PC38X or HD 560S - FPS Shooters

[John204]

Hello, I'm looking for a pair of headphones (mic not needed) for competitive FPS shooters. Games I play are Apex, Cs, Valorant. The goal is sound for determining position and distance. I am a top 1% player in the FPS games I play but since I play casually, I want great sound rather than the earphones that pros use. I don't intend to spendmore than 300 AUD. The two headphones I'm looking into are the PC38X (200 AUD) and the HD 560S (300 AUD). From one opinion by a top 0.1% player in the games that I play, he recommended the HD 560S because it allows better positioning when players are both in front and behind or above and below compared to the PC38X. I would like extra opinions from you guys who have tried one or both of these headsets on competitive FPS games before I make my purchase. Is the HD 560S truly worth $100 AUD more? Or are there even better options (I want to avoid needing to buy a DAC)?

[MeowMilev]

The PC38X (200 AUD) and the HD 560S headphones are soo old models! You are buying old elephants with inflated price.  

 

If you are truly the top 1%, look no further than Razer or Asus brand. cause the 2 headphone u mentioned above are like hyped audiophile choices.  I have Audio Technica, Sennheriser, Audeze headphones and they all have bad audio positioning in COD MW2.  MP3/Movie on the other hand speaks differently.

 

Stay away from Surround upmixing/Dolby Atmos nonsenses.

[Tigerleon]

1 hour ago, John204 said:

Hello, I'm looking for a pair of headphones (mic not needed) for competitive FPS shooters. Games I play are Apex, Cs, Valorant. The goal is sound for determining position and distance. I am a top 1% player in the FPS games I play but since I play casually, I want great sound rather than the earphones that pros use. I don't intend to spendmore than 300 AUD. The two headphones I'm looking into are the PC38X (200 AUD) and the HD 560S (300 AUD). From one opinion by a top 0.1% player in the games that I play, he recommended the HD 560S because it allows better positioning when players are both in front and behind or above and below compared to the PC38X. I would like extra opinions from you guys who have tried one or both of these headsets on competitive FPS games before I make my purchase. Is the HD 560S truly worth $100 AUD more? Or are there even better options (I want to avoid needing to buy a DAC)?

Don't listen to Milev. Good headphones are good headphones. Just use EQ and fix mids/treble for footsteps. If you want only headphones and not a mic. Get the Tygr 300 R. They are one of the best headphones for positioning under 200 whilst still being good in other aspects. These don't need an amp but do benefit a little bit. You can get listenable volume out of these and good quality without a separate DAC/amp as long as your PC doesn't have a shit one built in.

[John204]

8 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Don't listen to Milev. Good headphones are good headphones. Just use EQ and fix mids/treble for footsteps. If you want only headphones and not a mic. Get the Tygr 300 R. They are one of the best headphones for positioning under 200 whilst still being good in other aspects. These don't need an amp but do benefit a little bit. You can get listenable volume out of these and good quality without a separate DAC/amp as long as your PC doesn't have a shit one built in.

What games have you used them for? Just took a look and can get them around 220 AUD (for others wondering).

[Tigerleon]

8 minutes ago, John204 said:

What games have you used them for? Just took a look and can get them around 220 AUD (for others wondering).

Counter-Strike 2, Escape From Tarkov, and some other games. Also, I just realized you are Australian which has a different value in the currency. My bad.

Edit: You can read about my experience with the Tygr 300 R here 

 

[ToboRobot]

I use 560s cans, and like them a lot.  I got them to replace Grado SR60 (loved them, were great play R6 Seige and listening for sneaky players and hunting them) headphones that broke so I couldn't do a direct comparison, but I would say comparable or better.

I hate to say it, but headphones are so subjective, that I would try to try them and pick my favourite.

Also, if you are this dedicated to sound, getting a DAC is probably a good idea for optimal sound.  I'm just using the built in DAC on a elgato mic and it does a good enough job.

