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Gaming Headphones???

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Greetings all, I'm looking for advice and opinions. I am a Twitch Affiliate who broadcasts video games and sound is very important to me. I've never spent hundreds of dollars on headphones directly, though in the past I have spent time with various speaker systems and home audio equipment. I'm no expert but I know the difference between okay sound and quality audio. I currently use a set of Astro A40's without the Astro Amp plugged directly into the front panel of the PC for gaming sound. This was a big improvement over what I had been using and I "suddenly" could hear sounds in game better, including footsteps and gun fire from further away in game. I'm looking into taking the plunge down the rabbit hole and know that I'll need a solid DAC and Amp setup from Schiit to compliment the eventual set of headphones I purchase. What I'm curious about is what would be the best recommended set to deliver better quality audio for gaming. I do some light Movie watching through my PC as well, but the focus would be on hearing in game sounds, such as footsteps, movement and things like doors opening or bushes and leaves shifting. I know that the DAC and Amp will probably set me back around $200(ish) so I'd like to have recommendations that would keep the headphones under $250 as I'd like the total expense to be at or below the $500 range. Thanks in advance!
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Matthew2989
20
Sep 13, 2018
I love my DT990's they punch well above their weight class.
jaydunndiddit
3262
Sep 11, 2018
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.
AKG's have a very wide soundstage (great for FPS), they're light, fit large heads, comfortable. They have low impedance so it doesn't take that much power to drive them
KailJoric
0
Sep 11, 2018
erickongIs there a specific AKG that would be better? I see the current Massdrop AKG's that are only $50 but are those really going to end up being better than the $140 pair of Astro A40's I'm currently using? Thanks!
KailJoricThe AKG 7XX is great. That's the pair I'm talking about
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