Help deciding on headset/headphones

[JTMarch86]

Hey guys I'm going to be purchasing some new headphones and id like to get your opinions and suggestions.

My top choices so far are

Astro a40 $250

Sennheiser 558 (can't find new black 598s) $120

Audiotechnica ATH-M50X $170 w/ FiiO E6 amp

Razer Tiamat 7.1 $180

My price limit is $250

I work from home doing DSL tech support so it would be nice to have the boom mic so I don't have to switch headsets to play games and listen to music but I'm willing to if that means better quality audio.

I prefer to have very low clean yet powerful bass, good mids and clean highs, I don't want a muddy sound.

I'll be using them on my PC mainly and I also prefer the kind that go around the ears, not sitting on them since I'll be wearing them for 6+hours at a time. I find the ones that sit on your ears to become uncomfortable after long sessions.

What do you guys think of my choices?

Have any other ones that I've not considered yet?

Thanks for the input!

[CwGoh]

Hmm. Do you currently have and amp? And additionally, get the vanilla M50s supposed to the M50x if you need the removable cable - they're identical sound wise. But an alternate suggestion is the Shure 840s, Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros or DT770s.

[TheKDub]

I'd go for the ath m50x and a modmic.

[Archangel1994]

ATH-M40x + AT2020 (with shock mount)

[JTMarch86]

I had a FiiO E10 but it stopped working, so I'll need to get another amp, but I definitely will, even if it's a cheaper E6. But I'm still thinking no more than 250ohms.

[CCap]

As an owner of Astro A40's for almost three years, I can say that I love mine.

 

They have a great sound signature if you're into games like CS or other FPS's where your reliant on hearing footsteps. Personally though if I could go back in time I would probably get A50's instead. I leave my desk a lot and having a wireless headset would have been fantastic... Oh well. 

[kwljunky]

Hey guys I'm going to be purchasing some new headphones and id like to get your opinions and suggestions.

My top choices so far are

Astro a40 $250

Sennheiser 558 (can't find new black 598s) $120

Audiotechnica ATH-M50X $170 w/ FiiO E6 amp

Razer Tiamat 7.1 $180

My price limit is $250

I work from home doing DSL tech support so it would be nice to have the boom mic so I don't have to switch headsets to play games and listen to music but I'm willing to if that means better quality audio.

I prefer to have very low clean yet powerful bass, good mids and clean highs, I don't want a muddy sound.

I'll be using them on my PC mainly and I also prefer the kind that go around the ears, not sitting on them since I'll be wearing them for 6+hours at a time. I find the ones that sit on your ears to become uncomfortable after long sessions.

What do you guys think of my choices?

Have any other ones that I've not considered yet?

Thanks for the input!

Heard of massdrop?

 

They have these at $239 

 

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/beyerdynamic-dt880-premium?mode=guest_open

 

Beyerdynamic DT880 Premium Headphones

 

 

Then you can get a modmic later! 

[JTMarch86]

Heard of massdrop?

 

They have these at $239 

 

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/beyerdynamic-dt880-premium?mode=guest_open

 

Beyerdynamic DT880 Premium Headphones

 

 

Then you can get a modmic later! 

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

How's the bass on the 880?

 

Also, whats the difference between the 880 and the 990?

 

The 990 is cheaper than the 880 on amazon.

 

Also, theres the 880 Premium that you showed me and the 880 Pro, do you know what the difference is there?

 

And Massdrop says 1 day left, what's up with that? Does that mean the price will go back up tomorrow? I won't have the money until tomorrow morning so =/

[creatip123]

$250? Get HE-400. Might need an amp though.

[JTMarch86]

Actually, I watched Tek Syndicate's review and comparison of the DT880 Premium and Pros, so nvm on that question.

BUT

Logan made a comment that really stuck with me, he said the DT880's arent really good for music like dubstep. I do like a clean sound, but I do listen to music with heavy bass like dubstep and it's very important to me that the bass is powerful and deep. He said the 770's or the 990's were much better for that type of music. Have any of you listened to the 770 or 990s?

The 990s look nice. The 880s have a better aesthetic imo, but sound is the most important thing to me.

 

And creatip... I think I'm going to be wanting something closer to 250 ohm rather than 32. But how's the sound on the HE-400s? How's the bass?

[JTMarch86]

As an owner of Astro A40's for almost three years, I can say that I love mine.

 

They have a great sound signature if you're into games like CS or other FPS's where your reliant on hearing footsteps. Personally though if I could go back in time I would probably get A50's instead. I leave my desk a lot and having a wireless headset would have been fantastic... Oh well. 

Can you tell me how the bass is on the A40? I'm not playing as many FPS's as I used to. I've been into more RPG's lately. Like right now I'm playing Dragon Age Inquisition, and before that, ESO and Skyrim. But I also play Far Cry 3/4, Borderlands, Metro LL and even some racing games. But none really online at the moment.

So I'm not REALLY worried about amazing positional audio and hearing things like footsteps, since I'm not playing competitively anymore.

I do listen to dubstep and techno and love the feeling of that deep powerful bass you know? I like to FEEL it. And it can't be muddy or distorted like it's having a hard time pushing the lows clearly.

[kwljunky]

Actually, I watched Tek Syndicate's review and comparison of the DT880 Premium and Pros, so nvm on that question.