[HAL90000]

If you're gaming get a surround sound gaming headset. No pure stereo headphone is going to give you proper positional audio. If sound quality is what you're after on the other hand, an easy to drive regular audiophile headphone is a good choice. Sennheisers sound good and the 560s is a good choice, for sound quality, but as far as gaming I can't comment. 

[John204]

13 hours ago, ToboRobot said:

I use 560s cans, and like them a lot.  I got them to replace Grado SR60 (loved them, were great play R6 Seige and listening for sneaky players and hunting them) headphones that broke so I couldn't do a direct comparison, but I would say comparable or better.

I hate to say it, but headphones are so subjective, that I would try to try them and pick my favourite.

Also, if you are this dedicated to sound, getting a DAC is probably a good idea for optimal sound.  I'm just using the built in DAC on a elgato mic and it does a good enough job.

Hey, how did the 560s break? I want to know the durability before I drop $233 AUD on them. Found them for cheaper using discounts + student discounts etc for others that are wondering.

[John204]

13 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

Counter-Strike 2, Escape From Tarkov, and some other games. Also, I just realized you are Australian which has a different value in the currency. My bad.

Edit: You can read about my experience with the Tygr 300 R here 

 

Sorry to tag you again. I found that I can get the 560s for $233 AUD and the Tygr 300 R for $220 AUD (Approx 10 dollar difference if converted to your currency). I read your review and it seems that you don't have experience with Sennheiser headphones before. However, you will definitely have more experience/knowledge, do you reckon the 560s would have better quality compared to the Tygr's for the cost or should I just commit to the Tygr's?

[Tigerleon]

4 hours ago, John204 said:

Sorry to tag you again. I found that I can get the 560s for $233 AUD and the Tygr 300 R for $220 AUD (Approx 10 dollar difference if converted to your currency). I read your review and it seems that you don't have experience with Sennheiser headphones before. However, you will definitely have more experience/knowledge, do you reckon the 560s would have better quality compared to the Tygr's for the cost or should I just commit to the Tygr's?

I would say looking at other reviews and seeing what people think of the 560s is that they are good in terms of sound and have I think worse build quality due to being full plastic except the grill. I can't say much about them but if you want a more vocal forward headphone with less bass and less soundstage, 560s or more bass and a bit bigger soundstage, Tygrs. That is what I've read. I think both are equal in great directional imaging but you decide. You might find the less bass better in the 560s or the opposite way around. You can always EQ more bass or less anyway but they respond differently to that. The earcups are of course different being oval and round on the Tygrs.

[ToboRobot]

4 hours ago, John204 said:

Hey, how did the 560s break? I want to know the durability before I drop $233 AUD on them. Found them for cheaper using discounts + student discounts etc for others that are wondering.

Sorry if I was unclear, I have had the 560s for about 2 years and they are perfect. 

I broke a pair of Grado SR60 headphones after years of abuse.  560s were the replacement for broken Grados.

They seem to be well built, I have no issues tossing them in a bag with my backpack, but mostly they sit on my desk.

 

[Tigerleon]

22 hours ago, HAL90000 said:

If you're gaming get a surround sound gaming headset

Eeerm yeah no. If you are gaming, take advantage of most game engines built in HRTF/binaural setting with a good normal pair of headphones. Also the virtual surround features on most gaming headsets are pretty bad. My soundcard has "surround" aka virtual surround and has sounded the best out of any virtual surround headset I've tried which doesn't mean good in this case. A better alternative to virtual surround is good EQ for headphones that actually have good imaging.

[John204]

On 9/10/2023 at 11:19 PM, Tigerleon said:

Eeerm yeah no. If you are gaming, take advantage of most game engines built in HRTF/binaural setting with a good normal pair of headphones. Also the virtual surround features on most gaming headsets are pretty bad. My soundcard has "surround" aka virtual surround and has sounded the best out of any virtual surround headset I've tried which doesn't mean good in this case. A better alternative to virtual surround is good EQ for headphones that actually have good imaging.

