Headphone Recommendation?

[Serion]

I currently have the Steelseries arctis 7 and have it for quite some time and feel like upgrading. 

I want something that works really well with gaming yet still sounds great when listening to music. Microphone quality doesn't matter much to me tbh but if the microphone for the headphones is that bad I wouldn't mind some recommendations on a modmic to go along with it.

My budget is around 200usd but I can bring it up to 250.

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/jXykcf This is the build it'll be going along.

Also, if you think staying with the arctis 7 is a good idea do tell and maybe give some reasons behind it. I read some new reviews on it recently and some people are saying it doesn't sound as good as it should for the price it is.

Thanks for any recommendations

 

Edit: Forgot to mention, I would really like if the sound didn't leak from the headphones to avoid people hearing what goes through the headphones.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Serion

[TrooperWolfYT]

COWIN E7 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones Bluetooth Headphones with Microphone Deep Bass Wireless Headphones Over Ear, Comfortable Protein Earpads, 30 Hours Playtime for Travel/Work, Black

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Headphones&i=electronics&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

[Tigerleon]

Bad choice @TrooperWolfYT The dt 990s are perfect for gaming. I actually use them daily for gaming. With my soundblaster ae-9 soundcard. It works fine without a soundcard and just use the motherboard audio but it will benefit quite much with a soundcard or external dac and an amp. The Dt 990 pro are open back which means they have a better soundstage and that makes them perfect for gaming. You want that imaging in order to hear people coming. Now if I were you, I'd get the dt 770 pro 80 ohm because they don't need an amp in order to get the most out of them but they still sound fantastic. Don't forget a modmic!

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, Serion said:

Edit: Forgot to mention, I would really like if the sound didn't leak from the headphones to avoid people hearing what goes through the headphones.

The dt 990s don't really leak sound unless you have it turned up really high and the mic sensitivity at 0.

[Tigerleon]

Now with all that being said... Do you want the best soundstage? Go for dt 990 pro. Want the best bass and closed cans for less leakage? Go for dt 770 pro 80ohm. Must be 80ohm for your rig.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the dt 990 pro have a coiled cable and the dt 770 pro 80 ohm doesn't. I personally like a straight cable since it doesn't weigh more. 80 ohm version of the dt 770 is straight whilst the 250 ohm version is coiled.

[Serion]

1 hour ago, Tigerleon said:

Don't forget a modmic!

What modmic would you suggest I get? Preferably something not that expensive, maybe under 50usd if thats possible.

Also, I'm stuck between the Jubilee 58x and the dt 990 pro. Most people said they'd go for the 990 what do you think?

Alsooooooooooo I'm planning on getting a DAC alongside the headset I'll end up getting. The FiiO E10k is a good choice right?

[Tigerleon]

8 minutes ago, Serion said:

What modmic would you suggest I get? Preferably something not that expensive, maybe under 50usd if thats possible.

Also, I'm stuck between the Jubilee 58x and the dt 990 pro. Most people said they'd go for the 990 what do you think?

Alsooooooooooo I'm planning on getting a DAC alongside the headset I'll end up getting. The FiiO E10k is a good choice right?

The dt 990 pro have a more fun and better sound for gaming and music since you are used to bassy and treble headphones. Not saying they are the best for just the bass and treble for people who are audiophiles that actually prefer a flat sound. I am talking from a gaming perspective. The 58X are kinda flat sounding and boring. I'd take a look at a cheap internal sound card from soundblaster or save up your money for a schiit fulla 3 or something.  Fiios products are a bit sketchy imo. The FX audio x6 dac is also pretty good for the price.

[Tigerleon]

You can buy the headphones first because your onboard audio isn't bad. You will get a boost in quality with a better dac but the dac onboard works for now.

[Tigerleon]

11 minutes ago, Serion said:

Preferably something not that expensive, maybe under 50usd if thats possible.

The antlion modic uni is a good mic but around 60 dollars. But that will be fine right?

[HumdrumPenguin]

@Serion You could always get a dedicated mic like the Blue Snowball. It's cheap and quite decent for everyday usage.

