[swbf2cheater]

pretty sure the holy grail would be the HD800 combined with a great powerful 5.1 sound card and great amp
 
not even the Edition 8 or 9, nor the grado high end series are anywhere near as accurate as the hd800.  

 

[maxiepaxie]

I love this guide, since buying the HD555 (foam modded) I started hearing people through walls and am now able to pinpoint anyone. For example in Bad Company 2 I've saved my squadmates on numerous occasions, like when they rush carelessly into a "popular" building and I can hear a medic reloading his MG inside with nobody on my team inside the building (yet). Played some S.T.A.L.K.E.R too and was amazed at the soundstage, especially during a thunderstorm or blowout.
 

 

[Mrcontent]

Quote:

I love this guide, since buying the HD555 (foam modded) I started hearing people through walls and am now able to pinpoint anyone. For example in Bad Company 2 I've saved my squadmates on numerous occasions, like when they rush carelessly into a "popular" building and I can hear a medic reloading his MG inside with nobody on my team inside the building (yet). Played some S.T.A.L.K.E.R too and was amazed at the soundstage, especially during a thunderstorm or blowout.
 

i have an HD555. I'm planning to upgrade from Xfi Sound card to this one. Worth it?

 

[Thommohawk]

Grrr cannot decide on whether to get the DT 880 or the DT 990....I AM decided on the Xonar ST definitely and more than likely a Little Dot MK 3 tube amp....or the Neco V2 amp.....but for the life of me I cannot decide between the DT880 and the DT990...apparently there's not much difference and I don't think I can go too far wrong either way - currently there's a price difference of £40 in favor of the DT880's but again I'm not sure if the lack of bass slam wouldn't bug me as that was my main criticism of an old pair of Sennheisers that I had and is something that my current Koss Porta Pro's handle quite nicely for me....
 
So I hear the 2 DT's are similar in terms of detail and clarity with the major difference in SQ apart from treble being the bass slam vs bass texture or tunefulness? That's where it gets murky for me. Because I felt my other headphones (Sennheiser HD215) lacked slam but my Porta Pro's I quite like the bass impact on.
 
Fear I may have to eeny meenie miny moe when it comes down to it....

 

[David.M]

Quote:

pretty sure the holy grail would be the HD800 combined with a great powerful 5.1 sound card and great amp
 

I'm sure the HD800's would be terrific and have a nice eerie World War II feeling, but the DT990/600 trumps it in every regard.  Gaming doesn't necessary needs the most amount of detail, sure it helps.... but it's just way too overkill since Game Designers/Sound Engineers don't focus entirely on audio most of the time. Although Bad Company 2 is one of those rare exceptions ! I do foresee better quality audio in games, but at the time being, an HD800 would just be over-kill. 
 
For the Holy Grail of all Holy Grail.  The set-up should be  (*some sound card that has 5.1 or 7.1 like the Omega Claro*) -->feed that into your dac to get the surround sound environment--->get a decent tube amp(a Woo Audio 3 or Little Dot MKIII would be perfect)--->beyer DT990/600. 
 
and done. You  have the best gaming audio gear that you can dream of without breaking the bank.

 
 

 

[TheWuss]

Quote:

Grrr cannot decide on whether to get the DT 880 or the DT 990....

you should get a dt880.
i'm selling mine. 

 

[David.M]

get DT990/600. trust me.
 
The bass explosions in FPS will R____________O______________C________________________K    your
 
 
W___________O______________R____________L________________D
 
but 880 are also good too ! It depends how much bass the user needs

 

[Thommohawk]

Thanks guys for the input guys!
 
I should mention that the two Beyers are both the 250ohm variants....namely the 880 Premium 250ohm (aluminium build) or the 990 Pro (plastic build) and to be honest I'm very new to all this so I feel that anything in that price bracket will frankly be well and above what I'm used to, those being headphones in the £50 and under range, though saying this the only fault I can find with my Porta Pro is the bass is a tad prominent, which is also a positive for me, also that the sound doesn't sound quite as wide or grand as I'd like it to, but the main thing is it's not a comfy over the ear headphone. And I've decided that I prefer open backed phones now. I'm thinking the 990 Pro is less of a gamble....but I cannot help thinking that the 880 Premium represents a hell of a bargain which I may well end up liking more once I've actually heard it. Unfortunately I cannot demo so it's a leap of faith if anything.
 
