Closed back headphones recomendation

[SargentHudson]

Hi guys,

 

My HyperX Cloud 2 are starting to malfunction after 4 years of service and I'm beginning to search for a replacement. I checked the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO the 32 Ohm variant since will connect them to my Blue Yeti for monitoring my voice (I speak loudly and I have to control myself in games hehe). For me, the Cloud 2 sound fantastic for the price since I bought them for 75€ (sadly I haven't tried a lot of headphones) but since I have a separated microphone, I don't want to buy "gaming" headsets.

 

I'm looking for headphones with:

• Closed back (I don't live alone and work from home till late at night)
• Big enough to go around the ears
• Velour earpads if possible (I live in Spain, lots of heat, I don't want to create a puddle in my ears)
• Primarily for content consumption and gaming.
• Price range from 100-250€ but I'm flexible (See next paragraph)

 

After researching the closed back options of Beyerdynamic I saw that MassDrop has the Massdrop X Beyerdynamic DT 177X Go (based on the DT 1770 PRO), which are in a really different price range but also wanted to ask, is it worth it the jump from 100-200€ to 400-450€ for gaming and content consumption? If it's really noticeable for double the price and you have a recommendation, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks to all in advance!

[LIGISTX]

2 minutes ago, SargentHudson said:

Hi guys,

 

After researching the closed back options of Beyerdynamic I saw that MassDrop has the Massdrop X Beyerdynamic DT 177X Go (based on the DT 1770 PRO), which are in a really different price range but also wanted to ask, is it worth it the jump from 100-200€ to 400-450€ for gaming and content consumption? If it's really noticeable for double the price and you have a recommendation, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks to all in advance!

I love my Fostex from massdrop for music, obviously... But they are also epic for gaming. They were 400? 450? on massdrop, and IMO, totally worth it. Sound signature is unique to everyone, and I was able to try these as my friend has a pair before I bought them. But so far everyone I have let try them has also absolutely loved them. Paired with a good DAC and AMP, they only get better!

 

Besides that, no joke.... the 6xx's are incredible. They are not closed back, so don't meet your requirements unfortunately, but my god. Driven correctly, those are end game status headphones. Plugged into a multi thousand dollar custom tube amp, and a Schitt Bifrost DAC, they were absolutely incredible to listen to.

[STRMfrmXMN]

For a little less you can get the Takstar Pro82, which are some of the best headphones I've heard for the price point. I've you have a larger head, Audio Technica ATH 990zs are quite nice as well. The HD598Cs are decent as well. I'm not sure what stuff costs in your area, but those are some good starting points. If you tend to prefer lots of bass in your headphones, the ATH-M50X is a good headphone for you as well.

[Tigerleon]

DT 770 pro 80ohm.

[SargentHudson]

12 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

I love my Fostex from massdrop for music, obviously... But they are also epic for gaming. They were 400? 450? on massdrop, and IMO, totally worth it. Sound signature is unique to everyone, and I was able to try these as my friend has a pair before I bought them. But so far everyone I have let try them has also absolutely loved them. Paired with a good DAC and AMP, they only get better!

 

Besides that, no joke.... the 6xx's are incredible. They are not closed back, so don't meet your requirements unfortunately, but my god. Driven correctly, those are end game status headphones. Plugged into a multi thousand dollar custom tube amp, and a Schitt Bifrost DAC, they were absolutely incredible to listen to.

Unfortunately the Fostex are out of stock but I have seen good reviews at MassDrop. Thanks for the suggestion anyway!

[SargentHudson]

5 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

DT 770 pro 80ohm.

Do you recommend this for gaming and content consumption? I read that the 32 ohms would be less analytical and better for that scenario.

[SargentHudson]

13 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

For a little less you can get the Takstar Pro82, which are some of the best headphones I've heard for the price point. I've you have a larger head, Audio Technica ATH 990zs are quite nice as well. The HD598Cs are decent as well. I'm not sure what stuff costs in your area, but those are some good starting points. If you tend to prefer lots of bass in your headphones, the ATH-M50X is a good headphone for you as well.

Thanks for the suggestions! I've read that the ATH-M50X aren't the best for gaming in general. The prices here (Spain-€) are similar to the US, maybe slightly higher, but the salaries are way lower. Fortunately, I don't have a budget problem right now, that's why I also asked if a jump to 400-500€ headphones were worth the money. If you also have any suggestions for a higher price headphones, let me know!

