What Headphones/Headset to chose?

[Pitrus]

I'm looking for headphones to finish off my brand new gaming build. Currently I'm going for mainly singleplayer titles so mic is an option I can purchase later. Currently I have a pair of Sennheiser hd 4.40 bt, but I use them as my daily headphones to connect with phone and listen to music. I was thinking for getting something for my gaming rig. While scrolling here I saw that one of the most often suggested sets are  Beyerdynamic DT 770 or in other few posts I saw MH751 as one of the better headsets. I would appriciate suggestions of great sound quality on a budget of up to 150$

[steamnickplayer]

HyperX Cloud II. I have nothing else to say, except that they have great sound quality, they're comfortable, and they also have 7.1 simulated surround sound (without the need of a Windows app). The mic is modular (it's actually pretty good, too) and you can use them with both a 3.5 mm jack and USB. All of this for only 100 bucks.

[Dr0y]

If you have the budget just go beyerdynamic dt770pro and an external dac amp.  People also suggest the sennheiser hd58x from drop as one of the good one for gaming if I remember correctly. 

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, Dr0y said:

If you have the budget just go beyerdynamic dt770pro and an external dac amp.  People also suggest the sennheiser hd58x from drop as one of the good one for gaming if I remember correctly. 

True. Good you pointed out that you will need a DAC/amp combo or an amp for the DT 770 pros since they are quite hard to drive even if they are 32 ohm or 80 ohm. I would say the HD58X's with a sound blaster G3 or G5 if you have the budget. And get a modmic 4 uni as well that you can slap on the headphones. With your current budget stated. You will only have enough for the HD58X's and they are even on sale on drop.com. The DT 990's would be a recommend from me since they are amazing for some music types and even better for gaming with it's accuracy.

[Tigerleon]

2 hours ago, Pitrus said:

Beyerdynamic DT 770 or in other few posts I saw MH751 as one of the better headsets.

The MH751's are less open and have a more neutral sound signature if I am not wrong. The mic is really handy and good for gaming and talking in discord on those cans.

[Pitrus]

10 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

True. Good you pointed out that you will need a DAC/amp combo or an amp for the DT 770 pros since they are quite hard to drive even if they are 32 ohm or 80 ohm. I would say the HD58X's with a sound blaster G3 or G5 if you have the budget. And get a modmic 4 uni as well that you can slap on the headphones. With your current budget stated. You will only have enough for the HD58X's and they are even on sale on drop.com. The DT 990's would be a recommend from me since they are amazing for some music types and even better for gaming with it's accuracy.

Currently here in Poland the DT 770 are around what would be equivalent of 130$, but that does not include a dac/amp which I take, from your post above, would make the experience better. I don't care for the mic right now since I don't plan on playing any multiplayer, and my sennheisers will be sufficent to do video chats for my last year of uni if the pandemic situation doesn't change.

Could you send me some more suggestions over here or pm, since it would be cool to have good audio with my first build

[Tigerleon]

54 minutes ago, Pitrus said:

Currently here in Poland the DT 770 are around what would be equivalent of 130$, but that does not include a dac/amp which I take, from your post above, would make the experience better. I don't care for the mic right now since I don't plan on playing any multiplayer, and my sennheisers will be sufficent to do video chats for my last year of uni if the pandemic situation doesn't change.

Could you send me some more suggestions over here or pm, since it would be cool to have good audio with my first build

Then you should consider getting the DT 770 pro 250ohm for now and save up for an amp/DAC combo because it really really helps it. They will sound quite bad in the beginning because they both need to burn in a bit and be used with an amp in order to sound the best. And the difference is more than you think.

[Pitrus]

3 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Then you should consider getting the DT 770 pro 250ohm for now and save up for an amp/DAC combo because it really really helps it. They will sound quite bad in the beginning because they both need to burn in a bit and be used with an amp in order to sound the best. And the difference is more than you think.

Could you suggest any amp that would work good with them?

 

Also as Im totally green in the topic what difference does the amount of ohms make?

[Dr0y]

Higher ohm is more difficult to drive, but usually sound better if I understood it ok.  There's also the efficiency to take into consideration.  Higher efficiency will be easier to drive. 

 

As for the amp I can't really help you with that ... I have the sybe sonic which is a budget option and probably not good by most people standard. 

[Tigerleon]

38 minutes ago, Pitrus said:

Could you suggest any amp that would work good with them?

 

Also as Im totally green in the topic what difference does the amount of ohms make?

Sound Blaster G3, G5 or a cheaper one like G1 which isn't the best but will work.

[Tigerleon]

2 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Also as Im totally green in the topic what difference does the amount of ohms make?

As @Dr0ysaid. Ohm is resistance. To calculate resistance you basically do u/i=r. So you take U which is volts I which is Current and then you divide and get resistance. Easy right. Well no. There is efficiency as well, headphone sensitivity. Which you also need to take greatly into consideration.

