The guide to buying gaming headphones 101

[momomo67890]

The Setup
Mobo : Evga X58
Memory : Gskill 1333 mhz 9.9.9.12
CPU : i7 920 @ 3.3G
GFX : Ati 4780
Sound : Xonar STX , X-Fi Forte ( CMSS-3D , DDL , DH )
Games : COD:4 , CS:S , CS 1.6
The HeadPhones : A40s , turtle beach hpx , audio technica 700s, senn hd 650s , speedlink 5.1s, denon d7000s , Ultrasone HFI-780 , senn pc-350s, akg 702 , beyer dt880 600 ohm , HE-5 (only 20 floating around atm) , HD800s

I Tested these by turning on some Aim Bots I downloaded for each game then went into game on my computer / another computer stood in one place then had my other computer run a line strait out to test how far they got then recorded the distance with the Aim bots distance meter in game for each headphone . I found this to be the best way to judge the headphones and how far you could hear those lovely foot steps with CMSS-3d , DDL , DH this took quite some time. Sorry no numbers for this for you I have over 100 numbers total for all the headphones and I took the avg number and gave it a rating 1-10 one being the shortest five being the furthest in game so I might end up with 8.24 / 10 with 1 being the worst 10 being the best headphone . In my review I named this “How Far Can you hear ?” this represents CMSS-3D only for the reason being DH / DLL were on Avg 5-7 % shorter with that you could hear distance wise with Accuracy being the same or worse on all headphones all more or less the same for the most part .

http://img4.imageshack.us/i/img7920o.jpg/


Audiotechnica ATH-AD700 Open-air Dynamic Headphones

Tech specs :
Type Open-air
Dynamic Driver Diameter53 mm
Magnet Neodymium
Voice Coil Copper-clad aluminum wire
Frequency Response 5 – 30,000 Hz
Maximum Input Power 500 mW
Sensitivity 98 dB/mW at 1 kHz
Impedance 32 ohms
Weight 280 g
Cable 3.0 m (Single/Hybrid-PCOCC)
Connector 1/8" (3.5 mm) mini stereo, gold-plated
Accessory Included Detachable 1/4" (6.3 mm) adapter

Approx Burn in time : 48 hours

Comfort/ Build Quality : 5. / 5.

The Audiotechnica ATH-AD700 are made of plastic besides the side grills witch a some light weight metal alum most likely they seem sturdy and well made. These headphones feel like air when you wear light as a feather on your head and super comfy huge ear pads very nice for many hours of gaming .

Over all Sound : 4.4 / 5.

The one down fall of these headphones is there bass is very lacking. After 24 hours of burn in there was the smallest gain the in bass but noting to offset the lack of bass that plagues these phones. If you plan to buy these you will need to increase the EQ on your sound card or if it had bass boost that would fix up the headphones tested, and I didn't seem don't lose any sound quality by doing this and makes the phones sound what they should .

How Far Can you hear ? 9.54 / 10

At there price point these are the clear winners sound quality , accuracy , sound stage are all amazing on these cans. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to game under 100$. All I can say is amazing . another thing that helps the headphones for gaming is there lack of bass.

Price : 79.99 $ (Amazon) MSRP* US$249.95


Sennheiser HD650 Audiophile Open Dynamic Stereo
Headphone

Tech info
Cable length
9.8 ft. (3 m)
Contact pressure
Approx. 2.5 N
Ear coupling
Around-the-ear
Frequency response (headphones)
10.....39,500 Hz
Jack plug
6.3/3.5 mm stereo
Nominal impedance
300 O
Sound pressure level (SPL)
103 dB (1 Vrms)
Total harmonic distortion (THD)
0.05 %
Transducer principle
Open, dynamic
Weight w/o cable
Approx. 9.2 oz. (260 g)

Approx Burn in time : 200 hours

Comfort/ Build Quality : 2.5 / 5. ( Stock ) / 4.5 / 5. ( Stretched )

The Sennheiser HD650 when they arrived stock they could be used as a clamp for clothing. Made my jaw hurt for days wile I used a book and towel to expand them. After that week there noting less then great cans. They are slightly heavy because of the use of aluminum for housing and headband but very sturdy and seem like they would never break. Approx Burn in time : 200 hours

Over all Sound : 5.0 / 5.

