JustAChild

Talking about 4xx, I've just received a few days ago. It has a loose grill, which can spin freely. Admittedly, It is easy to fix and aside from that, I've no other problem with its build quality (at least for now). With that said, there is a chance you will get a slightly to completely defect unit and if you can accept this fact, then you can continue considering it.

Just A little different on sound stage and bass, and all the rest are quite the same. But if you really notice the sound quality, the differences is noticeable (based on some review i read), however, the 700x is already out of ur budget ( >$100) The 500x has much wider and deeper sound stage, more clarity, crispy high freq to me but can be considered as harsh for others, more neutral, but as i said, it is totally lack of bass. Even i don't like bass but i still need time to get used to with it. (you can think that those bassy part at 0:10s of Spectre (lyrics ver)- Alan Walker, or 0:23s of Despacito- Luis fonsi ft Daddy Yankee is nothing for my 700x if i don't use EQ) In contrast, shp9500s is easier to listen: more bass (still punchy but deeper), sweeter and full-er is what i can said You should see some more review on shp9500s, because i have just listened to it for a few times (my friend once had it) so i'm can't tell you in detail of that one. The 500x is inferred form my 700x. Basically, you should go for shp9500s if you still want listen to music, it is a way easier to listen to or go with 500x if you play FPS all the time. Each one have its own advantage so i don't criticize them, just let you know that shp9500s is easier to listen to. Generally, they are still top tier of entry lv in my experience.

not really. agreed Can you tell us which types of games are u playing? About your requirement of gaming quality. In general, which needs to pin point footstep (Fps and maybe some other), you should go for open-back since it has very large sound stage and anemic bass. If you want to enjoy games with immersive sounds (BGM, gunshot, voice, etc) you better go with closed-back. For music, it depend on your genre you listen to. Personally, I would prefer open-back because I don't really like bass and play FPS a lot. In some cases i need more bass, just EQ it with my usb sound card ( Creative omni 5.1) You should try ATH-AD500x (~$65, price on amazon) (I use 700x), but remember that it totally lack of bass and no mic.

If you seriously want sound quality, go for 2.1 speakers. Want more feature (BT, EQ, codec, etc ) in a small package => soundbar For a soundbar in $200 range, you should try Yamaha yas-107. You can buy dedicated woofer for more bass (or sometimes it come with soundbar too) Remember that soundbars will be affected by space and position MUCH MORE than 2.1 system ( or satellite speaker in general)