[itflies]

Hey, guys. I apologize for my first post being an inquiry, but I've been driving myself crazy over this for quite some time now, and felt it was time to turn it over to you experts. I have a new high-end laptop on the way next week with an Audigy 2 ZS, and I'm looking for a very good pair of headphones. I had almost decided on the Medusa, but after reading some of the threads here, it seems like there are better ways to go.

I need recommendations on the best set for gaming (high quality surround sound for best positioning and spatialization), DVDs (high quality surround sound for best positioning and spatialization), and music (highest quality possible). These headphones will basically be the only way I'll ever be listening to sound from my notebook, so it's important that I get the best. Portability is not an issue. I would prefer a set with a microphone attached, but if none of your recommendations include one, what could I use in addition to the set for high quality voice communications/speech recognition? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[UezeU]

Good call on the Medusa 5.1. I had them and they are disappointing. After reading the past couple of days, I think I am going for the AT-a500s. Of course, any of you experienced guys chime in.

 

[7even]

I watched a few movies with A500s, and the sound is simply awesome. It felt like I was sitting in the middle of a movie theater. Haven't tried it with the "surround sound," but otherwise it was quite awesome. I haven't done much gaming with them but from what I tried the positioning was very nice and I could hear new ambient sounds I never noticed before. It was amazing

Music is also awesome on them... can't really describe it in technical terms but if you like well-balanced sound, these work very well imo.

 

[skyline889]

No need to aoplogise, at least it's not another Bose thread

. Since portability is not an issue I would also assume that isolation isn't an issue as well? If it isn't my favorite in this category is the Senn HD555s, watching a DVD with these on is incredible, you get incredible detail without it detracting from the actual movie watching, and powerful bass as well. If you are looking for something that performs almost as well but at a much lower price the HD515 is a good choice as well, I still have mine even though I have upgraded to higher end headphones because they are just so good for DVD watching, they were also my first real set of headphones.

 

[UezeU]

The 555s might be a good fit. The only reason I am leaning towards the a500 is because I need closed fones.

 

[EvilDwarf]

The HD 555/595 are a great choice for gaming. The make even my DT 880 sound like sh** in games.

 

[)v(ajin_R_]

hi

you didnt really specify a price, so im going to say a900's are best for gaming and movies and also music...(good allrounder)...

unfortunately i dont think there are many high end phones with microphones on them, so you would probably have to buy them seperately...

as for speech recognition through microphone, perhaps "dragon naturally speaking" is a software you would be interested in?

 

[itflies]

Thank you all for your replies. To be a little more specific, or to phrase things a bit differently for fear of having used the incorrect terminology, I need headphones that will give me a truly immersive experience in movies and games. I want to be able to close my eyes and feel as if bombs are falling all around me and hear someone sneaking up on me from a 7 o'clock position (if that's what's actually happening in the movie/game, of course!

). I want it to sound as if I'm actually there, so that when I hear the sound, it doesn't sound like it's coming from a speaker on my ear, but as if it's actually located the exact distance from me as it is in the movie or game. As for positioning, I want to be able to pinpoint the exact direction a sound is coming from, be it the separate sounds and intensities from those bombs falling all around me, or that guy sneaking up on me at 7 o'clock. So I guess you could say that when I tell you I'm looking for the best surround/positioning/spatialization, I'm looking for the most realistic and true immersion possible.

(I don't know much about Dolby headphones or other sets that can take advantage of and decode signals from optical outputs, but my Audigy 2 ZS has that output, so I can make use of it if it's going to get me the best experience. I also don't know much about the EAX and CMSS settings or how they work, but the ZS apparently supports those functions, in case they will help.)

Try this, if you will: Think about the different headphones that do the above job (true immersion) very, very well. Out of that list, keep only those with the best sound quality. From there, since I love music and will be listening to lots of it (everything from classical/orchestra to pop/hip-hop), keep only those that are going to be very good for music. Of course, bass is important for all the above utilizations. Again, portability is not an issue (I'm willing to lug anything around to get the best), and, for the sake of discovering "the best," let's assume that price is also not an issue. It may be helpful, however, to include headphones from a couple of different price brackets. So, what's left on your list after all of that?

Again, I apologize for my questions. Believe me, I wish I could figure all of this out on my own. Thank you again for your help, and I look forward to reading your replies.

 

[EvilDwarf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itflies Thank you all for your replies. To be a little more specific, or to phrase things a bit differently for fear of having used the incorrect terminology, I need headphones that will give me a truly immersive experience in movies and games. I want to be able to close my eyes and feel as if bombs are falling all around me and hear someone sneaking up on me from a 7 o'clock position (if that's what's actually happening in the movie/game, of course! ). I want it to sound as if I'm actually there, so that when I hear the sound, it doesn't sound like it's coming from a speaker on my ear, but as if it's actually located the exact distance from me as it is in the movie or game. As for positioning, I want to be able to pinpoint the exact direction a sound is coming from, be it the separate sounds and intensities from those bombs falling all around me, or that guy sneaking up on me at 7 o'clock. So I guess you could say that when I tell you I'm looking for the best surround/positioning/spatialization, I'm looking for the most realistic and true immersion possible. (I don't know much about Dolby headphones or other sets that can take advantage of and decode signals from optical outputs, but my Audigy 2 ZS has that output, so I can make use of it if it's going to get me the best experience. I also don't know much about the EAX and CMSS settings or how they work, but the ZS apparently supports those functions, in case they will help.) Try this, if you will: Think about the different headphones that do the above job (true immersion) very, very well. Out of that list, keep only those with the best sound quality. From there, since I love music and will be listening to lots of it (everything from classical/orchestra to pop/hip-hop), keep only those that are going to be very good for music. Of course, bass is important for all the above utilizations. Again, portability is not an issue (I'm willing to lug anything around to get the best), and, for the sake of discovering "the best," let's assume that price is also not an issue. It may be helpful, however, to include headphones from a couple of different price brackets. So, what's left on your list after all of that? Again, I apologize for my questions. Believe me, I wish I could figure all of this out on my own. Thank you again for your help, and I look forward to reading your replies.