I went and got the 560s and I don't regret it. Having a good pair of headphones, stereo is definitely enough as I can tell direction, distance and whether or not they are above or below me. I saw in another post that you recommended someone to get a DAC/AMP for their 560s. Any recommendations for cheap DAC/AMP? Or do you reckon I won't need one?

[Tigerleon]

21 minutes ago, John204 said:

I went and got the 560s and I don't regret it. Having a good pair of headphones, stereo is definitely enough as I can tell direction, distance and whether or not they are above or below me. I saw in another post that you recommended someone to get a DAC/AMP for their 560s. Any recommendations for cheap DAC/AMP? Or do you reckon I won't need one?

Yeah, they benefit from a DAC/amp. What budget do you have?

[John204]

16 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

Yeah, they benefit from a DAC/amp. What budget do you have?

I don't want to spend too much. I'd say as little as possible, probably not breaking three digits. From what I've seen there are DACs/Amps that cost as much as my headphones.

 

I saw a listing on FB marketplace for AudioQuest DragonFly Black for $80 AUD. Would this be worth it, or do you think the difference isn't worth it?

[Tigerleon]

9 minutes ago, John204 said:

I don't want to spend too much. I'd say as little as possible, probably not breaking three digits. From what I've seen there are DACs/Amps that cost as much as my headphones.

 

I saw a listing on FB marketplace for AudioQuest DragonFly Black for $80 AUD. Would this be worth it, or do you think the difference isn't worth it?

I wouldn't buy that one for $80 AUD if it was used. I'd rather get a new one but something bigger like a standard headphone DAC/amp from like amazon if you can order from there. Something like the FX audio DAC X6 is a good cheap alternative. Or something from SMSL or Topping.

[John204]

3 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

I wouldn't buy that one for $80 AUD if it was used. I'd rather get a new one but something bigger like a standard headphone DAC/amp from like amazon if you can order from there. Something like the FX audio DAC X6 is a good cheap alternative. Or something from SMSL or Topping.

I just took a look and the FX audio DAC X is going for about $170 AUD on Amazon.

 

The cheapest I can find it this: https://www.amazon.com.au/S-M-S-L-MQA-CD-Decoder-AK4493S-768kHz/dp/B0C1Y7C9HH/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3R56B9IPOHFE6&keywords=SMSL+dac&qid=1695817045&s=electronics&sprefix=smsl+d%2Celectronics%2C266&sr=1-4

 

The topping ones seem to be anywhere from $140-300 AUD. Note that I paid ~200 AUD for the 560s. Crapping thing about Australia is that if it isn't something that people regularly buy, it is ridiculously overpriced.

[Tigerleon]

5 minutes ago, John204 said:

I just took a look and the FX audio DAC X is going for about $170 AUD on Amazon.

 

The cheapest I can find it this: https://www.amazon.com.au/S-M-S-L-MQA-CD-Decoder-AK4493S-768kHz/dp/B0C1Y7C9HH/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3R56B9IPOHFE6&keywords=SMSL+dac&qid=1695817045&s=electronics&sprefix=smsl+d%2Celectronics%2C266&sr=1-4

 

The topping ones seem to be anywhere from $140-300 AUD. Note that I paid ~200 AUD for the 560s. Crapping thing about Australia is that if it isn't something that people regularly buy, it is ridiculously overpriced.

Okay. I'd say go for the AudioQuest

[John204]

On 9/27/2023 at 9:55 PM, Tigerleon said:

Okay. I'd say go for the AudioQuest

Do you think this is worth it for the 560s?

 

https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/topping/products/topping-dx1-desktop-dac-amp

 

My motherboard has ALC 897 Realtek.

[Tigerleon]

6 minutes ago, John204 said:

Do you think this is worth it for the 560s?

 

https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/topping/products/topping-dx1-desktop-dac-amp

 

My motherboard has ALC 897 Realtek.

Yes that is worth it. Your motherboard DAC/amp is pretty bad and wont really do any good with the 560s