[Tigerleon]

39 minutes ago, Dr0y said:

but usually sound better if I understood it ok

You understood it pretty well. Although not true for many things. Why do gaming headsets often have lower ohm? Because they are 99,9% of the time driven off your phone/motherboard amp. Because the amp on the motherboard isn't as powerful as a regular amp so you wont need as much resistance to not overpower the headphones/distort the sound. So yeah. The quality of the sound can be a bit better but not audibly better if they are used correctly on the right setup.

[Pitrus]

1 hour ago, Tigerleon said:

Then you should consider getting the DT 770 pro 250ohm for now and save up for an amp/DAC combo because it really really helps it. They will sound quite bad in the beginning because they both need to burn in a bit and be used with an amp in order to sound the best. And the difference is more than you think.

I know the motherboard uses a Realtek ALC 1200. So you since higher ohms tend to be harder to drive wouldn't it be better to get the 80ohm version for the time or will there be a lot of difference between 80 and 250 versions once I get amp/dac?

[Tigerleon]

6 minutes ago, Pitrus said:

I know the motherboard uses a Realtek ALC 1200. So you since higher ohms tend to be harder to drive wouldn't it be better to get the 80ohm version for the time or will there be a lot of difference between 80 and 250 versions once I get amp/dac?

I know a friend that has the DT 770 pro 80ohm and the ALC1220 and it sounds under okay at 100% on windows. But paired with my amp/DAC I get much better fidelity and better highs and lows. In this case. Ohms don't matter. The headphone sensitivity is really low.

[Pitrus]

16 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

I know a friend that has the DT 770 pro 80ohm and the ALC1220 and it sounds under okay at 100% on windows. But paired with my amp/DAC I get much better fidelity and better highs and lows. In this case. Ohms don't matter. The headphone sensitivity is really low.

What amp/DAC did you use with them?

[Tigerleon]

20 minutes ago, Pitrus said:

What amp/DAC did you use with them?

Sound Blaster AE-9

[Psittac]

4 hours ago, Pitrus said:

Could you suggest any amp that would work good with them?

 

Also as Im totally green in the topic what difference does the amount of ohms make?

Ohms aren't everything but as a general rule of thumb the higher the ohms the harder to drive.  I have the dt880 600ohm and they require a full on stereo amplifier to properly drive.  You can get volume out of them on something less but the sound quality isn't quite there.  I got my friend a pair of dt770 80ohm and got to listen a little bit to them on my dac/amp and they sound excellent.  Unfortunately I didn't try them with onboard audio.  I actually have no meaningful time with onboard audio because I went straight to a dac/amp after leaving my headset behind.  One option is to get just an amp right now and run a 3.5mm to rca adapter then later get a dac, Or you could always get something like an SMSL Q5 for about $130usd, topping MX3 is good too. Ifi zen dac is a popular option but all of them are about $100usd or a little more.  If you don't think that any of those will end up in your budget there are products somewhat more in the portable realm that should be cheaper but I don't have experience with them.  I have a fosi audio Q4 that I can hook up and do some testing, I bought it only for some $30 headphones and haven't used it since but I'll pull that out to do some testing.

 

The dt770pro 80 ohm won't let you down at all, you can see how they do with onboard audio and if anything can wait a little while to get a dac/amp.

 

Also if you can find them the Beyerdynamic Tyger 300r are very easy to drive and may not require a dac/amp

 

Something like the Phillips X2HR is another great option, they are so silky smooth and very easy to drive.  I heard my friends X3 which are basically the same thing and fell in love, I might have to get a pair just a little taxed this christmas season.  They're a little above budget but should be very easy to drive with onboard audio and won't let you down if you get a dac/amp

 

*edit: oh an additional thought is that dac chips are going to be scarce the next couple year because the AKM factory burned down, so I wouldn't wait to long to buy anything with a dac

[Pitrus]

41 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Ohms aren't everything but as a general rule of thumb the higher the ohms the harder to drive.  I have the dt880 600ohm and they require a full on stereo amplifier to properly drive.  You can get volume out of them on something less but the sound quality isn't quite there.  I got my friend a pair of dt770 80ohm and got to listen a little bit to them on my dac/amp and they sound excellent.  Unfortunately I didn't try them with onboard audio.  I actually have no meaningful time with onboard audio because I went straight to a dac/amp after leaving my headset behind.  One option is to get just an amp right now and run a 3.5mm to rca adapter then later get a dac, Or you could always get something like an SMSL Q5 for about $130usd, topping MX3 is good too. Ifi zen dac is a popular option but all of them are about $100usd or a little more.  If you don't think that any of those will end up in your budget there are products somewhat more in the portable realm that should be cheaper but I don't have experience with them.  I have a fosi audio Q4 that I can hook up and do some testing, I bought it only for some $30 headphones and haven't used it since but I'll pull that out to do some testing.

 

The dt770pro 80 ohm won't let you down at all, you can see how they do with onboard audio and if anything can wait a little while to get a dac/amp.

