headset Would it be smart to upgrade my headphones?

[Siggie]

Hi,

 

So I am using the steelseries siberia 200 now and I am thinking about upgrading my headphones. I mostly use my headphones to play games like Overwatch and other shooters.

My budget is around $140, but I am wondering if it would make a big difference compared to the headphones I use right now.

A mic is not needed because I already have a studio mic. I also kind of like the idea of 7.1 surround sound!

I am thinking about buying the: KINGSTON HYPERX CLOUD II

 

Thanks a lot for reading!

[Moist_Sock]

Move to an actual open headphone like the AT ADX series if you're using them primarily for gaming. You get much better imaging and width.

Even Superlux 668b's with velour replacement pads would do you better.

[Aytex]

For $140 for your self 558's and a snowball ice or a samson meteor 

[Sack]

You wnat to upgrade your sound and you don't need a mic, but you're opting for buying a new gaming headset... that kind of doesn't add up. 7.1 soround sound in a  headphone, is mostly a gimmick, the idea sounds like it could work, but I've yet to see (or hear in this instance) it work well enough.

 

I myself own three pairs of headphones,

 

- An old steelseries siberia gaming headset which at the time I bought them sounded good.

- A pair of Audio-Technica ATH M50X which are a closed back headphones, they isloate noise really good IMO, they are light and not very big so I bring them on trips. The sound is good although a little boomy, and you can get good enough volume from an old iPod or your phone.

- Finally I have a pair of AKG K7XX (the massdrop edition) open back headphones, these are my daily drivers, the ones I use at my desktop and I love them. I use them for all kinds and brand of music as well as gaming.

 

I play World of warcraft mostly, and I need to use a mic for guild raids, but had not been active for a while, and when I finally found a good guild and swapped to my old steel series... they sound like poop now. My point is, if you want an upgrade in sound (and especially since you already have a mic) get a pair of proper headphones that will last you a long time and that sound amazing.

 

The Audio-Technica's are 128$ on amazon, I'm sure you can find them at a better price depending on where in the world you live, but these will isolate sound pretty good, they're comfortable, they sound good (especially if you like a bit of oomf i.e bass), you get 3 cables at different lengths and both straight and coiled depending on your preference. I've omitted to say much about the AKG's because they need an AMP (and preferably a DAC too), are also more expensive and dependant on when Massdrop decides to open up orders again.

[Siggie]

23 minutes ago, Sack said:

You wnat to upgrade your sound and you don't need a mic, but you're opting for buying a new gaming headset... that kind of doesn't add up. 7.1 soround sound in a  headphone, is mostly a gimmick, the idea sounds like it could work, but I've yet to see (or hear in this instance) it work well enough.

 

I myself own three pairs of headphones,

 

- An old steelseries siberia gaming headset which at the time I bought them sounded good.

- A pair of Audio-Technica ATH M50X which are a closed back headphones, they isloate noise really good IMO, they are light and not very big so I bring them on trips. The sound is good although a little boomy, and you can get good enough volume from an old iPod or your phone.

- Finally I have a pair of AKG K7XX (the massdrop edition) open back headphones, these are my daily drivers, the ones I use at my desktop and I love them. I use them for all kinds and brand of music as well as gaming.

 

I play World of warcraft mostly, and I need to use a mic for guild raids, but had not been active for a while, and when I finally found a good guild and swapped to my old steel series... they sound like poop now. My point is, if you want an upgrade in sound (and especially since you already have a mic) get a pair of proper headphones that will last you a long time and that sound amazing.

 

The Audio-Technica's are 128$ on amazon, I'm sure you can find them at a better price depending on where in the world you live, but these will isolate sound pretty good, they're comfortable, they sound good (especially if you like a bit of oomf i.e bass), you get 3 cables at different lengths and both straight and coiled depending on your preference. I've omitted to say much about the AKG's because they need an AMP (and preferably a DAC too), are also more expensive and dependant on when Massdrop decides to open up orders again.

Thanks for your comprehensive answer, but I have one question. Is the ATH M50X suitable for gaming, like can you hear well where the enemy will come from etc.

[nicobombai]

5 minutes ago, Siggie said:

Thanks for your comprehensive answer, but I have one question. Is the ATH M50X suitable for gaming, like can you hear well where the enemy will come from etc.

