many headphone DAC/AMPS with optical and HDMI connections for $229(what I payed for the receiver).
 
My receiver has surround technology, so do my headphones. I'll never get true surround in two speakers and I'm ok with that.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Actually I game on console, hence my name. I want digital audio, it's an option I have and is better than the red and white av. Now I hear that hdmi is uncompressed, that is also another option. hmmm

Heya,
 
Good, now we have the right information.
 
All you need: Matrix Cube DAC
 
Has all the inputs you need. Has a built in amplifier that's good enough for most headphones. Quality of DAC is very good. Covers all bases.
 
Add the HD598's (or HD600's) and you're good to go for anything. That Cube will pretty much take care of everything for any headphone you ever move to in the future (short of maximum flag ship equipment).
 
Very best,

 

[Playstation]

Awesome MalveuX. I'll check into that. However, I was pretty much convinced my receiver was what I need to stay with. Your route might save me money though. Thanks dude.
 
Just checked out the Matrix Cude Dac. Wouldn't be cheaper, but looks interesting. Thanks again!