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Good gaming cans @ 200$?

C

Copyright

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Nov 17, 2000
Messages
6,004
Helping a buddy look for some cans. He wanted some Denon D2000's like mine but are a bit out of his price range. We found some beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-250-ohm on Amazon for 169$. How well would these work for a game like COD Black Ops? His sound card is an Auzentch Bravura so it does have some power behind it. Thanks for any help!

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-...L5SM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303948429&sr=8-2

Or maybe..

http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasone-HFI...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303949490&sr=1-48
 
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Why are the 880 Pro's more expensive on amazon. both Pro versions.. what is the difference between the Pro and Premium models?
 
Can't speak to the 880 Pro. The 990 Pro I linked is $166 with free shipping.
 
I think "Pro" more or less means suited for studio use. Increased clamping force is the biggest thing. There may even be a coiled cord?
 
J W said:
I think "Pro" more or less means suited for studio use. Increased clamping force is the biggest thing. There may even be a coiled cord?
Click to expand...

I've been researching the DT 880 and I believe the pro vs premium is the re-release of the 2005 version vs the latest version. Pro is still good quality and a lot better bang for your buck, but the premium version is the better set of cans.

See the this link for more info
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/162200/compared-new-2005-editions-of-beyer-dt880-and-dt990/15
 
J W said:
I think "Pro" more or less means suited for studio use. Increased clamping force is the biggest thing. There may even be a coiled cord?
Click to expand...

I ordered the DT990 Pro because the price was right and I read more users recommending these over the 880 for gaming. For 167$ shipped its hard to beat. I paid 200$ for my Denon D2000's and they were used but still in great shape. Looking forward to comparing these cans.

EDIT: All the pics I saw had a coiled cable so I put in a cancel request because I don't want that and don't want to have to be for a recable. Please help wtih another set!
 
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Good deal for those. I prefer the 880 myself but yeah, for that price VERY good cans. Just a bit bright and boomy but well made for sure.
 
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Recabling wouldn't take long or be very difficult, but I can understand why you'd be hesitant considering it'd be a brand new set.

Audio-Technica makes several great all purpose types of headphones. The AD700 or Ad900 both work well for gaming, IMO.
 
Wait. If you still have the D2000, why get another headphone? That is as good a headphone as any in that price range. Spend the money on something else. Mod the D2000, get a better source, etc. I like the D2000 better than the 990.

The 880 will give you a more spacious sound stage than the D2000 with less bass and more detail btw. You can get those used for around $200.
 
While I clearly understand the value of quality audio for gaming (positional audio is VERY important in shooters), I'm baffled why you'd spend $200 to achieve it.

The source material just doesn't call for it! Heck, there are still recent games released that use compressed 96 kbps or 128 kbps MP3-format files as audio sources. Even top-tier titles are hardly using sound files that call for that kind of fidelity.

I think $100 for headphones is about all you need to top out at for PC gaming audio. I'm using Sennheiser HD485 for that, and that already seems overkill (in more than a few titles I can hear compression artifacts*, which is annoying - I can't imagine spending VASTLY more on headphones for gaming and having to deal with the same...)

In reference to Wolf's post - I do agree that 'open' 'phones are *particularly* important for gaming. Can't really put my finger on why, but the positional audio queues seem much more pronounced and 'real' with an open set.

* I think that's really the point I'm trying to make. No in-game voice codec will do proud by high-end headphones, and virtually all in-game audio is sampled at quality levels to be embarrassed by. While the blend of them can then make some output that would be worth investing in headphones in...again, even with HD485s, I can clearly hear compression artifacts in *some* music tracks, audio samples, etc. Spending more than twice as much to just hear those artifacts so much clearer....??? I don't see it. Now, if you are doing something other than just PC gaming with them, then that's a different story.
 
Copyright said:
I ordered the DT990 Pro because the price was right and I read more users recommending these over the 880 for gaming. For 167$ shipped its hard to beat. I paid 200$ for my Denon D2000's and they were used but still in great shape. Looking forward to comparing these cans.

EDIT: All the pics I saw had a coiled cable so I put in a cancel request because I don't want that and don't want to have to be for a recable. Please help wtih another set!
Click to expand...
What's wrong with a coiled cable?

