Sennheiser Game Zero vs Razer Kraken Forged

[ckokoroskos]

As the title says, which one of them is better for both gaming and music? Note that I mostly listen to bassy electronic music. I already know that Sennheiser is an amazing headphone maker but I like Razer peripherals and I trust them(hate me if you want).

 

[ssddx]

in terms of quality razer can not compare to sennheiser.

with that said, if you love bassy music you will hate the game zero as it has very little bass response.

if you want bass and want a sennheiser headset the game one would be the better choice (based on the hd598). its not strong bass but at least its fairly neutral instead of being anemic.

if you want something capable of pretty decent bass hits you may want to look at getting headphones and an amplifier then adding on a mic like the modmic. you would be much happier that way if both quality and bass is something important to you.

something like the dt990 + modmic + amplifier would give you both enough bass response for most people (bassy, but not basshead level) as well as the bright highs you would need for hearing sounds in games.

budget might also be a concern but you listed none.

 

[ckokoroskos]

in terms of quality razer can not compare to sennheiser.

with that said, if you love bassy music you will hate the game zero as it has very little bass response.

if you want bass and want a sennheiser headset the game one would be the better choice (based on the hd598). its not strong bass but at least its fairly neutral instead of being anemic.

if you want something capable of pretty decent bass hits you may want to look at getting headphones and an amplifier then adding on a mic like the modmic. you would be much happier that way if both quality and bass is something important to you.

something like the dt990 + modmic + amplifier would give you both enough bass response for most people (bassy, but not basshead level) as well as the bright highs you would need for hearing sounds in games.

budget might also be a concern but you listed none.

What about gaming? Which ones offer the best surround sound and gaming immersion? I plan to use these strictly at home(obviously) and mostly listen to music while gaming(mute game soundtrack, play my own music with game FX) so clarity is not that important I would say. I plan to get Sennheiser Momentum for going out and high quality music. Think of the gaming headset more like a peripheral than headphones.

 

[ssddx]

again, depends on your preferences.

there are a few things that should be clarified in case you are not aware:

none of them are actually surround sound. they are 2.0 stereo only. to get "virtual surround sound" requires software. the razer headset will use razer's virtual surround software built in to get this while any other set will require either using this software on the pc (its free to use for any headset) or by using the better quality virtual options which come either on some onboard audio or most soundcards (cmss3d/sbx or dolby headphone mostly).

soundstage and positional audio is completely different. positional audio is how well you can pick out direction in a 360 degree space. soundstage is how much depth or distance there is to the sound. separation is how distinct each individual sound source sounds even when its all coming at you at once. generally for gaming you want wide soundstages and good positional audio.

not sure what you mean by immersion as you could mean two different things. normally this would be how epic and grand the sounds of the game pull you in (v-shaped bass+treble cans do this very well and are very fun sounding) but given how you rejected my first post i'm not sure if that is what you mean. what i will call gaming advantage is the complete opposite and relies on bass-light cans with good treble and mids to allow you to hear footsteps and other such sounds easier. they are not as "fun" to listen to though.

so, what would be the most "advantageous" for things like fps? the ath-adg1 (if you want it in headset form) or the ad500x/ad700x headphone which it is based on and you provide your own mic. akg cans would also fit but some are not easy to drive the game zero is in this category.

what would be the most "fun sounding"? something like the dt770, dt990 or other headphones with a more dynamic v-shaped profile.

want to be between the two? headsets like the game one or headphones like the hd598/558/518 they are based on with a neutral profile and to some degree the dt880 (though its bassier than neutral) are between the two extremes. not as bold sounding, but still enough to be fun sounding and not as advantageous but without heavy bass which can cover up some sounds on bassy headsets.

in short: bassy = fun, non-bassy= advantageous. bass can cover up sounds you need to hear in games. most sounds you need to hear in games such as footsteps and gunshots are treble and mids focused.

what works best for you depends also on how you want to power them. some work well without powerful amps or soundcards, some need one while some gaming headsets have it all in the headset and hook up with usb.

audio quality would be headphones > gaming headsets but for convenience the usb and built in soundcard of some gaming headsets might be easier to work with if you do not have hardware (Nor want any) to power the headphones you like.

 

[ckokoroskos]

again, depends on your preferences.

there are a few things that should be clarified in case you are not aware:

none of them are actually surround sound. they are 2.0 stereo only. to get "virtual surround sound" requires software. the razer headset will use razer's virtual surround software built in to get this while any other set will require either using this software on the pc (its free to use for any headset) or by using the better quality virtual options which come either on some onboard audio or most soundcards (cmss3d/sbx or dolby headphone mostly).

soundstage and positional audio is completely different. positional audio is how well you can pick out direction in a 360 degree space. soundstage is how much depth or distance there is to the sound. separation is how distinct each individual sound source sounds even when its all coming at you at once. generally for gaming you want wide soundstages and good positional audio.

not sure what you mean by immersion as you could mean two different things. normally this would be how epic and grand the sounds of the game pull you in (v-shaped bass+treble cans do this very well and are very fun sounding) but given how you rejected my first post i'm not sure if that is what you mean. what i will call gaming advantage is the complete opposite and relies on bass-light cans with good treble and mids to allow you to hear footsteps and other such sounds easier. they are not as "fun" to listen to though.

so, what would be the most "advantageous" for things like fps? the ath-adg1 (if you want it in headset form) or the ad500x/ad700x headphone which it is based on and you provide your own mic. akg cans would also fit but some are not easy to drive the game zero is in this category.

what would be the most "fun sounding"? something like the dt770, dt990 or other headphones with a more dynamic v-shaped profile.

want to be between the two? headsets like the game one or headphones like the hd598/558/518 they are based on with a neutral profile and to some degree the dt880 (though its bassier than neutral) are between the two extremes. not as bold sounding, but still enough to be fun sounding and not as advantageous but without heavy bass which can cover up some sounds on bassy headsets.

in short: bassy = fun, non-bassy= advantageous. bass can cover up sounds you need to hear in games. most sounds you need to hear in games such as footsteps and gunshots are treble and mids focused.

what works best for you depends also on how you want to power them. some work well without powerful amps or soundcards, some need one while some gaming headsets have it all in the headset and hook up with usb.

audio quality would be headphones > gaming headsets but for convenience the usb and built in soundcard of some gaming headsets might be easier to work with if you do not have hardware (Nor want any) to power the headphones you like.

Thank you for the amazing reply. I am 100% covered.