Help me decide my Christmas headphones!

[MrNewt]

Hello friends and welcome to my first post,

 

So for about the past 5 years, I have exclusively used my HyperX Cloud ll's plugged into my motherboard's USB as my way to game and listen to music. The holiday season is upcoming and as a gift to myself I am looking to finally upgrade to a dedicated pair of headphones. The most promising lead I have been seeing is the Sennheiser 6xx from Drop paired with the SHIIT Stack setup, but I am very new to this space and these may just be the most talked-about options.

 

To answer the important FAQ:

Budget - Flexible $250 for the headphones and Flexible $200 for the AMP/DAC 

Requirements for Isolation - I am going to be using these exclusively in my room.

Preferred Type of Headphone - I would like to try open-backed headphones that go overear.

Preferred tonal balance - I honestly do not know. I don't enjoy my skull being rattled or high screeching music but beyond that I am a noob.

Past headphones - HyperX Cloud ll. I have enjoyed them but they seem a bit limiting and it is hard to hear location in games/7.1 seems useless.

Preferred Music - Pop, Rap, Drum & Bass, Indie

MISC - I mostly play FPS games (mostly Apex Legends, CSGO, and occasionally some CoD) but definitely enjoy a nice open world RPG.

 

 

 

My biggest debate is Sennheiser HD6XX vs HD58X Jubilee vs DT 990 Pro

Thank you for all the suggestions and I will try to reply in a timely manner to all advice!

[Psittac]

There is so much available at that price point, you're basically on par for getting dedicated components.  I have the sennheiser hd6xx and love them because they're a reference point that almost everyone has heard so you can start to understand when people say thing's like intimate, warm or soundstage.  The hd6xx has a very close soundstage, it sounds like the music is right next to you, or if someone is singing into a mic it's like they're singing right into your face.  They also reflect greatly everything in the chain behind them so they're very good at telling differences between different audio devices like dac's or amp's (even cables if you get a crappy cable).  They are a solid go to for anyone wanting a good pair of headphones.  Myself I don't use them for gaming because I'm usually on comms or rather discord when I'm gaming and I find that I can't hear myself talk while on them so I'm naturally talking louder.  I'm sure I'd adjust but compared to my hifimans they are very sound isolating from the outside world.  But I have heard that the imaging on them is very good for fps so you can tell exactly where someone is.  The overall tonal balance is slightly warm with solid highs but not siblant (piercing treble) and the bass is present but not abundant, good fast bass response.  Also a huge benefit of the 6xx is that they LOVE tube amps, so if you ever want to go further into headfi they will take you there without missing a beat. (these will be great for indie and decent for drum and bass)

 

As for the dt990pro I've heard that everyone hates them, the 880 and 770 are far better.  I haven't heard them but I've heard the 880 and 770 and love them, they're rather "V-shaped" as in they're heavier in bass and treble than mids.  That's perfect for stuff like drum and bass but not so good for indie.

 

For the HD58x, if you're going to put the money into a dac and amp stack I would just go with the 6xx, I haven't heard them or heard much about them but my basic understanding is they're an easier to power 6xx.

 

From my personal experience I love my he400i because of the WIDE sound stage, meaning that sound is out away from your head and the fact that they're very open.  For sound signature they are a little lacking in detail but good for daily use and gaming.  They image well too.

 

For dac and amp I'm going to have to come back and edit this, the go to used to be a schitt stack but there are some major contenders in that price range now.

 

*here is a good dac, the smsl sanskrit.  When you watch these reviews remember that zeos is hyped about anything that is good.  He hasn't lead me astray yet so he only gives good products a glowing review.  smsl sanskrit

 

For stack's here is the topping E30 and L30 topping

 

Then there's the schitt stack, the heresy has great measurements I'm told but I don't care about measurements or the magni 3 that is a solid choice.

 

SMSL has a few options too.  The world is your oyster at $200 for a stack

 

One last thing to think about is the Phillips X3 or X2hr, they are silky and warm.  I heard the X3 at my friends and it was so smooth.  They're very easy to power too.

 

Also, sorry for being a zeos shill but he reviews EVERYTHING and can compare and contrast everything well.  Again he get's excited about everything that isn't crap but I've bought most everything from his recommendations since coming across him.  *a couple things have come out in the past year

 

This guy is very precise in his descriptions and everything he has said about a pair that I have is spot on. (more has come out in the past 2 years)

 

 

 

[MrNewt]

Holy crap man! This is so much good info!

 

I think you have definitely swayed me towards the 6xx + a JDS atom stack. Honestly, kind of terrified of falling down this hole and never being able to listen to normal earbuds again lol. 

[Psittac]

Just now, MrNewt said:

Holy crap man! This is so much good info!

 

I think you have definitely swayed me towards the 6xx + a JDS atom stack. Honestly, kind of terrified of falling down this hole and never being able to listen to normal earbuds again lol. 

lol don't worry about it man, I recently dug through a zeos video where he summed up his "wall" of elite headphones and at the end he said that the ones he uses the most are a pair of $30 koss headphones because they're good for any occasion. I bought 6 pairs of them without hearing them as christmas presents this year but I didn't get myself a pair because I don't want to have something that can be powered off my phone. I work with my dad and don't need something to zone out to.  But a real audiophile can appreciate anything for what it is.  It's a very subjective hobby and everything has it's merit's until it doesn't.  Some thing's are pure garbage.

 

Myself I'm about 40 with no financial responsibilities (wife kids child support alimony etc) so my wallet follows my hobbies pretty consistently.  Doesn't hurt that I'm over a decade in a career.

 

My first "audiophile" experience was at least 15 years ago when I bought a pair of sennheiser hd480? off newegg and was blown away, I had never heard anything like it and was hooked.  I spent the following years seeking audio experiences and pieced together a denon and klipsch stereo/home theater and still love it to this day.  Since then I've got into headfi (headphones) and my wallet is strained for sure.  Granted my means are greater than in the past.  Sometimes I wonder if this is all a fools errand but I remember being a kid with a discman and cheap crappy headphones just glued to them listening to music and remember that I've always been into audio.