Antlion's Modmic is really nice if you want something that doesn't pick up as much background noise as the Zalmam, the mounting system for the boom is pretty cool. A little pricey at $30 but worth it IMO.
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Good headset?
- Thread starter Stupid_Newbie
- Start date
Antlion's Modmic is really nice if you want something that doesn't pick up as much background noise as the Zalmam, the mounting system for the boom is pretty cool. A little pricey at $30 but worth it IMO.
D
Deleted member 222586
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Of all the headphones I've tried the AD700, for me, are the most "no-no". They have no bass whatsoever (not that they are bass lacking... as the K701, no, they just have nothing down there... ), which means that you lose EVERY bit of detail that bass gives you.
Mind you, there are bass light cans... but they always have some.
Well, they are very "unique". They have 0 sound stage, but they sound very nice, have a deep punchy bass and are light and comfy. Also, they are very very hard and well built and I'd choose them for "on the go" without a blink
At home... not so much, but for portability you can't be wrong with those
(also, every bit of the cans has spare parts, so... ).These are going to be solely for gaming use in my office so I'm not to worried about the music reproduction. Also, my budget is also for the soundcard that I don't have yet and mic.
What amp would you push to them?
thanks for the link! What is the mod that everyone is doing to the 558's??
I've started looking for a desktop style mic if there are any good ones out there. I'd like to keep as few cords as possible. I really do like that modmic if I can't find anything else. I'm thinking about ordering it to try out regardless.
What amp would you push to them?
thanks for the link! What is the mod that everyone is doing to the 558's??
I've started looking for a desktop style mic if there are any good ones out there. I'd like to keep as few cords as possible. I really do like that modmic if I can't find anything else. I'm thinking about ordering it to try out regardless.
558 mods. Bottom one is my dinky pad mod. Works pretty well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-knI5XuZ3KE&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8i_ZGHHhuQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-knI5XuZ3KE&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8i_ZGHHhuQ
Hmm, the Modmic comes with two of those magnetic mountpoints so you could always try one on the side of the monitor or something. Most desktop mics I've seen are USB, nothing inherently wrong with that, I just don't have much experience with them.
I've heard good things about the Blue Mics Snowball tho (USB desk mic), but it's even pricier. You could probably mount the cheap Zalman to a little desk stand too (I have like four of those old Labtec mic stands floating around), most regular analog desk mics are probably fairly omni directional like the Zalman.
I've heard good things about the Blue Mics Snowball tho (USB desk mic), but it's even pricier. You could probably mount the cheap Zalman to a little desk stand too (I have like four of those old Labtec mic stands floating around), most regular analog desk mics are probably fairly omni directional like the Zalman.
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You can easily drive the 558 off the amp on some of the cheaper Xonar cards IMO. Now if you're going with something higher end like the 650 that's a different story... There's a lot of other lower priced choices suitable for gaming that are worth considering tho; Senn HD558/598, Beyer DT 880/990, AT's higher end closed A series aren't as lacking in bass as the open AD and still have decent sound stage, etc.
It's not like game audio is usually super high quality. You'd usually want either something that's got a good sound stage and is detailed so you can pick up on positional cues for online play, or something that's fun sounding and draws you into the game environment. Ideally both things if you're spending more than $100. What was the budget again?
Edit: wow I just saw you mentioned $500 earlier... Even if you subtract $100 for a mic and sound card that still leaves you with a lot of options... Tho at the higher end a discrete amp would eat another $130-ish, so you're then at $270 for headphones. I think most of those I mentioned are right in there. Tho you don't need a high end amp for most either, heh. Going in circles...
If you absolutely wanted to blow the whole budget I think space's Hifiman HE-400 suggestion might be ideal, since they're easier to drive than some of the other high end headphones suggested... I base that on rep alone tho since I haven't personally heard them. You also said rather not spend more than $250-300 tho. I think something like the Beyer DT 880/990 or Senn HD558/598 plus a card and a mic would be ideal and right in that range.
Prices on those will fluctuate a lot this time of year so just keep an eye out, and you can always save a chunk buying used.
It's not like game audio is usually super high quality. You'd usually want either something that's got a good sound stage and is detailed so you can pick up on positional cues for online play, or something that's fun sounding and draws you into the game environment. Ideally both things if you're spending more than $100. What was the budget again?
Edit: wow I just saw you mentioned $500 earlier... Even if you subtract $100 for a mic and sound card that still leaves you with a lot of options... Tho at the higher end a discrete amp would eat another $130-ish, so you're then at $270 for headphones. I think most of those I mentioned are right in there. Tho you don't need a high end amp for most either, heh. Going in circles...
If you absolutely wanted to blow the whole budget I think space's Hifiman HE-400 suggestion might be ideal, since they're easier to drive than some of the other high end headphones suggested... I base that on rep alone tho since I haven't personally heard them. You also said rather not spend more than $250-300 tho. I think something like the Beyer DT 880/990 or Senn HD558/598 plus a card and a mic would be ideal and right in that range.
Prices on those will fluctuate a lot this time of year so just keep an eye out, and you can always save a chunk buying used.
Matthew Kane
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These are going to be solely for gaming use in my office so I'm not to worried about the music reproduction. Also, my budget is also for the soundcard that I don't have yet and mic.
What amp would you push to them?
Solid State:
nwavguys O2 amp by JDSLabs,
Matrix M-Stage
Tube:
Used MilletMax
Hifiman EF-2
There are a lot more but atm its not coming to my head besides a bunch of DIY kits.
EDIT: Sorry for the bad formatting with the quotes, I'm totally crap at multi-quoting.
