Senn's HD598 + amp or gaming headset, (for gaming)

[Fovo]

• This is regarding audio for gaming. I currently don´t have a dedicated sound card or any kind of amp and the headset I'm using to play games is my Tritton PC510HDa USB Powered 5.1 (analog) which has been my mainly used headset, its now very visible that due to the use, the insides of the cables are getting messed up, i can hear the static when I move the cable so i know that they must be broken somewhere, so I wanted to take this opportunity to change my headset (used mainly for gaming), I already own the Sennheiser HD555 and the Sennheiser HD650, the 555are somewhat old and i don't wanna use them so much i could en up breaking them, the 650's are almost new I ONLY use them for music ( i know i need an amp for them) and don't want to make them my everyday headphones/set. I looked for information everywhere and came to the conclusion that most people are probably right when they say that headsets are not as good sounding for their price so I thought of getting another pair of headphones (Sennheiser HD598) to replace my old trittons, but i also knew that I would need a good amp to drive them for my games (mainly fps footsteps are important) and might as well use it for my HD650's, I'm still trying to decide which is a better decision regarding the amps, whether using a combination of Fiio e17 + e09k (250$) OR buying a Nuforce ICON-DAC (300$). SO to sum it all up, should I stick to the amp+hd598's(even if i already have the HD650´s and would be a downgrade since i don't wanna use the 650´s all the time for gaming) , should I just get a mainstream headset like the astro A40 and avoid all the confusion knowing that I already own a better pair of headphones than the HD598, I'm also considering the Sennheiser PC363D's...

   

  :wacko: 

EDIT: also since this setup is almost mainly for gaming are those headphones ok? Or should I consider different headphones/set, if so is the amp REAAAAALLY necessary for gaming or with just a pair of Senn HD598's is better/fine? 

[ShearMe]

Get an amp and use it with your 650's duh. Why wouldn't you want your most expensive headphones to be your main?

I personally wouldn't get a NuForce product, and wouldn't spend that much on a FiiO solution. Mr. Mayflower has a discount for LTT members for awhile if you could consider an Objective solution. I use a FiiO E10 almost exclusively for all my headphones including my 650's because it does the job admirably.

[Fovo]

Well I'm aware that my 650's are my best solution to go but i'm afraid that using them every day (i spend most of my time studying/gaming with headphones on) will decrease their "life expectancy" dramatically, i take good care of my headphones so i know i wont be throwing them around, the only reason the Trittons broke was because the wire always tangled on itself and had to untangle it all the time, which probably was the reason why the cable broke. So that is why i wanted a pair of headphones that i could use every day without the fear of them braking one day, that's why i was considering downgrading to the HD598's, but if my absolute best solution is to buy the amp for my 650's I guess that will be what ill end up doing. In which case i have no idea what amp to get.

 

EDIT: also an internal sound card is not an option since i have no space because of the SLI.

[ShearMe]

Their life expectancy is decades dude - if the earpads wear out or the cable brakes you can replace them. I've hand wasked my earpads with lite soap successfully once, and have replaced the cable once so far.

[Fovo]

Hmmm was not aware good to know  , if that's the case ill probably end up using them for gaming/music then  , all I need is an amp solution  :blink:

[ShearMe]

all I need is an amp solution  :blink:

Well I made my two recommendations, and they're pretty much the standard 'round here. The O2 and ODAC measure as good as some really expensive solutions. The FiiO falls just slightly behind but also has that "Made in China" build quality, which isn't horrendous, just not as nicely built as most expensive audiophile solutions obviously.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Stick with the 650's, no need to downgrade. The headphones are as solid as a rock and you can fix the thing with a screw driver.

O2+odac is the only thing you'll ever need. Shoot me a message if you would like to take advantage of our discount.

[ShearMe]

Stick with the 650's, no need to downgrade. The headphones are as solid as a rock and you can fix the thing with a screw driver.

No way bro, everything snaps together.

[Fovo]

Im clearly a noob in this subject since i don't know the O2 and ODAC (i think ive seen it) Sure will love too! I will immediately!

[Kharem]

Do you not need a mic with your headset? I think out of the three options, getting the 598's is the worst, given you already have a set of 650's that you could use if you don't need a mic and don't mind the wear they'll get from everyday use (not a big deal if you look after them) or if you do need a mic the 598's won't have it anyway so your better off picking up a gaming headset. Thats my opinion at least, from someone who regularly uses thier mic though I guess.

 

I've got a gaming headset (logitech g930) and a set of 598's because I much prefer the 598's for pretty much everything but need the mic so often I can't really only have the 598's. I would say just use the 650's if you don't need a mic on the headset liek most the guys have said, if you have them already they are great headphones.

[ShearMe]

Do you not need a mic with your headset? I think out of the three options, getting the 598's is the worst, given you already have a set of 650's that you could use if you don't need a mic and don't mind the wear they'll get from everyday use (not a big deal if you look after them) or if you do need a mic the 598's won't have it anyway so your better off picking up a gaming headset. Thats my opinion at least, from someone who regularly uses thier mic though I guess.

 

I've got a gaming headset (logitech g930) and a set of 598's because I much prefer the 598's for pretty much everything but need the mic so often I can't really only have the 598's. I would say just use the 650's if you don't need a mic on the headset liek most the guys have said, if you have them already they are great headphones.

Why sacrifice audio for a mic? Didn't mention it already assuming OP already had a plan for the mic, but if anyone has $500 headphones, I think they can afford any of the various clip-ons or desktop mics.

[Fovo]

I do use the mic a lot, but i thought of buying a Zalman mic the one everyone use  so i wasn't worried about that part, but thanks a lot for your opinion!

[ShearMe]

Hey, out of curiosity, could you share your experience of the difference between high end surround sound headsets, and good headphones?

[Fovo]

Sure well to begin I have no amp or sound card so I know I'm under powering my hd650´s, having that said at the time of playing games like Battlefield 3 where sometimes listening to footsteps  can make a difference the Trittons shine a little bit better, the fact of them being analog 5.1 is just really not important (I don't feel the difference with standard stereo to that, prob just marketing) , they are really bass oriented so explosions and gun shots are very immersive, when talking about real stuff like listening to music, there is a huge difference, sure the gaming headset can do the job, its fun and has a lot of bass, but its just plain music with a lot of base, when you listen to music with a GOOD pair of headphones like the hd650 even with no amp the difference is CLEAR, much more oriented to bring out every instrument, they "give live" to music, I use Foobar2000 to play FLAC (recommend Melody Gardot, jazz singer WOW)  files and you can see where the Senns can just make you fall in love with the range of sounds and the gentleness it delivers them to you, unlike the simple BOOM of the gaming headset. If i had to compare them to cars i would say the headset is a regular car that is effective while taking you places, and the good pair of headphones is a Bentley where you can drive softly and comfortably.  Hove i cleared the doubt

[Kharem]

How did you find the surround for things like skype? I used the surround on my g930's a lot when I first got them because I liked the surround for games (especially bf3 like you said) but didn't really like how they sounded when I was talking to people and really didn't like it for music, plus the slightly temperamental logitech software, so I found myself leaving them in 2.0 more often than anything since most the time while I'm gaming I'm talking to someone or listening to music, and I only ever really use the surround setting on them for movies now days.

[Fovo]

Well now that you mention it i didn't notice anything special on surround while skyping, sound was very neutral actually, there was no "surround" effect I could notice, although that could probably be because I was to busy paying attention to the game . But nothing special (bad or good) that I could remember.