Headphone setup 400ish budget

[kingduqc]

Hi, I'm currently shopping an audio setup, more precisely a pair of headphone. My current setup is Onboard sound card, with some Logitech G35 Usb gaming headset. They are getting old, drivers pissed me off most of the time and the sound quality isn't that great. Not to mention that they started making crazy loud noise (Ear hurting pink noise). I'm not an Audio geek like most of you, but I've read/watch a lot of reviews on headphones, amps, sound card and still trying to figure out that beautiful world of the audiophile.

So here I am to ask you on what to buy to get a good experience with headphones. My personal use of headphones is mainly to game (70% of the time) on war game like battlefield 3. I also watch a lot of tv shows like game of thrones or Dexter or the walking dead. And of course, music witch isn't specific to a style but mostly metal/rock/Alternative/heavy or death metal/punkish type music.

Budget would be anything from 200 to 350-400ish$ CAD, that would include an Headphone, a sound card and an amp or some kind of DAC with included amp to drive the headphone if needed.(Looked at the Audioengine D1 DACa/AMP, Looked good to me, reviews are good too, is that okay?) I've looked into tons headphones, at this price point there are so many that I have a hard time deciding what to get actually. From what I've looked AKG Q701 seemed to be a good idea because they had a really good soundstage for gaming, the budget was fine and the sound quality is decent. Problem is that most reviews said the bass was a little bit lacking (disappointed because I like bass with explosions, gunfire close to me) But some people on forums said they are not that great really, are they too picky or what?. My initial budget was a bit lower, but I don't want to upgrade in 3 month saying I need something a bit better. So I aimed over it a bit.



Any suggestions on Headphone/soundcard/amp composition, I know that some sound card have integrated amp on them like the Xonar Dgx w/e.Really need some help here. Other question, will it upgrade the sound experience alot over my old G35?


I've yet to come across a semi-decent answer on forums I've posted.. Kinda need help cause I want to order soon.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Hi, I'm currently shopping an audio setup, more precisely a pair of headphone. My current setup is Onboard sound card, with some Logitech G35 Usb gaming headset. They are getting old, drivers pissed me off most of the time and the sound quality isn't that great. Not to mention that they started making crazy loud noise (Ear hurting pink noise). I'm not an Audio geek like most of you, but I've read/watch a lot of reviews on headphones, amps, sound card and still trying to figure out that beautiful world of the audiophile.

So here I am to ask you on what to buy to get a good experience with headphones. My personal use of headphones is mainly to game (70% of the time) on war game like battlefield 3. I also watch a lot of tv shows like game of thrones or Dexter or the walking dead. And of course, music witch isn't specific to a style but mostly metal/rock/Alternative/heavy or death metal/punkish type music.

Budget would be anything from 200 to 350-400ish$ CAD, that would include an Headphone, a sound card and an amp or some kind of DAC with included amp to drive the headphone if needed.(Looked at the Audioengine D1 DACa/AMP, Looked good to me, reviews are good too, is that okay?) I've looked into tons headphones, at this price point there are so many that I have a hard time deciding what to get actually. From what I've looked AKG Q701 seemed to be a good idea because they had a really good soundstage for gaming, the budget was fine and the sound quality is decent. Problem is that most reviews said the bass was a little bit lacking (disappointed because I like bass with explosions, gunfire close to me) But some people on forums said they are not that great really, are they too picky or what?. My initial budget was a bit lower, but I don't want to upgrade in 3 month saying I need something a bit better. So I aimed over it a bit.



Any suggestions on Headphone/soundcard/amp composition, I know that some sound card have integrated amp on them like the Xonar Dgx w/e.Really need some help here. Other question, will it upgrade the sound experience alot over my old G35?


I've yet to come across a semi-decent answer on forums I've posted.. Kinda need help cause I want to order soon.

Audio Technica ATH-AD900
Beyerdynamic DT880 (32 ohm version)

Astro Mixamp (Dolby Headphone for gaming)

 

[dkane360]

Beyerdynamic DT880 (32 ohm version)

I'm gonna vouch for these. Every day I listen to these I love them more and more.