[Tigerleon]

16 minutes ago, SargentHudson said:

Do you recommend this for gaming and content consumption? I read that the 32 ohms would be less analytical and better for that scenario.

Nah. 80ohm works great too. Also the DT 770s are good for gaming and content consumption as well.

[HM-2]

14 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

I've you have a larger head, Audio Technica ATH 990zs are quite nice as well. 

This was going to be my suggestion too. They're not super clinically analytical but they're great from the perspective of balancing quality of reproduction with actually being a fun listen. Mine replaced a pair of AKG K550s and they're frankly amazing. I don't have a big head so I did a variation on the rubber band mod using two of my wife's silicon hairbands and it made a huge difference to comfort.

 

My pair lived in my work office for the first few months of lockdown and I cannot tell you how glad I was to get them back.

 

It's a shame Shure SHR1540s are out of budget as they're mind-blowing and very cool on the head thanks to alcantara earpads

[geo3]

17 hours ago, SargentHudson said:

Velour earpads if possible (I live in Spain, lots of heat, I don't want to create a puddle in my ears)

 Why on earth would you want Velour if you are concerned about heat? They are by far the hottest pad material there is. 

 

Any way. I have and would recommend the Sony MDR CD900st. They say studio reference, but they're really a good listening headphone too, with really solid base even at low volume. Definitely need to get after market pads for it though. 

[SargentHudson]

On 7/10/2020 at 10:06 PM, geo3 said:

 Why on earth would you want Velour if you are concerned about heat? They are by far the hottest pad material there is. 

 

Any way. I have and would recommend the Sony MDR CD900st. They say studio reference, but they're really a good listening headphone too, with really solid base even at low volume. Definitely need to get after market pads for it though. 

English is my third language so I'm not sure if velour is what I think it is. I have the HyperX Cloud 2 with the "velour" pads and no heat accumulates but if I change the pads for the synthetic leather ones that come with the headsets my ears start to sweat a lot.

[geo3]

2 minutes ago, SargentHudson said:

English is my third language so I'm not sure if velour is what I think it is. I have the HyperX Cloud 2 with the "velour" pads and no heat accumulates but if I change the pads for the synthetic leather ones that come with the headsets my ears start to sweat a lot.

velour is a soft fuzzy fabric. I think have it right. But I always found velour to be hot the instant it goes on, as where the PU Leather feels cool for hours. 

[SargentHudson]

2 minutes ago, geo3 said:

velour is a soft fuzzy fabric. I think have it right. But I always found velour to be hot the instant it goes on, as where the PU Leather feels cool for hours. 

I live in Spain, the problem here is not if there is heat (because theres allways heat) but if the heat accumulates and the ears start to sweat. With the velour pads the heat can scape.

[SargentHudson]

After looking at all the suggestions I bought the DT 770 pro 80ohm. I think I was a little bit biased to Beyerdynamic to begin with but Since I bought them from amazon, if the sound or impedance isn't what I was looking for I will return them and continue looking.

Really thankfull to you all. I will leave a comment when they arrive (21-23 July) and I can try them. 

[geo3]

2 minutes ago, SargentHudson said:

With the velour pads the heat can scape.

This is what I would disagree with. The stock pads on AKG K712 are velour and they are insanely hot. I replaced them with sheepskin pads and the heat problem went away. 

[SargentHudson]

1 minute ago, geo3 said:

This is what I would disagree with. The stock pads on AKG K712 are velour and they are insanely hot. I replaced them with sheepskin pads and the heat problem went away. 

The synthetic leather pads of my current headphones don't breathe. Maybe the pads you got have stitching so air can space?

[Hasbrouck]

On 7/13/2020 at 5:42 PM, SargentHudson said:

I live in Spain, the problem here is not if there is heat (because theres allways heat) but if the heat accumulates and the ears start to sweat. With the velour pads the heat can scape.

I live in spain too and velour or sheepskin are the way to go here. I can wear either one all day comfortably. AKG has a great lineup of open back options. I have the 712 pro and they have been great. I also use m50 with sheepskin earpads for closed back. I have tried velour on closed back but they tend to change the sound a lot. Which in the case of my Sonys made them less harsh so I have one pair for listening to music that have velour and one for audio work with sheep skin so that I can hear all the noise problems in the audio.