Need help choosing headphones!

[gex230]

So recently i had problems with my old HPD12 and i wanted to buy new headphones and i cant decide there is a lot to choose from and i need your help i don't want to pay a fortune for a pair of headphones two!
I mostly use headphones for gaming. But i like to listen to some music as well!

 

[Lag]

http/vinylshop.lt/studio-iranga/studijines-ausines/where/manufacturer/beyerdynamic the prices ii found here are normal for me i would be chousing from there collection.

From that collection, I would choose the Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro or the AKG K271MKII. Both are great headphones with different design (both closed), but the MKII as a slightly more neutral sound signature with a little better mids and highs, but less bass.

 

[ssddx]

@cons, to avoid mudding up this thread either have your own thread about the issue or pm me about it.

@lag, no worries, i figured you meant that but thought it was a bit open to misinterpretation. agreed that virtual distorts the audio (which is why i dont like it myself) but some people are obsessed with it. remember that "true" surround headsets also use smaller drivers which often dont sound as nice as higher quality larger ones.

@gex,

if you want the advantage in fps games (such as the audiotechnica ad-series has, akg cans or grados) you would lose out on bass. if you wanted bass you have to give up the advantage (basically not having bass = advantage). your choice to make!

going with a closed can for noise isolation also means reduction in soundstage and positional audio generally. while it could help with ambient noise certainly you would be making a tradeoff to get this as well. your choice to make.

not sure if the dt770 is worth it for you or not. its a bit on the bassy side (not a bass cannon) and doesnt give you any sort of advantage for hearing footsteps due to this. it does however have a fairly wide soundstage despite being closed, decent treble response and is comfortable. the 80ohm version is the most bassy, the 250ohm the best sounding, the 32 the most easy to drive. generally unless you plan on using portables it would be ideal to use the 80 or 250 and use a soundcard with them.

it is worth noting that the dt990 is a good price - worthwhile if you could also add an amplifier or soundcard to your setup but that might end up pushing you over budget.

if you wanted closed cans yet a lighter on bass sound perhaps the akg cans are midway between good gaming cans like the ad-series and closed designs. you would get sound muffling and likely the same signature akg is known for which might be what you want.

if you absolutely want surround sound (and i will say that large soundstage headphones sound fine without this generally) you would want virtual surround sound processing as an option. if your motherboard doesnt have it you could use razer surround however this does not sound as good as having either dolby headphone or cmss3d/sbx which you could get from a sound card. the xonar dg is a cheap way to add not only better than onboard audio and a stronger amp but also virtual support if its not included.

we gave you quite a few options so far. i think you need to start making a few choices or decisions.

 

[gex230]

Thanks everyone for helping me chose i think i will be getting dt 990 pro or dt770 bouth 250 ohm. ty for help again

 

[ssddx]

if you get the 770 or 990 250ohm versions make sure you invest in either a soundblaster z soundcard or something like the fiio e11 amp at minimum (e09k would be better) as they are a little harder to drive than the other cans on that list. otherwise, you should be fine.

 

[gex230]

if you get the 770 or 990 250ohm versions make sure you invest in either a soundblaster z soundcard or something like the fiio e11 amp at minimum (e09k would be better) as they are a little harder to drive than the other cans on that list. otherwise, you should be fine.

No need my motherboard has a implemented separate sound card thing don't know how its called i think its Purity Sound or something i think that will work no ?

 

[ssddx]

perhaps i should clarify this a bit better:

a soundcard (onboard sound applies here) is made up of 3 main things

-software (allows things like eq, virtual surround, etc)
-dac (digital analog converter takes the digital signal from pc and transforms it to analog which headphones use)
-amplifier (boosts the power of the analog signal to power devices)

in terms of a dac and software no doubt your onboard is fine. why i say you need either of the two (soundcard or amp) would be soley for the stronger amplifier. the Z soundcard would just be for the amplifier part which is notably strong (and the better soundcard dac/software is just more of a bonus). the alternative would be to use a headphone amplifier like the e09k (better) or e11k (acceptable) to boost the signal.

why do you need a stronger headphone amplifier for the beyerdynamic cans... isnt what i have enough? thats the problem. most onboard sound is incapable of powering hard to drive headphones such as the ones you picked. often if you try using an amplifier which is not strong enough you get one of two things happening: 1) you hear nothing but a whisper of sound (if the amp is much too weak) or 2) not very high volume even if maxed, distortion on bass (if the amp is barely strong enough).

while not always true a good way of thinking about it is this: headphones under 50ohm impedence generally are fairly easy to drive and you normally do not need any special equipment. headphones in the 50-150ohm range generally need at least a soundcard of some sort or small amp. headphones in the 150-250ohm range generally need either a high power soundcard or mid grade amplifier. for the 250-600ohm range you need either a strong soundcard, soundcard + small amp or powerful amplifier. some onboard sound which is rated for higher power headphones can normally handle more than the average onboard (jump up one, maybe two levels) however typically is not as powerful as they state.

if you are on a TIGHT budget you *might* be able to get either of them working on the xonar dg soundcard which has a fairly strong amp. while its not going to be as powerful as either the Z or a good external unit you might be able to drive them to adequate levels. my preference would be to suggest an external amp though.

