HD 598 vs AD900x vs DT990 Pro

[OneSaltyDog]

I am asking for a pair of headphones for christmas and I have limited it down to the sennheiser HD 598 (I have tried my friends and they are very comfortable

and sound nice, but they have almost no bass, and I enjoy bass for immersion), the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250ohm or 32 ohm?), and the Audio

Technica AD900x. I will be using these for mainly CSGO competitive, Battlefield 1, Fallout, and other RPGs, so I need a good soundstage for

CSGO, but I would also like a fun headphone for immersion in other games. For music, I listen to mostly Hip Hop and Rap, so I would like headphones that

excel in that genre also. Which of these 3 headphones, or others, would be the best

balance of those for around $150? Also what DAC or Amp would you recommend for these? 

Thank You for any help.

[Profoundsoup]

5 minutes ago, OneSaltyDog said:

I am asking for a pair of headphones for christmas and I have limited it down to the sennheiser HD 598 (I have tried my friends and they are very comfortable

and sound nice, but they have almost no bass, and I enjoy bass for immersion), the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250ohm or 32 ohm?), and the Audio

Technica AD900x. I will be using these for mainly CSGO competitive, Battlefield 1, Fallout, and other RPGs, so I need a good soundstage for

CSGO, but I would also like a fun headphone for immersion in other games. For music, I listen to mostly Hip Hop and Rap, so I would like headphones that

excel in that genre also. Which of these 3 headphones, or others, would be the best

balance of those for around $150? Also what DAC or Amp would you recommend for these? 

Thank You for any help.

2

DT 990's are the most comfortable IMO and probably have the cleanest sound as far as hearing all the details, atleast compared to headphones in that price range. 

[79wjd]

dt990 have the omst bass of them all. dt990 gets my vote, and you probably wont need a dac/amp.

[Aereldor]

The Sennheiser HD 598s have an extremely balanced sound signature. Most headphones are 'colored', in that they have overamplified bass or treble, which users can often get used to. 

 

A neutral sound signature is difficult to get used to immediately, but you'll be hearing things the way they were intended to be heard.

[SSL]

ATH AD900X hands down for positional audio. Otherwise HD 598 for the most accurate sound signature and soundstage.

 

The DT990 is dead last with colored sound signature, in particular way, way too much treble.

[OneSaltyDog]

Thanks for the help, I decided to go with the AD900x. As for a better audio source, I have a Gigabyte Z170x Gaming 3 Motherboard. Would these benefit at all from a soundcard, amp, or dac, or is my motherboard fine? Thanks again

[GamerDude]

1 hour ago, OneSaltyDog said:

Thanks for the help, I decided to go with the AD900x. As for a better audio source, I have a Gigabyte Z170x Gaming 3 Motherboard. Would these benefit at all from a soundcard, amp, or dac, or is my motherboard fine? Thanks again

Try it with your mobo first, and IF it gets loud enough and SQ is good enough for you, then don't bother with anything else. 

[SSL]

12 hours ago, OneSaltyDog said:

Thanks for the help, I decided to go with the AD900x. As for a better audio source, I have a Gigabyte Z170x Gaming 3 Motherboard. Would these benefit at all from a soundcard, amp, or dac, or is my motherboard fine? Thanks again

 

If this is one of the newer Gigabyte models with Creative onboard audio, you will be distressed to learn that it has significant bass roll-off. I would invest at minimum in that case in a Asus Xonar DGX soundcard.

[Pomfinator]

4 hours ago, SSL said:

 

If this is one of the newer Gigabyte models with Creative onboard audio, you will be distressed to learn that it has significant bass roll-off. I would invest at minimum in that case in a Asus Xonar DGX soundcard.

oh my god, Creative onboard. Doesn't that garbage have like 35 ohms Output Z?  Or maybe I'm confusing that with the equally awful soundcards they make.

[SSL]

1 hour ago, Pomfinator said:

oh my god, Creative onboard. Doesn't that garbage have like 35 ohms Output Z?  Or maybe I'm confusing that with the equally awful soundcards they make.

 

Probably that as well.

[Peakfire]

The Gaming 3 has the ALC1150 DAC chip and an OPA2134 or OP1652 amp, without any Creative crap. So the motherboard will be fine.

EDIT: The OP1652 is found in the UD series only.

[NewKID]

I don't like using the HD 598 while listening to hip hop/rap. I find the trebling to be too fatiguing, and the lack of bass just ruins it for me. On the other hand, it's great for competitive fps games. The positioning and sound stage are amazing. Out of the three headphones you've listed, the DT990 would be the best.

 

You have many other headphones to choose from. What other headphones have you considered?

[Dackzy]

1 hour ago, NewKID said:

I don't like using the HD 598 while listening to hip hop/rap. I find the trebling to be too fatiguing, and the lack of bass just ruins it for me. On the other hand, it's great for competitive fps games. The positioning and sound stage are amazing. Out of the three headphones you've listed, the DT990 would be the best.

 

You have many other headphones to choose from. What other headphones have you considered?

You do know that the DT990 has way more treble than the HD 598, right? People normally find the treble on the DT990 to be a bit too harsh, while they don't do that with the HD 598.

[NewKID]

24 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

You do know that the DT990 has way more treble than the HD 598, right? People normally find the treble on the DT990 to be a bit too harsh, while they don't do that with the HD 598.

That may be true. The HD 598 has barely any bass. It'd be easier to use EQ to turn down the treble on the DT990 than turn up the almost non-existing bass on the HD 598

[Dackzy]

19 minutes ago, NewKID said:

That may be true. The HD 598 has barely any bass. It'd be easier to use EQ to turn down the treble on the DT990 than turn up the almost non-existing bass on the HD 598

I would not say that the HD 598 has barely any bass, heck I think they plenty of bass (a bit too much for me sometimes), I would rather use headphones with less bass. Yes I am more a fan of the sound that "neutral" headphones have (k612, HD600)