Need a quality headset, headphones for $50-$150.

[ATMINSIDE]

ATMINSIDE, thanks for suggestion. I understood that those Logitecs g43 is a quality product. Though I am more inclined to buy a regular audiophile headphones.
If I decide to buy dt990 what could be the best choice for budget amlifier?
Will I need a sound card?

You need to nail down your budget.
If you go "audiophile" quality you're looking to spend money on headphones, an amplifier, possibly a DAC, and a sound card.
If you go with my suggestion, you buy a $80 headset, plug it in, install drivers, and you're done.

 

[Cezar]

Cezar, pick a budget and stick with it. Jumping around from "50-70" to headphones that retail over 200$ is a different ballgame for each of them.

Stay away from Beyer dynamic unless you're ready to spend even more money on a driver for them.

I just changed my mind. I am thinking to get used dt990. Why not?

 

[Cezar]

You need to nail down your budget.
If you go "audiophile" quality you're looking to spend money on headphones, an amplifier, possibly a DAC, and a sound card.
If you go with my suggestion, you buy a $80 headset, plug it in, install drivers, and you're done.

At first I was willing to buy Razer Kraken pro somewhere on the sale for $50.
Then I decided to get some 7.1 surround sound headphones which have a switch to stereo.
I also found out that there is nothing decent and popular under $70. Sorry for misleading you about the budget.
I think I have to change the name for the thread.
I am not going to buy $400 headphones. But if it is $150 for a good product, why not?
If I go with dt 990 for $120, how much would other stuff cost?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Sound card and amp, typically $150-200 to get decent stuff.
A DAC could be anywhere from $100-$200.

 

[Cezar]

Sound card and amp, typically $150-200 to get decent stuff.
A DAC could be anywhere from $100-$200.

I knew you would try to scare me with prices.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I knew you would try to scare me with prices.

Try to find decent parts cheaper then

 

[bob4933]

Again, Beyer dynamics NEED an amp.

Cheap Soundcards have interference problems and can be really noisy.... which would totally defeat the purpose of nice headphones lol.

Pioneer hdj1500 is my favorite headphone in the under 150 range. Has identical drivers as the more expensive hdj 2000 and I think they sound amazing. They can be a tad uncomfortable with extended wear unless you swap out the pads (35$). I also have a set of ath m50 which I highly recommend all the time. They are comfortable, sound appropriate for their cost , and are a good all around headset. Very comfortable.

Sony mdr 7506 are nice for the money. Bit "boomy" though.

 

[sobe]

Few things here,
1) If you go sound card like a SoundBlaster Z/Zx/ZxR or Asus Xonar Essence/Phoebus you do NOT need a dac... In fact, any of these will be fine for a pair of Beyer DT990 Pro.

2) With the above mentioned, you will not be getting DT990 Premium 600ohm for under $150.... I recently sold my secondary pair of those and still have a pair which are my primary gaming set. It is run through an ASUS Xonar Phoebus perfectly fine without issue. Truth be told they are easy to drive, even from a phone. That being said, they sound much fuller when using a decent amp. (You can pick up a cheap Schiit amp for $99), but Without going into the $1,000 and higher territory, I'd say look at Schiit or Darkvoice or maybe the Bottlehead Crack with speedball upgrade.

3) for gaming headset look at the Skullcandy SLYR, one of the absolute best options for headset before spending $180+ on a Sennheiser G4ME One or G4ME Zero.


What you REALLY need to do is set a REAL budget... Noone here can help you if you flipflop like John Kerry.

 

[GamerDude]

Yep, set a total budget, the guys here can help you sort out what to get. Don't end up like me, I flip flopped on budget, ampdac and cans to get, ended up blowing my budget out of the water with the headphone and ampdac combos I'd gotten.

 

[Cezar]

Are used headphones any good? Or it is disgusting to wear? On ebay it is possible to get pro versions of dts for around $140. If the supporting gear could be purchased for around $30 I might go with them.
Also I liked reviews on Audio technica ad500x. Would I need an amp and cad for this model? I do not have any sound card. I have only what is on my asrock z97 killer.
What should I look for when looking for amps?
Max budget is $150.
I also heard about deluxe 668 or something like this. Have anyone used them?
Most of what I've learned is from tek syndicate videos.

