[Povell42]

What up everyone. Just thought I would make a thread for people to share their ideal headphone set-up for gaming. (Discuss/ask questions)
 
I am using a the Superlux HD668b (good bang for your buck) with Sound Blaster Z card.  I use it for (obviously) my PC gaming, but also for my consoles (PS3, 360).  I like it much better than the Astro mixamp and DSS/DSS2. 
 
I also have the a Buttkicker BK-GR to add a little rumble to my chair, and I absolutely love it.  It seriously feels like I have a massive subwoofer under my chair and adds a whole new dimension to my gaming. I highly recommend especially to headphone gamers.
 
I have purchased the Ultrasone Pro 900 and will be getting it in the mail soon.  Those "should" be significantly better than my HD668b's.  I will let you guys know what I think of them.
 
 
What is your favorite gaming headphone set-up for gaming?

 

[Povell42]

I have my Ultrasone Pro 900 and so far I am not 100% sure how I feel about them. I decided to let them burn-in for a little while before coming to any conclusions about them.

 

[Fegefeuer]

What do/don't you like about them from a first impressions perspective? 

 

[Povell42]

Quote:

What do/don't you like about them from a first impressions perspective? 

 
  The bass is a little muddy and currently seems to bleed a little into the mids. The highs are sibilant (F's and S's harsh), Yet, the overall tone of the highs and mids sound somewhat veiled to me compared to my much cheaper HD668b. I also feel like my $50 HD668b's sound clearer in the mids and highs.  I was expecting the highs to be a little more sparkly and bright since many have said they are.  I also was hoping for the S-logic to have a little bit wider of a sound stage.  I heard many reviews talk about the great amount of detail, and I am failing to hear that in comparison to the 668b's
 
  I read so many reviews saying how awesome they were...I guess it made me feel like they would be a little better right off the bat.  I may have suffered from too much hype before I got them.  So, now that my hype was put in check, maybe when I listen to them after some burn-in time, I will be pleasantly surprised.
 
  These are just my first impressions, and I am being somewhat critical since as I am comparing them to a $50 headset - and these cost 6x that amount.
 
But, I have read that burn-in will help some of these issues.  I just don't want to complain yet, as in a couple days my opinion my change. 
 
Mind you, I have mainly tested them out with PC games (Sound Blaster Z sound card) and a couple movies (Via PS3 and Harmon Kardon receiver). I did not really buy them for music.  So that may be a variable in my opinion.  While other people may be listening to Hip Hop / electronic / Trance music at first.

 

[3X0]

JH13s are superb but too claustrophobic (too much isolation, awkward for desktop usage).
 
HF-2s are too uncomfortable and open (apartment in NYC, need some isolation from distracting sirens and occasional IRL gunfire).
 
A900X are excellent; I am thrilled with them for the money.
 
However, surround sound virtualization like Dolby Headphone or CMSS-3D is probably necessary for competitiveness. My old ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z motherboard supported CMSS-3D (Realtek chipset wrapped in Creative drivers). My ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe motherboard has a Realtek ALC898 but no surround virtualization, and there is great difficulty in distinguishing sounds beyond the stereo level. For example, I have difficulty telling whether enemies are upstairs or downstairs of me in BF3.
 
In my experience, speakers are far and away the best for immersion. My 2.1 puts me right into the firefight, but they're not really suitable for playing competitively.

 

[DefQon]

I only use my HD800's strictly now for gaming. It's funny seeing peoples faces when I lug a dedicated amp with them to LAN's next to my rig.

 

[Povell42]

Quote:

I only use my HD800's strictly now for gaming. It's funny seeing peoples faces when I lug a dedicated amp with them to LAN's next to my rig.

 
Haha! Thats pretty funny. Man I really wish I could get the HD800. Heck, I wish I could hear a pair of HD800s.
 
I'm interested in what your set up for gaming is?  I am assuming that you have a sound card or something with some sort of virtual surround.  What amp do you use with them?
 
Before I got my Sound Blaster Zx sound card, I tried hooking up an Astro Mixamp and a Fiio E9 and it did not go very well.  The double amping created to much amplified noise and distortion. 

 

[DefQon]

Lugging around my 2 channel b22 > Ross Martin DAC > toslink out to my Creative Titanium Fatality Pro. Usually from what is a great LAN session usually ends with people listening to music on my setup. I've had a few commentators complain though due to the open nature of the HD800, they basically act as speakers once the session starts and they are loud. 
 