These headphones are pure bliss there not too bass heavy , but at the same time there just perfect for just about every piece of music I listen to these days. Vocals are very clear compared to some of the other headphones I will be reviewing for you. These are the least fatiguing headphones I have very flat sound.

How Far Can you hear ? : 1 /10

Sennheiser HD650 have the smallest sound stage making them the losers out of all my headphones. Your lucky to hear anyone sneak up on you with these they are the worst headphones for gaming hands down. And the 2nd best headphones for music I own and have ever owned.

Price : 330$ USD / MSRP 500$ USD

These headphones are out of 98% of most of our budgets for headphones but if you truly want some amazing sounding headphones for music these are the best at there price range of 300-500$.

[momomo67890]

Ultrasone HFI-780

S-Logic™ Natural Surround Sound Plus
Dynamic principle
Frequency range 10-26.000 Hz
Impedance 35 Ohm
Sound pressure level 96 dB
MU Metal bufferboard,

reduced field emissions
in accordance with ULE (=Ultra Low Emission) standard
Driver 40 mm gold-plated
Weight 285 g (without cord)
Straight cord (length

ca 3m)
3,5/6,3 mm screwable gold-plated plug

Approx Burn in time : 12 hours

Comfort/ Build Quality : 4.0 / 5. (Stock) 4.5 / 5. (DE-PLETHER'D)

The Ultrasone Hfi-780s one word PLETHER ATTACK another plether headphone the day plether things burn and and 6 ft under is the same day world hunger is

cured seriously. They are comfy cans the headband could use a little more padding but that's about it . Replacement ear pads can be found at around 20$

replacement being NOT PLEATHER yes maybe its just me that hates PLETHER WITH A PASSION. They feel sturdy made mostly of metal I don't see these breaking

even if I dropped onto a hard surface . On a side note my spell checker has plether as spelled wrong but PLETHER as correct lol …

Over all Sound : 5 / 5.

They have great sound Bass is there mids lows highs all there very good cans they sound almost as good as my hd650s but totally different in a good way

much more rock / metal cans then classical. Great for music and movies I see no end to the awesome of these cans. These are isolation cans and they truly

are isolation no leaking what so ever.

How Far Can you hear ? 10 / 10

These got me I didn't ever think they could be top dog of my cans if you are serous about fps gaming these are your only choice in my eyes with there

superb sound huge sound stage accuracy that non other compare to these are truly great cans for every thing I could hear things that my team on css

couldend hear 4-5 secs before they could enough time for me to tell them in vent and for them to turn and kill unlike having a 2-3 sec advantage over

others headphones . One example I will give for you cs:s players http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/3353/distaceinpic.jpg the white shows the distance you

can hear allowing a huge prefireing box for fun times ^_^ Another thing to add these headphones imo sound the best when cmss-3d , dh , ddl are turned

off they have all they need without the help of the soundcard. So these would work great for on board sound .

Price : 189.00 USD / MSRP 259.00$ USD

That price might seem steep but these are the best




And Then The worst


trurtle trash HPX-1 Headset

Tech Specs :
Who knows they don't post them

Approx burn in time : 100 hours

Comfort/ Build Quality : 0 / 5.

These headTrash are so uncomfortable after 45 mins of playing cs:s I had to take them off . Felt like my ears had been clamped to death by the hard

plastic so called padding used in these headtrash the worst of the worst they have been sitting stretched by a 13 inch box with my wallet and a notebook

trying to expand them with no luck .

Over all Sound : 0 / 5.

Once again these headtrash truly sine here being the worst sounding **** I have ever heard in my life I wouldnt want to hear music played on these it

would be spiting in the face of the artist these are truly the worst headphones I have ever used or had noted headtrash by me. Even though I torrent all

my music ^_^

How Far Can you hear ? : 8.46 / 10

I am not going to lie these headphones do have a huge sound stage but there accuracy is not there. When using in 5.1 mode 2.1 no matter what setup I used

these headphones still didn't have accuracy making them useless in gaming no pre-fire for you b/c these headphones had him behind the wall still.

