How important are headphones for gaming ?

[Naruto1]

Hello everyone,

 

before I come to the main topic, I just want to say, that my end-goal is to eliminate every technical disadvantage in games, mainly FPS games (PUBG, BF1 and COD WW2 at the moment).

PC, monitors, mouse + keyboard and a good internet connection are covered, only the sound part is missing.

 

So, I recently bought a soundcard from Soundblaster, the AE-5. That is also the reason why I switched from my Logitech G933 to regular headphones, the Sony MDR-1A. I can definitely say now, that the 7.1 features from my Logitech G933 are not that important when it comes to spotting enemies by sound.

The part where I am not really sure is, if the overall sound quality from the headphones makes a difference in spotting peoples footsteps or gunshots in the distance.

Since I switched from my G933 to normal headphones, it kinda seems better to spot people with my normal headphones without the surround-features.

And even if I didn't use the 7.1-function on my G933, spotting people with my Sony headphones works better overall. They also sound better while listening to music.

 

So what I am thinking now.......Sennheiser just announced their new high-end-model, the HD 820.

They will cost around 2400$ and launch this summer.

If I would buy them, would I be able to hear peoples footsteps even better and more detailed or not ?

Will it have an impact on my game ?

 

And if yes, are there any closed headphones you guys can recommend, which are between 400-1000$ ?

Because 2400$ is a lot of money after all.

And I also can't use open ones, because I stream and record my gameplay.

 

Thanks in advance for your answers

 

 

[Guest]

After a certain price point around 200-400 you wont be able to hear the difference, especially in games.

[Himommies]

25 minutes ago, Almostbauws said:

After a certain price point around 200-400 you wont be able to hear the difference, especially in games.

Unless you have audio training 

[Suika]

Assuming you already know how to aim and position, it can offer a huge advantage when versing flankers or the like.

[Merp83]

You don't need to go to that point - I recommend something cheap like the beyerdynamic dt990 or a more low end - but still great sennheiser / audio technica pair. I dont understand you cant use open cans? 

[WereCat]

Any decent stereo headphones go a long way for being able to tell the sound direction in games.

From my experience, the 7.1 / 5.1 headphone bullshit actually makes it more difficult to tell the sound direction over just using stereo as the software implementation is not very well done.

I prefer good stereo headphones over true 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup any day.

[Naruto1]

51 minutes ago, Merp83 said:

You don't need to go to that point - I recommend something cheap like the beyerdynamic dt990 or a more low end - but still great sennheiser / audio technica pair. I dont understand you cant use open cans? 

Thx for your recommendation.

 

And as I said, I am streaming and recording my gameplay, so the gamesound will be picked up by my mic when I talk.

[Naruto1]

44 minutes ago, WereCat said:

Any decent stereo headphones go a long way for being able to tell the sound direction in games.

From my experience, the 7.1 / 5.1 headphone bullshit actually makes it more difficult to tell the sound direction over just using stereo as the software implementation is not very well done.

I prefer good stereo headphones over true 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup any day.

Yeah, I agree with you. Stereo sounds the most natural.

[alphaproject]

Should have gotten the Z7 instead. And yes... those are really nice for the money. I wouldn't go higher than those.

[Naruto1]

57 minutes ago, alphaproject said:

Should have gotten the Z7 instead. And yes... those are really nice for the money. I wouldn't go higher than those.

Which one are "nice for the money" ?

You mean the HD 820 ?

[an actual squirrel]

I have nearly the complete opposite perspective. Although I think having big angled open air drivers can help, most of the direction is determined by the mix. And having a good mix is usually a function of the virtual surround sound. Otherwise with stereo you only have 2 angles, and this limitation creates additional ambiguity in the mix.

[alphaproject]

HD 820... good lord no.... Probably just as overpriced as the OG 800s.

 

I will say they look sweet though.

[Naruto1]

1 hour ago, alphaproject said:

HD 820... good lord no.... Probably just as overpriced as the OG 800s.

 

I will say they look sweet though.

Can you recommend any headphones, which are high-end but under 1000$ ?

[Aeternalis]

On 1/13/2018 at 11:47 AM, Merp83 said:

You don't need to go to that point - I recommend something cheap like the beyerdynamic dt990 or a more low end - but still great sennheiser / audio technica pair. I dont understand you cant use open cans? 

The sound leakage for some people, including myself is a complete dealbreaker. You can still get a solid soundstage without it.

[alphaproject]

15 hours ago, Naruto1 said:

Can you recommend any headphones, which are high-end but under 1000$ ?

Look at the Sony MDR Z7 - I loves em... Great low end but not boomy. Great imaging too.

[Kangaroo Factory]

I would say Grado325e because they are so intense. Brutally bright. Some people hate them. Physically, they smash your ears a bit. But you will hear everything. Every little sound.

 

But you don't want open back headphones. Are you sure you can't find a mic that wont pick up the small amount if noise your cans will be leaking?

[Tz000]

19 hours ago, Naruto1 said:

Can you recommend any headphones, which are high-end but under 1000$ ?

Check out this list here:

 

Gaming Headphone List

 

The guy who made the lists has Youtube reviews of all the headphones as well as sound demos.  I have personally picked a headphone based on his recommendation and have been pleased. 

 

Hopefully this helps.

 

Cheers

[Naruto1]

8 hours ago, alphaproject said:

Look at the Sony MDR Z7 - I loves em... Great low end but not boomy. Great imaging too.

They seem to be interesting. Thanks for the suggestion

[Naruto1]

3 hours ago, Tz000 said:

Check out this list here:

 

Gaming Headphone List

 

The guy who made the lists has Youtube reviews of all the headphones as well as sound demos.  I have personally picked a headphone based on his recommendation and have been pleased. 

 

Hopefully this helps.

 

Cheers

Thank you, that is a great list with a lot of details. Just what I needed

[Naruto1]

4 hours ago, Kangaroo Factory said:

I would say Grado325e because they are so intense. Brutally bright. Some people hate them. Physically, they smash your ears a bit. But you will hear everything. Every little sound.

 

But you don't want open back headphones. Are you sure you can't find a mic that wont pick up the small amount if noise your cans will be leaking?

I don't know how much open headphones leak, but I heard a few times already, that it's not suited for recording or streaming games.

Especially when you have a good mic, which pics up small details, it could be a problem then.

[Max_Settings]

On 1/14/2018 at 4:48 AM, Naruto1 said:

Can you recommend any headphones, which are high-end but under 1000$ ?

I would go with AKG712s. If you really want to stretch and go to $1100, the TH900s are just an amazing beautiful headphone with an incredible sound, low end, and sound stage. Everything you want in a gaming headphone.

[Naruto1]

5 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

I would go with AKG712s. If you really want to stretch and go to $1100, the TH900s are just an amazing beautiful headphone with an incredible sound, low end, and sound stage. Everything you want in a gaming headphone.

Will definitely check them out, thanks for the recommendation !