My gaming setup is a piece of crap now, was running an
 
i7 980x @ 4.3
24GB of Mushkin RAM
3 GTX480's 
1 GTX260 216SP for Physx
14TB hdd
1250watt Enermax  PSU
Antec P280
 
 
Sold off the ram, cpu and graphics cards and reduced my hdds
 
As of now
i7 960 @ 4.2
6GB OCZ Extreme RAM
2 GTX260 216SP
12TB hdd

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

I only use my HD800's strictly now for gaming. It's funny seeing peoples faces when I lug a dedicated amp with them to LAN's next to my rig.

 
Why not one of the Stax setups? Too valuable to take to LANs? HD800's famed soundstage? Comfort?
 
I'm just wondering where things really stand soundstage-wise. I know a typical Lambda-frame set will beat out even the AD700 at sheer atmospheric, encompassing soundstage with the imaging needed for gaming, but I haven't had the luxury of auditioning the HD800, or even being in the presence of one.

 

[DefQon]

My HD800's take the cake with soundstaging and imaging. I don't like the idea of lugging around vintage headphones to LAN's due to it being prone to breaking and being almost impossible to replace should anything break not to mention lugging around a 15kg hybrid tube integrated amp I power them off from using the SRD-7MKII Adapter.

 

[NamelessPFG]

I see I'm not the only one here using a speaker amp (in this case, an old Onkyo receiver) + transformer box as a means of powering Stax without spending a whole lot of dosh, in which case I perfectly understand the portability problem. Lugging that receiver around would be a pain.
 
Then again, lugging most of my computer setup to a LAN would be a hassle, between the full-tower ATX case, all of my input devices (Model M, G500, TrackIR 4, assorted gamepads, and a full CH Products HOTAS/pedal setup), and most of all, the Sony GDM-FW900 that I had to have a friend help me carry when buying it on craigslist! That's 90+ lbs. of arguably the greatest CRT monitor ever made...I can barely lift one of the 70 lbs. 21" FD Trinitron G1 variants into place on a desk, but not that behemoth.
 
Anyway, getting back on topic, my favorite headphone setup for gaming thus far still remains that Stax SR-Lambda (Normal bias) I got about a year ago that was my second serious headphone purchase (first being the AD700).
 
Not only does it have my favorite sound presentation thus far (the SR-202 and HE-400 aren't really my cup of tea compared to it; I want midrange!), but it has comfort in spades. I can wear it for hours on end due to the very light clamping force, which is a must for a gaming headphone, and the revised headband/arc on Lambda Nova and numerical models has a higher clamping force that detracts from that. The soundstage also eclipses the AD700's, which is no small feat. And of course, pinpoint positional cues with CMSS-3D Headphone, Dolby Headphone, and similar features are a given.

 

[DefQon]

Yeah I feel my SR-202 to not be on par with my Lambda Pro's. More brighter with the treble and less bass. Some of the Stax mafia prefer the 202 over the LP by a fair margin and I honestly cannot tell if there is a treble etch with my LP's at all, more so obvious by my ears on the 202. I honestly don't hear anything special about the newer Lambda frame model stats actually inferior in sound quality to say the least. I much prefer the older line to the modern line Lambda's being the 407, 307, 507, 404 anyday, anytime of the week.

 

[Kukuk]

I think of all the headphone I've owned, for gaming, my favorite was the Pro 750s, or maybe DT770 Pros.
 
I don't find mid range to be all that important for games, since voices are usually set up in level anyway. Decent soundstage with large bass always seemed more important to me, even in non-FPS, like RPGs. The Pro 750s were a little wonky sounding with FPS, as far as trying to pinpoint exactly where a sound was coming from, but the absurd amount of bass, and how clean it was, made up for it. The DT770 Pros were the opposite in that regard: more accurate positioning, but weaker, less defined bass. I think maybe I'd put the Pro 750s ahead a little, just because of the snappy treble.
 
I kind of miss the Ultrasones, actually...

 

[DefQon]

Mids are very important if you play around with eq for FPS games strictly. Mask the bass and up the hz for mids and treble, louder footsteps and effects for pin point accuracy. 

 

[jackwess]

Such a crazy Rig you have DefQon, I would be amazed if i see it as well. And i have no doubts about the stellar performance of the HD800 in games.