 

[bikemig]

I'd add the audio technica ath m50 to that short list esp. for gaming. Pretty much any headphone amp/dac will do a decent job since the cans you are thinking of are relatlively easy to drive (except the AKG 701s, I think they are somewhat inefficient but I have't looked at the specs for some time; I know they have a reputation for being somewhat hard to drive).

For a headphone amp/dac combo, the audio engine would be a good choice. Also inexpensive is the fiio D10/fiio e17 (I think those are the right numbers, you'll have to google around but this is basically a headphone amp/dac combo in 2 units that runs less than $200).

Personally I'd probably pick up one of these refurbished Teacs from accessores4less for $299: TEAC UDH01-B D/A Converter with USB Audio Interface Black | Accessories4less. They make a (somewhat more expensive version) that also has an amp for speakers but this one is just a dac/headphone amp.

 

[MinusTheBear]

IMO, the Audio Technica ATH-m50 are not good gaming headphones for a variety of reasons. Slightly elevated in upper bass, recessed midrange, narrow soundstage, comfort issues - clamping on the head. Comfort, wide/spatious soundstage and midrange accuracy is crucial for gaming especially for online shooters.

IMO the ATH AD900 and DT880 are in a different class in terms of soundstage, sonic quality and comfort. But I am also of the opinion that the M50 is one of the more overrated headphones on the market. So take my opinion as that.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Not to mention that they started making crazy loud noise (Ear hurting pink noise).

What you hearing is RF interference which produced by your PC internal components -I had exactly same issue with internal sound card - in my case the reason was a new video card

Teac DAC for $299 imo is a bit too much...
I recently got Audioengine D1 and can vouch for it's performance as external dac (tested using both usb and spdif inputs) and pretty decent headphone amp

You can find coupon code to cut it's price to $150 - they also offer good warranty and 30 days in home trial.

I'd also would disagree on bikemg ath m50 recommendation - Imo they are too bassy - and unless you like that, listen to a lot of hip-hop and rap - I'd skip them

I can't skip to vouch on Fostex Headphones - you just can't beat the quality at their prices
Fostex T50RP Studio Headphones T50-RP B&H Photo Video

or my fav ones:
Fostex T20RP Headphone T20-RPMKII B&H Photo Video

 

[kingduqc]

At this point I was thinking about the Audioengine D1 Paired with either HD 598 or HD 585 Or the AKG Q701 Or even HiFiMan HE-300 Headphones.

On those, witch would fit more a large soundstage and a good bass?

 

[MinusTheBear]

At this point I was thinking about the Audioengine D1 Paired with either HD 598 or HD 585 Or the AKG Q701 Or even HiFiMan HE-300 Headphones.

On those, witch would fit more a large soundstage and a good bass?

The Audioengine states its headphone output impedance is 10 ohms. This is far too high IMO to mate with fairly low impedance headphones. The headphones you have chosen are all around 50 ohms. It's possible what will happen is the high output impedance of the D1 could interact and alter frequency response of the headphones for the worse. A lot of the times it will negatively kill the bass response (roll it off) making the headphones sound anemic. Basically you will not be getting the most potential they have to offer.

 

[bikemig]

The Audioengine states its headphone output impedance is 10 ohms. This is far too high IMO to mate with fairly low impedance headphones. The headphones you have chosen are all around 50 ohms. It's possible what will happen is the high output impedance of the D1 could interact and alter frequency response of the headphones for the worse. A lot of the times it will negatively kill the bass response (roll it off) making the headphones sound anemic. Basically you will not be getting the most potential they have to offer.

I thought the rule of thumb was that the impedance of the cans should be around 8x that of the amp but if something in the order of a 5x difference will sound poorly, then there aren't many cans that will pair well with the audio engine headphone amp. I'm no expert but I find that NWAvGuy's stuff on this is very good: NwAvGuy: Headphone & Amp Impedance. You also want to think about the sensitivity of your cans and the milliwatts that the amp puts out: NwAvGuy: More Power?

 

[kingduqc]

what should be the best to power Q701s?

a good sound card and?