Recommendations on new Headphones/Headsets

Dtshaw · 1 May 2019 at 22:15

Hey,

I have recently been looking for some headphones and the Hyper Cloud Alpha's seem to have good reviews and so forth.. however they're £83 on rainforest and on OCUK £70 but no ETA to as to when they would be in stock.

I am just curious if i should pull the trigger on the £83 ones, though i am open to suggestions. The most i would really want to spend is £100.

Anyway, any insight would be appreciated!

EsaT · 2 May 2019 at 09:02

If you need microphone there aren't much of choises at price level of those Kingstons.
But if you don't need mic, then £100 will get some very good headphones from actual audio makers.

If you have quiet environment, bass neutral AKG K702 is one of the most accurate reproduction headphones.
With binaural sound it's pretty much "aural god mode/wallhack".
Though that fancy looking "automatically adjusting" head band has its ergonomical challenges.
If you want more fun sound with good bass punch, then Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro is very well balanced for gaming.

For less quiet environment there's Beyerdynamic DT770.

Dtshaw · 2 May 2019 at 13:21

EsaT said:
If you need microphone there aren't much of choises at price level of those Kingstons.
But if you don't need mic, then £100 will get some very good headphones from actual audio makers.

If you have quiet environment, bass neutral AKG K702 is one of the most accurate reproduction headphones.
With binaural sound it's pretty much "aural god mode/wallhack".
Though that fancy looking "automatically adjusting" head band has its ergonomical challenges.
If you want more fun sound with good bass punch, then Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro is very well balanced for gaming.

For less quiet environment there's Beyerdynamic DT770.

Thanks for the recommdations!. I do indeed need a microphone though! and while i do love my audio. I have always thought you need a DAC/AMP for such headphones driving the costs even higher.

rids57 · 2 May 2019 at 15:41

you can get the DT770 in both 32 and 80 ohm flavours, which can be driven by anything from a phone to a potato (fully charged)

Dtshaw · 2 May 2019 at 15:59

rids57 said:
you can get the DT770 in both 32 and 80 ohm flavours, which can be driven by anything from a phone to a potato (fully charged)

The 80 Ohms cost around £93/32s cost £103 compared to the £83 for the Alphas. Do you think the DT770s are that much greater?

It seems Mod mics are at least £30 as well >.<

rids57 · 2 May 2019 at 23:46

If a mic is necessary then go with the HyperX, simples

Dtshaw · 3 May 2019 at 21:58

Silly question but i don't need a dac/amp or sound card to for the HyperX Alphas, right?

rids57 · 3 May 2019 at 22:01

no, they are easy to drive so will work straight from the motherboard audio

Dtshaw · 3 May 2019 at 22:08

rids57 said:
no, they are easy to drive so will work straight from the motherboard audio

Ah, fantastic. I seen people banging on about USB soundcards to get the best out of them and so forth.

Dtshaw · 5 May 2019 at 21:59

I have to admit, after testing the Alphas for a day or two with them. I am not really impressed with the quality of sound in regards to music. It's rather good in games and the microphone is a bonus but it feels like it's missing something in the music department

I have read from plenty of sources that a USB soundcard do enchance them quite a bit though.. however the inbuilt audio on my motherboard isn't terrible (Not the best either, Realtek® ALC887 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC)

I have considered sending them back for either DT 770s or 990s or something within that price range that is good for gaming but also music.

Marsman · 6 May 2019 at 17:05

DT770 or 990 are both good choices.

There are different impedance versions for both, but the ones you'd be mainly looking at are:-

770 - 250 Ohm, 80 Ohm, 32 Ohm
990 - 250 Ohm, 32 Ohm

Lower impedance is preferable for use with audio sources that have don't have a dedicated headphone amp, but while the 770 has an 80 Ohm variant, the 990 does not. Just looking at the prices, the 990 looks to be about £40-£60 more than the 770 at the moment, depending on whether it's the 250 or 32 Ohm variant.

There is only a small difference in price between the 250, 80 and 32 Ohm 770's, so they are surely the better option.

Dtshaw · 6 May 2019 at 17:23

Marsman said:
DT770 or 990 are both good choices.

There are different impedance versions for both, but the ones you'd be mainly looking at are:-

770 - 250 Ohm, 80 Ohm, 32 Ohm
990 - 250 Ohm, 32 Ohm

Lower impedance is preferable for use with audio sources that have don't have a dedicated headphone amp, but while the 770 has an 80 Ohm variant, the 990 does not. Just looking at the prices, the 990 looks to be about £40-£60 more than the 770 at the moment, depending on whether it's the 250 or 32 Ohm variant.

There is only a small difference in price between the 250, 80 and 32 Ohm 770's, so they are surely the better option.

Indeed, the DT 990s 250 ohm (£97) but would require a DAC/AMP and the DT770s are £93 for the Ohm but wouldn't require a Dac/Amp but would benefit from them. I assume at this price range they would be the best choice for gaming/music?

