Decent gaming headphones for £100

[LateX'Dog]

I've never checked to see if they are exactly the same drivers in both but it certainly wouldn't surprise me! That's assuming you're comparing the same impedances etc.

Build quality on them is definitely awesome and I can't say I've read a bad word about them anywhere really so I'm sure you'd be happy with a set.

Thanks, appreciate all the help and feedbak.

 

[LateX'Dog]

I've never checked to see if they are exactly the same drivers in both but it certainly wouldn't surprise me! That's assuming you're comparing the same impedances etc.

Build quality on them is definitely awesome and I can't say I've read a bad word about them anywhere really so I'm sure you'd be happy with a set.

Ok, so the 10.7 ohms on the 3.5mm jack that the xonar essence st produces isnt high enough for 250ohm headphones?

Apparntly is 10.7ohm of impedence, does that mean the sound card couldnt drive a 250 ohm pair of headphones?

 

[Phal]

I think you're getting a bit confused there with the various stats. The soundcard shouldn't have trouble with a 250Ohm set of headphones and I found a few mentions that it might even be ok with 600Ohms but that's probably best left to if/when you get a dedicated headphone amp hehe

As a rough guide - no precise calculations have been done here but I'm just going on what I've read. I think anything between 32-100Ohms would be fine in most things. Anything higher and I'd look to get some kind of amplification unless the source already has it (your card does)

 

[Kei]

The ST is fine with headphones as high as 1700ohms (yes 1.7kohms, which are my level limited broadcast sennheiser HD480 cans) Other cards might not be too good with impedances above 80ohms if they lack an inbuilt headphone amp like the ST/STX.

 

[LateX'Dog]

I think you're getting a bit confused there with the various stats. The soundcard shouldn't have trouble with a 250Ohm set of headphones and I found a few mentions that it might even be ok with 600Ohms but that's probably best left to if/when you get a dedicated headphone amp hehe

As a rough guide - no precise calculations have been done here but I'm just going on what I've read. I think anything between 32-100Ohms would be fine in most things. Anything higher and I'd look to get some kind of amplification unless the source already has it (your card does)

The ST is fine with headphones as high as 1700ohms (yes 1.7kohms, which are my level limited broadcast sennheiser HD480 cans) Other cards might not be too good with impedances above 80ohms if they lack an inbuilt headphone amp like the ST/STX.

Thanks a lot for clearing it up.

250ohms here i come!

 

[ShiWarrior]

im asking the same sort of question over in the gaming part,
and i still havent decided, but reading your thread.



Kei, yeah the STX deffo does have a AMP for headphones
I use the STX and (copied from the ASUS site) -

Built-in headphone amp
A high-quality TI TPA6120A2 headphone driver supports headphones up to 600ohms of impendence with lower than 0.001% distortion. Drive your headphones as intended without additional amplification

 

[Doctor McNinja]

Generally see those recommended because of their lack of bass which means you can focus more easily on the important sounds in a game. Big boomy explosions aren't as important as footsteps or reloading noises etc.

Personally I'd rather have a headphone that'll do me for everything so I definitely want some bass there hehe

Just in case anyone's looking at the AD700's but would like a pair of cans with a bit more bass, check out the Audio Technica ath-m50. They're often said to be very similar to the AD700's, only with more bass and a sound stage that isn't as open. They are a bit pricier though but there are some good deals out there.

[EDIT] Forgot the main reason I'm posting... I have a pair of AD700's and I'm very happy with them. I'm by no means an audiophile but when I use them to listen to music, they sound much better than my beloved Grado s60's although I prefer the warmer tone of the s60's. Personally, I think they're inferior to my x41's for pure gaming reasons... the x41's, frankly, harsh sound is better for locating footstep and reload sounds but they're rubbish for anything other than FPS's. I tried using them whilst playing Forza 4 and was very disappointed. ANd listening to music with the x41's? Forget about it.