Upgrading Headphones for Music

[Sakra]

I'm currently using a Razer Carcharias, I was considering a Tiamat 7.1 but after reading more about gaming headset people say they don't compare to something like Studio Headphones for Music/Movies, so I have a few questions if anyone would be so kind to answer, and a price range of 200$ max

1. Would a Tiamat 7.1 sound a lot worse than say Sennheiser HD 380 PRO.

2. If I am to get Studio Headphones do I need a Soundcard and/or Amp (my mobo is a Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 would the onboard be enough?)

3. If I am to get Stereo Headphones are the Sennheiser HD 380 PRO my best bet for the price? I've looked around and it seems like most people lean to them.

4. Does surround make any difference on music, or is it mostly for gaming? I read a lot of things don't support 7.1 even, I don't know if that's old news or anything though.

I'm more interested in having great sounding music than surround sound for gaming but I'm still clueless on all of these questions, so thank you for any help provided.

 

[edogawa]

1. Razer Tiamat is pure garbage! The Tiamat will sound terrible in comparison.

2. Get a Essence STX, Titanium HD, or a ZXR.

3. Depends on what you will be doing, if you game and listen to music a PC 360 or PC 363D is a good option. The HD 380 Pro would be a good choice, but for games I do not know how well it will be for those, should still be good over Tiamat though obviously(Tiamat is pure crap).

The AD700 series from audio technica are great for games(accuracy and sound stage for example).

4. Surround is for gaming. 95% of audio is stereo.

A creative sound card would be an excellent choice, surround for gaming, and you can turn it off for music. The essence STX has Dolby I think it was.

 

[Sakra]

Thanks for the fast reply,

1. Good to know Tiamat is no good, thanks for the heads up.

2. Naming these sound cards are almost all above the 200$ I'd have nothing left for good headphones. also I was wondering if they were NEEDED, or if my mobo would be enough for now, or would it just be pointless and sound the same as my Razer Carcharias.

3. I listen to music while gaming, so I generally have the games nearly muted, I'll assume the HD 380 is the way to go here then.

4. Don't care about Surround since you answered that, thank you.

suppose you answered all but the one basicly, so Amps/soundcards is it a must?

 

[edogawa]

It depends on the headphones for an amp. Right now I think a better set of cans then an upgrade to a sound card in the future would be what you want.

Onboard isn't as bad as it used to be, it's like integrated graphics vs dedicated graphics, but it would suffice for now.

I can't promise that you will here a difference between what you hear now and with new headphones.

Some people can't tell the difference between crappy headphones and good ones so if you're unhappy you can return them.

A good site to go to for recommendations for your specific needs are here: http/www.head-fi.org/ (A great site if you need more in depth help for headphones and audio stuff in general)

 

[Sakra]

Well thank you for your time edogawa, you've been very helpful, I think I'll try them out in store before buying so I can compare, but knowing I don't need a new soundcard right now is good news.

Thanks again, take care!