Thanks! I think this sealed the deal on getting the 558s. Easy mod and it gets me a good headphone.
I never thought about getting a decent recording mic. I got my little bother one of the blue mics last xmas and he loved it. Thanks for the idea.
Matthew Kane, I did some reading on the 02 amps after you recommended them and think I'm going to pick one up. I want to buy one, if nothing else, for the story behind them.
Now I need to figure out how to get the simulated 5.1 surround to my ears. I've got an ASUS Maximus V Extreme mobo with the Realtek ALC898 audio chipset.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131858&name=Intel-Motherboards
Will I still need to get a sound card or does the MOBO do what I need? If I do need one, which ASUS card should I get when hooking up to an 02 amp going to HD558s?
I've also seen people recommend getting an Astro Mixamp. Good idea there?
Matthew Kane
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Good question, would like know myself as well but I'm already enjoying the sound out of of stereo headphones, I might do this with a free given Razer Carcharias headset.
The 558 and an asus dx will sound just fine for starters.
Mobo sound sucks. I include the digital output in that too. The realtek drivers are just bad imo.
You can upgrade to something better later. Take this first step and you will probably be fat and happy for a while anyway.
Mobo sound sucks. I include the digital output in that too. The realtek drivers are just bad imo.
You can upgrade to something better later. Take this first step and you will probably be fat and happy for a while anyway.
Matthew Kane
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Echoing what spaceman sound, if your not picky about how you control your volume adjustments and headroom from the volume pot, the Asus will be just fine.
If you eventually want more, I can recommend a nice $3500 amplifier to drive those HD558's.
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Echoing what spaceman sound, if your not picky about how you control your volume adjustments and headroom from the volume pot, the Asus will be just fine.
If you eventually want more, I can recommend a nice $3500 amplifier to drive those HD558's.
Yeah my amp weighs 55 lbs. What's it to you?
An Asus DX + JDS Labs cMoyBB if you want an external volume knob. Or their O2 amp is nice and flexible.
Anyway, JDS labs is where you want to go for a budget amp imo.
http://www.jdslabs.com/store.php
Porter_
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in my vast experience with using various headphone amps (totaling 1), i can solidly recommend the O2.
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What kind of headphone amp did you use when you listened to them?
I use a Topping D2 and the sound is great. I hear good quality sounds from all over the frequency range. I mainly use them for gaming and the sound stage is huge.
What have you compared them to tho? Wouldn't know what's missing unless you have a comparison point.
Matthew Kane
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Samons 850 and VMODA M80. Not alot to compare to but the AD700's are the most comfortable and the sound doesn't hurt my ears, they sound great. I forget I'm wearing them when I have them on.
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D
Deleted member 222586
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Thanks! I think this sealed the deal on getting the 558s. Easy mod and it gets me a good headphone.
I never thought about getting a decent recording mic. I got my little bother one of the blue mics last xmas and he loved it. Thanks for the idea.
Matthew Kane, I did some reading on the 02 amps after you recommended them and think I'm going to pick one up. I want to buy one, if nothing else, for the story behind them.
Now I need to figure out how to get the simulated 5.1 surround to my ears. I've got an ASUS Maximus V Extreme mobo with the Realtek ALC898 audio chipset.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131858&name=Intel-Motherboards
Will I still need to get a sound card or does the MOBO do what I need? If I do need one, which ASUS card should I get when hooking up to an 02 amp going to HD558s?
I've also seen people recommend getting an Astro Mixamp. Good idea there?
Forget about positional audio, that is rubbish. Stereo positional audio for headphones is as good as it gets. Seriously, you can't make it better, and CMSS3D or dolby headphone will only sound rubbish.
A Mixamp is only a crappy DAC/amp that has dolby headphone into it... which I don't recommend because it makes everything sound crap. Seriously, if the sound engine is good you will have the best positional experience using stereo headphones...
Several: Fiio E7, Fiio E9, Fiio E10 and Matrix M-stage (+ HRT MS II+). They are so bass-lacking that you miss everything. Of course, this is something you only realise when you have other headphones to compare to... and provided I've got 14 different headphones at the moment I can say that, comparatively, they are bass lacking (and not basslight. One has a very shy bass, the other has... no bass).
And yes, everything sounds levely, except the bass. Seriously, what other cans have you tried?
PS: the M-Stage is a neutral amp, and so is the HRT MS II+ (dac). So, I'd say that the AD700 sounds as it sounds because I'm not colouring it in any way.
The Samson 850 have sort of the same signature, supposedly with more bass but I've never heard them side by side. You think the AD700 put put as much bass as the M-80 tho?
Matthew Kane
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The Samson 850 is tad bit more neutral then the M80's, the M80's have more of a V/U curve frequency response, which is why it pumps out more bass. The AD700 is the complete opposite of the M80.
D
Deleted member 222586
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I have no idea how the M-80 sounds... but knowing the AD700 have no bass then I doubt the M-80 are as bass lacking which would answer your question:
-Nope, the AD700 don't put as much bass as the M-80... well, actually I don't know of any can that has such a lack of bass as the AD700
D
Deleted member 222586
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Its not.
Okay I am giving you a hypothetical $200 bill. What do you buy?
D
Deleted member 222586
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You want a headset or headphone + mic is ok? Open or closed? Style of music of choice?
Matthew Kane
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I would only buy a PC360 if it's on sale for around $130-140 max for a used unit. Otherwise, I'd just get some Microlab SOLO6C speakers for the $120 it's worth and be done.
I've had some good experiences with some Steelseries Siberia headphones if music quality is of not concern.
I've had some good experiences with some Steelseries Siberia headphones if music quality is of not concern.
Agreed.