If you can guide me somehow, so that you spend less time researching for me, then do it pls. Do not want many people to spend much time on this only if you like it)).

I am also looking for different deals. So I want to get something really nice on discounts. But I guess it is not always the best thing to look at a price in audio products. For example newegg has right now Sonies for $80 that are listed on amazon for $300+.

I though that it is possible to get a pair of used high-end headphones for $120-$140, but I did not know that amps and dacs are requirement for these kind of headphones.

 

[sobe]

For $155-$175 you can get the DT990 Pro on Amazon brand new....

Read some user info over at HeadFi on them,
http://www.head-fi.org/products/beyerdynamic-dt-990-pro-headphones


Narrow down EXACTLY what you want from the cans. Beyerdynamic house sound signature is V shaped, and while I personally enjoy it, many dislike it and would much rather a pair of Sennheisers due to the Sennheiser sound signature focusing less on highs and lows like Beyers and instead focusing on mids. And talking about hardware, generally you normally spend at least as much as you spend on headphones or far far more. A very basic quality amp and dac will sit around $200, the general good sets start at $300~, and even then that's the far low end. I spent $1,000 for my amp/dac combo from WooAudio, and that is after going through amps and dacs from Schiit, Matrix M-Stage, and so on.

My point here is that this stuff gets pricey and it's obvious your budget simply does not allow that much here. My advice, find a good set of cans that will work fine without a dedicated amp, and later down the road when you have more to spend on headphones and an equal amount set aside from hardware, worry about that then.

If you like how the reviews describe the DT990 Pro sound signature and want to give them a go, I say grab a pair. Like I said though, make sure you are ok with the V shaped sound signature which focuses heavily on lows and highs with recessed mids.

Please read this to maybe help,
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad...ide-update-10-15-2014-beyerdynamic-t51i-added



Audio Technica isnt bad at all, but I wouldnt go lower than their AD700 or preferrably the AD900, but that's pretty low end compared to other offerings and I'd highly recommend your previous 990 Pro choice. My biggest suggestion though would be for a pair of Sennheiser like the HD558 or HD598. The 598 can be found for $167 on Amazon and do not NEED an amp and the 558 for $120 brand new, but if you ever do get an amp they will sound a little nicer.


P.S
High end is subjective. My Beyer T90's are $600 but I certainly would not consider them high end like the Senn HD800 and similarly priced that have an even richer sound.

 

[Cezar]

Thank you for an informative post.
Now I am looking for a cheap amp/dac for td990 250 ohm, in case I am going to buy them.
I found shiit fulla for $70-$80.) Would it be any goodas a dac+amp? Seems like it can support headphones up to 300 ohm.

 

[GamerDude]

Thank you for an informative post.
Now I am looking for a cheap amp/dac for td990 250 ohm, in case I am going to buy them.
I found shiit fulla for $70-$80.) Would it be any goodas a dac+amp? Seems like it can support headphones up to 300 ohm.

Shouldn't be a problem, the DT990/250 isn't that hard to drive in the first place, so the Schiit Fulla should be a good and cost effective solution. I'd ordered one, but canceled my order due to the delay, besides, I'm looking for a dac/amp that supports DSD format, so my choices are rather limited.

 

[GamerDude]

I'd messed up in my PM to you, I'd meant to say that you should not be looking at only impedance (or Ohms) as a measure of how much power is needed to drive a pair of headphones. Rather, you should look at both Impedance AND Sensitivity as both these would give you a clearer idea as to how much power you'd need to drive a pair of headphones to sufficient loudness.

 

[bob4933]

I only have experience with the 600 ohm version, so regard my posts to those specifically.


