What headphone should I choose

[12345poopi]

Hi community!

I game semi-professionally and I play games like Battlefield 4, Dota 2, Fifa 15 etc.

I'm looking to buy an Asus STX sound card but now I have a Maximus 6 Hero and I'm using on-board sound

I need a very good pair of gaming headphones, any headphones for that matter, as long as it has a mic

I want to use the headphones that are also very good for listening to music

Thus I'm looking for a model with a high impedance

Preferably 250Ohm<

600ohm would be nice but I'm afraid that the STX I wouldn't be able to drive it

I have a few questions

1)What model headphones do you guys recommend, open headphones please, and I have a $750 budget

2) will an STX I be able to drive a 600ohm headset

3)will my Maximus 6 Hero be able to drive a 250ohm headset

4) does high impedance mean better gaming sound and music quality respectively

Thanks for the help!!

Really appreciate it, I'm not very good with audio and I'm recently getting into it as it gives me a competitive advantage

[xtroria]

Maximus 6 has a prettty good on board amp CMIIW. My suggestion to you would be to grab the K7xx quickly at mass drop and order an antlion mod mic, probably you'll be spending around $260 in total 

[12345poopi]

I'm eyeing:

Beyerdynamic mmx 300

Sanheiser HMD26-II-600-8

Any opinions? Or anyone has any other suggestion? )

[12345poopi]

Maximus 6 has a prettty good on board amp CMIIW. My suggestion to you would be to grab the K7xx quickly at mass drop and order an antlion mod mic, probably you'll be spending around $260 in total

I need the mic inbuilt and 62 ohm is abit on the low side would be quite bad for music and would waste the STX I I'm getting haha

But thanks for the suggestion!

[Statik]

I doubt there are any good headsets out there, so if you don't want a desktop, I'd recommend a modmic.

I with that budget I would recommend Sennheiser HD650s, or Beyerdynamic 990 Pro.

[xtroria]

I need the mic inbuilt and 62 ohm is abit on the low side would be quite bad for music and would waste the STX I I'm getting haha

But thanks for the suggestion!

 

Is there a reason of why you need the mic built in? and there's no relation between impedance and sound quality, remember that. You also don't need a soundcard, what you need is external amp / dac (if you actually need one)

[Oktyabr]

He's right, the K7XX is one of the best sounding headphones I've ever heard, but that sale is almost over too.  Don't make up your mind based on advertised impedance.  High impedance cans were originally used in studios with distribution amplifiers, driving several pairs at once, which also meant a high output impedance.  The headphones needed to be higher to keep the damping ratio reasonable.  Judging sound quality based solely on a headphone's impedance is like judging how fast a car can go solely by the speed rating of the tires on it... doesn't mean anything for day to day use.  

Look at an antlion modmic or similar, or consider a good USB microphone.  Forget about gaming "headsets", especially if you are concerned about sound quality and you have that kind of a budget to play with.

[Michael McAllister]

Is there a reason of why you need the mic built in? and there's no relation between impedance and sound quality, remember that. You also don't need a soundcard, what you need is external amp / dac (if you actually need one)

Generally, I would agree, but higher impedance loads can offer more controlled bass.  Not a huge difference, but if the amp can handle 600 ohms well, I would choose that.

 

EDIT: Frequency response graph at 50dB. 

 

[xtroria]

Generally, I would agree, but higher impedance loads can offer more controlled bass.  Not a huge difference, but if the amp can handle 600 ohms well, I would choose that.

 

Most solid state amps these days have input impedance of below 1 ohm and Q701 IMO has better bass control compared to HD600

[Oktyabr]

Generally, I would agree, but higher impedance loads can offer more controlled bass.  Not a huge difference, but if the amp can handle 600 ohms well, I would choose that.

I've read thoughts that higher impedance means thinner wire which means more revolutions around the windings and that this can somehow provide improved resolution.  But I've never read any real measured examination that was conclusive.  Do you have any you could share?

[Michael McAllister]

I've read thoughts that higher impedance means thinner wire which means more revolutions around the windings and that this can somehow provide improved resolution.  But I've never read any real measured examination that was conclusive.  Do you have any you could share?

 

See edited post. 

[Oktyabr]

See edited post. 

Looking at the graph the 32 ohm model actually has better (more) bass response than the 600 ohm.  But what's really important to note is we do not know if this is simply because of the impedance (thinner wire, more windings, in the higher impedance versions) or some other design change, possibly to facilitate that.  If the latter is the case then this becomes a brand/model specific thing and can't be used generically, i.e, all higher impedance headphones will sound different (in *this* particular way) than all lower impedance headphones.

I'm truly interested in the question however.  It's why I asked if by chance you had found any sort of conclusive study on the matter.

[Pomfinator]

That bass response on the DT770 600 ohm looks goofy. Not sure if I can believe that.

[Michael McAllister]

Looking at the graph the 32 ohm model actually has better (more) bass response than the 600 ohm.  But what's really important to note is we do not know if this is simply because of the impedance (thinner wire, more windings, in the higher impedance versions) or some other design change, possibly to facilitate that.  If the latter is the case then this becomes a brand/model specific thing and can't be used generically, i.e, all higher impedance headphones will sound different (in *this* particular way) than all lower impedance headphones.

I'm truly interested in the question however.  It's why I asked if by chance you had found any sort of conclusive study on the matter.

 

I'm uncertain about studies, but the graph does address the notion that impedance doesn't affect the sound.  It is subtle as I previously stated though.

 

[xtroria]

I'm uncertain about studies, but the graph does address the notion that impedance doesn't affect the sound.  It is subtle as I previously stated though.