 

On the note of headphones, Beyers are very sharp. They may be good for mastering, but are not that pleasant to hear music in my opinion.

[Tigerleon]

2 minutes ago, HumdrumPenguin said:

@Serion You could always get a dedicated mic like the Blue Snowball. It's cheap and quite decent for everyday usage.

 

On the note of headphones, Beyers are very sharp. They may be good for mastering, but are not that pleasant to hear music in my opinion.

You can always EQ. Also you want that sharpness for gaming.

[HumdrumPenguin]

9 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

You can always EQ. Also you want that sharpness for gaming.

Not really. You'd probably have no complaints overall if using the Arya. However, and that's a big one, I don't know of any cheap headphones I can whole heartedly recommend for gaming that are not gonna give you ear fatiguing when listening to music.

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, HumdrumPenguin said:

Not really. You'd probably have no complaints overall if using the Arya. However, and that's a big one, I don't know of any cheap headphones I can whole heartedly recommend for gaming that are not gonna give you ear fatiguing when listening to music.

When you EQ you get rid of the harshness of the DT 990s. So I don't see your point.

[Serion]

3 hours ago, HumdrumPenguin said:

@Serion You could always get a dedicated mic like the Blue Snowball. It's cheap and quite decent for everyday usage.

 

On the note of headphones, Beyers are very sharp. They may be good for mastering, but are not that pleasant to hear music in my opinion.

That is an option but tbh I like the comfortability of having the mic closer to my face and I don't have a reason to have to use a standalone mic since I'll only be using to talk to friends so quality doesn't matter much as long as it's audible.

 

Is that sharpness that annoying for music? I'm not an audiophile so I probably won't notice it if its something minor.

 

1 hour ago, Tigerleon said:

When you EQ you get rid of the harshness of the DT 990s. So I don't see your point.

If I do end up getting the 990, would you mind showing what EQ settings I should use?

 

3 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

The antlion modic uni is a good mic but around 60 dollars. But that will be fine right?

Sounds great I'll look into it, thanks.

[Tigerleon]

15 minutes ago, Serion said:

Is that sharpness that annoying for music?

Only specific music. And if you are using your onboard audio the treble doesn't stand out as much. I had to even turn up the treble on my onboard but I had to lower it dramatically on my soundcard. But no it wont be annoying. It is only fun and not annoying.

15 minutes ago, Serion said:

would you mind showing what EQ settings I should use?

Now for the EQ.. You really have to experiment on your own. I'd suggest to increase bass and treble for gaming but it is a personal choice really. When EQing you need a steady incline and decline. You don't want it to look like this for gaming... 

You want a more steady curve.

Also I will for the last time recommend the dt 770 80ohm instead because they are easier to drive and you wont lose much detail when using 250 ohm dt 990 with onboard audio.

[Tigerleon]

The 770 has a great soundstage aswell compared to the 990. So 770 is good for gaming. Plus you wont leak as much noise for the mic.

[Serion]

3 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Also I will for the last time recommend the dt 770 80ohm instead because they are easier to drive and you wont lose much detail when using 250 ohm dt 990 with onboard audio.

What if I was planning on also getting the FX Audio DAC-X6 you recommended, would you still tell me to go with the dt 770 or the dt 990?

[Tigerleon]

1 minute ago, Serion said:

What if I was planning on also getting the FX Audio DAC-X6 you recommended, would you still tell me to go with the dt 770 or the dt 990?

Then you could go for the 990 250 ohm. One thing to note is that you should avoid the DT770 pro 250 ohm because they are sharp and have like no bass whatsoever. If I were you I would get the 770 without the DAC since you can save up money for a better dac. Like the Soundblaster ae-9 or something. I personally use it. It is pretty expensive tho.

[Tigerleon]

The schiit fulla 3 is another great option little bit higher quality than FX dac-x6. I would say... Go for 990 pro with Fulla 3. If your budget is limited go for X6

[Serion]

5 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

The schiit fulla 3 is another great option little bit higher quality than FX dac-x6. I would say... Go for 990 pro with Fulla 3. If your budget is limited go for X6

Alright I'll try and squeeze in the fulla 3 and the 990 pro into my budget, thanks for the help