dac/amp and headphone combo's

magpie1966

magpie1966

magpie1966

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27 Jan 2006
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Newcastle
Hello guys,

I'm looking for two setups one for me and the other for my son

I'm well past competition fps lol

I was thinking a g6 and some dt990's for me

and a g6 and some akg 701's for my son

anybody got a better suggestion, I've been through a few of the threads and a fair bit of kit is no longer available, the budget for me isn't an issue, for my son about £400

thanks in advance for your advice
 
Consider the HD560S I've been using mine for all around use, they're less forward than the K701 and compared to the DT990 they have more fuller mids so dialog sounds more clear. Bass extension is good too and the don't have the mid bass bloom so sound cleaner. The HE-5XX also make good gaming headphones, wide sound, kinder ethereal type of presentation. The K701 are good headphones for highlighting detail but I feel that they are a bit dated nowadays. Before there used to be headphones which either were good for competitive gaming but didn't have the bass to sound full for those story games but nowadays there's more options that do it all. Other options are the HD600 if you want a refined pair of headphones which are slightly bright with forward mids if you listen to a lot of dialog with replaceable parts so more of an investment than the HD560S although I'd prob say the HD560S have a bit of a wider soundstage in surround sound mode. HD650 is you want more bass, warmer sound but a bit darker than the HD600 and HD560S. AKG K712 are an option if you like the design, sound wise they're warm, a bit etchy, a warmer version of the HD560S.

The G6 is a great device, it's gets daily use here.
 
My Fidelio X2's appear to be on the way out so I've been looking into upgrading them over the last couple of days. The HiFiMan Sundara for £299 seems to be frequently recommended on reddit as one of the best in the price range.
 
I have heard good things about then Sundara's but not in any overclocker threads to be fair. I think i have an inherent mistrust of online reviews I think quite a lot get paid to put their product in the top 10
 
Yeah they sound quite neutralish if a bit bright which always does well for video games I find. Consider the HE-5XX which I personally think is a better headphone than the Sundara especially if one wants to use them for video games as well as music.
 
SBX G6 from Creative's B-stock for £70 is definitely with superb bang per buck and easily drives most headphones you could buy.
SB X3 (£75 in B-stock) would be another option giving customizable Super X-Fi HRTF besides average headshape based one.
Though audio components take a definite hit from G6 level.


As for headphones for that casual/fun gaming something with above neutral bass is definitely good.
Neutral bass just lacks fun factor with bass neutral HRTF.
And while not good for music, some above neutral treble can balance bass to keep details still at good level.
DT990 balances nicely between bass immersion and details.
AKG's K712 is another good headphne for that balanced gaming.
Though comfort isn't at Beyer Edition level and it would expensive in long run with AKG's replacement pads costing arm and leg.
(set of DT990 pads lot less than single K712 pad)


For best level performance in competitive gaming neutral bass is definite must, or it will make distinguishing details like foot steps harder from simultaneous explosions etc.
(or you need to equalize bass down)
Also treble shouldn't be any smoothed down one.
AKG K701/K702 is one of the top choises in that.
But that "automatically adjusting" head band isn't best for guaranteeing comfort.
 
magpie1966 said:
I have heard good things about then Sundara's but not in any overclocker threads to be fair. I think I have an inherent mistrust of online reviews I think quite a lot get paid to put their product in the top 10
Click to expand...

I currently use a set of Sundara's and I'm more than happy with them. They are a fantastic set of cans. I use them for both music and gaming. They are fantastic with music and good for gaming. (The best I have had for gaming were the Sennheiser pc38x). Really comfy, detailed, and just the way they deliver music just makes you want to keep listening to track after track.

I started on with a pair of Philips Fidelio X2HR on a G6.
Before too long that turned into using Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO and Fiio K5 PRO Dac/Amp
That then got upgraded to a set of Sennheiser HD600s and a Topping DX3 PRO
Currently running the Sundara's with Topping E30 Dac and A50s Amp stack.

Have no immediate plans to upgrade again (Although I would love a set of Focal Clear's :p)
 
I'm still undecided, thanks for your advice everyone, I've setup the G6, and plugged my Bowers & Wilkins PX's into them (I use them when travelling, which I do a lot with work) pretty impressed with the sound compared to my Logitechs.
 
