Gaming headphones

GrandMushroom5 · February 19, 2018

I recently broke my usb transmitter on my turtle beach stealth 500p so i am looking for a new headphone that is about the same quality or better for about €120, don’t really want to go higher than that. Any one have a good suggestions?

Technomancer__ · February 19, 2018

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On 7/26/2017 at 12:01 AM, Tacanacy said:

Hell yes, from personal experience Philips SHP9500, Superlux HD668B and HD681 EVO are much better. Audio-Technica ATH-AD700x is in a league of its own. For closed-back, AKG K52 is also better than the Cloud / Cloud II / CloudX.

K52 has a big soundstage, good imaging, clarity, detail retrieval and tonality and decent separation. The bass can sound slightly distorted in explosions and other big and loud sounds. It has a flat/balanced sound signature. It's over-ear, very lightweight and has a durable build and replaceable earpads.

AD700x has a very big soundstage, great imaging, separation, clarity and detail retrieval and good tonality. It has a bright sound signature and clean, recessed bass. It's over-ear, very lightweight and has a durable build and replaceable earpads.

SHP9500 has a big soundstage, good imaging, separation and detail retrieval and very good clarity and tonality. It has a flat/balanced sound signature and clean bass. It's over-ear, lightweight and has a durable build and a detachable cable. The earpads are unfortunately not removable and are shallow, so you would have to rip them off and glue on new ones if you want to replace them. People have already modded them, so there are guides online. The clamping force is very loose, so it's not a recommended headphone for children or if you play VR and don't have a big head.

HD668B has a very big soundstage, very good imaging, separation and detail retrieval, good clarity and decent tonality. It has a bright sound signature and clean bass. It's over-ear, very lightweight and has a sturdy build and a detachable cable. I recommend replacing the earpads with velour earpads from HiFiMAN or Cosmos.

HD681 EVO has a very big soundstage, good detail retrieval, very good clarity and tonality, but has poor imaging and separation. It has a warm sound signature with a deep and clean bass. It's over-ear, lightweight and has a durable build and a detachable cable. I recommend taking out the loose felt inside the cups and replacing the earpads because they are very shallow and the driver sticks out quite a bit. Some good compatible earpads are the ones from HiFiMAN and Cosmos, but if you have big ears, then I recommend AKG K240/K270/K271 earpads and the round velour earpads from Brainwavz. The earpads can cost up to $25, but the sound quality is worth at least $100. Thomann.de sells the Superlux headphones cheaper than Amazon.

Closed-back headphones have cups with solid shells that largely isolate sound from passing in and out.

Open-back / semi-open-back headphones have cups with perforations/grills that allow outside sound to freely pass in and sound from the drivers to freely pass out. How loud you hear outside sound and how loud people around you hear the sound emanating from the headphones depend on your volume, of course. The benefit to open-back is generally a big soundstage.

Soundstage is perceived space and environment of sound. It determines whether the sound is perceived to be coming from inside your head or beyond the drivers and around you. It can be compared to virtual surround sound; both attempt to produce the same spacious, three-dimensional effect. VSS can sound more ambient and immersive, which will depend on the processor (CMSS-3D, Dolby, SBX, etc.), but it degrades the sound quality and diminishes detailing due to compression from digital processing. You might also experience less accurate imaging and separation with headphone have good imaging and separation properties. Note that a deep soundstage is equally important as a wide soundstage.

Imaging determines how accurately sounds/objects are positioned across the soundstage. Imaging is inherent to the audio content, so if the game is recorded or mixed poorly, a headphone with good imaging won’t improve the positional audio.

Separation is separating individual sounds from a range of sounds. Good separation properties make it easier to filter out or discern overlapping sounds from other sounds and track them.

Sound signature is a frequency response / sound profile. For example, a V-shaped sound signature emphasizes the bass and treble while recessing the mid-range. A flat/balanced sound signature doesn't over- or under-emphasize these frequencies and attempts to reproduce the original recording accurately as possible. A bright headphone emphasizes the treble and can subdue the bass. A warm sound signature emphasizes the bass or subdues the treble.

Alternative headphones under $200 (Amazon):

AKG K612 Pro (open-back)

AKG K550 (closed-back)

Audio-Technica ATH-AD500x (open-back)

Beyerdynamic DT990 (open-back)

Beyerdynamic DT770 (closed-back)

Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus

Samson SR850 (semi-open-back)

Sennheiser HD598 (SE, SR)

Sennheiser HD558 (open-back)

Status Audio CB-1 (closed-back)

Status Audio OB-1 (open-back)

Superlux HD662 (B, F) (closed-back)

Superlux HD662 EVO (closed-back)

Superlux HD669 (closed-back)

Superlux HD668B (semi-open-back)

one of this and get a separate microphone

Fokus · February 19, 2018

5 minutes ago, GrandMushroom5 said:

I recently broke my usb transmitter on my turtle beach stealth 500p so i am looking for a new headphone that is about the same quality or better for about €120, don’t really want to go higher than that. Any one have a good suggestions?

https://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=ATHAD900X&ref=PLA&omid=103&utm_source=GooglePLA&utm_medium=CSE&utm_item=ATHAD900X&CAWELAID=230005120000002220&catargetid=230005120000544183&cadevice=c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5rePk9Cy2QIVATNpCh1VzA-YEAQYBSABEgLnx_D_BwE I recommend these they have good reviews and their good quality.