Good audio in headphones for gaming and music. Stop buying gaming headsets

[Tigerleon]

What makes good audio in headphones for gaming and music

 

For some time I’ve been interested in audio because I really wanted to step up my audio game. The main reason why is because I had my old Logitech G633 that were falling apart and were uncomfortable. So I decided to look at better quality “gaming” headsets. Then I discovered some people saying that they were bad and not the same as studio or audiophile headphones with a separate mic. I was like -What? I need 7.1 virtual surround. Nope turns out I don’t. The imaging and soundstage is what matters in gaming.

 

The imaging is where the headphones pin-point the sound so I can locate it in-game or in music. The soundstage is much greater on headphones that are open back. Which means they leak sound. This is great because it gives a feeling of being in a room with 2 speakers. But in reality, you just have really good headphones. Unlike gaming headsets with badly implemented 7.1 surround and bad quality parts. Some headsets claim to be true 7.1 surround sound headsets. But they just have small drivers which try to simulate 7.1 but it doesn’t work. It is too close to your ear and the driver will produce a much weaker sound than a big driver instead of multiple small ones. They focus on the wrong part of the headphone. The design and RGB and “true” surround sound are really unnecessary and the mic is just horrendous.

 

So I bought the DT 990 pros because they were recommended for gaming and music. Let me tell you, the difference was insane between my old creaky plasticy G633’s. The difference between the G633’s and the DT 990’s were the muddy bass and not a clear sounding headphone to a clear and punchy bass with great imaging. The thing is. I wasn’t even powering them off a good amp. I had them on my onboard. So I decided again to step up my audio game and I bought a soundcard. The Sound Blaster AE-9 which is around 300 dollars. This was a more “premium” amp/DAC combo which I wanted because if I would buy something I wanted to buy something that’d last and sound great. And turns out that I was underpowering my DT 990 pros by a lot. All the frequencies just revealed themselves. I couldn’t be happier with my purchases so far. The DT 990 pros are really popular for gaming for 3 reasons. Really good soundstage, imaging is better than some sennheiser headphones and the sound signature is perfect, with increased bass and treble but still retain mids good. Bass is not overpowered but punchy. One thing you don't wanna do with the 990's is to drive them off a cheap mobo or just any mobo amp because you wont get the full bass and treble to stick out.

 

This is not needed tho. There are headphones out there easier to drive. Such as the Cooler Master MH751, HyperX cloud 2, HD500 series, M40X, DT 770 pro 32ohm, HD58X, I am just mentioning some headphones. You can drive these off an amp/DAC as well but that is if you want a better audio experience and less risk of interference.

 

There are other headphone amps/DAC combos for a much lower price that enhance your audio far better than anything else.

For example:

Sound Blaster G6

Ifi zen DAC

Sound Blaster Omni

Fiio E10K

Sound Blaster X3

Schiit Fulla

 

This is just a little post to tell people that audio should not be forgotten when buying stuff for your PC. Why do so many spend thousands on getting good monitors, mice, keyboards but forget about audio. Then instead you buy these mediocre sounding gaming headsets with RGB on your head with, most of the time, a bad mic.

As for the mic you can get, for example:

Blue Snowball

Antlion Modmic 4 uni

Vmoda boom pro (Requires a detachable headphone cable) Strongly recommend the SHP9500 with this mic.

 

All of these will sound so much better than almost any gaming headsets on the market. With the exception of the Cloud 2's and MH751's because they are a reskin of studio monitors.

 

Here are some links to videos/post that I find interesting for people that wants to get good headphones, or maybe should.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/5hvy0j/do_not_buy_gaming_headsets_why_youre_wasting_your/

 

 

 

 

Also I am not making this post to force people to buy what I think they should. These are recommendations and just experience from many including myself. So stop spending 300 dollars on RGB gaming headsets and invest in good shit instead.

 

[mariushm]

35 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

So I bought the DT 990 pros because they were recommended for gaming and music

159$

 

35 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

So I decided again to step up my audio game and I bought a soundcard. The Sound Blaster AE-9 which is around 300 dollars.

 

So you paid 459$ to have better sound on your headphones. For a lot of people here, their whole computer costs less than $459.

 

Few people have so much money to throw on "better sound" ... or they'd rather spend in on something else, for example a 600$ xbox/ps5.

 

[Tigerleon]

5 hours ago, mariushm said:

159$

 

 

So you paid 459$ to have better sound on your headphones. For a lot of people here, their whole computer costs less than $459.

 

Few people have so much money to throw on "better sound" ... or they'd rather spend in on something else, for example a 600$ xbox/ps5.