There is one thing that bothers me and that's the audio on my motherboard. It's not terrible by any means but at the same time it is somwhat of an entry level X370 motherboard (Asus Prime 370-p)

Marsman · 6 May 2019 at 17:52

The 250 Ohm version might need a headphone amp. I think it depends on the listener and the preferred listening volume. For those who like it really loud, an amp will probably be needed. Those who might have hearing a bit more sensitive and not want the volume too loud, an amp might not be required.

One thing that I didn't mention is that the 250 Ohm versions of both 770 and 990 have a 3m coiled cable. 80 Ohm 770's have a 3m straight cable. Some people prefer straight, some coiled, some don't mind. 32 Ohm 770's have a short 1.6m; more intended for portable use. Thought it worth mentioning.

I'd get the headphones, then go from there. Alternative is that if you are trying to spend around £100 in total and think you'll want better than your motherboard audio, then you'd probably have to look at cheaper headphones.

Personally, I think it's better to spend the money on the better quality headphones.

Dtshaw · 6 May 2019 at 18:06

Marsman said:
The 250 Ohm version might need a headphone amp. I think it depends on the listener and the preferred listening volume. For those who like it really loud, an amp will probably be needed. Those who might have hearing a bit more sensitive and not want the volume too loud, an amp might not be required.

One thing that I didn't mention is that the 250 Ohm versions of both 770 and 990 have a 3m coiled cable. 80 Ohm 770's have a 3m straight cable. Some people prefer straight, some coiled, some don't mind. 32 Ohm 770's have a short 1.6m; more intended for portable use. Thought it worth mentioning.

I'd get the headphones, then go from there. Alternative is that if you are trying to spend around £100 in total and think you'll want better than your motherboard audio, then you'd probably have to look at cheaper headphones.

Personally, I think it's better to spend the money on the better quality headphones.

Yeah, it's odd. I assumed it be a huge upgrade from some cheap creative speakers i had for music but it wasn't. I have done quite a bit of search on various headsets including the H598s, DT770s, AK 702s and so forth and apparently for the most part everyone said they required Dac/Amps which kinda put me off them. I do enjoy listening to my music quite loud and being immersed in it. I could strech my budget by £20-£30 but yea, ultimately just want a comfortable headset that has quality sound for gaming/music.

MrRockliffe · 6 May 2019 at 18:15

The HyperX Alphas are great - there's little discernible quality compared to my MMX300. Sure, the MMX300 are better, but not by much.

I really rate the Alphas, and to top it off, they're very comfy too

Dtshaw · 6 May 2019 at 18:39

MrRockliffe said:
The HyperX Alphas are great - there's little discernible quality compared to my MMX300. Sure, the MMX300 are better, but not by much.

I really rate the Alphas, and to top it off, they're very comfy too

I see, well i have heard people say that thet HyperX Amp really brings out the best in them but yeah. Do you use them with your onboard audio or an amp/dac?

MrRockliffe · 6 May 2019 at 18:53

Dtshaw said:
I see, well i have heard people say that thet HyperX Amp really brings out the best in them but yeah. Do you use them with your onboard audio or an amp/dac?

Onboard - haven't ever found an amp gets any more out of my headphones than decent onboard stuff. Only change I notice really is the interference and noise floor.

EsaT · 6 May 2019 at 21:08

Dtshaw said:
Indeed, the DT 990s 250 ohm (£97) but would require a DAC/AMP

Integrated Realtek drives 250 ohm DT990 well into hearing dangerous in long term volume.
I have tested it in Sandy Bridge era cheap basic motherboard with ALC892.
Getting expectations of too low volume and notable interference in sound wrecked.
(first time ever trying integrated)

Though some later audiofoolery marketing hype motherboards have apparently screwed up implementations of Realtek.

Dtshaw · 6 May 2019 at 21:49

EsaT said:
Integrated Realtek drives 250 ohm DT990 well into hearing dangerous in long term volume.
I have tested it in Sandy Bridge era cheap basic motherboard with ALC892.
Getting expectations of too low volume and notable interference in sound wrecked.
(first time ever trying integrated)

Though some later audiofoolery marketing hype motherboards have apparently screwed up implementations of Realtek.

Ah, i see.. so technically i could run the DT990s off the motherboard.. but would i not be gimping them as such?.

EsaT · 6 May 2019 at 22:10

Dtshaw said:
Ah, i see.. so technically i could run the DT990s off the motherboard.. but would i not be gimping them as such?.

ALC887 (like ALC892) is quite low end chip in D/A conversion quality.
Even budget level sound cards like Audigy Fx have class higher DAC.

Though in gaming biggest problem is the fact that both Microsoft and game developers consider sound as after thought.
(Microsoft actively sabotaged/killed advance of game sounds, likely to strip advantages of PC over XBox)
Stereo speaker mix simply sucks donkey balls compared to what good headphones can do for immersion.