 

Also if you can find them the Beyerdynamic Tyger 300r are very easy to drive and may not require a dac/amp

 

Something like the Phillips X2HR is another great option, they are so silky smooth and very easy to drive.  I heard my friends X3 which are basically the same thing and fell in love, I might have to get a pair just a little taxed this christmas season.  They're a little above budget but should be very easy to drive with onboard audio and won't let you down if you get a dac/amp

Beyerdynamic Tyger 300r seem an intresting option but in Poland you cannot get them. They seem to be only sold as a Team Tyger set for way over my budget.

 

I was looking at the availability od the dt770pro and they seem intresting and maybe later on down the road I would get for the Sound Blaster 5 as @Tigerleon suggested.

The Phillips X2HR seem an intresting option as well. I found an offer in an outlet for around 120$ (after converting from my currency).

I'm currently torn between the dt 770 pro and the phillips X2HR so I would have to consider these 2 sets. But looking that the dt 770 pro might need a dac/amp later on might sway me towards  X2HR

[Tigerleon]

39 minutes ago, Pitrus said:

Beyerdynamic Tyger 300r seem an intresting option but in Poland you cannot get them. They seem to be only sold as a Team Tyger set for way over my budget.

 

I was looking at the availability od the dt770pro and they seem intresting and maybe later on down the road I would get for the Sound Blaster 5 as @Tigerleon suggested.

The Phillips X2HR seem an intresting option as well. I found an offer in an outlet for around 120$ (after converting from my currency).

I'm currently torn between the dt 770 pro and the phillips X2HR so I would have to consider these 2 sets. But looking that the dt 770 pro might need a dac/amp later on might sway me towards  X2HR

DT 770 pros will not be as good as the X2HR in terms of comfort/sound signature for gaming and music. The X2HR wont really require an amp to sound the best but will still benefit from one. I strongly suggest you getting the X2HR when you've said you can get your hands on a pair! Also, X2HR has one of the biggest soundstage and immersive audio because of its big 50mm drivers compared to the 45mm in beyerdynamic headphones. The bigger the soundstage the wider and more open everything sounds. The bass is "better" on the X2HR for gaming.

[Psittac]

45 minutes ago, Pitrus said:

Beyerdynamic Tyger 300r seem an intresting option but in Poland you cannot get them. They seem to be only sold as a Team Tyger set for way over my budget.

 

I was looking at the availability od the dt770pro and they seem intresting and maybe later on down the road I would get for the Sound Blaster 5 as @Tigerleon suggested.

The Phillips X2HR seem an intresting option as well. I found an offer in an outlet for around 120$ (after converting from my currency).

I'm currently torn between the dt 770 pro and the phillips X2HR so I would have to consider these 2 sets. But looking that the dt 770 pro might need a dac/amp later on might sway me towards  X2HR

X2HR is a warmer silky sound, dt 770 is a V shape meaning that it's more bass and treble heavy.  You won't be disappointed with either

[Pitrus]

@Psittac @Tigerleon what would be the difference between the fidelios x2 and x2hr?

 

I think you have both swayed me towards phillips and I might go for them since the outlet that offers them is located in my hometown.

[Tigerleon]

1 minute ago, Pitrus said:

@Psittac @Tigerleon what would be the difference between the fidelios x2 and x2hr?

 

I think you have both swayed me towards phillips and I might go for them since the outlet that offers them is located in my hometown.

Just go for the X2HR. Basically better. Says it in the name. X2 Hi-res. I think haha. Not sure.

[Pitrus]

@Tigerleon @Psittac

So i snatched the x2hr for equivalent of 105$.

I hope they do come in good condition or otherwise I will return them

 

Thanks for help with choosing the best set

 

Edit

I was just sent info that they are missing the instruction and one earpad. Once they arrive I will test them and see if everything functions properly.

I'm considering either buying replacement pads or just returning them and getting brand new for 165$.

The replacment pads from what I've seen cos around 15$ but I have no idea if that would change any of my experience?

[Psittac]

1 hour ago, Pitrus said:

@Tigerleon @Psittac

So i snatched the x2hr for equivalent of 105$.

I hope they do come in good condition or otherwise I will return them

 

Thanks for help with choosing the best set

 

Edit

I was just sent info that they are missing the instruction and one earpad. Once they arrive I will test them and see if everything functions properly.

I'm considering either buying replacement pads or just returning them and getting brand new for 165$.

The replacment pads from what I've seen cos around 15$ but I have no idea if that would change any of my experience?

Pads do indeed change the sound signature, I couldn't even begin to guess which pads would sound best on them, it's almost an exact science picking pads.  The new ones are 50% more expensive than the ones you've got so I would buy some pads for them, if anything that can be an adventure trying different pads and listening to the differences

[Tigerleon]

8 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Pads do indeed change the sound signature, I couldn't even begin to guess which pads would sound best on them, it's almost an exact science picking pads.  The new ones are 50% more expensive than the ones you've got so I would buy some pads for them, if anything that can be an adventure trying different pads and listening to the differences

He probably meant to replace with OEM pads.