Trouble deciding, need help on headphones from the experts

Hello everyone, I have finally decided to upgrade my headphones and am stuck deciding which to buy.

I have been looking at the Audio Technica ATH-A900, ATH-500 (maybe the ATH-A700?) , and the Sennheiser HD595.

The uses I want it for are gaming and music listening via the front panel connecter of the X-Fi platnum (dont want to have to buy an amp to get the full quality from the headphones).

I want good sound quality and comfort but am torn between which would be best.
My budget is $100-200 so if there are any I missed, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

D.

I got these
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/earforce/hpa/
for 60$ from jr music.com the sound is great, but the earcup is a little shallow, so if i wear them for extended periods of time they get slightly uncomfortable. and the removable mic is great, for i also online game alot. they also come with a 5.1 splitter, so that you can switch between speakers and them. overall i like them, i just wish the earcup was a little deeper, or maybe i need smaller ears

GameDad said:

I got these
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/earforce/hpa/
for 60$ from jr music.com the sound is great, but the earcup is a little shallow, so if i wear them for extended periods of time they get slightly uncomfortable. and the removable mic is great, for i also online game alot. they also come with a 5.1 splitter, so that you can switch between speakers and them. overall i like them, i just wish the earcup was a little deeper, or maybe i need smaller ears

Click to expand...

HELL NO to 5.1 Headphones.

Any one of your listed headphones would be great. The 595s will need an amp to sound their best.

The best buy is the A500 (Closed headphones so you can't hear outside sounds very well and thus are more isolated and into the music/game/movie) or Senn 555 (OPEN headphones which allows you to hear someone talking to you the phone ringing etc easier) for gaming b/c neither needs an amp and their sound quality is WAY better than any 5.1 headphone,

I just got the Beyer DT 770 pro 80 ohm, and they are great. Really sound stunning. I run off the front panel of my x-fi fatal1ty no problem. I will get an amp further down the line though, but its not a burning issue. The sound is loud enough from the front panel to damage your ears, but using them on a creative vision m was a disaster. That needed an amp for sure.

Thanks for the replies everyone (please keep them coming)
I am going to read the reviews for the senn 555's compared to the 500's so I can hopefully start to narrow them down and order sometime this week.

D.

Ok, decided on the Senn HD555's.
I figure since they are open, they will keep my ears from getting too hot if I wear for an extended period.

I wish I could have tried both on to see which I liked better, but I could not find a local store which sold them.

Oh well, $108 shipped is not bad, so hopefully I will like them.

I will let everyone know (if anyone cares ) how I like them.

D

Yea, im sure you will find them very comfortable. Interested to see how big of a smile you get on your face ^_^.

Ok, just recieved my Senn 555's today.
I must say..... holy moly guacamole .....these sound NICE!

Listening to some 2 Skinnee J's as I type this and I am really impressed.

They also are quite comfortable so far, but I will give them some time before I make a final decission.

Think I might listen to some more music then try some gaming then post back.

But for now.... thanks for the wonderful suggestions on the headset!!

D.