Best headphones for competitive FPS, and appealing sound under $60 CAD (open back)

[A_Train]

I've made a similar post previously, but I had a higher budget. I'm looking for a good sound stage, and general good sound quality, I'd prefer to not have a "headset" but if you can find a cheap 60 dollar headset with an open back that is good I wont deny it. If you have a link that'd be cool, but if not I can google pretty easy. Thanks in advance

 

p.s 60 dollars (not including shipping) is the absolute max, I could maybe go over by like a few dollars but not much. 

[KB_TheDireWolf]

Good choice is G430's, love them.

[Aytex]

Good choice is G430's, love them.

for 60 bucks they are solid headphones, i've had em

they broke but u get what you paid for

[A_Train]

Good choice is G430's, love them.

Sadly they're closed back.

[Belgarathian]

Sadly they're closed back.

 

Nothing wrong with that, you'll get a tighter base response and no sound leakage which means you'll also have better isolation. 

 

Take a look at Sennheiser and avoid anything that has artificial digital surround. 

[A_Train]

Nothing wrong with that, you'll get a tighter base response and no sound leakage which means you'll also have better isolation. 

 

Take a look at Sennheiser and avoid anything that has artificial digital surround. 

You're correct there is pros to closed back, closed back is just not for me. I prefer open back personally because soundstage is VERY important to me I also hate having my senses blocked from the outside world, and it feels like that's what open backs do to me. Most times I have to remove a can from my head because I get panicked when I can't hear, yet I need loud sound. 

[Belgarathian]

You're correct there is pros to closed back, closed back is just not for me. I prefer open back personally because soundstage is VERY important to me I also hate having my senses blocked from the outside world, and it feels like that's what open backs do to me. Most times I have to remove a can from my head because I get panicked when I can't hear, yet I need loud sound. 

 

Fair enough, I stick to my guns about Sennheiser then if you're looking for open designs. AKG and Audio-Technica also have some good cans, but they can be hit and miss. I would recommend checking out What hifi reviews. 

 

I haven't really looking into it, but does open/closed back have much of a difference on sound-stage? I wouldn't have thought so if your headphone manufacturer has designed and calibrated their drivers correctly... 

[SSL]

Nothing wrong with that, you'll get a tighter base response and no sound leakage which means you'll also have better isolation. 

 

Take a look at Sennheiser and avoid anything that has artificial digital surround. 

 

Fair enough, I stick to my guns about Sennheiser then if you're looking for open designs. AKG and Audio-Technica also have some good cans, but they can be hit and miss. I would recommend checking out What hifi reviews. 

 

I haven't really looking into it, but does open/closed back have much of a difference on sound-stage? I wouldn't have thought so if your headphone manufacturer has designed and calibrated their drivers correctly. ... 

 

You need to expand your headphone horizons. Closed headphones don't necessarilly have "tighter" bass - I can point out a few with poor distortion and power handling in the lowest octaves. Open back doesn't always have better soundstage, but it's a good rule of thumb. Open-back headphones also generally have less coloration caused by the cup resonance to which closed headphones are vulnerable.

[A_Train]

Fair enough, I stick to my guns about Sennheiser then if you're looking for open designs. AKG and Audio-Technica also have some good cans, but they can be hit and miss. I would recommend checking out What hifi reviews. 

 

I haven't really looking into it, but does open/closed back have much of a difference on sound-stage? I wouldn't have thought so if your headphone manufacturer has designed and calibrated their drivers correctly... 

Open backs have been known to have a signifigantly more natural soundstage than 7.1 dolby for example or a closed back with no 3D stuff.  The reason is because the sound can leak which makes stuff far away sound far away and close up if it's close up.

[Belgarathian]

You need to expand your headphone horizons. Closed headphones don't necessarilly have "tighter" bass - I can point out a few with poor distortion and power handling in the lowest octaves. Open back doesn't always have better soundstage, but it's a good rule of thumb. Open-back headphones also generally have less coloration caused by the cup resonance to which closed headphones are vulnerable.

