Gaming headphones

[Majestic]

Evening all, 

 

So i'm soon moving out, and I want to move my speakers down by the television. So i'm looking to buy a pair of phones just for the PC.

Now I already have an AudioEngine D1 DAC and a pair of Bowers&Wilkins P7, but they're musical closed headphones and made for mobile devices. I'm not convinced they're particularly well-suited for positional audio and extended playing sessions. Especially since they clamp pretty firmly and i wear glasses.

 

I looked at a few video's and forums and i've been looking at the Audio Technica ATH-AD500X. Those seem really open and should provide some good positional audio.

 

Can you guys vouch for these phones? Or do you have a similar priced headphone that would be better? 

- open headphone

- <150 ohms (D1 restriction)

- primarily for gaming

- most immersive/positional audio

- not a cloud hyperx

- over-ear design

- budget around the price of the AD500X in my country (~150 euro)

edit;

- no headsets

 

So tldr is the Audio Technica ATH-AD500X any good for gaming? Recommendations if you think they aren't.

[ym1453]

They are very good for gaming they have very good positional audio

[arronleeds]

how much are the Audio-Technica-ATH-AD700X in your country? theyre very good, i personally have the senheisser g4me zero headset and i love it, its the best headset ive ever owned and is open back so the reproduction of sound is very crisp and natural.

[Majestic]

Yeah no, i'm not really interested in headsets. You might have a good experience, but they're generally bad value. Plus I already have a lavalier mic.

[arronleeds]

Yeah no, i'm not really interested in headsets. You might have a good experience, but they're generally bad value. Plus I already have a lavalier mic.

not bad value though really, considering they cost less than the ad700x..... just because its a headset does not make it bad, sennheiser make great gaming headsets unlike people like astro,razer and all them companies. but if you just want a headphones look at the ad700x or something like the sennheiser hd598 or even the ath m50x

 

heres  a comparison of the m50x and hd598.

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2pjj88/comparison_athm50s_vs_sennheiser_hd_598/

[creatip123]

- <150 ohms (D1 restriction)

 

 

 

Don't use that as a reference point. The Fiio E6 is rated at 6-150 ohms, and it's distorting my 35 ohms headphone....

[Zackfoo]

no idea what to suggest but rili like the point where you say no hyperx cloud. salute to the bro where we have the same concept in the head about not getting stupid cheap ass crappy sounds quality headphone.

 

edit: i personally tried m30x and m50x and i would say m50x is really super good. mod mic can be attach for gaming too.

[Majestic]

Don't use that as a reference point. The Fiio E6 is rated at 6-150 ohms, and it's distorting my 35 ohms headphone....

 

There are also power limitations ofc. Those 35 ohm headphones could very well exceed the 150mw it can deliver. Even sennheiser momentums are 200mw.

Not sure how much the D1 can deliver, I only see 2V RMS.

[creatip123]

There are also power limitations ofc. Those 35 ohm headphones could very well exceed the 150mw it can deliver. Even sennheiser momentums are 200mw.

Not sure how much the D1 can deliver, I only see 2V RMS.

 

Ermmmm....the momentum will output 133dB of loudness when injected with 200mW of signal. 133dB is roughly somewhere between a jackhammer and a gunshot:

 

[Majestic]

Ermmmm....the momentum will output 133dB of loudness when injected with 200mW of signal. 133dB is roughly somewhere between a jackhammer and a gunshot:

 

 

 

How come that graph has "an ipod at peak volumes" in it. That depends on the device connected to it...

[vembutech]

I think Audio Technica ATH-AD500X which is hopefully fine for gaming.

[Fluffinator]

I think Audio Technica ATH-AD500X which is hopefully fine for gaming.

He said in the....OP....never mind....

[Majestic]

Trying out the ATH-AD500X phones right now. So far i'm impressed on how lightweight they are and how comfortable they are to wear. Unlike the P7's there is no physical pressure and the open-backed design makes you feel less cramped.

 

P7's are still better for on-the-road, and they have superior sound (better damping, more articulate) but so far i'm liking these more for desktop use. To be fair, they're 1/3rd 1/4th the price depending on where you buy them, so i'd be suprised if these sounded better  

 

P7's do isolate better, mechanical keyboard is quite audible.

[xtroria]

First off you need to get an amp or scrap your audioengine d1 since you're not driving your headphone properly

[Majestic]

What, a bunch of OPA2134's should be plenty to drive it. If you're going to make a statement like that, provide some evidence please.

Don't litter my topic with blank statements backed up by personal subjective reasons.

 

@SSL your take on this statement above?

[xtroria]

What, a bunch of OPA2134's should be plenty to drive it. If you're going to make a statement like that, provide some evidence please.

Don't litter my topic with blank statements backed up by personal subjective reasons.

@SSL your take on this statement above?

Output impedance of 10ohm, your P7 is what, 20-35 ohm? Doesnt satisfy the 8:1/10:1 rule of thumb. Hence my statement of not driving the headphone properly

It's science not subjective statement

[Majestic]

Output impedance of 10ohm, your P7 is what, 20-35 ohm? Doesnt satisfy the 8:1/10:1 rule of thumb. Hence my statement of not driving the headphone properly

It's science not subjective statement

 

I have a FiiO X1 for my P7's. Yeah sure, 10ohms isn't exactly great on 58ohms either. But i'm not noticing a significant difference between the D1 and the X1.

A bit worse dampening, nothing really terrible.

 

And i have to save up for a new server soon, so i'm not going to buy an expensive DAC right now.

[SSL]

What, a bunch of OPA2134's should be plenty to drive it. If you're going to make a statement like that, provide some evidence please.

Don't litter my topic with blank statements backed up by personal subjective reasons.

 

@SSL your take on this statement above?

 

It'd be worth considering if you didn't already own the D1; one of the reasons I don't recommend it. As it is if you can't hear a difference there isn't much point in worrying about it right now.

[Majestic]

It'd be worth considering if you didn't already own the D1; one of the reasons I don't recommend it. As it is if you can't hear a difference there isn't much point in worrying about it right now.

 

Yeah, when I bought it I didn't really know about those things. I wouldn't have picked it up now.  I'll keep it in mind.

[creatip123]

Off topic, but I actually tried adding resistors to increase the output impedance. T1 is 10 ohm output impedance, HE400 is 35 ohms. Tried adding 2x 22ohms resistors, for each channels, ending up with 32ohms into a 35ohms headphones. It made the HE400 sounds lazy, which was quite enjoyable surprisingly. 

[Majestic]

Well it's the "tube amp" sound some people like. It's mellow/soft.

[Fluffinator]

Well it's the "tube amp" sound some people like. It's mellow/soft.

Yup love the sound

[SSL]

Off topic, but I actually tried adding resistors to increase the output impedance. T1 is 10 ohm output impedance, HE400 is 35 ohms. Tried adding 2x 22ohms resistors, for each channels, ending up with 32ohms into a 35ohms headphones. It made the HE400 sounds lazy, which was quite enjoyable surprisingly. 

 

That's fascinating, because planars are purely resistive and have no mechanical resonance and thus do not benefit from low output impedance electrical damping.