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jaydunndiddit
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Sep 11, 2018
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Truthfully, you should look for headphones that have amazing depth, imaging, and detail retrieval. In my experience, headphones that have sound stages that are too wide actually make it harder to pinpoint minute noises. For gaming, things are much more spatial so accuracy and placement inside the stage matters more than the size of the stage itself (in my own experience). I personally use my Focal Elex for most of my gaming these days when online gaming and the TR-X00 Ebonies when I want some good impactful bass and it's single player.
I also prefer my gaming headphones to pull back on the bass just a bit and be more mid-focused with good smooth treble (certain SFX can be like ice picks to your ears depending on the headphone). The only times I switch to a bass heavy can is if I'm playing something single player and not competitive online (BF, Destiny 2, Titanfall 2, etc).
All that said, with your budget I would recommend the open back Sennheiser HD 599 which you can get for under $200 these days. Natural sound stage, smooth sound, good detail retrieval, just enough bass and incredibly comfortable for long sessions. If you need a closed back, I really really enjoy the AudioQuest Nightowl. Pretty much all the same points as the HD 599 but dare I say the Nightowl is more technical and has much better bass impact and extension but they do have the smaller sound stage (they still sound big for closed backs). However, they clock in around $400.
Truthfully, you don't need a DAC. Both of the cans I suggested are easy to drive so you probably won't need an amp either. If you did want to do that route, the 02 amp is a very solid, clean sounding option at $100 that has plenty of power. For your needs, I think this would be a killer setup and you'd still come out right at or under budget. Add something like a modmic to your cans and you have quality gaming headset.
Sep 11, 2018
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