Price 80$

how can I say these suck go buy some audio technica ad700s and get larger sound stage with accuracy.

btw pm me ill sell these for 35$ shipped for anyone who wants ^_^ I kinda feel like putting them to rest in the trash but rewiring headphones is not a

cheap thing ^_^

[momomo67890]

MIX AMP By Astro gaming

Tech specs :

Power Supply: USB mini-B (USB 2.0 compatible), or 4 x AA batteries (not included)
Power Output: 70mW 32ohm per channel
Battery Life: 12+ Hours
Frequency Response: 35 - 20,000 Hz
Inputs (front): Headset connector, 2.5mm Xbox Live voice communication connector
Inputs (rear): L/R analog RCA, TOSlink digital, coaxial digital, 3.5mm microphone (PC voice), 3.5mm mp3 connector, USB mini-B (power only)

Build Quality : 4.0 / 5.0

This Amp Loses points for build quality on the fact that its not stepped so the left and right channels are never matched unless you do it with your

ears. This small little amp is what I would think of as the jack of all trades gaming amp it really has every connector you could ever need for pc ,

xbox360 and ps3. It can be powered of battery's only lasted around 4 hours so you have to turn it off when not using or it wont last long. It has DDL

built into it who dose not love 2.1 ? 5.1.

Price : 129.99

if you game a lot on consoles you might want this over your speakers . But if your a pc exclusive gamer stick to the sound cards that can do much more

and much better in terms of SQ


A40s By Astro Gaming

Tech specs :

Transducer Principle: Dynamic, open
Frequency Response: 15 - 28,000 Hz
Nominal Impedance: 50 ohm
Weight w/o Cable: 324 g
Characteristic SPL: 104dB
Ear Coupling: Circumaural
Kessel Run Distance: Under 12 Parsecs
Headband Pressure: 2.6 N
Distortion: Less than 0.1%
Connector: 3.5 mm mini-stereo with 1/4" adapter
Microphone: 6.0mm uni-directional noise canceling

Comfort/ Build Quality : 2.5 / 5.

They are for sure very comfy as good as any of the other headphones BUT they need to work on there QC Mine randomly the right screw Fell out while I was using them Shot out and I have yet to find that lonely screw so now being held together by wonderful packing tape. Which is more secure then you would. (Found Screw and fixed)

ever think.

Over all Sound : 3.5 / 5

like the AT's there not a lot of bass they sound alright I noting amazing just your average headphones.
They say there isolation element to the headphones but I don't really hear that or I do hear every thing around me .

How Far Can you hear ? 8.0 / 10

Nothing to see here really A40s dont compare to the AT's in any way.

Price : 199.99

Over priced at this price you could get the ultrasones and be 10 times as happy

[momomo67890]

DENON AH-D7000
Tech specs :

colour Wood
Description Premium Over-Ear Headphones
Features Stronger magnetic circuit for the driver unit / Piano finished real wood mahogany housing / Microfiber diaphragm / Acoustic Optimiser /

Cloth-wrapped cable with high-purity (99.99999% OFC) 7N-OFC wire / Gold plated connector
Weight (g) 370
Cord Style both headphones
Diaphragm Diameter 50
Headphone Drive Units ø 50 mm Neodymium magnet
Headphones Cord Length 3
Impedance (Ohm) 25
Max Frequency Response 45
Min Frequency Response 5

Approx Burn in time : 0

Comfort/ Build Quality : 5.5 / 5.

The Chinese built these for Denon japan They are plether Stock but i must say its very nice plether ultrasone is not good plether of course I replaced

the stock ear pads with j$ over-stuffed lamb skin pads much better that s why I am giving them 5.5 b/c there just that great. They are 100% Wood / Metal

frame and weight a little more then the AT's but nothing to heavy.

Over all Sound : 5.0 / 5.

