[Shinjed]

First off, I'm driving these and any potential future headphones with my Asus Essence STX soundcard primarily and I was wondering what headphones you guys think can compete or completely blow these out of the water if the max price would be 500$/320€?
 
Ignore the fact that these I've got is a headset as I will get a new mic anyways. Also, the headphones would be used for everything done on my computer meaning not only music but also games, movies etc. Very anxious to hear the opinion of the more experienced users here as the most expensive headphones/headset I've ever listened to are my PC-360 and I'd very much like to experience even better sound if possible for that amount of money.
 
So far on my list are the Beyerdynamics DT990, DT990 Pro, DT880, DT880 Pro and the Sennheiser HD650.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

First off, I'm driving these and any potential future headphones with my Asus Essence STX sound card primarily and I was wondering what headphones you guys think can compete or completely blow these out of the water if the max price would be 500$/320€?
 
Ignore the fact that these I've got is a headset as I will get a new mic anyways. Also, the headphones would be used for everything done on my computer meaning not only music but also games, movies etc. Very anxious to hear the opinion of the more experienced users here as the most expensive headphones/headset I've ever listened to are my PC-360 and I'd very much like to experience even better sound if possible for that amount of money.
 
So far on my list are the Beyerdynamics DT990, DT990 Pro, DT880, DT880 Pro and the Sennheiser HD650.

I really like the sound of my Beyerdynamic Dt990 Pro 250-ohm for movies (full bass & full treble)
The DT880 are more balanced.
 
Have you thought about upgrading your op-amps on the Essence STX to LME49990 ($60, ships from Canada).

 

[Shinjed]

Quote:

I really like the sound of my Beyerdynamic Dt990 Pro 250-ohm for movies (full bass & full treble)
The DT880 are more balanced.
 
Have you thought about upgrading your op-amps on the Essence STX to LME49990 ($60, ships from Canada).

 
 
Alright, thanks for the info Hmm.. not really thought about upgrading the op-amps, not until now anyways Would I experience a big difference if I did? I live in Sweden so I don't really know how much the postage fee would be but if it is a big difference then that would be next after headphones I think.
 
I have actually opted in for a Sennheiser HD650 to try out quickly, will be able to listen to them in 1-2 weeks and if I'm not satisfied compared to mine I will focus more on the Beyerdynamic ones I think.

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

 
Alright, thanks for the info Hmm.. not really thought about upgrading the op-amps, not until now anyways Would I experience a big difference if I did? I live in Sweden so I don't really know how much the postage fee would be but if it is a big difference then that would be next after headphones I think.
 
I have actually opted in for a Sennheiser HD650 to try out quickly, will be able to listen to them in 1-2 weeks and if I'm not satisfied compared to mine I will focus more on the Beyerdynamic ones I think.

 
Personally i find Opamps to be a worthy upgrade. There are some good brands to try such as dexa or burson. 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread/1875
 
Try modding it when you're ready 

 

[Triggerfish]

I absolutely love my Asus Xonar STX and Beyerdynamic MMX 300 combo.  I'm on the computer playing, listening to music, and on ventrillo quite a bit and it is wonderful for all of the above.  May have to look into messing around with the opamps myself.
 

 

[Shinjed]

Quote:

 
Personally i find Opamps to be a worthy upgrade. There are some good brands to try such as dexa or burson. 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread/1875
 
Try modding it when you're ready 

Alright, will look into this Thanks alot for the tip.

 

[Shinjed]

Quote:

Alright, will look into this Thanks alot for the tip.

Update- Managed to get a hold of a pair of Sennheiser HD650, last in stock actually, and I'm going to spend a few days trying these babes out, so far they sound really damn clean though
 
Only downside so far is that I have to have my volume on the computer set so darn low now that my soundcard is amping the outputs. From what I've heard though this is not supposed to affect Line Out right? Might have to change my speakers from the optical to Line Out since as it is now I have to increase volume to up 60-70 on my receiver to actually get a decent enough volume to hear speech

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Update- Managed to get a hold of a pair of Sennheiser HD650, last in stock actually, and I'm going to spend a few days trying these babes out, so far they sound really damn clean though
 
Only downside so far is that I have to have my volume on the computer set so darn low now that my sound card is amping the outputs. From what I've heard though this is not supposed to affect Line Out right? Might have to change my speakers from the optical to Line Out since as it is now I have to increase volume to up 60-70 on my receiver to actually get a decent enough volume to hear speech

"Sound card is amping the outputs"?
 