 

It could simply because they changed the driver. I'd find it hilarious if the only thing beyer did to increase the impedance is by adding resistor.  

[Michael McAllister]

That bass response on the DT770 600 ohm looks goofy. Not sure if I can believe that.

That was at 50db.  Feel free to verify it yourself.  Maybe I did it incorrectly.

[ShearMe]

That was at 50db. Feel free to verify it yourself. Maybe I did it incorrectly.

Those graphs are measurements of one pair of each impedance and cannot account for manufacturing tolerances. Graph two identical-in-model headphones of any type any you could potentially see similar results.

This is one of those rare instances where objective measurements don't necessarily mean anything.

[creatip123]

The main reason they produce something with that high of impedance is for using it with big amps/devices like in radio broadcasting, recording studio, and stuffs. Those big amps/devices usually got relatively high impedance, so to control the damping effect, they use high impedance headphones. 

 

250-300 ohms like Sennheisers are generally fine running on everyday devices (onboards, phones, etc). 600 ohms might be a bit hit and miss. 

[12345poopi]

I did a little research and I guess sound quality really doesn't matter, I has a "gaming headset" and it was crap, Razer Tiamat to be exact

Any specific models that are open can, heard they sound better

Any recommendations for any models other than the Kxx

Cancelling my order for the STX I too

Thanks for all the help

[SSL]

Generally, I would agree, but higher impedance loads can offer more controlled bass.  Not a huge difference, but if the amp can handle 600 ohms well, I would choose that.

 

EDIT: Frequency response graph at 50dB. 

 

graphCompare.png

 

You should really make the Y axis as small as possible. 50dB makes it really hard to see the differences. A change of 10dB is perceived as a doubling in volume.

[Michael McAllister]

You should really make the Y axis as small as possible. 50dB makes it really hard to see the differences. A change of 10dB is perceived as a doubling in volume.

 

Better? 

[SSL]

Better? 

graphCompare2.png

 

gr8

 

[KaminKevCrew]

Audio Technica makes an open back headset that is supposed to be pretty darn good. It's literally just a pair of audio technica headphones, with a mic built in. They should be around $400. Impedance is not something that you need to worry about too much. Many companies have ultra high end headphones with a pretty low impedance (much lower than 600 ohms, for sure.) for instance, anything from audeze or the fostex th009, etc. And the Sennheiser HD800 is only 300 ohms, and very picky about what you use to drive it.

 

Also, I have an STX sound card in my PC, and it's great to have for speakers for me, since it has an RCA line-out, which is what I needed. The mobo you are using will probably be fine for anything that you end up needing. If you really want something that will provide really good audio, I would look into the Audioquest dragonfly DAC/AMP. I just got one, and it sounds amazing. (Don't worry, it has PLENTY of power to drive the Audio Technica headset with no issues.) One thing to be aware of is that since the headset terminates in a 4 pole TRS jack, you may need a 4 pole to dual 3 pole adapter.

 

One of these: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-MUYHSFMM-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B0058DOWH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425470180&sr=8-1&keywords=4+pole+to+3+pole+adapter

 

^I looked at an unboxing, and you would only need that if you didn't feel like using the included extension cable.

 

The headset part would go into the audioquest, and the mic part would plug directly into your motherboard. 

 

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/97d660ada89c32c8/index.html<= That is the headset that I was talking about.

 

Hopefully that helps you out. 

[KaminKevCrew]

Sorry for the double post... This one is about open vs. closed headphones. If you are just playing at home, or in a quiet environment, then open will be fine. Be aware that you will be able to hear just about everything around you,  including mouse clicks, and anything of the like. If you will be playing in louder environments, then a closed headset would actually be better, as you will be able to hear more detail, due to the noise isolation (not cancellation!) that is inherent in closed designs. The general consensus as far as I am aware is that open designs give a larger sound stage, but that isn't all that helpful for gaming. A closed design would give you a really good idea of where everything is coming from anyway, and for gaming I doubt you would notice a difference, other than being less bothered by those around you. 

 

If you are going to be in very noisy environments, like at tournaments, then I would suggest that you do what the pros actually do at large tournaments (at least CS:GO pros, anyway) which is to get some really nice in ear monitors, and use those for your sound, then get a headset that you wear over them/around your neck, and use it for the mic only. If you want to go that route, anything from Westone, Shure etc. would do really well, as they will have really really good noise isolation, to the point that you can't hear anything around you, with moderate sound going through the In ears. If you really wanted to use that full budget, you could spring for some custom IEM's (In-ear Monitors), like the 1964 Ears' Qi model. I use a pair of Shure SE535's for my gaming, and I am planning on getting a pair of customs from 1964 ears, although I will be going for the V8's, I think. 

 

Most higher end IEM's very good, if a little bit more intimate sound stages, and I find that they work incredibly well for gaming. Plus, my Shure's are so comfortable that I forget I'm wearing them after about ten minutes of having them in my ears. Be aware that if you do go the custom IEM route, getting a musicians fit will give you the best noise isolation, as it goes past the second bend in your ear canal. 

 

Just giving you a couple of other options. Although, be aware that if you get some custom IEM's you will probably want to get something like the dragonfly, because it has a really low noise floor, so you won't have to deal with white noise in the background when you don't have any sound going through the cans.

[ShearMe]

Audio Technica makes an open back headset that is supposed to be pretty darn good. It's literally just a pair of audio technica headphones, with a mic built in. They should be around $400.

We recommend against that around here. They're based off the 700X most likely, but even the 900X can be had for less than 200 bucks. They're even on buydig.com for 140 right now.