[relaxedfire]

What's up everyone.
 
After doing tons of research and wasting lots of time, I've narrowed down my search for the perfect headphones (for me) down to two. The Sennheiser HD598 and the PC360's. Initially, I wanted the AKG K701's, but I just don't have the money to invest in an amp which it really needs in order to sound good.
 
So, the use of these headphones is going to be for mostly gaming, and listening to electro/house music. I plan on getting either one of these 2 soundcards:
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132014
 
or
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033
 
So the first thing I want help on, is which soundcard should I get for either of these headphones? As far as I know, the Titanium HD is the best gaming sound card out there right now, but I've also read great reviews on the Xonar ST, or (STX, difference?)
 
Secondly, I want to know if I should go with the PC360's or the 598's for both gaming and music. The soundstage on the 598's is larger and sounds better than the PC360's which makes me want to go with those more, and I think they sound better with music, correct? I am a competitive gamer, and I want the best headphone to give me good positional audio. I think both of these do this well, however. 
 
Thanks guys. This is going to be my first "good" sounding headphones in a while.

 

[KG Jag]

Go with the 598, which are excellent at gaming but designed to play music.  Check out:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-5-9-2012-he-4-and-dt990-pro-added

 

[relaxedfire]

Yeah, I knew they were really good at music, and then many people said it was great at gaming, so it's the best of both worlds there.
 
I've looked at that thread countless times ^^.
 
Any advice on the sound card? Is  either good?

 

[relaxedfire]

Edit: link wasn't working for the newegg link
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

After doing tons of research and wasting lots of time, I've narrowed down my search for the perfect headphones (for me) down to two. The Sennheiser HD598 and the PC360's. Initially, I wanted the AKG K701's, but I just don't have the money to invest in an amp which it really needs in order to sound good.
So, the use of these headphones is going to be for mostly gaming, and listening to electro/house music. I plan on getting either one of these 2 soundcards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132014
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033
So the first thing I want help on, is which soundcard should I get for either of these headphones? As far as I know, the Titanium HD is the best gaming sound card out there right now, but I've also read great reviews on the Xonar ST, or (STX, difference?)
Secondly, I want to know if I should go with the PC360's or the 598's for both gaming and music. The sound stage on the 598's is larger and sounds better than the PC360's which makes me want to go with those more, and I think they sound better with music, correct? I am a competitive gamer, and I want the best headphone to give me good positional audio. I think both of these do this well, however. 

Both the STX and Titanium HD should do a good job of driving the AKG 700 series headphones.
There are lots of threads on Head-Fi about amping the AKG Q701s,
 
I'm an Asus Xonar fan, but the Titanium HD should be better for FPS gaming.
I do not see Xonar Essence owners really complaining about gaming with the ST or STX.
The Essence STX & ST are almost exactly the same, the ST comes with a better "timing clock?", so it's ever so slightly better.
But the STX is PCI-Express (and cheaper) so is more future proof.
Asus just came out this week with the Phoebus "gaming" card, might want to read a few reviews on it first before deciding.

 

[relaxedfire]

Quote:

Both the STX and Titanium HD should do a good job of driving the AKG 700 series headphones.
There are lots of threads on Head-Fi about amping the AKG Q701s,
 
I'm an Asus Xonar fan, but the Titanium HD should be better for FPS gaming.
I do not see Xonar Essence owners really complaining about gaming with the ST or STX.
The Essence STX & ST are almost exactly the same, the ST comes with a better "timing clock?", so it's ever so slightly better.
But the STX is PCI-Express (and cheaper) so is more future proof.
Asus just came out this week with the Phoebus "gaming" card, might want to read a few reviews on it first before deciding.

Thanks a lot for your advice on both my threads.
 
I just wanted to go with something easier to drive in general, and the AKG didn't seem ideal.
 
I'm looking into this Phoebus card, and it looks pretty nice, however it's got a hefty price. Do you think it's worth it?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks a lot for your advice on both my threads.
I just wanted to go with something easier to drive in general, and the AKG didn't seem ideal.
I'm looking into this Phoebus card, and it looks pretty nice, however it's got a hefty price. Do you think it's worth it?

It's way to early to judge it's real worth. Not enough review out yet.
I'm guessing the current $200 price  will not stay that high, I'm guessing it will hit it's low price in 4-6 months, just before Christmas.
Once major retailers start stocking it, it might start to drop in price, like next week or next month.
Gamers are not usually rich people, so Asus will need to get the price down to sell more.
I'm going to guess it will at sometime drop below the price of the STX & ST.

 

[relaxedfire]

I feel like it's not worth the wait, especially if I order the headphones soon.
 
But in your opinion, is the Titanium HD and the STX or ST just about the same? Is the amp on the ST/STX better than that of the Titanium HD for the 598's? The Titanium is a little bit cheaper, but if it's worth it to get the STX then I'll just do that.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I feel like it's not worth the wait, especially if I order the headphones soon.
 
But in your opinion, is the Titanium HD and the STX or ST just about the same? Is the amp on the ST/STX better than that of the Titanium HD for the 598's? The Titanium is a little bit cheaper, but if it's worth it to get the STX then I'll just do that.

As the Senn HD598 is only 50-Ohm, I would guess it would sound close to the same for both sound cards.
The STX would do better in the 250-Ohm to 600-Ohm range.
But as the Senn HD598 is only 50-Ohm, I'm guessing it would sound about the same for both cards.

 

[relaxedfire]

Quote:

As the Senn HD598 is only 50-Ohm, I would guess it would sound close to the same for both sound cards.
The STX would do better in the 250-Ohm to 600-Ohm range.
But as the Senn HD598 is only 50-Ohm, I'm guessing it would sound about the same for both cards.

 I see, so does either one have better in game audio or music audio? Just go with the cheaper one? Sorry, I just want to be sure before I go in and spend 150 bucks on something I've never tried.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 I see, so does either one have better in game audio or music audio? Just go with the cheaper one? Sorry, I just want to be sure before I go in and spend 150 bucks on something I've never tried.

The Titanium HD appears to have more game support then the STX.
But I really do not hear fellow STX users having problems gaming with the STX, at least not more then normal.
If you want to save a few dollars, just get the Asus Xonar DGX (or DG) for now.
I'm sure between now and Christmas there will be other new sound cards coming on the market.
Best prices should be around Sept. Oct. Nov.