The Audio Technica AD700 is another open headphone that's very highly regarded for games and can be had for less than $100.

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1304046966&sr=1-1

I had a hard time with this and 2 other AT phones because they fit so loosely on my head. Any quick head movements and they'd shift away from my ears or even fall off. :p
 
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Although I'm not recommending music audiophile quality headphones, if there mostly for gaming (and you want some good 2.1) these are amazing for gaming as they offer 7.1 (although most games are 5.1, it still works amazingly)

Razer Megalodon

http://store.razerzone.com/store/ra...parentCategoryID.35096300/categoryId.40856100

Personally if your gonna be gaming, this is a great route to take, however I can not vouch for there audio quality when it comes to 2.1 listening (I do not own these, just had did a lot of research a long time ago)

Good luck on your search!
 
My gaming box had 4 120mm 5000RPM fans that sounded like a damned jet engine, so I needed some closed-can headphones. I grabbed the Sennheiser HD280 Pros for a hundred bucks, and they've worked like a charm ever since. I'd love to see what the MM550s could do, but no way in hell am I dropping $650 on a set of damned headphones.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I had a hard time with this and 2 other AT phones because they fit so loosely on my head. Any quick head movements and they'd shift away from my ears or even fall off. :p
Click to expand...

Have you tried putting a rubber band between the "wings" that hold them on your head? Increases the clamping force without being uncomfortable - solved my issues with the looseness.
 
spaceman said:
Wait. If you still have the D2000, why get another headphone? That is as good a headphone as any in that price range. Spend the money on something else. Mod the D2000, get a better source, etc. I like the D2000 better than the 990.

The 880 will give you a more spacious sound stage than the D2000 with less bass and more detail btw. You can get those used for around $200.
Click to expand...

I am getting these for a friend not for me. I love my Denon D2000's!!! I ended up getting him some Ultrasone Hifi 780s for 170$ shipped. I am sure he will be happier with these then his $35 JVC headphones that are coming apart on the pads.
 
dderidex said:
While I clearly understand the value of quality audio for gaming (positional audio is VERY important in shooters), I'm baffled why you'd spend $200 to achieve it.

The source material just doesn't call for it! Heck, there are still recent games released that use compressed 96 kbps or 128 kbps MP3-format files as audio sources. Even top-tier titles are hardly using sound files that call for that kind of fidelity.

I think $100 for headphones is about all you need to top out at for PC gaming audio. I'm using Sennheiser HD485 for that, and that already seems overkill (in more than a few titles I can hear compression artifacts*, which is annoying - I can't imagine spending VASTLY more on headphones for gaming and having to deal with the same...)

In reference to Wolf's post - I do agree that 'open' 'phones are *particularly* important for gaming. Can't really put my finger on why, but the positional audio queues seem much more pronounced and 'real' with an open set.

* I think that's really the point I'm trying to make. No in-game voice codec will do proud by high-end headphones, and virtually all in-game audio is sampled at quality levels to be embarrassed by. While the blend of them can then make some output that would be worth investing in headphones in...again, even with HD485s, I can clearly hear compression artifacts in *some* music tracks, audio samples, etc. Spending more than twice as much to just hear those artifacts so much clearer....??? I don't see it. Now, if you are doing something other than just PC gaming with them, then that's a different story.
Click to expand...

Well it's for music (FLAC) and Blueray movies as well but he spends most of his time gaming. My Denon blow away anything I have used that was under 100$. I got mine used for $200.
 
Copyright said:
I am getting these for a friend not for me. I love my Denon D2000's!!! I ended up getting him some Ultrasone Hifi 780s for 170$ shipped. I am sure he will be happier with these then his $35 JVC headphones that are coming apart on the pads.
Click to expand...

I had a pair of the 780s ALO modded. and velour Beyer pads. Deepest bass ever. Too small of a soundstage for gaming but man they were dynamic.
 
spaceman said:
I had a pair of the 780s ALO modded. and velour Beyer pads. Deepest bass ever. Too small of a soundstage for gaming but man they were dynamic.
Click to expand...