These would be dual purpose phones for movies and gaming as well as music, also I listen to mostly rock (Guns n Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc) with a little electronica (Prodigy, Michael Jackson etc) so....detail is great but bass is kinda needed also. And frankly I'm used to slam. Never heard 'tuneful' bass before unless the Senn 215 had it.....in which case I don't like it lol.

 

[David.M]

anything for slam = has DT990 written all over it.   TheWuss can vouch as well

 
Just make sure to get the 600ohm drivers since they take nearly the same juice as the 250ohm model. Also, I see that you're getting that Little Dot MKIII. Great sounding amp, but make sure you tube roll.  Only then will the MKIII amaze you ! 

 

[TheWuss]

anything for slam = has DT990 written all over it.;

dude, dave. You're undercutting my sale! Haha.

 

[David.M]

hehe. But people deserve to know the truth

 
You shouldn't worry tho, there are many people ready to pounce on the DT880/600's atm, the real question would have to be if your inbox would be able to handle all those flooded pm's once you put them up for sale ^_^
 
but did you already put them up for sale? I don't see them in the F/S headphone section. Maybe there's a "special"  F/S section for members with 1000+ posts that I am unaware of?

 
 
 
 
 

 

[Thommohawk]

Lol as I say guys I'm new to all this so tube rolling doesn't mean a lot to me right now...but I have done a lot of reading research and I feel what I need now is a final push one way or the other and for that I need some interaction as pertains to my particular situation and musical preference...I should also mention I'm on a relatively moderate budget....hence the 250ohm variants....DT990 600ohmers I cannot get here in the UK and the Premium version on Amazon which is still 250ohms I'm not so sure about seeing as how they cost more than the Sennheiser HD650 on there....I could have gotten exactly what I wanted from Beyer themselves I made a sweet looking set but unfortunately I can't justify £350incl postage for a pair of headphones right now. Not happy because they were 600ohms and looked sweet as hell coiled chord and everything lol!
 
Still it might the one for the future a lot later down the line.....in the mean time I'm settings my targets a little less exotic financially....so am I correct in understanding then that there's not much difference between the 880 Premium and the 990 Pro in terms of clarity and detail ? I know that opinions will differ but there's usually a general concensus....to be honest the only thing swaying me to the 880's are the detail and the build quality but lack of bass slam is ringing alarm bells I won't lie....DT990 seems to tick every box for me but it is more expensive right now and I fear I might be giving up a lot of detail if I go that route....but the upshot is I get my bass slam. And to be honest I don't think piercing highs would annoy me as much as I know lack of bass slam on it's own does....and apparently I hear when EQing (like to avoid, not always possible) it's easier to take stuff out than add stuff in ? 
 
Opinions more than welcome!

 

[TheWuss]

Okay thommohawk. I gotta be honest. Get the dt990.
If you can afford the 600 ohm variant, you will be rewarded for it.

 

[manaox2]

Disclosure: I'm not a gamer. I have owned Beyers and Stax and heard about every higher end model still being made.
 
DT880 do sound like a great gaming headphone. As for the Stax recommendation in the first post, I have some doubts about using the Lambda series. All of the Lambdas I've owned seemed to have a smaller front to back soundstage then top to bottom. Maybe that will effect the positioning? I bet the O2 with its pinpoint imaging would be about the ultimate gaming headphone I can imagine, although I guess it would seem funny to put down that money just to game with it.

 

[David.M]

 
nice to see you around manax02, I remember when i first joined head-fi, you were the first person to have helped me with something about RCA wiring/spdif connections and some other disclosure and thoughts regarding an old Musiland Monitor Dac that i use to have . Heh, I think i still have that pm somewhere in my inbox