Yes positional accuracy is good. BUT the sound stage is not that good.

For ex: you will take sometime or have difficulties when pointing out enemies range, like 20 meters away or 2 meters away, you know they're coming from there, but you don't know the distance of that person.

That is my fairly odd explanation regarding the sound stage of that headphone lol, cmiiw.

 

EDIT: DT770 pro 80 ohms is better with better sound stage and controlled bass, however it lacks detachable cable. For best soundstage get an open headphone such as ATH AD500x/700x, but mind you open back headphones leak sound like crazy.

[Sack]

8 minutes ago, Siggie said:

Thanks for your comprehensive answer, but I have one question. Is the ATH M50X suitable for gaming, like can you hear well where the enemy will come from etc.

Is it suitable for gaming, I'd say yes. As I mentioned I play wow, and I feel like I can get a really good atmosphere where the game allows for it, however I do not play FPS games and so I'm unable to give you a straight answer to this. My guess would be yes, but I can't be sure, there have been a moment with my AKG's in game where I've suddenly turned because I thought someone was behind me. However that might be because they are open back and allow a bigger soundstage which in theory should make you able to identify a footstep behind you.

 

If you make a post about these headphones I'm sure someone else will be able to answer you though, as they are a popular first entry into higher quality headphones.

[Moist_Sock]

2 hours ago, Siggie said:

Thanks for your comprehensive answer, but I have one question. Is the ATH M50X suitable for gaming, like can you hear well where the enemy will come from etc.

M50x are probably one of the worse headphones you can choose for gaming. They have almost no soundstage, and the mids are quite recessed. The stock pads are god-awful as well. Their imaging is decent, but so are most closed headphones in that budget.

You'd be better off getting M40x and Brainwavz HM5 replacement pads. Keeps the same design and raw sound quality as M50x, reduces the stupidly sibilant highs down to bearable levels, and the rest of the response is actually damn close to neutral for a closed back.

They're cheaper too, so even with the replacement pads [which you absolutely need unless you want ear death in long gaming sessions] you'd be getting a better deal than M40x. The replacement pads widen the soundstage considerably too, as they're much thicker than the stock ones.

 

That said, you should still be looking at open headphones like the AT-ADX series, or even 5XX series, if you don't live in a noisy environment.

[Dackzy]

4 hours ago, Moist_Sock said:

Move to an actual open headphone like the AT ADX series if you're using them primarily for gaming. You get much better imaging and width.

Even Superlux 668b's with velour replacement pads would do you better.

I see you comment a lot, but you always forget to even ask about what kind of sound signature people like and want. Yes the AD series is great, but the lower end models have very little bass and that can be a deal breaker to a lot of people.

Sound is very personal prefference, that is why some people hate bright headphones and some love them, some people also love a pair of warm sounding headphones, while other people hate a warm sound.

[Dackzy]

so op any preference when it comes to sound?

[Moist_Sock]

1 hour ago, Dackzy said:

I see you comment a lot, but you always forget to even ask about what kind of sound signature people like and want. Yes the AD series is great, but the lower end models have very little bass and that can be a deal breaker to a lot of people.

Sound is very personal prefference, that is why some people hate bright headphones and some love them, some people also love a pair of warm sounding headphones, while other people hate a warm sound.

He's talking about gaming. Tonal balance matters very little in video games unless he is going after ultimate immersion, which he clearly states he wants them mainly for CS:GO and other various shooters. Brightness hardly matters because it isn't a sustained tone in games. Just the occasional bullet wizz, or sound effect off some ability or some shit like that. Lack of low end is entirely a good thing in shooters. Footsteps and gunshots are hardly in that frequency range so it reduces undesirable bloat to the sound.

 

If it was music of other auditory media, then It'd be the complete other end of the story. Tonal preference is one of the most important pieces of information in that case.

[Dackzy]

34 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

He's talking about gaming. Tonal balance matters very little in video games unless he is going after ultimate immersion, which he clearly states he wants them mainly for CS:GO and other various shooters. Brightness hardly matters because it isn't a sustained tone in games. Just the occasional bullet wizz, or sound effect off some ability or some shit like that. Lack of low end is entirely a good thing in shooters. Footsteps and gunshots are hardly in that frequency range so it reduces undesirable bloat to the sound.