BUT

Logan made a comment that really stuck with me, he said the DT880's arent really good for music like dubstep. I do like a clean sound, but I do listen to music with heavy bass like dubstep and it's very important to me that the bass is powerful and deep. He said the 770's or the 990's were much better for that type of music. Have any of you listened to the 770 or 990s?

The 990s look nice. The 880s have a better aesthetic imo, but sound is the most important thing to me.

 

And creatip... I think I'm going to be wanting something closer to 250 ohm rather than 32. But how's the sound on the HE-400s? How's the bass?

 

990 are open and 880 are semi open, I would get the 990 if that's your thing. 

I would have a look at Mad Lust's list: http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-10-15-2014-beyerdynamic-t51i-added 

Definitely go with the 990's and I think you may need an amp to go along with it. You want a headphone that has a nice open sound-stage , I think logan explains it in his recent videos on gaming headsets. 

But here's what mad lust had to say about the 990: 

 

 

These are GREAT for gaming. Probably easier on the ears than they are for music, as the treble's edge isn't as pronounced in Dolby Headphone mode. There is a greater soundstage, more fantastic bass impact than the 880s (super quick and tight, and unobtrusive still, but more lively), and the detail retrieval is on par, if not better than the 880s due to the more emphasized treble, and just as detailed mids (though the mids aren't as forward as the bass and treble). If you want a more fun oriented sound than the 880s have for gaming, the 990s are it. The bass isn't boomy, but more omni-present, which adds to the immersion. They also work very well for the hardcore gamers out there who wanna nitpick the finer details in games like Call of Duty. Imaging is excellent, and overall positioning is better than the 880s. The hole between 5 and 7 is no longer there, though it's still not as good at judging front and rear sounds as my other faves. However it does it well enough for me that I happily sold the killer K701s as I saw no need to own anything for gaming after the 990s at the time. The treble WILL be too much for some people, though I believe that is more of an issue with it's use in regular stereo. For gaming, I didn't ever feel it got up there...

Comfort-wise, they can be truly great a hit or a miss for some. One, the padding is pretty much one of the best I've felt on any headphone. I love velour, especially ones as soft as these. The DT990 is very lightweight, and it will feel like pillows caressing the side of your head. The miss part is that the space for your ears to fit in isn't big and your ears may press against the padding protecting the drivers.

update: My original review was for the 600ohm. I have also used the 32ohm, 250ohm, and more 600ohm versions, and I must say, they're too much alike to consider them different headphones. There may be slight differences, but unless you have them side by side, they're very much the same headphone with different amping requirements.

Comparisons of the 32 vs 250 (Premium and Pro) vs 600 ohm:

The 32ohm is a lot easier to drive in terms of volume, though they scale quite a bit with amping, to the point that I thought they were just shy of the 600ohm. The 32ohm I feel is recommended for those who just want an amazing headphone to pair up with something like the Mixamp and possibly a portable amp.

As for differences between the higher ohm DT990, the 32ohm is slightly less refined, and the soundstage is slightly smaller in stereo mode. It also has a dryness to the sound compared to the 250 ohm Premium. One that wouldn't change my thoughts on it. The 600ohm is slightly better overall to the 32ohm, but to make it better than the 32ohm, you need a pretty good amp to bring out that potential. For most of us, the differences don't justify the hassle. Don't overlook the 32ohm, especially if you're not getting an ideal amp for 600ohm headphones. The 32ohm gets you 95% of the way there, with the benefit of being able to sound very good unamped, and better driven than the 600ohm on all but really good gear. You will still want an amp to bring out their sound quality, like the other Beyers on this guide.

The 250ohm Premium is also just like the 320hm and 600ohm, but it has a darker tone, fuller bass, and less mids than the 32ohm and 600ohm. The differences again, are very negligible, especially if you don't have all 3 to compare. The 250ohm is also more refined than the 32ohm, with a bigger soundstage, and the sound as a whole has more body/weight, but again, the mids aren't as forward as the 32ohm or 600ohm. The difference yet again, are slight. The 250ohm is harder to drive than the 32ohm in terms of VOLUME, and only on certain sources will a portable amp be enough. To be safe, you'll want a desktop amp for the 250ohm.

The Pro 250ohm model sounds just like the Premium 250ohm model, but it has a bit more clamp so the bass is raised slightly, and soundstage is slightly lessened, (though still very similar to the Premium 250ohm, and still bigger than the 32ohm DT990). Because the Pro model is the cheapest, if you're looking to save some money and don't mind the retro look and stronger clamp, the DT990 Pro 250ohm gets you 99.9% the same sound as the Premium 250ohm.

The 600ohm is the most refined, and shares more in common with the 32ohm than the 250ohm, but just barely. The bass is tighter with very slightly less impact than the 250ohm. Like the 32ohm, the mids are ever so slightly more forward than the 250ohm. The soundstage is like the 250ohm, which is to say, slightly larger than the 32ohm. The 600ohm deserves some real good amping to make it worthwhile over the 32/250ohm variants. If you don't plan on getting something in the realm of $250+ for a bonafied desktop amp, get the 250ohm instead, though recent comparisons using the E09K have shown me that the 600ohm is still the better can (literally by a micro hair).

Now, when using a Dolby Headphone device (also using an amp to help drive the Beyers), I found them all to sound almost too similar. virtual surround positioning, soundstage, and tone where all incredibly similar. Made the differences even harder to discern than when listening to music, etc, without the Mixamp.

Because they're all so similar, I won't be giving them different scores. They're all within a hair of each other for fun, competitive, and obviously comfort.