Gaming Headphone Misconceptions

[Max_Settings]

Recently I've been seeing a lot of misconceptions floating around the audio subforum among people who are looking for gaming headphones. For starters I am talking about people looking at actual headphones, not gaming headsets. If you have gotten that far, congratulations, you've seen the light and now understand how much better headphones are than gaming headsets. But, I still see a lot of misconceptions of what people are looking for. The most common thing I see people say is, "I want a pair of open back headphones with a wide soundstage to hear footsteps in games." To this I always say, "Why?" This is a very common misconception I see among people. Let me start off by saying that I agree with this notion that there are two categories of gamers and gaming headphones. In this thread I'm going to be using two headphones as my examples, the Fostex T50RP MK3, and the Monoprice Retro.

 

The first category is probably the most common, and that is the footstep category. These people are competitive gamers and want headphones to hear footsteps as accurately as possible. The misconception comes with them wanting a wide soundstage. I understand the logic, if you can hear sounds far away you can tell where they are. However, that is not true. What is more important is imaging. People don't seem to get the difference of the two so here's the explanation. Soundstage is how far away distant sounds sound like they are coming from. Once you have that soundstage, imaging is how accurately the headphones can place the sound within that defined soundstage. What happens in headphones is that headphones with a very wide soundstage tend to have poor imaging. Sounds sound like they are coming from far away, but the accuracy of where they are is very vague. Now don't get me wrong, you need some sound stage, headphones with zero soundstage also have poor imaging because there is no sense of left, right, front, and back. What you want is headphones with moderate soundstage and the best imaging possible. That way you have some sense of distance, but with the accuracy to pinpoint where they sounds are exactly coming from. This is why I will say to the day I die the Fostex T50RPs are the best gaming headphones there are for competitive gaming. They don't have a crazy wide soundstage, but their imaging is insane. Probably the best imaging on any headphone under $1000, I honestly can't believe how well they image, you can hear footsteps with scary pinpoint accuracy. That is why you will often see me quote this status update of mine.

Quote

I've gotten accused of wall hacks in every single BF1 game I've played over the last few days. It's these T50RP headphones. These are legal wall hacks. Their imaging is so amazing you can hear footsteps with pinpoint accuracy. I camped a building and got 20 kills with a revolver by out maneuvering everyone just based upon hearing them and moving accordingly. They were so mad and called all kinds of hacks. Or when I'm sniping and I hear someone coming up behind me I ready myself with my revolver and I destroy them in 2 shots without taking any damage because I can hear exactly where they are and get first shot. They always call walls on that because they are used to people using crap 7.1 virtual surround and not being able to hear them sneaking up on them.

Also, I don't see why everyone is obsessed with gaming headphones being open. I have no issues with gaming in open headphones, but honestly I would say I prefer closed because it blocks out the sound of my PC and keeps any sound from going into my mic. I get why people think they need open, because they want that wide soundstage, which is also another misconception, just because a headphone is open doesn't mean it has wide soundstage, but alas more often than not open headphones tend to have wider soundstage. But like I said, imaging is what matters more for footsteps.

 

The thing I also like about the T50s is that they have enough low end to also be fun in games without it becoming overpowering, they really are just amazing gaming headphones. Which leads us into our next category of gamers and gaming headphones, the fun category. 

 

The fun category is for the gamer who doesn't care about footsteps. Basically, this is for people who play single player games. In this category you will often want crazy low end, and soundstage. Now if you don't play games with explosions or gunshots, then you might want just really high fidelity headphones for beautiful sounds. But for example if you are playing GTA single player, you want to have some fun. That is where headphones like the Monoprice Retros come into play. These are cheap headphones, but my goodness these are fun. These have so much low end they are almost like wearing a subwoofer. They also have close to the widest sound stage of any headphones I've heard. In any single player game these are amazing. The gunshots and explosion feel almost real with intensity, and things that happen off in the distance sound very far away. However, with that wide soundstage comes poor imaging. BF1 is my test of footsteps in games because Battlefield games have very well done audio, and in that game the Retros barely even produce footsteps. Even people less than 10ft away you won't hear sometimes, which often gets me killed. On the flip side the gunshots and explosions sound amazing, but for a multiplayer games you need to hear those footsteps. Switch over to something like Watch Dogs 2, and you are almost laughing with how hilariously fun these are. For $30 these sound amazing, even in music, expect a full review soon.

 

So to summarize this entire thing. If you are doing competitive gaming, or anything online where you need to hear footsteps you want moderate soundstage with the best possible imaging. For single player games with gunshots and explosions you want bass and crazy soundstage.

 

Perfect example of competitive footstep headphones. (They also can be fun because of the bass) *disclaimer they are super hard to drive, you will need a Magni 3 minimum*

Fostex T50RP MK3

Shure 1540 Pads

 

Perfect example of fun gaming headphones.

Monoprice Retro

Brainwavz XL Pads

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, Max_Settings said:

Perfect example of competitive footstep headphones.

