Headphone upgrade over Hyperx Clouds

[mempoedits]

Ever since I got my Kingston HyperX Cloud Pro gaming headset i started caring about good audio quality, but I primarily use my clouds for gaming and teamspeak. Now I'm looking at getting a seperate pair of headphones for music and movies, but since the clouds got such great reviews on its sound quality i'm having a hard time figuring out what would be a good upgrade (or replacement if the clouds were to ever die). I like bass but I also like how clean and open the clouds sound due to the open soundstage, money is not an issue. I'm also not really sure what I should look for specs wise. Some suggestions I got from friends were the DT 770 Pro 80 ohms, and a couple of Sennheiser 500 series models, I'm leaning the most towards the Sennheiser 558's (http://en-us.sennheiser.com/audio-headphones-high-end-hd-558). Any suggestions or maybe I have to look for more expensive cans to upgrade?

 

edit: I currently use an asus xonar dsx soundcard but I'll probably end up getting a DAC in the near future.

[Tafel_Kafel]

Budget?

[ERSCreeper]

Ever since I got my Kingston HyperX Cloud Pro gaming headset i started caring about good audio quality, but I primarily use my clouds for gaming and teamspeak. Now I'm looking at getting a seperate pair of headphones for music and movies, but since the clouds got such great reviews on its sound quality i'm having a hard time figuring out what would be a good upgrade (or replacement if the clouds were to ever die). I like bass but I also like how clean and open the clouds sound due to the open soundstage, money is not an issue. I'm also not really sure what I should look for specs wise. Some suggestions I got from friends were the DT 770 Pro 80 ohms, and a couple of Sennheiser 500 series models, I'm leaning the most towards the Sennheiser 558's (http://en-us.sennheiser.com/audio-headphones-high-end-hd-558). Any suggestions or maybe I have to look for more expensive cans to upgrade?

 

edit: I currently use an asus xonar dsx soundcard but I'll probably end up getting a DAC in the near future.

I have HD 558s and I love them. I use a Sansui Au-217 to give them a bit of a boost since my onboard audio lacks the power to satisfies me.

[ShearMe]

Assuming your budget is under 200, you've off to a good start with the 500 and DT series. Beyerdynamics will have the most similar sound, 500 series will lack bass and treble by comparison being more warmish neutral sounding. Other good options are the AKG K612 and audio-technica ATH-AD500X. They're more lean and sounding,AT being a bit prettier for female vocals, AKG being a bit more sharp and accurate sounding.

[Aphexx]

look at the dt880 or 990 instead of the 770

 

the hyperx at its core is basically a reskinned 770