Need new headphones

[Excepsi]

I am currently using the hyper x cloud 2's and am thinking of upgrading to something better. I am thinking of getting the Schiit magni 3+b and DT 990 pro 250ohm. Would this be a good combo? I am gonna use it for competitive FPS gaming so I need good audio imaging to hear where the enemy is at.

[Psittac]

That's a good selection.

 

If it were my call I'd go with Schiit Fulla and Rode NTH-100

 

I have this exact setup and absolutely love it.  If you wanted to get more difficult to drive headphones down the road you can get the schiit Hel instead.

 

My reasoning behind the fulla over the magni is because it get's you a dac And amp which in my opinion is a no brainer.  Relying on the onboard dac isn't my cup of tea but is certainly feasible.  Just make sure you can produce line out from your onboard audio so you aren't double amping.  That's where you send a powered or amplified output to an amplifier and get increased distortion.  Even still you will have an enjoyable experience it's all about best practice to get everything you can out of it.  Granted you will adjust to the sound no matter your solution so throwing money at it isn't always the best option.

 

Bare minimum: $150-160

easy to drive headphones like Phillips X2HR or X3 or Rode NTH-100 + onboard

 

Option 1: $260

Schiit Fulla + X2HR X3 or NTH-100

 

Option 2: $270

Schiit Magni + DT990-250 or another difficult to drive headphone

 

Option 3: $400 (end game for option 2)

Schiit Magni + Modi + 990-250 or other headphone.

 

Option 4: $350-380

Schiit Hel or Schiit Magni + Modi and any of the listed headphones.

 

I have the DT1990 and they're a solid headphone, however I have heard that the 990 is rather sharp, and in my personal experience the magni + modi combination can add to that sharpness.  When I upgraded from the schiit stack I found a warmer and more bassy sound signature.  I have the DT880-600 as well and they aren't sharp at all, I'd say tonally they're on par with the 1990 but the 880 has the added capacity to bash your brains like you're sitting infront of a speaker at a concert.

 

I don't think you will go wrong with the 990-250 just so long as you are aware that it can be considered a bright headphone.

 

*side note: The Rode NTH-100 can sound good on anything, while it does pick up some quality depending on what's behind it, it already makes so much out of so little that the improvements aren't as apparent.  Example: The Sennheiser hd6xx picks apart everything behind it even bad cables, this is called a transparent headphone and it scales very well with improvements.  The NTH-100 is the opposite of this and sounds great on a phone or onboard and doesn't scale very well.

[Excepsi]

13 minutes ago, Psittac said:

That's a good selection.

 

If it were my call I'd go with Schiit Fulla and Rode NTH-100

 

I have this exact setup and absolutely love it.  If you wanted to get more difficult to drive headphones down the road you can get the schiit Hel instead.

 

My reasoning behind the fulla over the magni is because it get's you a dac And amp which in my opinion is a no brainer.  Relying on the onboard dac isn't my cup of tea but is certainly feasible.  Just make sure you can produce line out from your onboard audio so you aren't double amping.  That's where you send a powered or amplified output to an amplifier and get increased distortion.  Even still you will have an enjoyable experience it's all about best practice to get everything you can out of it.  Granted you will adjust to the sound no matter your solution so throwing money at it isn't always the best option.

 

Bare minimum: $150-160

easy to drive headphones like Phillips X2HR or X3 or Rode NTH-100 + onboard

 

Option 1: $260

Schiit Fulla + X2HR X3 or NTH-100

 

Option 2: $270

Schiit Magni + DT990-250 or another difficult to drive headphone

 

Option 3: $400 (end game for option 2)

Schiit Magni + Modi + 990-250 or other headphone.

 

Option 4: $350-380

Schiit Hel or Schiit Magni + Modi and any of the listed headphones.

 

I have the DT1990 and they're a solid headphone, however I have heard that the 990 is rather sharp, and in my personal experience the magni + modi combination can add to that sharpness.  When I upgraded from the schiit stack I found a warmer and more bassy sound signature.  I have the DT880-600 as well and they aren't sharp at all, I'd say tonally they're on par with the 1990 but the 880 has the added capacity to bash your brains like you're sitting infront of a speaker at a concert.

 

I don't think you will go wrong with the 990-250 just so long as you are aware that it can be considered a bright headphone.