I would assume most people would use the line-out (RCAs) for their speakers over the S/PDIF Toslink optical output.
The Xense Essence comes with a good DAC.

 

[Shinjed]

Quote:

"Sound card is amping the outputs"?
 
I would assume most people would use the line-out (RCAs) for their speakers over the S/PDIF Toslink optical output.
The Xense Essence comes with a good DAC.

Well, I believe I've underestimated the power of my soundcard as I cannot go above 20% on the system volume control without it being very loud. Higher than that and you would put your hearing at risk pretty much. I'm going to connect the speakers to the soundcard with RCA cables in the upcoming days but I would like to know, is there any way to limit the max volume? If I were to put 100% on system sounds I'm fairly certain I would destroy the HD650's and it's quite unsettling to have such a loose control over the audio. Btw this is the same even when the soundcard is on <64ohm setting, then I can listen to max 30% without putting my ears at risk.

 

[Shinjed]

Well, I've tried the Sennheiser HD-650 quite a bit now and while I definitely notice a slight difference in the.. deepness of the music, atleast on old flacs where the dynamics aren't destroyed by the mixing of the song, I personally don't think that it's worth 300€ for me because the only time I really notice a difference is only during those moments. My PC-360 were actually way better than I had thought and I believe I can say I will be satisfied with staying with those now that I know that they perform very close to a pair of HD-650 while listening to music that I prefer (I like rock/metal/heavy metal, most of which are modern songs so the dynamics aren't there which is really what the HD-650 is made for bringing to life).
 
I'm actually very happy I had a chance to listen to these and compare them both because it has strengthened my belief in the PC-360 as all-around headphones. I can honestly only recommend going above 200€ to anyone that really likes to listen to old music from the 80's or very early 90's whereas with modern music there is really not much difference, atleast not in this price range.
 
Only pair of headphones I would even consider now would be the Beyerdynamic T1 but since they cost so much, that's pretty much only if I happen to win in the lottery or something PC-360 are, according to me, the perfect PC headphones as they come with a mic and work very well with everything. I don't feel the need to have insane bass on my headphones and therefore the PC-360's very natural sound suits me well. I was astonished to hear such a very slight difference coming from a gaming headset to a Hi-Fi qualified set of cans but that just speaks for the quality of the Sennheiser products I suppose.

 

[SuperNeutral]

Well, I've tried the Sennheiser HD-650 quite a bit now and while I definitely notice a slight difference in the.. deepness of the music, atleast on old flacs where the dynamics aren't destroyed by the mixing of the song, I personally don't think that it's worth 300€ for me because the only time I really notice a difference is only during those moments. My PC-360 were actually way better than I had thought and I believe I can say I will be satisfied with staying with those now that I know that they perform very close to a pair of HD-650 while listening to music that I prefer (I like rock/metal/heavy metal, most of which are modern songs so the dynamics aren't there which is really what the HD-650 is made for bringing to life).

I'm actually very happy I had a chance to listen to these and compare them both because it has strengthened my belief in the PC-360 as all-around headphones. I can honestly only recommend going above 200€ to anyone that really likes to listen to old music from the 80's or very early 90's whereas with modern music there is really not much difference, atleast not in this price range.

Only pair of headphones I would even consider now would be the Beyerdynamic T1 but since they cost so much, that's pretty much only if I happen to win in the lottery or something PC-360 are, according to me, the perfect PC headphones as they come with a mic and work very well with everything. I don't feel the need to have insane bass on my headphones and therefore the PC-360's very natural sound suits me well. I was astonished to hear such a very slight difference coming from a gaming headset to a Hi-Fi qualified set of cans but that just speaks for the quality of the Sennheiser products I suppose.

Wow I just had pretty much the exact same experience, same setup with the Xonar essence and wanting to try higher end headphones. I think the PC360’s are a heck of a lot better then most give them credit for.