 

[Lag]

perhaps i should clarify this a bit better:

a soundcard (onboard sound applies here) is made up of 3 main things

-software (allows things like eq, virtual surround, etc)
-dac (digital analog converter takes the digital signal from pc and transforms it to analog which headphones use)
-amplifier (boosts the power of the analog signal to power devices)

in terms of a dac and software no doubt your onboard is fine. why i say you need either of the two (soundcard or amp) would be soley for the stronger amplifier. the Z soundcard would just be for the amplifier part which is notably strong (and the better soundcard dac/software is just more of a bonus). the alternative would be to use a headphone amplifier like the e09k (better) or e11k (acceptable) to boost the signal.

why do you need a stronger headphone amplifier for the beyerdynamic cans... isnt what i have enough? thats the problem. most onboard sound is incapable of powering hard to drive headphones such as the ones you picked. often if you try using an amplifier which is not strong enough you get one of two things happening: 1) you hear nothing but a whisper of sound (if the amp is much too weak) or 2) not very high volume even if maxed, distortion on bass (if the amp is barely strong enough).

while not always true a good way of thinking about it is this: headphones under 50ohm impedence generally are fairly easy to drive and you normally do not need any special equipment. headphones in the 50-150ohm range generally need at least a soundcard of some sort or small amp. headphones in the 150-250ohm range generally need either a high power soundcard or mid grade amplifier. for the 250-600ohm range you need either a strong soundcard, soundcard + small amp or powerful amplifier. some onboard sound which is rated for higher power headphones can normally handle more than the average onboard (jump up one, maybe two levels) however typically is not as powerful as they state.

if you are on a TIGHT budget you *might* be able to get either of them working on the xonar dg soundcard which has a fairly strong amp. while its not going to be as powerful as either the Z or a good external unit you might be able to drive them to adequate levels. my preference would be to suggest an external amp though.

I actually use the Sound blaster Z for my Corsair SP2500, and it works great. I tried using the headphone amp on the Z for my headphones, but the gain was simply too strong, and reducing the volume via software resulted in clipping and sound distortion, which is weird.

Yes, I know. I should have gone for either active studio monitors or a couple of passive ones with an amp, but my budget was a little tight at the time. I will definitely go for a couple of studio monitors next time (speakers that is).

 

[ssddx]

for powered speakers, there is no need for the z and its powerful amp (the dx would have been a better choice).

as for the OP's situation though... he needs a strong amp if he wants those 250ohm DT cans so its a different story.

 

[gex230]

Well the thing i'm talking about that is in my motherboard is Purity Sound™ that supports up to 600 ohm http/www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20990FX%20Killer/ scroll a little bit lower you will see what i'm talking about!

 

[ssddx]

given that i would say your chances are 50/50. headphone impedence isnt the only thing to go by when determining how hard headphones are to drive.

your onboard will likely power them to decent volume levels however might struggle with the additional power needed for bass. given that you seem reluctant to use an external amp you could certainly try them out.. however if you feel they arent sounding right you might need to get an external amplifier to help boost the signal.

 

[Lag]

for powered speakers, there is no need for the z and its powerful amp (the dx would have been a better choice).

as for the OP's situation though... he needs a strong amp if he wants those 250ohm DT cans so its a different story.

Yes, I know that active speakers don't require a seperate amp/dac, but SP2500s aren't active. As for the OP, he should definitely invest in an amp if he wants those cans to reach their full potential. He says the integrated sound card has a 600 ohm amp, which is rated at 115dB SNR. He could try it, and if he isn't happy, he can buy an external amp/dac or sound card. But that being said, investing in an external amp or amp/dac would be beneficial nonetheless.

 

[ssddx]

@lag the speakers themselves in the corsair set are not active , true, however the subwoofer has its own amplifier built in for the speakers so they do not require an amplified signal so you could consider it active in terms of function. unless you're just using the speakers and not the subwoofer... then you would only have passive speakers..

 

[Lag]

@lag the speakers themselves in the corsair set are not active , true, however the subwoofer has its own amplifier built in for the speakers so they do not require an amplified signal so you could consider it active in terms of function. unless you're just using the speakers and not the subwoofer... then you would only have passive speakers..

Yes, you are right, but I think they do sound better with an external sound card with its own dac/amp nonetheless, (I thought so at least). But you are right, the sub does have a built in amp.