Cezar... you're all over the place. Who told you to get the dt990's? They aren't even that good (Albeit as sobe mentioned, it might have been the sound profile?) anyway. If you want to get into audio stuff, take it a step at a time. If you're not ready to drop 400$ on a dac/receiver, or some coin on an amp, don't bother at all. Pairing nice headphones into a crappy amp makes about as much sense as putting a formula 1 engine into a toyota yaris.

Really and truly... get a set of ATH M50's. They are GOOD headphones. I have also seen reviews where the ATH M40x was mentioned superior to the m50's.


Heres an interesting little combo

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technic...dphone-Amplifier/dp/B00KC4JMAS/ref=pd_cp_MI_1



EDIT: Again, you are vacillating on budget, and ultimately WASTING OUR TIME trying to help you. Pick a HARD budget, stick to it. Quite unreasonable we have to back track every other post.

Do we include a sound card, DAC, amp, reciever into your budget? Do we "give you 20$" in your budget? It was 50$, now its 400$ apparently. Please pick a number and stick to it.

 

[Cezar]

$150 is for everything(dac/amp/headphones/soundcard(do I need it if I buy dac/amp?)).

I thought maybe to get dt990 and use them without dac/amp. And later I could buy Schiit fulla dac/amp for $80?

In some post I wrote that I do not want to waste time of the people who do not have much. Because as I understood audio market is a too a philosophical subject for discussion.)) Thus, it is up to you, but any help is appreciated.

Thanks for a link. Today I stumbled upon ath m50x with the same amp on the Amazon. I saw this amp somewhere for around $30 separately.
And I'd like to have a pair of open headphones for a biger sound stage. And it seems that open headphones cause less damage to your hearing lmao. M50s look like a very subjective product. In reviews it is like love it or hate it(because of the price range). Some people say they should cost around $80.

 

[sobe]

The M50 are not bad, but for starters it competes with products that cost half of it's regular pricing.... On top of that the sound stage is, well... It's pretty damn limited, making gaming a general no-no with it. If it had regular pricing around $80(but even then you have competing products that are $70 - $90) then it would be a good buy and compete better, but sadly it is just an overhyped headphone of which you can read the many threads over at HeadFi talking about the overhyped product that is.

Outside of their horrid pricing for what they offer, the M50 are built like tanks and offer nice balanced sound for what they are, and even more so with mods.



As for your want of open cans, they are definitely what you will want for gaming. The biggest issue is if it's loud in your room or so, you WILL hear outside noise....


*edit*
Just saw your edit stating people claiming the M50 should be $80, lol... Yep, they are NOT worth more than $100 brand new, and that is stretching it if you really want them.



Also, you will not be getting it all for $150. My advice is to still spend that $150 on a good set of cans that do not need an amp. Also a sound card/motherboard integrated has it's own dac which is fine.... You don't NEED a DAC. If you want an amp later on just pick up a Schiit Vali, Schiit Magni, JDS Labs Objective2, etc.

 

[bob4933]

FWIW, I purchased my m50's from guitarcenter for 90$ brand new. I would NOT spend 150$ on these. edit: doesn't even look like the m50's are sold anymore, replaced by the m50x.

 

[Cezar]

*edit*
Just saw your edit stating people claiming the M50 should be $80, lol... Yep, they are NOT worth more than $100 brand new, and that is stretching it if you really want them.

Yeah I am editing a lot, so that I do not have multiple posts one after another.

I would NOT spend 150$ on these. edit: doesn't even look like the m50's are sold anymore, replaced by the m50x.

My mistake. I meant them both in general since they are the same "model", but upgraded.

 

[bob4933]

Yeah I am editing a lot, so that I do not have multiple posts one after another.


My mistake. I meant them both in general since they are the same "model", but upgraded.

I have no first hand experience with the m50x's. I've seen reviews where they say are the same, others say they are better... I dunno.


And used headphones can be a great bargain to step into a higher range headset I would think. If you bought a used set from me, they would be well received, but I cant speak of other sellers perhaps.

edit :

O.O great price on this headset, IF You can stretch your budget, this is definitely where I would do it. These things are awesome!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PSB-M4U-1-O...60085000?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item3a9e120808