 

*side note: The Rode NTH-100 can sound good on anything, while it does pick up some quality depending on what's behind it, it already makes so much out of so little that the improvements aren't as apparent.  Example: The Sennheiser hd6xx picks apart everything behind it even bad cables, this is called a transparent headphone and it scales very well with improvements.  The NTH-100 is the opposite of this and sounds great on a phone or onboard and doesn't scale very well.

For FPS competitve gaming what would you choose?>

[Psittac]

39 minutes ago, Excepsi said:

For FPS competitve gaming what would you choose?>

I don't have first hand experience with the DT990 but I've had an hour or two on the 770-80 and I own the 880-600 and 1990-250 and I can say that any of them would be excellent for FPS gaming.  I can say that the 990 will have better sound stage IE: sounds are more like speakers vs headphones over something like the 770 or 880 but the imaging IE: ability to pinpoint direction is going to be the same between all 3.  FYI 770 is closed back, 880 is semi-open back and 990 is open back.  Any of them will fit your requirements just fine, even the 80 ohm version will do just fine (*note: don't think 880 offers an 80 ohm).

 

Now onto the Phillips X2HR and X3 of which I have the X3 which is an "upgraded X2HR" though some prefer the older of the two and both are excellent.  These are going to be a warmer sound but again, more to your needs they both will do great for FPS gaming, they have a wide soundstage and excellent imaging.  (*edit: to me these have the best imaging) Though these come with the added bonus of being easier to drive so an external dac and/or amp is not required. (*note: depending on your onboard solution you may be able to drive the dt990-250 with reasonable results for music and good results for gaming).  The X2HR/X3 is not as transparent as the Beyerdynamic solutions so it will not require as much in the chain behind it.

 

Lastly the Rode NTH-100 has "good enough" sound stage and excellent imaging plus it is easy to drive and sounds great for music on anything.

 

Take-away: all of the headphones mentioned here will provide great imaging which is the most important thing for FPS games.  The difference IMO being difficulty to drive, how much it wants something beyond onboard and for thing's beyond gaming like music and content consumption.  Honestly if all you are doing is gaming then "gaming" headsets are already focused on that, they are punchy and precise for gaming.  The problem I have with headsets is that they don't do anything other than gaming.  If you want a full and immersive audio experience past gaming many of them fall flat on their face.

 

I will add another option that I have no experience with but an educated recommendation would be the beyerdynamic Tygr.  Audiophiles love it and it is gamer focused, plus I believe it is easy to drive.

 

Lastly, since I'm in the mood to rant.  My experiences are just that, my own.  Everyone has a different meat basket on their shoulders and use it for different things with different tastes in music and audio needs in general.  I am jaded on gaming headsets because of a pair of Razer Krakens I got 7+ years ago from best buy which were amazing for gaming but garbage for everything else.  My Sennheiser game one headset was accurate but flat.  Also I'm getting older (almost 42) and I don't play intense FPS games anymore so I don't have first hand usage with snap shot games.  Also my ability to distinguish a great imaging headphone from a good imaging headphone is suss, I got the Harmonic Dyne Zeus because it was supposed to offer the best imaging and apparently my brain can't decipher imaging because it's always still a band above my head and to the sides, so I never experience full on 360 imaging.  Just how my brain and meat holes take things In I guess.  However with my 20 some odd headphones and dacs and amps I can see enough of a difference to understand what others might experience.  So I like making informed suggestions off of products I have heard reviews of so I know what to look for and can experience enough of it to agree.

[Excepsi]

6 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I don't have first hand experience with the DT990 but I've had an hour or two on the 770-80 and I own the 880-600 and 1990-250 and I can say that any of them would be excellent for FPS gaming.  I can say that the 990 will have better sound stage IE: sounds are more like speakers vs headphones over something like the 770 or 880 but the imaging IE: ability to pinpoint direction is going to be the same between all 3.  FYI 770 is closed back, 880 is semi-open back and 990 is open back.  Any of them will fit your requirements just fine, even the 80 ohm version will do just fine (*note: don't think 880 offers an 80 ohm).

 

Now onto the Phillips X2HR and X3 of which I have the X3 which is an "upgraded X2HR" though some prefer the older of the two and both are excellent.  These are going to be a warmer sound but again, more to your needs they both will do great for FPS gaming, they have a wide soundstage and excellent imaging.  (*edit: to me these have the best imaging) Though these come with the added bonus of being easier to drive so an external dac and/or amp is not required. (*note: depending on your onboard solution you may be able to drive the dt990-250 with reasonable results for music and good results for gaming).  The X2HR/X3 is not as transparent as the Beyerdynamic solutions so it will not require as much in the chain behind it.

