Replacing the Sennheiser 333d - Going Wireless

Armathendae

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
3
0
1,510
Hi there!

So I need to replace my very much loved, though often broken Sennheiser PC 333d headphones.

I already went to the store and I am now trying out the Steelseries Siberia 800. While this is a VERY good headsets I have some gripes with it. I do do a fair bit of gaming but I mostly listen to music on my PC and sometimes watch some TV. Compared to my Momentum 2 wired Headphones, the whole Siberia 800 feels just flatter (I don't know how to precisely describe it) - I like the sound of the Momentums better. I also do not need surround sound at all (even in my pc 333ds I never used the surround sound option).

So I figure I have three options:

Try out some more wireless gaming headsets, because the wireless part I like - A LOT. For that I would like some recommendations. I would like them to sound BETTER than the Siberia 800.

Go back to a wired option. Probably the Sennheiser Game One or Zero. Though I would need a seperate USB DAC, because my motherbord soundcard is not good. So I would need some reccomendations there too ;).

Now to my perfect solution. Though this might go way more expensive than any other. I mentioned before that I currently own a Steelseries Siberia 800 AND a Momenturm 2 Wired. I could sell both and buy the Momentum 2 Wireless. One reason why I haven't returned the Siberia 800 is, that it comes with this lovely AMP/Transmission box where you can plug in a PC and a TV at the same time. My dream now (on top of the Wireless Momentums) would be something similar for the new headphones.
My dream box would have an USB IN(from PC, could Optical Out - though going through USB should get better quality no?), at least one Optical IN(2 would be more perfect), some other audio in and outputs. PLUS it would be able to transmit Bluetooth with the aptX codec.
I know this sounds needlessly complicated - why not get a USB dongle for the PC? I tried that with the Sennheiser Urbanite last year (a try in soundquality of wireless headsets before i settled on the wired Momentums). My verdict then was that the sound quality for the dongle was ok, but whenever I started to use VoIP programs something with the codecs went worng and everything suddenly sounded horrible.

Short version: Ideally I would like to connect multiple devices to a pair of Bluetooh (or other wireless) Headphones. How can I manage this without loosing a lot of quality.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
Solution
people often refer to hifi as anything better than junk anymore. mid-fi would be a better term but that is not used much nowadays. despite its weaknesses the momentum 2 is still a decent pair of cans.

the game zero is somewhat based on the pc350se, pc363d, hd595/555 which are bass light designs. the game one is almost a clone of the hd518 with a mic strapped on. all of them are stereo headphones although the pc363d did have a (crappy) soundcard which came with it to give virtual 5.1. you can use a soundcard if you want virtual with any headphones.

if in germany, check out the dt880. prices for beyerdynamics in europe are much lower than us. sennheiser prices for you are higher. the 880 is somewhat neutral. the 990 is v-shaped with...
1. gaming headsets, other than models based on actual headphone designs, are generally going to sound like crap compared with hifi headphones.

2. if you do not like a flat sound you may not want a neutral headphone/headset but one with a v-shape and a bit more bass than normal.

3. there are not that many good wireless solutions on a budget. the logitech wireless headsets are not bad but still they are only gaming headsets so will not compare to hifi headphones favorably.

4. the game zero is a fairly bass light headset. chances are if you do not like a flat sound you will not like it. the game one is basically a hd518 with a mic strapped on. this is also a fairly neutral headset but will more bass than the bass light game zero.

5. all wireless headphones have certain flaws such as battery life, lack of power compared to wired versions, etc but this is the price you pay for convenience. if you want a decent sounding headphone going with a wireless model like the momentum 2 wireless might be something up your alley.

6. if wired is okay, why not just use your momentums as is.

7. sounds like the box is a soundcard. you can do something similar with dac like the modi 2 uber which has usb and optical. the magni pairs well with it as an amp. likewise, you could do it cheaper with the audioengine d1 which is one box with a dac+amp installed. usb and optical input.

8. if you bought a bluetooth pair of headphones, you could pair it to a transmitter and use a dac with usb/optical input which then connects to the transmitter.
 

Armathendae

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
3
0
1,510
Thanks for the answer.


Well yeah, that is true. On the other hand even a Momentum 2 is not a HiFi Headphone and gaming headsets have made some strides in the quality department.


I think I want a quite neutral headphone, just the Siberia 800 sounds even more flat than my momentums.


I thought the only diffrence between the zero and the one were closed/open and the materials used. Are you sure you don't mean the pc 373d(which would be 5.1 i think again)?


Because I need to use an Extension cord to reach the PC under my desk, plus my soundcard is not good (so DAC would be the investment there). BUT the extension cord drags on the Headphone cable and it can pull out so that i loose the left Earcup with sound.


Thanks I will check those out. (Probably have to look for stuff I can get in Germany - the Schiit equipment i would probably have to import)


So there is no integrated option? Bummer. Do you think that will change in a few years? I mean Bluetooth and Bluetooth headphones are finally at a point where they start sounding good.


Plus wouldn't the effort of using a DAC go to complete waste, if you pipe the audio through bluetooth after the fact? I mean isn't the Pipeline something like this: PC(digital out via usb/optical) - DAC (convert to Analog signal) - Bluethooth Transmitter (convert to digital again) - - Headphones
 
people often refer to hifi as anything better than junk anymore. mid-fi would be a better term but that is not used much nowadays. despite its weaknesses the momentum 2 is still a decent pair of cans.

the game zero is somewhat based on the pc350se, pc363d, hd595/555 which are bass light designs. the game one is almost a clone of the hd518 with a mic strapped on. all of them are stereo headphones although the pc363d did have a (crappy) soundcard which came with it to give virtual 5.1. you can use a soundcard if you want virtual with any headphones.

if in germany, check out the dt880. prices for beyerdynamics in europe are much lower than us. sennheiser prices for you are higher. the 880 is somewhat neutral. the 990 is v-shaped with more treble and bass emphasis but still a good set of cans. listen at a local store if you can. be aware: sennheisers are generally laid back (slow) and easy listening while beyerdynamics tend to be a bit more aggressive and bright.

there may be dac units with a bluetooth transmitter but i am not able to name one. honestly i do not follow wireless headphones much.

good point about bluetooth. you are correct. it was an afterthought and i was thinking more along the lines of a box capable of handling both pc and tv inputs and outputting a signal that can swap between more than having a high end dac when i listed that. you could surely just use optical out of your pc and tv and use an optical switch box if you can find a bt transmitter with optical input. if you can only find analog input models then using analog out from the pc and digital out from the tv (if lacking headphone/analog out) and a converter would also work. you are right that bt headphones use their own dac so using special equipment with them is not going to help at all. you are correct in that the pipeline would be devices->transmitter->bt headphone

more and more devices are getting bt compliant. some tvs and motherboards have it built in already and can pair right up. for those not having the function, there are transmitters available. i doubt you will find many high end dac with bt capability though.

 
Solution