Fostex T50RP MK3

Shure 1540 Pads

 

Perfect example of fun gaming headphones.

Monoprice Retro

Brainwavz XL Pads

Is there a mix of both fun gaming and competitive footstep headphones?

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

Is there a mix of both fun gaming and competitive footstep headphones?

The T50s actually strike a great balance of both because they have that low end.

[Damascus]

26 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

headphones are than gaming headsets

Yeah man, rock on!  I got a pair of M50x's because I understand true quality.

 

/s though I really do have M50x's

[Himommies]

29 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

These are legal wall hacks.

what about pulse

[Ordinarily_Greater]

ok so let me ask one thing

do Gaming Headset have a true roll in the Audiophile community? or even just Gamers that are both casual and competitive?

[Max_Settings]

49 minutes ago, Ordinarily_Greater said:

ok so let me ask one thing

do Gaming Headset have a true roll in the Audiophile community? or even just Gamers that are both casual and competitive?

No. Because audiophiles get that there are regular headphones that sound better than gaming headsets for less and can fill the role of casual and competitive.

[Jz1]

On 3/19/2018 at 8:30 AM, Max_Settings said:

Perfect example of competitive footstep headphones. (They also can be fun because of the bass) *disclaimer they are super hard to drive, you will need a Magni 3 minimum*

Fostex T50RP MK3

Shure 1540 Pads

 

Very informative post, learnt a lot.

For footsteps would you say the T50RP MK3 is in a league of its own in comparison to something like AD700,900X that has been regarded as a good fps headphone?

[Guest]

On 2018-03-18 at 5:59 PM, Damascus said:

Yeah man, rock on!  I got a pair of M50x's because I understand true quality.

 

/s though I really do have M50x's

Um, what?!  Nevermindnevermindnevermind.

 

[Guest]

I almost got suckered into external Soundblaster-esk devices that claim to process the audio signal so foot-falls would be (a) louder, and (b) could be located using a RADAR-like display. 

 

The Witcher3’s soundscape is unnerving enough with my old cans. Fostex or Shure? Oh dang...

 

I enjoyed the article!

[Max_Settings]

34 minutes ago, Sabron said:

Very informative post, learnt a lot.

For footsteps would you say the T50RP MK3 is in a league of its own in comparison to something like AD700,900X that has been regarded as a good fps headphone?

I haven't used those particular headphones, so I can't accurately answer that question.

[ShoshinUK]

Cheers Max_Settings you have put audio imaging on my 'radar'. I'm learning the basics of audio and your post has really helped.

This evening I noticed how poor my trusted Sennheiser PC360's are at directional audio, specifically front/back decisions in FPS. I need to check it wasn't just the game I was playing, Insurgency (I have several hundred hours in that game and know it very well).

I have a set of AKG K612 pro's coming and will test them. If they are not fantastic at this then I will be sure to try the Fostex T50RP's (although i'm tempted to try the newer TR-90's (have you any experience of these?).

[Max_Settings]

Just now, ShoshinUK said:

Cheers Max_Settings you have put audio imaging on my 'radar'. I'm learning the basics of audio and your post has really helped.

This evening I noticed how poor my trusted Sennheiser PC360's are at directional audio, specifically front/back decisions in FPS. I need to check it wasn't just the game I was playing, Insurgency (I have several hundred hours in that game and know it very well).

I have a set of AKG K612 pro's coming and will test them. If they are not fantastic at this then I will be sure to try the Fostex T50RP's (although i'm tempted to try the newer TR-90's (have you any experience of these?).

I haven't tried the TR90s. I've been interested to. They are the dynamic version, but from what I've heard from others they aren't as good as the T50s, hence why no one ever talks about them.

[ShoshinUK]

right which ons do you have the MK2 or MK3's?

I wanna get the right ones for the job!

[Max_Settings]

Just now, ShoshinUK said:

right which ons do you have the MK2 or MK3's?

I wanna get the right ones for the job!

MK3s. Like I said though, crazy hard to drive. You better have a powerful Amp. Also 100% need the 1540 pads I linked. I recommend you check out my review and comparison to the HD6XXs. I have since heavily modified my set and they will be getting a re-review soon.

 

[Olav0]

Great post, very informative.

 

You said the T50RP MK3 are very hard to drive so for people without DACs and AMPs what competitive footstep headphones would you recommend at the $150 - $200 range?  

[Max_Settings]

On 3/26/2018 at 11:12 AM, Olav0 said:

Great post, very informative.

 

You said the T50RP MK3 are very hard to drive so for people without DACs and AMPs what competitive footstep headphones would you recommend at the $150 - $200 range?  

Without a DAC/Amp? Probably the ATH-WS1100iS

[ronferree]

@Max_SettingsAfter you reviewed the HE-4XX in April 2018, do you still believe the fostex T50RP is the king of directional accuracy in FPS games?

 

Your answer is the last push I need before making a purchase decision. Thanks!