I Love these headphones but there is a reason they are in this review besides the epen Boost . Their sound is the best I enjoy them over HD800's had both

these are my fav gaming headset / music / im to lazy to get up out of my chair to unplug the denons and plug in the ultrasones.

How Far Can you hear ? 9.66 / 10

This is surprising for me again these are my every day audiophile Gaming headphones I would not trade them for anything. They don't quite match up to the

ultrasone's but they hold their ground. And sound just way too good to game with but they just do both so well .

Price : 550.00+ used 700.00 New 999.99 MSRP

and yes I do have 3 in the pic I only own 1





Medusa NX 5.1 Gaming Headset

Tech specs
There gaming headphones they don't have them I guess

Aprrox burn in time : 6 hours

Comfort/ Build Quality : 4.5 / 5.

These Cans Feel good to wear nothing bad about them 100% plastic and light weight. The ear pads are nice big and comfy .

Over all Sound : 3.0 / 5.

These Can be used for music but I do find them to bass heavy but if you like bass they have nice bass uncontrolled and all over the place but they get

that job done for music sounding decent.

How Far Can you hear ? 8.80 / 10

These headphones work will sound well 5.1 is not every ones cup of tea some people hate them I don't care all I care for is how good they sound and how

good of a gaming headphone it is. But don't buy these just b/c you hear 5.1 headphones are good or w/e you will need a sound card for these. X-fi forte

dose not work with any headphone amp or regular amp you will end up with a static filled headset unless you turn down the built in amp all the way down

then turn up the x-fi.

Price : 109.00 USD

I would not recommend these to anyone over the AT's at 20$ Less.

[momomo67890]

AKG K702

Type open-back, dynamic headphones
Sensitivity 105 dB/V
Frequency range 10 to 39,800 Hz
Rated impedance 62 ohms
Max. input power 200 mW
Cable 3 m single-sided (99,9% oxygen-free)
Connector gold plated stereo jack plug 6.3 mm (1/4")
Adapter gold plated convertible jack plug 3.5/6.3 mm (1/4" to 1/8")
Net weight (without cable)235 g (8.3 oz.)

Approx Burn in time : bought them used I have no clue 300 hours +

Comfort/ Build Quality : 4.5 / 5

I found the headband to hurt the top of my head after about 4 hours. They are solid in build Quality very light not to much of a clamp. At first they didn't sound so good apparently you have to wear them a certain way to hear correctly in them they leak sound so much. If I were watching tv every one within 30 ft of me could hear it even in the next room.

Over all Sound : 5 / 5

These headphones sound good for classical ware you don't want to be overwhelmed by bass. With that said there headphones are lacking the bass I love in my denons. So with the lack of bass and the openness of these headphones is still had to rate them as a 5 they are great headphones for music just not so much for bassheads .

How Far Can you hear ? 8.2 / 10

I had heard from many reviews these had a huge soundstage but I could never find it, musically it did have a nice soundstage but for gaming I could just never hear footsteps very far that and I could hear my computer fans something I cant hear with any of my other headphones even the open ones.

Price : 250.00 $



Sennheiser PC 350 Gaming Headset

Tech specs :
Cable length 9.8 ft. (3 m)
Connector Two 1/8” / 3.5 mm plug
Distortion < 0.1%
Frequency response 10 Hz – 26,000 Hz
Frequency response 50 Hz . 16,000 Hz
Headphone Around-the-ear, closed
Impedance 150 Ω
Pick-up Pattern Noise cancelling
Sensitivity 108 dBSPL
Sensitivity -38 dBV at 94 dBSPL
Speaker data Dynamic, 38 mm, Nd magnet

Approx Burn in time : 400+ hours

Comfort/ Build Quality : 4.5 / 5

The Sennheiser Pc350 are made of plastic meaning there light and nice to wear for many hours. They have the Sennheiser clamp all there headphones have this I didn't think they took away from the comfort of the headphones not as much as other Sennheiser I have put on. They are isolation a major plus for gaming headphones except I think Sennheiser did I good job with isolation and overall design of the headphones. I gave these to a friend I have known for about 15 years b/c he has a naggy gf and he cant hear her at all most of the time while gaming.