 

if you ignore my signature, I have the B&W P5 v2s for daily listening, AKG-701s for listening at home when it's late, and a Devialet 250 paired to Focal Aria 936s and fed through a Oppo 105. 

 

I've been through a few headphone brands, but I listen to most of my music through a 2 channel setup. The reason I recommend Sennheiser is that you can guarantee that every can is going to be better than average, rather than most which can be hit and miss - my AKGs for example (which took 100 hours or so to bed in). 

[Belgarathian]

Open backs have been known to have a signifigantly more natural soundstage than 7.1 dolby for example or a closed back with no 3D stuff.  The reason is because the sound can leak which makes stuff far away sound far away and close up if it's close up.

 

I'm going to have to replace my AKGs I think. 

[A_Train]

I'm going to have to replace my AKGs I think. 

Find a good pair of open backs first to make sure you like it. Sound is a very personal thing, some people like stuff a lot more than others.

[Belgarathian]

Find a good pair of open backs first to make sure you like it. Sound is a very personal thing, some people like stuff a lot more than others.

 

Mmmm, I prefer a balanced and ever so slightly warm & rich sound with a large sound stage

[SSL]

if you ignore my signature, I have the B&W P5 v2s for daily listening, AKG-701s for listening at home when it's late, and a Devialet 250 paired to Focal Aria 936s and fed through a Oppo 105. 

 

I've been through a few headphone brands, but I listen to most of my music through a 2 channel setup. The reason I recommend Sennheiser is that you can guarantee that every can is going to be better than average, rather than most which can be hit and miss - my AKGs for example (which took 100 hours or so to bed in). 

 

Neat. There are more headphones out there than the AKG K701. Thus my previous statement: you would benefit from trying a variety of headphones if you want to draw sonic conclusions.

 

Not going to comment on the "break-in" of your K701 :rolleyes:

[Belgarathian]

Neat. There are more headphones out there than the AKG K701. Thus my previous statement: you would benefit from trying a variety of headphones if you want to draw sonic conclusions.

 

Not going to comment on the "break-in" of your K701 :rolleyes:

 

They're not the only headphone I've tried, or owned.. Just the ones I have right now. I thought i mentioned that before. Not to mention most reviewers will parrot the same assumptions on closed vs open back headphones. 

 

And yes, the AKG 701s were pretty bad... I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. There are much better alternatives out there that don't require a break-in of anything close to 100 hours. And the 701s are harsh, and have a imbalance towards the highs when they're new. More mellow and balanced when they're broken in, but still not as good as I would like, you can still tell they favour the higher frequencies. And I didn't return them because I bought them from the USA, and couldn't be bothered with return shipping so soldiered on. Once they were broken in, the return period was up. 

[SSL]

They're not the only headphone I've tried, or owned.. Just the ones I have right now. I thought i mentioned that before. Not to mention most reviewers will parrot the same assumptions on closed vs open back headphones. 

 

No "parroting" going on here, though you recommend whathifi? reviews for some reason.

 

I suspect that you would like the HD 650, with a good amp of course. Assuming that you haven't already tried it.

[Belgarathian]

No "parroting" going on here, though you recommend whathifi? reviews for some reason.

 

I suspect that you would like the HD 650, with a good amp of course. Assuming that you haven't already tried it.

 

not the 650, I had the 600s which I loved but broke when they fell off a stand. 

[SSL]

not the 650, I had the 600s which I loved but broke when they fell off a stand. 

 

So how'd you end up with the K701? Most people think those are in a lesser league than the HD 6x0.

[Belgarathian]

So how'd you end up with the K701? Most people think those are in a lesser league than the HD 6x0.

 

They are in a lesser league. At the time the NZD/USD exchange was really good, and they were on sale so the value proposition was pretty spectacular. I had a couple of friends recommend them, and the reviews weren't too bad... But I was looking for something different from the HD600s as I wanted change. 

 

Rookie mistake.