 

If it was music of other auditory media, then It'd be the complete other end of the story. Tonal preference is one of the most important pieces of information in that case.

What good are headphones if you only can enjoy them for gaming? 

This is not really a forum for pro level players or even high level and just want to enjoy a game with still having the upper hand in some way, that is why personal preference will matter here, a enjoyable sound signature will matter a lot here. You must expect that these people will also use the headphones for youtube, music and so on. 

[Moist_Sock]

Quote

What good are headphones if you only can enjoy them for gaming?

Considering OP wants them mainly for gaming, he's not missing out on too much. Headphones are headphones. Music or other audio doesn't get put on a pedestal. I'd much rather have one great headphone dedicated to one major part of my entertainment, than one average headphone for all of my entertainment. But then again, It's down to OP.

 

Don't forget I said "you should still be looking at open headphones like the AT-ADX series, or even 5XX series". I didn't say he needs to get a headphone that is biased towards a more bright sound, especially considering I mentioned the 5XX series.

 

Quote

This is not really a forum for pro level players or even high level and just want to enjoy a game with still having the upper hand in some way, that is why personal preference will matter here, a enjoyable sound signature will matter a lot here.

No, preference REALLY doesn't matter in shooters. You're not examining the audio or even really paying attention to its tonality. Its just 'Oh, this easily recognizable noise happened in this direction, that distance'. You're not listening hard enough to the actual sound itself to care about what frequencies are vaguely louder. It's an entirely different process to music listening, or even films.

 

Quote

You must expect that these people will also use the headphones for youtube, music and so on. 

I'm not saying they shouldn't. Again, I said like the AT-ADX series. There are plenty of open headphones of all tonal balances that are perfectly suited for YouTube videos and music.

[AAJoe]

Mild thread hijack inbound:

I both agree and disagree @Dackzy - There's no reason to assume someone would listen to music on their headphones. Some people game as their primary utilization (even if they aren't pro level, which has little to do with if they like this particular community) and don't listen to music.

 

That said, I DO believe most people use their headphones for both, so it is still a relevant question... I just wasn't a fan of the idea that NOBODY buys headphones for gaming and nothing else. I'd bet a good 5-10% of ModMic customers do that (never listen to a single song or make a single phone call on their headset). Just my gut instinct. I didn't do a survey or anything

 

So I think the question is relevant, what sounds good to you just in case you want them for more than gaming. As an avid gamer though, I could see this argument: if I could find headphones that made games better but made music sound like crap I would buy them. My priority is improving the thing I use them most for, even at the cost of the things I don't use them as often for.

 

Anyway, /end rant - return to the question at hand

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, AAJoe said:

just wasn't a fan of the idea that NOBODY buys headphones for gaming and nothing

never said that, I said that here on this forum you should think that OPs here only have one pair, and are going to use them for other things that just gaming, and that is why you need to take personal preference into account and not just recommend a pair of headphones, because they have a amazing soundstage and great positional audio. If we were on a forum were you could be sure that they were only using headphones or CSGO, BF1 and such, or had headphones/speakers that they used for movies, music and

 

2 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

SNIP

Please learn to quote. I have no idea when you quote me, because I get no notification about it, when you do it that way.

2 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

Considering OP wants them mainly for gaming, he's not missing out on too much. Headphones are headphones. Music or other audio doesn't get put on a pedestal. I'd much rather have one great headphone dedicated to one major part of my entertainment, than one average headphone for all of my entertainment. But then again, It's down to OP.

Mainly for gaming doesn't mean that he won't use it for other things. Yes headphones are headphones, what else should they be? Rockets? Light shows?

 

Let me put it this way, so you might understand it. If you only had ONE pair of headphones, they are bright and great for FPS games, but you really dislike them for everything else, how would you feel about those headphones? I would not enjoy using them and I would get rid of them, luckily I enjoy "neutral" headphones, so I like my K612.

 

OP kinda needs to come back with a guess or answer to what kind of sound he likes, it is never nice having headphones that you cannot enjoy, because they don't fit your taste.

 

That being said, basically any open headphones would give him a bigger soundstage than closed. So he can also look into the HD558, SHP9500 or the K612

16 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

I'm not saying they shouldn't. Again, I said like the AT-ADX series. There are plenty of open headphones of all tonal balances that are perfectly suited for YouTube videos and music.