 

Lastly the Rode NTH-100 has "good enough" sound stage and excellent imaging plus it is easy to drive and sounds great for music on anything.

 

Take-away: all of the headphones mentioned here will provide great imaging which is the most important thing for FPS games.  The difference IMO being difficulty to drive, how much it wants something beyond onboard and for thing's beyond gaming like music and content consumption.  Honestly if all you are doing is gaming then "gaming" headsets are already focused on that, they are punchy and precise for gaming.  The problem I have with headsets is that they don't do anything other than gaming.  If you want a full and immersive audio experience past gaming many of them fall flat on their face.

 

I will add another option that I have no experience with but an educated recommendation would be the beyerdynamic Tygr.  Audiophiles love it and it is gamer focused, plus I believe it is easy to drive.

 

Lastly, since I'm in the mood to rant.  My experiences are just that, my own.  Everyone has a different meat basket on their shoulders and use it for different things with different tastes in music and audio needs in general.  I am jaded on gaming headsets because of a pair of Razer Krakens I got 7+ years ago from best buy which were amazing for gaming but garbage for everything else.  My Sennheiser game one headset was accurate but flat.  Also I'm getting older (almost 42) and I don't play intense FPS games anymore so I don't have first hand usage with snap shot games.  Also my ability to distinguish a great imaging headphone from a good imaging headphone is suss, I got the Harmonic Dyne Zeus because it was supposed to offer the best imaging and apparently my brain can't decipher imaging because it's always still a band above my head and to the sides, so I never experience full on 360 imaging.  Just how my brain and meat holes take things In I guess.  However with my 20 some odd headphones and dacs and amps I can see enough of a difference to understand what others might experience.  So I like making informed suggestions off of products I have heard reviews of so I know what to look for and can experience enough of it to agree.

Will i need an amp for the beyerdynamic Tygr?

[Psittac]

11 minutes ago, Excepsi said:

Will i need an amp for the beyerdynamic Tygr?

No, none of them "need" an amp.  The 990-250 will enjoy it and all of them will enjoy a dac as well.  But if you have sufficient onboard all of them will be driven well with the 990-250 getting the most out of an amp

[Excepsi]

12 minutes ago, Psittac said:

No, none of them "need" an amp.  The 990-250 will enjoy it and all of them will enjoy a dac as well.  But if you have sufficient onboard all of them will be driven well with the 990-250 getting the most out of an amp

I have the Realtek^® ALC1220-VB CODEC on my motherboard is that a good "amp"

[Psittac]

2 minutes ago, Excepsi said:

I have the Realtek^® ALC1220-VB CODEC on my motherboard is that a good "amp"

I know virtually nothing about onboard audio, but mine is the ALC1200 and does fine even on the HD6xx

[Excepsi]

1 minute ago, Psittac said:

I know virtually nothing about onboard audio, but mine is the ALC1200 and does fine even on the HD6xx

Do you think an extension will lower the sound quality?

[Psittac]

1 minute ago, Excepsi said:

Do you think an extension will lower the sound quality?

no

[Excepsi]

2 minutes ago, Psittac said:

no

so out of the 990 or tygr or other headset what would you pick for gaminf

 

[Psittac]

1 minute ago, Excepsi said:

so out of the 990 or tygr or other headset what would you pick for gaminf

 

Tygr or NTH-100

[Excepsi]

3 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Tygr or NTH-100

And both should be good with the on board audio?

[Psittac]

12 minutes ago, Excepsi said:

And both should be good with the on board audio?

yes

[Excepsi]

23 minutes ago, Psittac said:

yes

And you said an amp would be even better sound

[rice guru]

3 hours ago, Excepsi said:

I am currently using the hyper x cloud 2's and am thinking of upgrading to something better. I am thinking of getting the Schiit magni 3+b and DT 990 pro 250ohm. Would this be a good combo? I am gonna use it for competitive FPS gaming so I need good audio imaging to hear where the enemy is at.

not a bad pickup but with this combo you can get yourself the 600 ohm 990 or 880 which are better  and more comfortable than the 250 ohm 990. but you can spend less money and get yourself a tygr and just run it on board or a cheaper DAC like a ifi uno or even on boardd audio as it is pretty easy to drive. but if you want a quality amp for possible future purposes the magni is definitely better and you can get yourself a cheap dac to save money if that is a issue. a cheap dongle like a VE avani should be fine  as a holdover DAC