What are your use cases?

Gaming?
Movies?
Music (genre)?

I would say it's worth looking into the Audeze Mobius as an all in one solution that's excellent for all of the above, you wont need to buy an AMP/DAC separate and it's probably the most cost effective way to get a taste for Planar Magnetic headphones par perhaps some of the Hifiman options via Drop. You can pick them up for around £250-300, if the main use is gaming they've outstandingly good positional and if you're into VR the head tracking feature could be useful.

Review: https://www.avforums.com/reviews/audeze-mobius-headphones-review.17898 (I would give my impressions, but I'm an admitted Audeze fanboy so might not be the best person to get an objective view from).

There's also the Penrose to consider which I believe is a little newer, HyperX also have a couple of versions but there seems to be quality control problems with those models so I'd be wary.
 
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I recently jumped to Beyerdynamic Amiron - definitely worth a punt of the budget will stretch as is the dt 1990 Pro (you can get some very good prices on the 1990 if you shop around). I'm using the g6 with my Switch and the Amirons sound great.

Have you considered the Hifiman he4xx? They're very good value for money at the moment.
 
kidloco said:
I currently use a set of Sundara's and I'm more than happy with them. They are a fantastic set of cans. I use them for both music and gaming.
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With still no worthy successor available for over 8 years old Dell U3014 monitor I've considered getting new headphones and Sundara is one of those I've looked into.
And while definitely having good sound, it's not without drawbacks for PC use:

Because of fully open back it pretty much leaks every frequency through without slightest muffling.
Many open headphones start having tiny effect around 1 kHz and muffle treble some smoothing keyboard noises little.
And big driver blocking airflow inside cup and ear pads with pleather outsides make it not so well breathing.
In RTINGs testing Sundara warmed ears as much as some closed ones like DT770. (which obviously has completely superior sound blocking)
Guess changing pads to completely velour pads would improve breathing, but likely at the expense of notable changes to frequency response.



adrichardson81 said:
I recently jumped to Beyerdynamic Amiron - definitely worth a punt of the budget will stretch as is the dt 1990 Pro (you can get some very good prices on the 1990 if you shop around). I'm using the g6 with my Switch and the Amirons sound great.
Click to expand...
What did you have previously?
Amiron Home and DT1990 are the ones I'm looking most.
 
I've been away for a few days working and thought i'd give my brain a rest from the torture of such a variety of headphones, reading back it seems clear I never said what my usage wou8ld be, primarily games followed by music.
I'm not doing anything competitive game wise (Too old I'm 55 in April, sick of having me arse handed to me by 12 yr olds :( )
but would like a pair that coud do that job, as my son pops round and hijacks the computer now and again. so yeah for me fun factor is definetly a more favoured choice,
also my budget really has no limits, but don't want to go into £1000 unless there is something ultra special then i might consider it.
short list i think is
HD560s
HE-5xx can't find these but imagine the xx is a variable on model number?
Sundara - nobody has mentioned the ananda, any opinions
BeyerDynamic Amiron or 1990

as you can see my head is a bit hurting as i'm thinking any of these will do the job I think, sorry to be a pain my learned friends, any further comments are appreciated
many thanks
 
Might be worth getting to a shop to demo when they're open as you're spending a good amount. Buy your G6 or whatever before, borrow a laptop or device that supports the G6 and take it with you.

You could pick any of the above headphones randomly and be none the wiser to what's better for you. Untill you spend some time on a few headphones it's difficult to pinpoint what you prefer sound wise.

You might even find that headphone comfort trumps sound!
 
The_Arbiter said:
Might be worth getting to a shop to demo when they're open as you're spending a good amount. Buy your G6 or whatever before, borrow a laptop or device that supports the G6 and take it with you.

You could pick any of the above headphones randomly and be none the wiser to what's better for you. Untill you spend some time on a few headphones it's difficult to pinpoint what you prefer sound wise.

You might even find that headphone comfort trumps sound!
Click to expand...
Fair Point, hmm waiting or availability localy might be the issue there though but thanks for the reply
 
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