 

IF you read the whole thing, I said you dont need an amp or what I bought you just need headphones and a mic. An amp is not required for all things. Also I recommended amp/DACs around 100 dollars as well. 

Also you made a fool of yourself there a little. Because you did not take into consideration that this is only to give others a perspective and help people get better audio. Many people might be very interested.

[Froody129]

As someone who owns a Modmic 4 uni... don't buy it. The sound is very underwhelming for the price. I've had loads of issues with mine and I just can't get it sounding right, despite trying a myriad of USB cards (as suggested by Antlion).

 

Throwing more money at audio is certainly not a guarantee of a better experience.

[Doobeedoo]

Yeah the whole gaming headset is just limited in quality. Definitely decent ones out there, but they are a peripheral that needs to improve in gaming market. Also of course screw surround sound, well known. It simply can never get the proper accuracy. It's all over the place and can never give a proper soundstage as if you were surrounded with speakers. Music and games are mixed and profiled for stereo. 

Also at first I though you got DT1990 then I was, oww. xD. Still good in that price range vs gaming headsets mostly. 

[Tigerleon]

21 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

As someone who owns a Modmic 4 uni... don't buy it. The sound is very underwhelming for the price. I've had loads of issues with mine and I just can't get it sounding right, despite trying a myriad of USB cards (as suggested by Antlion).

 

Throwing more money at audio is certainly not a guarantee of a better experience.

What you are saying is great and all, but. I never said throwing more money equals better performance. There is a limit imho. I wouldn't spend more than 250 dollars on one headphone. I feel like only the quality and the materials used are just too expensive to make a difference. But if you prioritize what you spend on, you can get a much better setup for maybe 2/3 of the price of a gaming headset.

[Tigerleon]

14 minutes ago, Doobeedoo said:

Yeah the whole gaming headset is just limited in quality. Definitely decent ones out there, but they are a peripheral that needs to improve in gaming market. Also of course screw surround sound, well known. It simply can never get the proper accuracy. It's all over the place and can never give a proper soundstage as if you were surrounded with speakers. Music and games are mixed and profiled for stereo. 

Also at first I though you got DT1990 then I was, oww. xD. Still good in that price range vs gaming headsets mostly. 

Atm I didn't have and still don't have the money for the DT 1990s haha.

[Slottr]

1 hour ago, Froody129 said:

As someone who owns a Modmic 4 uni... don't buy it. The sound is very underwhelming for the price. I've had loads of issues with mine and I just can't get it sounding right, despite trying a myriad of USB cards (as suggested by Antlion).

 

Throwing more money at audio is certainly not a guarantee of a better experience.

I've been using a uni for about 2 months now and it sounds great. I'm thinking you may have a faulty unit

[Ahoy Hoy]

I gave up reading because I dont know if its the font or if its in bold or the line spacing but that is horrible to read.

[Tigerleon]

2 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

I gave up reading because I dont know if its the font or if its in bold or the line spacing but that is horrible to read.

sorry haha. It is the fat text.

[Ahoy Hoy]

1 minute ago, Tigerleon said:

sorry haha. It is the fat text.

That has made the world of difference. My eyes were spinning reading it before.

[Tigerleon]

Just now, Ahoy Hoy said:

That has made the world of difference. My eyes were spinning reading it before.

haha 

[pythonmegapixel]

I fall into the "gaming headset" camp unfortunately... honestly I don't care about the sound unless I can hear what's going on (for music I do care to some degree, but that's usually through speakers not headphones)

 

I use some Kingston HyperX Cloud IIs. I bought them because they were well-reviewed, featured in an LTT video, one of my friends had them, and I liked the metal construction and flexible mic.

 

Honestly they sound awesome though, better than I'd expect from something targeted at gaming...

[Tigerleon]

18 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

I fall into the "gaming headset" camp unfortunately... honestly I don't care about the sound unless I can hear what's going on (for music I do care to some degree, but that's usually through speakers not headphones)

 

I use some Kingston HyperX Cloud IIs. I bought them because they were well-reviewed, featured in an LTT video, one of my friends had them, and I liked the metal construction and flexible mic.

 

Honestly they sound awesome though, better than I'd expect from something targeted at gaming...

Yeah. The Hyper X cloud 2's are great for the price. The reason is because they are actually just rebranded from a takstar pro 80 studio headphone with a mic attached. This is how every other gaming headset should be.

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[CTR640]

The K5 Pro is also a great dac/amp. I had the E10K for months and when upgraded to K5 Pro, the sounds improved and it provides a lot of power too.

Isn't the K5P a direct competition to the iFi ZEN? Priced the same in some countries.