[Nallows]

I've been researching for a few weeks and choosing a specific headphone is really more than I ever imagined.  In fact, this whole audiophile thing has got me obsessed with reading reviews/comparing constantly like its becoming unhealthy, hehe. 
 
Anyway,  I'm looking for a headphone/headset that will be paired with an Asus Xonar STX sound card strictly and only for PC gaming on Dolby Headphone.  I'm not concerned for having an overall headphone for games and music.  I'll buy a separate headphone for must later on. 
 
From what I've gathered, my choices will be:
 
Open: DT880 / AD700 / PC360
Closed: PC350, MMX300, DT 770 Pro 80
 
Does anyone have experience with the MMX300?  If I were buying this only for positional awareness, does anyone have experience with the Asus Xonar STX which would work well with one of these headphones?  Positional cues in the DT770 Pro 80s seem to be one of the best even though they are closed....which is why I'm confused because I've always been under the impression that open is going to be better for positional awareness.

 

[ChorusofAngels]

If you're looking for a purely gaming headphone that will never play any music, I would recommend none of the above.  Get a headphone designed more specifically from companies known for having good gaming headphones like the Logitech G35 or something from Turtle Beach.  While yes, the listed headphones above may have good positional cues, I don't think they can surpass the 7.1 surround sound headphones specifically engineered solely to give good positional cues. 

 

[Willakan]

A word of warning - Many "surround sound" and "gaming" headphones are basically gimmicks - be careful what you buy (read reviews carefully ect).

 

[ChorusofAngels]

True Willakan, I must agree with that statement, overhyped overmarketed items are ubiquitous in today's market.  However, both Turtle Beach and Logitech have sterling reputations for making very good gaming headsets.  The G35 in particular has amazing positional cues; I tried my friend's once. 

 

[TMRaven]

Turtle Beach products are baaad.  On one hand, some of their entry level products are very useful and an easy means of getting better audio cues for people who rather not spend a lot of money and want a decent headset to talk to people and soundwhore with, but as a whole their products are gimmicks-- consisting or primarily bloated, weak bass that muddies up the mids and never extends that low with confidence or providing good, taught impact.  The treble is rolled off on their products too, and as a whole the sound is not as clear as it could be-- not to mention they usually consist of their own poorly implemented amping that causes for lots of static noise and pads that are not very comfortable.  A lot of those are primarily geared towards console gaming too, and they have their own bundled dolby surround sound processors to give that virtual surround sound for gaming.  The asus cards already have that on their own I think.
 
I think the whole open vs closed depends on your needs.  If you're in a noisy environment with noisy computer, or are thinking about ever going to lan tournaments, then closed is probably the way to go. If your gaming isn't the most competitive and you want more bass for immersion, then closed is also the way to go.  Other than that, often times closed cans can't rival the clarity and crispness that open cans provide.  A lot of open cans are very comfortable as well, because your ears can breathe much easier. 
 
I saw akatrent's review of the MX300 and he praised it highly, so I think that would be a great option. DT880, MX300, PC360, DT770, AD700/900 all seem like great options to me.  You might throw in HD598 in as well.
 
 

 

[Nallows]

Quote:

If you're looking for a purely gaming headphone that will never play any music, I would recommend none of the above.  Get a headphone designed more specifically from companies known for having good gaming headphones like the Logitech G35 or something from Turtle Beach.  While yes, the listed headphones above may have good positional cues, I don't think they can surpass the 7.1 surround sound headphones specifically engineered solely to give good positional cues. 
 
 

I'm using Dolby Headphone through the asus xonar stx card which is superior in my opinion.  The surround sound in certain gaming headsets has much less quality as they are using multiple cheap drivers.  So I'm avoiding them for now. To be fair, the g35 does use dolby headphone.  I only listed the MMX 300 since that comes from Beyerdynamic and I believe is just DT 770 pro 80.   As for the PC350, I've read exceptionally good reviews.

 

[Doppelganger]

I've read from a lot of posts from different sites that K70x are one of the best for gaming.

 

[Mdraluck23]

AD700's. The tried and true recommendation. Get one and never look back. They don't need amping to get all the detail like other cans. That bass from explosions won't overshadow the echo of gunfire, so you'll get directional cues even in insane situations (Read: INCOMING PREDATOR MISSILE). Avoid gaming headsets under the Flagship models. You'll get more bang for your buck with one legitimate driver than five crappy ones. 
 
Also, more on topic: Closed for busy environments, but a little less performance directionally. Open for being alone, but awesome imaging.

 

[koc]

since no one mention Denon , they are awesome for gaming , i tried HD650 and HD595 , then i bought D-7000 ,  in fact D-7000 its like a Surround sound system , cant be more happy .

 

[krameriffic]

Quote:

since no one mention Denon , they are awesome for gaming , i tried HD650 and HD595 , then i bought D-7000 ,  in fact D-7000 its like a Surround sound system , cant be more happy .

The D7000 is a $1000 pair of headphones.

 

[fabio-fi]

 
Quote:

I've read from a lot of posts from different sites that K70x are one of the best for gaming.

They have a nice soundstage, yes. But you need to have a proper source for them. 

 

[holylucifer]

The dt 880 sounds more open and you can pinpoint easy where the sound is coming from.

 

[holylucifer]

A astro mixamp can drive them okay to a loud enough volume even on max regarding dt 880.

 

[Inquartata]

MLE's thread here might be of some help to you, especially the first post. The MixAmp uses DH like you're using with your sound card, so checking out his reviews of a bunch of headphones regarding their performance with DH might be what you need. Hope it helps! 

 

[LegendaryLvl1]

another + 1 for the ATH-AD700. Currently using it. Don't really want to justify the purchase (there are a plentiful amount of reviews on the site), but I'm willing to say that it's the best set of cans under the $100 mark (in the US).