Which one of these headsets?

[KingVolor]

Hi guys, I was looking into some headsets, and I'm in between a Gamecom 788, an ATH AD500x a Sennheiser HD 518 and a Superlux hd668b (with different earcups). They're gonna be mostly for gaming (CSGO mostly) and hip hop and rock. Which one do you guys think I should get (or recommend as long as they're lower than 80SUS$)?

 

[ssddx]

the 788 is a headset, the rest are headphones (which would need an additional mic bought if you want to make them a headset)

what kind of sound signature are you looking for?

the ad500x will have a very wide open soundstage, great positional audio and crisp detailed highs and mids however will lack bass impact and is more high/mid focused.

the hd518 will have a smaller soundstage than the above but will be a little smoother with a fairly neutral sound but with a little more bass than its sister products the 558 and 598.

i'm not too familiar with the 668b myself but it seems they are very much overhyped with people saying that a $50 headphone can beat out $200 or $300 options. now, i would say based on what i've read that they are quite good for the money but will get trumped by more expensive cans. i found this (spoiler below) review which summed it up in a more unbiased non-fanboy way that what seems to be typical of responses. also the soundstage is a bit less on these cans compared to some other choices.

Spoiler

I have a pair of Superlux HD681s. The specs seem similar to the 668bs apart from the 681s being 32ohms. They are ridiculously good cans for the money. However, there is no comparison between them and a decent pair of open headphones such as K701s or HD580s/600s.

I ignored my 681s as I loved my HD580s too much to really regard them much after purchase. However, after listening to my HD580s/600s and K701s and becoming more used to different sound signatures with different cans, I feel that I can give the 681s a fairer report.

In comparison to my K701s, the 681s sound less open (who'd have though that 😛), a little splashy, and with less of an apparent soundstage. They have a 'boosted' midrange, but this has undesirable effects. Tight, small drums (snare for example), have a real plasticy leading edge. There seems to be a weird void in the signature of these cans with their splashy highs and a pronounced midrange, but with something slightly amiss somewhere between the two. They have pretty reasonable bass, more muscular than the K701s (TBH what doesn't!?), but a little loose and recessed in the 'upper' bass frequencies giving a slightly wooly sound. We are not really comparing eggs with eggs here though, as the K701s are exponentially more expensive to buy.

Comparing the 681s with my HD580s (my favourite cans), they have far less midrange detail, less separation, and again, slightly wooly bass. Overall, the 681s sound like a mash of 580s and 701s, dropping some detail and a good deal of imaging/soundstage. Bass guitar seems to be one major area in which the 681s fall over compared to the other cans here, with a rather muffled, undefined sound plodding along in the background of the music somewhere.

There is no denying that the Superlux cans are good value for money though, just don't expect miracles and you won't be disappointed. I can't really remember how they compare to HD555s, but they're a good alternative to cans of a similar price range, no doubt. I've tried cans in the past that cost a little more/the same as the HD681s, and TBH there's no competition at all. The Superlux cans are far, far better.

the gamecom 780's have decent sound for a headset though headphones will be better. be aware though that the gamecom (at least it used to, not sure if it was fixed ever) had an issue with its surround sound software where it did not work right and caused issues.

i'm thinking the hd518 would be a good choice. its open with decent soundstage for gaming yet has a bit more bass presence then the 500x which would be better for rock and rap. sound quality is also just one notch higher up than the 668b which would be better overall.

 

[KingVolor]

the 788 is a headset, the rest are headphones (which would need an additional mic bought if you want to make them a headset)

what kind of sound signature are you looking for?

the ad500x will have a very wide open soundstage, great positional audio and crisp detailed highs and mids however will lack bass impact and is more high/mid focused.

the hd518 will have a smaller soundstage than the above but will be a little smoother with a fairly neutral sound but with a little more bass than its sister products the 558 and 598.

i'm not too familiar with the 668b myself but it seems they are very much overhyped with people saying that a $50 headphone can beat out $200 or $300 options. now, i would say based on what i've read that they are quite good for the money but will get trumped by more expensive cans. i found this (spoiler below) review which summed it up in a more unbiased non-fanboy way that what seems to be typical of responses. also the soundstage is a bit less on these cans compared to some other choices.

Spoiler

I have a pair of Superlux HD681s. The specs seem similar to the 668bs apart from the 681s being 32ohms. They are ridiculously good cans for the money. However, there is no comparison between them and a decent pair of open headphones such as K701s or HD580s/600s.

I ignored my 681s as I loved my HD580s too much to really regard them much after purchase. However, after listening to my HD580s/600s and K701s and becoming more used to different sound signatures with different cans, I feel that I can give the 681s a fairer report.

In comparison to my K701s, the 681s sound less open (who'd have though that 😛), a little splashy, and with less of an apparent soundstage. They have a 'boosted' midrange, but this has undesirable effects. Tight, small drums (snare for example), have a real plasticy leading edge. There seems to be a weird void in the signature of these cans with their splashy highs and a pronounced midrange, but with something slightly amiss somewhere between the two. They have pretty reasonable bass, more muscular than the K701s (TBH what doesn't!?), but a little loose and recessed in the 'upper' bass frequencies giving a slightly wooly sound. We are not really comparing eggs with eggs here though, as the K701s are exponentially more expensive to buy.

Comparing the 681s with my HD580s (my favourite cans), they have far less midrange detail, less separation, and again, slightly wooly bass. Overall, the 681s sound like a mash of 580s and 701s, dropping some detail and a good deal of imaging/soundstage. Bass guitar seems to be one major area in which the 681s fall over compared to the other cans here, with a rather muffled, undefined sound plodding along in the background of the music somewhere.

There is no denying that the Superlux cans are good value for money though, just don't expect miracles and you won't be disappointed. I can't really remember how they compare to HD555s, but they're a good alternative to cans of a similar price range, no doubt. I've tried cans in the past that cost a little more/the same as the HD681s, and TBH there's no competition at all. The Superlux cans are far, far better.

the gamecom 780's have decent sound for a headset though headphones will be better. be aware though that the gamecom (at least it used to, not sure if it was fixed ever) had an issue with its surround sound software where it did not work right and caused issues.

i'm thinking the hd518 would be a good choice. its open with decent soundstage for gaming yet has a bit more bass presence then the 500x which would be better for rock and rap. sound quality is also just one notch higher up than the 668b which would be better overall.

First of all, thanks man. I think that rules out the Superlux. Before reading that I was thinking that it was way better (overhyping things just because they're a little bit cheaper sucks).

I used to have a 780 and I never got to try the surround sound because the driver was only available for Windows 7, although the 788 has W8 support. Although I feel as if I'll never be using the 7.1 surround and I guess getting a standalone mic later is a better option anyways.

Now I'm still in doubt between the 518's and the AD500x. I'm really feeling the 518's though.

Again, thanks a lot man!

Edit: 518's that ship internationally cost a lot more so I'll probably stay with the 500x.

 

[ssddx]

the ad500x is a great pair of headphones for gaming however as i said before, they do not have bass impact. this is not to say they have no bass: they do have some mid bass which is punchy with good quality however not a whole lot of it and no sub (low) bass. for the price you wont find cans with better soundstage and positional audio though and they will give you an advantage in fps games because of the same bass-light quality which makes them perhaps less enjoyable for certain music.