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N00b phones

Sharkfat78

Sharkfat78

Sharkfat78

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3 Feb 2015
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4
Hey guys,

Totally new to all this so excuse my ignorance. I've been reading the forums and watching reviews on youtube with the idea of asking for a decent set of headphones for my birthday at the end of March. But with so many choices out there, I'm really confused.

I'm certainly no audiophile and have no idea what would be suitable for what I'm looking for. Budget is about £200. I'm looking for a pair which I can use for listening to music (metal, progressive, djent etc) and for use with my new pc and PS4 while gaming. I've got a mixamp pro on the way, and my new pc will have a soundblaster zx soundcard fitted.

My current Skullcandy Aviators are fine when I'm out and about but I want a better set for use at home. The ones I've seen so far that have good reviews are Philips X2's, AKG K612 Pros, Audio Technica ATHM50X's and Beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium's. The only problem I have with the DT 880's and that sort of range is that they look like they were made in 1974 :eek:

If they have a removable cable so I can use a mic that would be a bonus but I'm guessing there are other ways to add a mic to my set up. Could someone point me in the right direction please?
 
The Beyerdynamic DT770 80 ohm are a great pair of all-round headphones. I've got quite a few pairs of headphones, some very expensive and others not, and the 770's seem to offer a great balance for movies/gaming and music.

The 770's are closed headphones, I'm not sure if you want that or not (isolates outside noise more, won't disturb others, and has a less 'airy' sound). The DT880's you mentioned would be a good semi/open alternative.

It comes down to personal preference for the most part, they all sound quite different and everyone hears things differently too.

No removable cable but you could consider something like a ModMic, which are sold here at OCUK.
 
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Pretty much what robbo said.

I will be re-writing sonny's guide and adding links to reviews for things obviously not all of the items can come from OcUK so I can't link what you buy else where.

The break down is as follows

Excluding second hand prices
less than £70 the Kingston HXC or the Creative Aurvana Live are pretty good for gaming and music/movies etc

around the 120 mark you're looking at DT770 for Closed back and Sennhesier 558 open back (which you can mod to be like 598's) and K612's also open back.

150 and above choice spirals out of control but some honourable mentions for gaming are the phillips X2's AKG Q701 K702 All paired with a boom mic or a modmic and you've got an audiophile Gaming headset for the same money as High end Gaming headset. With a 99% chance of having better sound performance over all.



right now on a certain rainforest AKG K702 Open-Back Dynamic Reference Headphones

are 149.99


Depending on what you buy will determine how much you should spend on DAC/AMPS soundcards etc, a pair of HXC's or CAL's don't need a big amp at all to work but the Q701's will benefit
 
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Thanks guys :D

I've narrowed it down some more to the Philip's X2's the K702's and now the Sennheiser HD600's.

From all the reviews the HD600's are the best sounding in this price range, the only thing that puts me off slightly is the cable. Although reviews did say there are a lot of 3rd party alternatives. And they have replaceable parts. The K702's have a headband which some say is uncomfortable, so that puts me off, especially with long gaming sessions.

I did read that the X2's aren't as comfy and don't really hold to your head that well, or at least as well as the others. But its not like I'm going to be breakdancing while using them.

I'm wondering which would be the best for gaming out of the X2's and the Sennheisers
 
If you are going to be using them with the Mixamp as well as the Zx, then it's worth taking into account how well the Mixamp will drive certain headphones. I very much doubt it will do justice to the HD600 for example.

Apparently it works best with low impedance headphones, so if you're considering headphones that need more juice to get the best out of them, then you may need a headphone amp as well.

If you'd rather not add a headphone amp as well, then the X2 would be a good pairing, as they are pretty easy to to drive in comparison to some of the other headphones mentioned.
 
Marsman is of course right, the Mixamp and ZX will be really pushed to drive either the HD600 (high impedance) or the K702 (very inefficient) sufficiently, so X2 is probably your best bet without getting an STX or external headphone amp.

As for your questions, nothing wrong with the HD600 cable and the K702 hasn't had torture bumps on it for at least a year.
 
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Whilst I only have the X1's once i'd changed the cable (which they fixed for the X2) my nexus 5 powers them just perfect on it's own.

as for long hours honestly you won't notice them on your head after a while. I got mine second hand so they were already worn in and the head band had been shaped to a slightly more comfortable curve.

I love wearing them. I think i've always enjoyed headphones over speakers I've just never had a chance to explore it as much as I can at the moment.

Speaking of which RJK bought some K702's for 149 from the rainforest so looks like i might get a chance to test them out after all :)
 
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K702s are fantastic for gaming but since being seduced to the dark side by the HD650s they are like sandpapering my ear drums when listening to music :D
 
yeah can confirm they are very nice. audio positioning is very good on them.

If they had been £150 when i bought my X1's I may have chosen the 702's for sure :)


For me though 650's are still the goal.

I would like to try the X2's but I can't bring myself to purchase them that close to 650 money for what is a tiny upgrade from the X1's

I will be keeping my X1's for gaming as they are a real fun headset Unless IU can get a pair of X2's for around 160/170 I won't be selling the X1's and buying X2's


I also want to try a pair of the fostex T50RPs intrigued by them and the mayflower mods
 
TwsT said:
yeah can confirm they are very nice. audio positioning is very good on them.

If they had been £150 when i bought my X1's I may have chosen the 702's for sure :)


For me though 650's are still the goal.

I would like to try the X2's but I can't bring myself to purchase them that close to 650 money for what is a tiny upgrade from the X1's

I will be keeping my X1's for gaming as they are a real fun headset Unless IU can get a pair of X2's for around 160/170 I won't be selling the X1's and buying X2's


I also want to try a pair of the fostex T50RPs intrigued by them and the mayflower mods
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Haha the feeling/situation you discribe sound all too familiar to me, and probably many others as well.

Have a nice piece of kit and without even spending long enough on it, we already want to try something new/different despite we are perfectly happy with what we just bought not no ago.

Sometimes the urge to chase audio toys is like an addiction to drug...keep wanting them and chasing after them, despite not really "needing" them...:p
 
I had the X2s on for an 8 hour session and didn't notice any discomfort at all. When I shake my (average sized) head it barely moves. Less than a week old too. It definitely benefits from an amp even though its easy to drive on some devices.
 
Marine-RX179 said:
Haha the feeling/situation you discribe sound all too familiar to me, and probably many others as well.

Have a nice piece of kit and without even spending long enough on it, we already want to try something new/different despite we are perfectly happy with what we just bought not no ago.

Sometimes the urge to chase audio toys is like an addiction to drug...keep wanting them and chasing after them, despite not really "needing" them...:p
Click to expand...

Yeah tell me about it.
 
great price but the 28 day warranty seems a bit iffy - sure these are brand new and not factory reconditioned?
 
The X2's sound like that will be ideal for me with my current PS4 set up and hopefully with my Soundblaster ZX card.

If later on I decide to upgrade my headphones would it be possible to connect a new amp up to the Mixamp and ZX to power the phones? And are there any entry level ones that will do the job?

Also when I finally get a mic (probably one of those vmoda jobs) will that work if I plug it into the ZX's desktop gubbins along with the headphones?
 
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