I hear mixed reviews on gaming.. some like and some don't. They do try to sell them selves as good for gaming so it's worth a shot. I will give them a good break in and compare to my Denon's before I give them to him. Ill save him some time :)
 
Copyright said:
I hear mixed reviews on gaming.. some like and some don't. They do try to sell them selves as good for gaming so it's worth a shot. I will give them a good break in and compare to my Denon's before I give them to him. Ill save him some time :)
Click to expand...
I thought the 780 was okay for games; not bad, not great. As I wrote earlier, the tight clamp effect on my head wasn't pleasant. You'll notice a big difference in fit between your D2000 and the 780. Those were the 2 phones I had before my DT990.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I thought the 780 was okay for games; not bad, not great. As I wrote earlier, the tight clamp effect on my head wasn't pleasant. You'll notice a big difference in fit between your D2000 and the 780. Those were the 2 phones I had before my DT990.
Click to expand...

I have a real small head so the D2000 to me need more clamp force then they have. They fit very loose on me. My buddy is 6ft 7" tall who is getting these so I might have to stretch the clamp on the 780s some.
 
Uh the 780s are pretty tight. I am pretty big and they were tight. Kind of small earcups too. We'll see though.
 
spaceman said:
you can. oh yeah the headpad? the stock one sucks. I used a piece of memory foam instead.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had to adjust it so the head pad wasnt putting so much pressure on my head. The clamp force wasn't bad on my small head. I was not impressed when I first heard them. Ive got about 12 hours of burn in on them and htey are getting better and actually sounding pretty good. I think when I get atleast 40 hours on them they should loosen up some. I still perfer my Denon over these without a doubt but I am still impressed with these. They look awesome. Less embarassing then a huge set of cans. I still catch sh!t from my g/f about mine. The young generation is all about ear buds.. I am 7 years older than her :) One thing I am not impressed with is the cable. Its very short and comes with a super long extension cable. I think I will offer him a recable when Xmas comes around. Who would be a good person to send them to for that? Also My Denon have a lot more bass and under heavy bass tracks the Ultrasones get muddy. Might still need some more break in time. I Plan on putting in as many hours as possible before I give them to him.
 
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spaceman said:
You need about 400 hrs before those drivers settle in. The bass will improve with time. As for mods, I had two versions of the 780 modded. Removing the diode board and rewiring the internals has the largest impact. Apuresound, ALO, S2. None are cheap. The results is basically 95% of an Edition 9 though. DEEP bass.

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/320563/hfi-780-re-cable-comparison-alo-apuresound-s2
Click to expand...

Well his Bday is on the 17th.. I can get about 10 hours a day of play time on them so I can get a good 100 to 120 hours probably before I have to hand them over to his g/f. How much does it cost to have ALO mod them? What I noticed is they are a bit on the harsh side compared to my Denon. Will they smoothout with time?

EDIT: PIcked him up a set of Beyer DT250 Velour pads to give him some options to play with.
 
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The Alo mod is way more than you want to spend. The modded 780 goes for $440 new. I can say they do stand up to other headphones in that price range and beyond but yeah $$.

The S2 recable is $125.

With the Beyer pads and some easy self modding, the 780s are pretty darn good.
 
spaceman said:
The Alo mod is way more than you want to spend. The modded 780 goes for $440 new. I can say they do stand up to other headphones in that price range and beyond but yeah $$.

The S2 recable is $125.

With the Beyer pads and some easy self modding, the 780s are pretty darn good.
Click to expand...

What self modding to you recommend? Is the Recable worth it?


EDIT: 37 hours of burn in so far.. the treble is calming down and the bass is becoming less muddy already. Honestly it already sounds like a different set of headphones compared to day one. I played some Black Ops and was pretty happy with the results. I am playing them 24/7.. should I give them any down time or just keep breaking them in?
 
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68 hours in.. treble has really settled down compared to day one. I haven't broken in a pair of head phones in years. My D2000 were used so they were fairly broke in. Overall for 170$ plus 19$ for Beyer Velour pads I think he will be happy with these. I am starting to think I would have been happy with these too.
 
Pioneer SE-A1000. Love mine, they match up perfectly with an X-Fi HD.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
OFaceSIG said:
Pioneer SE-A1000. Love mine, they match up perfectly with an X-Fi HD.
Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info but I already picked up some Ultrasone HIFI 780's I am very impressed with now that they have broken in.
 
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