Best Headset Any Budget

Dolby Digital.

Darknecron said:

Best headset I have ever and likely will ever use:

NVX XPT100 ($80) + Antlion Modmic ($40) (>= just about any $300 gaming headset out there)

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Mmm... no. The NVX is only 10-26,000hz while the DT770 Pro is (a particularly amazing) 5-35,0000khz. And they also have options of 32, 80, and 250 ohms (all of which are around the same price.)

I'd pay a bit more for the DT770s at that point.

rainless said:

Mmm... no. The NVX is only 10-26,000hz while the DT770 Pro is (a particularly amazing) 5-35,0000khz. And they also have options of 32, 80, and 250 ohms (all of which are around the same price.)

I'd pay a bit more for the DT770s at that point.

Click to expand...

I recall reading that the MMX 300 is the same as DT770's but with a mic

rainless said:

Mmm... no. The NVX is only 10-26,000hz while the DT770 Pro is (a particularly amazing) 5-35,0000khz. And they also have options of 32, 80, and 250 ohms (all of which are around the same price.)

I'd pay a bit more for the DT770s at that point.

Click to expand...

These are simply the minimum and maximum frequencies to which the headphone will produce an electromagnetic impulse response, whether or not the transduced energy will result in a perceptible sound wave. AKA, these numbers are completely meaningless.

DO NOT take advertised frequency responses as truth unless they include +/- decibel (usually +/- 3db) constraints.

Also, please do note that frequency response is only the most basic quality by which we measure the performance of speakers.

Headphones of the same type but with lower resistance are simply easier to drive...they have no perceptible difference in sonic reproduction other than volume per input voltage.

Also note that humans can only hear frequencies between 20hz and 20,000 hz (with VERY few exceptions). Sure you can feel bass under 20hz, but anything advertised to have a -x db response over 20 KHz is just a bigger number to catch the eye of ignorant consumers.


As for specifics about the DT770 pro, it is a bright headphone with an overly-V-shaped ("fun") sound signature that does not reflect its price. The XPT100s on the other hand are meant for monitoring, and thus have a flat / neutral response across the spectrum, although I will say that the treble is ever-so-slightly rolled-off (easily fixable via equalization).

Lower impedance is actually harder to drive (higher current) than high impedance, but is more compatible with ultra low voltage (1.8V or less) opamps. Such opamps are more or less only used in mobile equipment and mains powered equipment pretty much always use output opamps that run from 3.3V or more. High impedance headphones need the volume setting to be turned up higher (more voltage) to get the same perceived loudness, but you end up with a higher SNR and smoother frequency response. (The latter is true of capacitively coupled outputs, which are still surprisingly common.)