Over all Sound : 3.5 / 5.

these headphones sound like basshead phones to me thats not a bad thing but they use the same drivers in them as HD 555 / HD 595 and they sound nothing the same I have only heard HD 595s and not for a long amount of time at that.

How Far Can you hear ? 9.26 / 10

These sit just under where audio-technicas and the difference is there but I would say it wont be a game breaking difference in your play. I would say the accuracy is a little better then the audio-technicas I find accuracy to a lot of the times to be much more helpful then just purely how far you can hear them coming at you from.

Price : 140$ Retail MSRP 229.95$

2 headphones i plan to add soon Beyer DT880 600ohm / HE-5 Orthodynamic not many Orthodynamic headphones around.

[GenClaymore]

You might wanna add this info in for the Ultrasone HFI-780's. I been using them for a year and 7 months my self. They take a while to burn in and when they do, they sound improves alot. Ultrasone take 100 hours of burn in time for them to be at there best, but that can be done by just using them and over time you would had burnt them in for that long.

With the pleather pads it depends on the person and there ears as the pads doesn't bother me but I have smaller ears. The Beryerdymanic DT250 ear-pads, they will fit on the HFI-780 and those DT250 pads are Velvet.Those are the ones I usually seeing people use else where. Wheres the AD700 pads made me felt like my ears was in a spa.

The thing I wanna inform you about is, the ultrasones do not sound at there best while using onboard audio. The users with onboard audio either gonna wanna have a sound card and/or a sound card with a headphone amp build in. As these phones will also gain from having them plugged into a headphone amp. I bought a Fiio E5 to check and I was happy that I did, later on changed it to a non-portable amp for my desktop uses.

If the user must use onboard then they should when they can grab a cheap headphone amp like a Fiio E5 which us 20-25 dollars,granted there not as good as desktop or sound cards with headphone amps since they are portable amp but will drive the headphones better while using them with onboard audio then without it.

I do agree with you with the gaming on theses.Tho some times I use Dolby headphone for me it depends as I some times turn its on or off.I usually use it for the over head and below sounds when I do use it.

As for phones for you to try,You could try the Ultrasone HFI-550/580 as well as the Ultrasone Pro-750/650 ,also Beryerdymanic DT770/880s. AD900. If you do try the pro-750/650 make sure you have the cable all the way into the headphones.

[momomo67890]

i have the DT250 ear pads they change the sound stage and not in a good way at least when i game also using a amp is always better then not

Beryerdymanic - i tryed some Darth Beyers didn't like them

ultrasone - after i got 780 i went in town and try ed out some pro-900s didn't like them as much as i do hd650s,

Ultrasone HFI-780 - they dont sound best but the retain the same distance i can hear in game even when on realtek chip, but they do not sound as good for music / movies but purely for gaming

[GenClaymore]

For me I enjoy the HFI-780's for music and movies besides gaming but mine is fully burned in and have 200+ hours i actually lost count of how many hours over the time I owned them. They took a while to be fully burnt in.When I thought they was fully burnt in, they shock me. But they are fully burnt in and sound much better then they did before they was fully burnt in As they opened up alot. Before they was burnt in I didnt like them that much til I read they req burning in for a long time. Thats when I in up liking them.

I suggest if you can, burn in the HFI-780s for 100 hours and test them again. That's when they improve alot. That actually what most people suggest for ultrasone's else where is to burn them in for that long, that goes the same for all ultrasones as they all open up after that length . Since that's when they open up alot. Unless you already returned them. I don't remember but I think they become fully burnt in around 400-600 hours. I wasn't really counting any more but I used them for some where around those length when they changed again. Also They do go thru a period or going down, but after that period they improved alot.

Tho I do know some people isn't gonna like them for music same with others that do like them for music.

