TL;DR: I got into Blade & Soul and want good-sounding headphones (not just for games, but for film and music too) that are also hella comfy. I'm hoping to go to a Guitar Center tomorrow and try stuff myself, but would like recommendations of what to look at while I'm there. Pairs I've looked at online so far: -Beyerdynamic DT-770-M-80 -Audio-Technica ATH-M50 -V-Moda Crossfade LP2 -Sennheiser HD 598 Anyone got feedback? (no pun intended)
ALRIGHT. Strap yourself in. Before we go anywhere in this thread, you should know about headphone impedance if you do not know about it already. I can give you the tl;dr tho so don't worry. Basically, the higher the impedance, the more "juice" you need. Generally built in sound cards (and even some external ones) can be pretty weak in terms of the ability to drive a high impedance headphone. There is an excellent selection of low impedance headphones, however if you want "audiophile" grade, then your options are going to be heavily limited. A good rule of thumb I tend to use is if the impedance is over 32 Ohms, then you are going to want to use some form of external AMP/DAC solution to drive it. Otherwise the sound isn't going to be what you payed for, and it is certainly not going to be loud enough (meaning it will range from inaudible to hella quiet). The best plug and play headphones I can recommend that are comfortable, durable, and sound great (without you having to sell your soul to your bank) are the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x's. I believe the impedance of these are 38 Ohms, so it is low enough to be used on pretty much anything while still retaining great sound quality. I know this from personal experience as I purchased a pair for use with my laptop (as my AMP/DAC is basically fully hooked up to my PC and all my consoles), and I also gave a pair as a gift to my father for Christmas this year. Needless to say these things are awesome. They feel light without being cheap, are really comfortable specifically around the ears, and come with a variety of cord sizes for whatever you may need. That being said, for most people these could be the end all be all pair of headphones. However I am not most people (pls don't judge me). While I own the ATH-M50x's and they really kick ashe (lel), they pale in comparison to the mid tier "audiophile headphones" coupled with a high quality amp/dac. My personal setup is the Sennheiser HD 8 DJ with the Creative Soundblaster X7. That is quite a bit more money than 200 dollars, but keep in mind what it does for me and why I picked it. You will find that a lot of "audiophile" people will preach that semi open or fully open headphones give a much better sound stage. I agree with them on that (you should really try it sometime) however that is more like wearing speakers on your ears, and since I like to both have a bit of privacy and not kill my family with my music selection, I ALWAYS opt for a closed back headphone. This and this reason alone is why I went with something like the HD 8's over something else from Sennheiser/any other reputable brand. This in combination with the "metric butt-ton" of audio inputs of the Soundblaster X7 makes a very nice entertainment setup. All I have to do is turn on whatever I want to use and the sound goes through my headphones (even multiple devices at once, this isn't exactly special, but it is useful). Thing is, all of that ^ ranting about my audio setup actually has a purpose, and that is to prioritize your actual needs. If you need something plug and play, go with something with low impedance that isn't horribly rated and you will be set. If you have more of an "all in one solution" in mind then you are most likely going to have to either bump up your budget a tad, or just wait for now. Like buy the M50x's, and maybe get an AMP/DAC later if you have all of your stuff in one location like I do. Just be sure to do your research and pick what you need. There are many factors in buying a pair of quality headphones Some of which include: removable cables open vs closed ear cup design impedance build quality ear cup fabric (cloth vs leather, or does it include both) reliability sound profile (which I didn't touch on. Basically does it have a flat sound profile, often used in recording studios to hear the "true sound". Another is lows vs mids vs highs and how those three are balanced, etc) The list goes on and on. Just do your research, and if you need more personal suggestions, hit me up. I can only post so much while still staying on topic. Good luck.
Dang Lux, I got less helpful advice from audiophile forums when I was searching. The only thing I would like to chime in with is fit. More of an issue for me than most since I've got a fat head, but still. Anyway, there are several styles of fit adjustments and it all comes down to preference. My personal favorite in that department would be the suspension fit Steel Series uses. The structure element are just these two large, rigid wires. Nothing fancy but I'm also fairly sure that if I pushed them too much they would only bend rather than snapping. The actual fit is this band held in place with two thinner, flexible, retractable wires, so it self adjusts every time you put them on. My current pair is a Steel Series Siberia V3 and the sound quality is at least respectable, but I'm not sure how it holds up to audiophile standards. My biggest complaint is that it uses USB instead of the common 3.5mm, so I can only use it with my PC. Though on the other hand it is digital until it gets sent to the drivers, so I don't need to worry about interference patterns.
I got my headphones on Friday, and definitely went over budget, but I'm super pleased with what I picked up: Beyerdynamic DT 770 80ohm. These are the comfiest things I've ever put on my head, and I actually did a sound comparison between them and the ATH-M50X, but found the latter to have overpowered bass, though they were definitely tons more portable. My dad also preferred the DT 770 from a listening test. I might get an amp later down the line, but my PC's got decent enough audio through the Asus Hero VII motherboard for the time being.
Not to discredit your motherboard's on board audio (as I am pretty sure it is good) however it will pale in comparison to even the cheapest of amps/dacs, and I especially find that if I am going to pay top dollar for audio, it is pretty much sinful not to pair it with a good amp.
Oh, don't worry, I totally know to get an amp; I just am in no rush right now, with how much I've been spending in the past few weeks. Still paying my brother back for an i7-4790k and an Asus Maximus VII Hero. Lucky he just gave me the GTX 970.
