[FredDG]

Hi all,
 
Let me start with a short background and why I need your advice
 
10+ years ago I bought a Sennheiser HD415 mostly because I wanted a Sennheiser and this one was mispriced so I just bought it. I think I was 14 years old at the time and didn't have a clue about headphone or sound quality. I used the HD415 for listening to music mostly on the go (can you imagine, with an open headphone?). Eventually it was hidden in my drawer for years. Since then I bought a couple of gaming headsets and eventually (2 years ago) found the sennheiser again and tried it in Battlefield. I loved the sound and used it a lot!
 
Currently I am still using the HD415 with an Astro mixamp for gaming, youtube and listening to music. Needless to say, the  pads have been worn out and I just want a new headphone. I have done quite a bit of research in the last 6 months but am quite lost. 
 
Basically I want a headphone thats sound similiar to the HD415 but just better, I think this would be the HD650 or HD700? My budget is flexible but with a max of 900 euros for the headphone and amp (as I think the Astro is not a real amp right?)
 
Please let me know what you would recommend. 
 
Thanks and all the best,
 
Freddy

 

[cel4145]

If your goal is to use the headphones a lot for gaming and you like the surround sound feature of the mixamp, then you could add a Xonar DG or DGX to your PC to get surround sound. Then use an external optical dac/amp to get that DSP feature. The optical connection will still allow using Dolby Headphone, but bypass the DAC and other analog hardware of the sound card.

You might check out Innerfidelity's Wall of Fame for open headphones: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-full-size-open