[momomo67890]

denons sound way better then the HFI-780s imo but i will be burning in denons and HFI-780s this week together once i get the denons back from being balanced

[GenClaymore]

I forgot to mention changing the cables on the HFI-780 helps as they used crappy cabling for it.I went to check again what People tend to use on there HFI-780's some use ALO,S2 cable,vampire or the Jena cables when they do the cable mod. I see alot using ALO for there HFI-780's. I also checked again for the burn in time for the HFI-780 and its like 350-400 hours. supposedly as the the can burns-in the bass settles and although it mellows it hits deeper. I used it so long that i dont remember how it sound before so I had to do a copy pasta.

I wish I had cash I would def recable my HFI-780.

[momomo67890]

you can get them recabled for like 70$ with vampire wire , cardas i think is cheaper

[momomo67890]

vampire is on the right jena is on the left

[Postalisback]

Haven't read much of this thread, but I just wanted to say that I've recently bought Beyerdynamic DT 150 Headphones after nearly a year of waiting, and am going to be testing them in games soon.

[Postalisback]

Bit of a shame you don't have the DT 150's actually, I find they are brilliant for gaming, better than my Sennheiser HD 595 for sure.

[momomo67890]

forgot i had other post for the headphones .

[momomo67890]

adding beyer DT880/600 OHM soon

[Stormyandcold]

UltraSone HFI-780 better than HD-555's?

[momomo67890]

i would say yes b/c pc350s are 555 drivers housing can only change so many factors. but i have never tryed them side by side like the rest of the headphones.

[ncarbon]

I play hours of CoDW@W at night, I am a [ÐÐ]... Dancom Delta member. I have been using the PC350s for months now, and with the Forte card and Creatives positioning enhancements, setup is a sticky here...I really enjoy the Senn's. I think it works great and really enhances my play in tactical servers. For example.. I was next to another player, in a tunnel, the other player was near the entrance/exit, through the Senn's I heard 'crawling/moving' above the entrance, I could position it and almost warned the other player in time, but got the kill. I find them comfortable, and the bass doesn't seem over-powering. I have tried pressing the cups tighter to my head and that does seem to sound alittle crisper....yet uncomfortable. I have been really pleased with these, I don't have the 'Something lacking' feeling.....most of my experience with the Senn's is gaming....CoD mostly.....FWIW

Ned

[ESlik]

You should try the new Psyko 5.1 cans from Psyko Audio out of Alberta Canada. Wow is all I can say. I have the Tritton Ax PROs and the Turtle Beach HPA2s. There is no comparison.The speakers for the Psykos are in the headband [5] and a sub in each ear cup. Total new Tech. Must be hesrd to believe. Visit thier site and watch the video.Amazing design and technology. Honest!

[momomo67890]

Tritton ax pros and turtle beachs lol both these headphones sound bad and work bad. and lol at the design of them @ 300$, maybe @ 150$ i would try them and return.

[GenClaymore]

yea that a freaking rip off for 300, i would never buy 5.1 headphones that cost 300. I would rather buy a real pair of headphones. Then some ugly designer over price 5.1 headphones.

[SnooSnoo]

You lucky ones!! I can hardly order any of these here (cept some senn models) But good that somebody can and is willing to write info about it so that I can draw at least some sort of picture for what to look for. Thanks.

[ESlik]

Originally Posted by GenClaymore

yea that a freaking rip off for 300, i would never buy 5.1 headphones that cost 300. I would rather buy a real pair of headphones. Then some ugly designer over price 5.1 headphones.

I don"t know that you can really call these cans "Head Phones" per se, as they are more like desk tops that you wear on your head. High end gamers spend $300.00 and even more for good desk top speakers and equal amounts of money for other devices to ensure the absolute best for thier systems. It pays to buy the best.

[Postalisback]

Originally Posted by ESlik

High end gamers spend $300.00 and even more for good desk top speakers and equal amounts of money for other devices to ensure the absolute best for thier systems. It pays to buy the best.

Money doesn't really come into it much, I spent £110 on my most recent headphones which I think are far better than my Sennheiser which cost £125 back in November 2008 (they are now £139 at the same place LOL ), just goes to show that the cost doesn't really mean much, its about finding quality equipment, and speakers are not the be all and end all of audio.