The Best gamming headphones

D

Devastadus

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
92
I got a new job and with my first paycheck I want to get some nice gaming headphones, preferably with the best positional audio for games like Planetside 2, CS, battlefield, team fortress 2 and other first person shooters. From what I've researched the AKG K702 have an outstanding sound stage and the Audio Technica ATH-AD700/900 are good. Is there something I've missed? Price isn't really a factor though i'd like to keep it reasonable
 
Price not being a factor, while avoiding the extremes, the K701/K702/Q701 are probably the best choice as long as you get a suitable amplifier. The O2 amp is probably the best bet, being fed by a gaming card of some type, but you can also go with something cheaper although you'll want to research it as the AKGs are somewhat of an odd headphone in that they really require amplification despite their relatively low impedance.
 
Yeah for directional sound the akg 601 or 701 are pretty amazing. After that, the Sennheiser 558 or 598 do a very good job. the Sennheisers don't need an amp and have more bass than the AKG but are not as clear about where the bad guys are at.
 
Q701 over the K70x! I've tried the ATH-ad700, DT770, and Sennheiser 598 before settling for the past 5 months on the AKG Q701. Highly recommend it for positional audio, and though I haven't owned the K70x, everyone says the Q701 is slighlty warmer and "fuller" sounding that the K

PS. google "Q701 appreciation thread"
 
personally i own and don't like the AD700 headphones

i feel like they are going to fall off my head all the time and i seem to be allergic to the ear pads....

there is a really good chance i will be selling all but new (maybe a couple hours on them) AD700's after xmas time.

if i'm fair they sound pretty good in games (i can't stand them for music) but due to allergy / falling off my head feeling i just can't use them at all.
 
Q701 are pretty good for the money, some people find them a bit bass light but not nearly as deficient as the AD700 are in that regard.
 
I love my ah 5000s they sound good and i can whear them all day and they sound veay good for music and moives and in games they rock to
 
Okay I think I'm gonna try the AKG Q701. I assumed the K702 were newer and therefore better, but i guess not. I hope a Xonar STX is capable of pushing them. Thanks guys
 
Best gaming headphones ? First parameter you should look at is how your ears will feel after few hours of use. Everything else is secondary. What is the point of perfect sound reproduction and 5.1 sound, when it is painful to use the headphones for more than a hour ?
 
I really enjoy my Titanium HD -> Objective2 -> Q701 setup. Excellent for gaming!
 
Devastadus said:
Okay I think I'm gonna try the AKG Q701. I assumed the K702 were newer and therefore better, but i guess not. I hope a Xonar STX is capable of pushing them. Thanks guys
Click to expand...

Your going to love it! My setup with the Q701 is the same, Xonar Essence STX -> Q701. It is incredible for FPS gaming. Check out dolby headphone with the Q701 if you haven't already! Does even more wonders for positional audio
 
This is seriously based on individual taste and really something no one can "tell" you what will be best.

You need to audition some good sets if you can first and figure out how things sound to you or be willing to invest in more than one pair to try out and sell the rest.

My personal recommendation? Beyerdynamic DT 880's (250 Ohm edition , 600 Ohm version too hard to drive without getting to a higher end headphone amp and the 80 Ohm edition sounds too flat without the depth of the bigger brothers). They have incredible sound staging , they will require either a sound card with a built in amp (ASUS STX for instance) or an external USB DAC/AMP. I recommend for gaming going with the ASUS STX for Dolby Headphone encoding , combine those two and you will be in ear sex nirvana. If you need closed cans the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro's are excellent for the price and pretty easy to drive. However this is only if you need closed cans , the DT 880's are superior in sound quality (well according to my ears , you may differ in opinion).

Now if you are talking competitive gaming , then I would recommend the Q701's. More expensive but absolutely fantastic for critical listening which is key to for any kind of competitive gaming. They should be driven fine by the STX although they love higher end amps even more. Turn down the bass and you'll be able to hear things you've never heard before in just about every game you've ever played , they are that good at isolating individual sounds.

Neither of my recommendations are cheap but they will last you a long time and will give you an edge for sure.
 
Dt880s are really nice for everything except there is a hole in the rear sound stage. They do not do as well for gaming bc you essentially have a giant blind spot behind you. Otherwise, I prefer the sound of the 880s for music over the 701s all day. Certainly better in many ways for that but for gaming? The 701s are a wallhack.
 
spaceman said:
Dt880s are really nice for everything except there is a hole in the rear sound stage. They do not do as well for gaming bc you essentially have a giant blind spot behind you. Otherwise, I prefer the sound of the 880s for music over the 701s all day. Certainly better in many ways for that but for gaming? The 701s are a wallhack.
Click to expand...

I have had the exact opposite experience with the 880's , no "hole" in the rear sound stage to speak off and I've had them for years now. In fact after I turn the bass down and enabled Dolby Headphone I can get a near perfect surround sound stage going.

Perhaps you just didn't have them configured right or you haven't tried them with Dolby headphone , either way my personal experiences with them have been nothing short of incredible for gaming.
 
I've read the same rear hole comment a few times, dunno if it's just being echo'd after Mad Lust Envy mentioned it on that console gaming / Dolby Headphone thread at Head Fi or if it's really a thing... I've never had the chance to A/B my DT 880 vs something like AD700 or Q701 on the same rig with the same game.

I do love my DT 880 tho and the sound stage and positioning seem great, fantastic upgrade from my cheap RX700... Had been looking at the Hifiman HE-400 as a future upgrade beyond those but I'm way more intrigued by the Philips Fidelio X1 right now, I wish they'd bring them stateside already.
 
It has a weakness in the back staging for me. Compared to the 601s I had at the same time, there was a difference. With the akg I could really hear 360 degress. With the 880s it was about 300 degrees. The very back portion was just missing or very faint. Just my experience. I recall bitching about getting snuck up on a lot with them before I realized the issue.

At any rate. My modded 558s are doing a terrific job in bf3. I can FINALLY hear footsteps clearly with dolby headphone 1 and using headphone settings in game. No enhanced stereo. Just plain 16 bit 48hz optical stereo out into my receiver.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top