Not really, he has a budget of 140$ and if you go for headphones with a huge soundstage and great positional audio, then you are basically left with headphones that are bright or "neutral" tending bright.

3 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

No, preference REALLY doesn't matter in shooters. You're not examining the audio or even really paying attention to its tonality. Its just 'Oh, this easily recognizable noise happened in this direction, that distance'. You're not listening hard enough to the actual sound itself to care about what frequencies are vaguely louder. It's an entirely different process to music listening, or even films.

You took that way out of content. The reason behind what I said IS because they are most likely going to use it for other things than just gaming.

[Moist_Sock]

11 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Please learn to quote. I have no idea when you quote me, because I get no notification about it, when you do it that way.

Sorry, didn't notice it didn't work that way.

 

11 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Let me put it this way, so you might understand it. If you only had ONE pair of headphones, they are bright and great for FPS games, but you really dislike them for everything else, how would you feel about those headphones? I would not enjoy using them and I would get rid of them, luckily I enjoy "neutral" headphones, so I like my K612.

If for the majority of time, I used them for FPS games as OP has stated, I'd rather have one headphone that excels in FPS and sucks on other areas. Again, It's down to preference. I didn't say this was OP's case, I was simply giving an example of what It could be.

 

14 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Not really, he has a budget of 140$ and if you go for headphones with a huge soundstage and great positional audio, then you are basically left with headphones that are bright or "neutral" tending bright.

I didn't mention soundstage or positional audio being a requisite, though I can understand you thinking that since I wasn't amazingly clear about it. 558's are not bright, and are within his budget.

 

20 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

You took that way out of content.

No, I didn't.

 

21 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

The reason behind what I said IS because they are most likely going to use it for other things than just gaming.

That was a completely separate argument you made. Reasoning is irrelevant. You weren't referring to OP's case directly. You say "here", but that doesn't specify if you're referring to OP's case, this entire forum, or even just this use in general, and nor do you give any contextual clues.

[Dackzy]

31 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

Sorry, didn't notice it didn't work that way.

 

If for the majority of time, I used them for FPS games as OP has stated, I'd rather have one headphone that excels in FPS and sucks on other areas. Again, It's down to preference. I didn't say this was OP's case, I was simply giving an example of what It could be.

 

I didn't mention soundstage or positional audio being a requisite, though I can understand you thinking that since I wasn't amazingly clear about it. 558's are not bright, and are within his budget.

A big soundstage, good/great positional audio, and a good amount of detail, are the things that makes a pair of headphones great for gaming... 

 

Yes the 558 are not bright, they are very much a balanced pair of headphones, but again I said headphones with a huge soundstage and great positional audio which the 558 doesn't have, hence 

Quote

That being said, basically any open headphones would give him a bigger soundstage than closed. So he can also look into the HD558, SHP9500 or the K612

Most open headphones would give him an advantage over people with gaming headsets and closed headphones, unless the people with closed have a pair of K553, they have a huge soundstage for closed.

34 minutes ago, Moist_Sock said:

No, I didn't.

 

That was a completely separate argument you made. Reasoning is irrelevant. You weren't referring to OP's case directly. You say "here", but that doesn't specify if you're referring to OP's case, this entire forum, or even just this use in general, and nor do you give any contextual clues.

yes you did, if you read it, then you would say that I speak generally about this forum

[Siggie]

Alright guys I just received the m50x because it had lots of great reviews. I think I will not only game with this headset because I think it is great for music to. The earpads are not to comfortable so I bought brainwavz earpads.

 

I would like to thank you all for the reactions on my post!

[Dackzy]

3 hours ago, Siggie said:

Alright guys I just received the m50x because it had lots of great reviews. I think I will not only game with this headset because I think it is great for music to. The earpads are not to comfortable so I bought brainwavz earpads.

 

I would like to thank you all for the reactions on my post!

No do NOT change the pads, the highs just get insane. I sadly own the M50 and I tried to change the pads, nope nope nope nope. The treble can be a bit too harsh for me sometimes with their normal pads on, but with other pads on I could not use them for more than 5 min.

 

Not the headphones I would have gotten for gaming.

 

The only review that I don't think Zreviews is a idiot in is the M50 review, he basically nails everything in it, while normally he is just a joke.