I don't know what you expect more of us. Most of the commonly recommended gaming cans have been listed for you in this thread. If you want max musical quality and imaging get some Sennheiser Orpheus if you can shell out $10.000.

BTW some people also like their AKG K1000 for gaming, but as you might know, they are also costly as hell.

 

[Oistrakh]

K-1000

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itflies Thank you all for your replies. To be a little more specific, or to phrase things a bit differently for fear of having used the incorrect terminology, I need headphones that will give me a truly immersive experience in movies and games. I want to be able to close my eyes and feel as if bombs are falling all around me and hear someone sneaking up on me from a 7 o'clock position (if that's what's actually happening in the movie/game, of course! ). I want it to sound as if I'm actually there, so that when I hear the sound, it doesn't sound like it's coming from a speaker on my ear, but as if it's actually located the exact distance from me as it is in the movie or game. As for positioning, I want to be able to pinpoint the exact direction a sound is coming from, be it the separate sounds and intensities from those bombs falling all around me, or that guy sneaking up on me at 7 o'clock. So I guess you could say that when I tell you I'm looking for the best surround/positioning/spatialization, I'm looking for the most realistic and true immersion possible. (I don't know much about Dolby headphones or other sets that can take advantage of and decode signals from optical outputs, but my Audigy 2 ZS has that output, so I can make use of it if it's going to get me the best experience. I also don't know much about the EAX and CMSS settings or how they work, but the ZS apparently supports those functions, in case they will help.) Try this, if you will: Think about the different headphones that do the above job (true immersion) very, very well. Out of that list, keep only those with the best sound quality. From there, since I love music and will be listening to lots of it (everything from classical/orchestra to pop/hip-hop), keep only those that are going to be very good for music. Of course, bass is important for all the above utilizations. Again, portability is not an issue (I'm willing to lug anything around to get the best), and, for the sake of discovering "the best," let's assume that price is also not an issue. It may be helpful, however, to include headphones from a couple of different price brackets. So, what's left on your list after all of that? Again, I apologize for my questions. Believe me, I wish I could figure all of this out on my own. Thank you again for your help, and I look forward to reading your replies.

Go for A500 OR if you can afford then A900LTD (Sorry for your wallet).

When I bought A500, my impression was

and now after burning my A900LTD morethen 75 hrs, It becomes unspeakable. And still left 125 hrs of burning. As per my experience, it lefts behind every music detail and feelings I heard before.

All the A*00 series are handling surround sound very well. And obviously A900LTD gave back seats to all of its younger brothers.

Senn.... may be a good choice for you also, But I have no experience with any 5** or 6** series. Still noone informed about its capability of handling surround sound ???

For closed cans, you'll not be dissapoint going with A900LTD, Don't worry and GOOD LUCK.

 

[luckybaer]

What?? Hasn't anyone recommended Beyerdynamics DT 770/80 Pro?

I throw down the gauntlet!!!

I use my 770s for gaming (BF2), watching movies on my PC, listening to music on my PC, and when I'm feeling particularly funky and groovy, I plug 'em in my Nano.

Awesome cans for what I use 'em for, and more than worthy of consideration. When I was looking around for advice here, it came down to the Audio Technica A900s and the DT 770s. I bought the DT 770s because I could buy them locally.

 

[Patrick82]

Audigy2 with HD595 is a good match. I used Audigy2 + HD590 for 18 months for games, movies and music.

If you want the best then a K1000 rig is the way to go. I use it for music, movies, TV and gaming, it's great for all of them! It's expensive but if you use them 5+ hours a day it's a great investment.
If you get a DAC you can connect many sources to it... Pair it with a T-Amp for 30 bucks and you get great sound. 44.1 kHz sounds too harsh with K1000 so later you can save up for a tube amp.

 

[003]

Get either the HD595 or the A900. Also, a PA2V2 amp with whatever headphone you choose would be a good idea.

You might have a hard time finding the A900LTD, they were discontinued a while ago. They are a special edition headphone. You are not going to tell the difference between an A900 and an A900LTD out of an un-amped audigy2 ZS. Even with a better source, the differences are said to be small.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luckybaer What?? Hasn't anyone recommended Beyerdynamics DT 770/80 Pro? I throw down the gauntlet!!! I use my 770s for gaming (BF2), watching movies on my PC, listening to music on my PC, and when I'm feeling particularly funky and groovy, I plug 'em in my Nano. Awesome cans for what I use 'em for, and more than worthy of consideration. When I was looking around for advice here, it came down to the Audio Technica A900s and the DT 770s. I bought the DT 770s because I could buy them locally.

Damn it! You totally beat me to throwing down the Gauntlet! I'm always the first one to run in screaming "DT770-80!"

They're GREAT multipurpose cans, and if forced into it, I wouldn't mind having them as my only pair.

They sound a lot like a good Mid-Fi Home Stereo setup, I think.