Yet another headphone thread

soonerjudd wrote:

Edit: Looks like the Trittons are not wireless like I thought. 12 feet of cord should be enough, but I'd rather not have the extra cord to worry about. I'll have to think about this a bit more.

I have a pair of the Tritton 720+. It's a solid headset. Sturdy and the ear cups rotate nicely. The mic is adjustable and removable and set-up is really easy. I like that it is powered off the USB, so there's no extra power plug. It gives you voice feedback, so you can hear yourself speak even when the sound is up.

The sound, on the other hand, is disappointing. It has three settings, which are not explained at all, and two of them have a strange distant, slightly muffled sound. Almost like a cave echo. I believe these are the settings that the amp is spoofing 7.1. The stereo setting sound is clearest and the surround still seems to work a little in this setting.

My issue with them is that I had a perfectly serviceable pair of stereo Turtle Beach that were half the cost. If I'm gonna roll pricier headphones, I want every bit of sound I can get.

On that note: I'm looking for a new pair of headphones. Probably within the $2-300 price range for consoles, mostly. Anyone have any that they love for me to check out?

Ok, this is much easier in a thread than on twitter

My current setup for my 360:
Astro Mixamp
AudioTechnica AD-700's
Antlion Modmic

Some people will turn their nose up at the price on the mic, but it's a genuinely good microphone. I've had a few headsets and have never yet encountered one with a built-in mic that was as good as that little modmic.

Now with that said, there are some things to consider with the mixamp. One, it's not a set top box. The actual mixamp itself kind of needs to be near you so if you're sitting across the room from your TV and your 360 it's not going to work for you without a fair amount of hassle. I use my 360 at my computer desk these days on my secondary monitor so there's no issue using it at all, but I get that's not the case for many.

Do you need something that works better as a box that stays in near your TV?

skeletonframes wrote:

On that note: I'm looking for a new pair of headphones. Probably within the $2-300 price range for consoles, mostly. Anyone have any that they love for me to check out?

Sennheiser HD600, HD598, or HD558 depending on how much you want to spend.

Best buy out there in my opinion, however, is the Audio Technica ATH-AD700, which I recommended earlier and others can vouch for. They are a $100 headphone that sound like a $300 headphone.

I do not have enough experience to recommend a closed headphone, but there are some gems out there. They are usually very expensive though. I think it takes a little more R&D and tinkering to get big naturalistic sound from a small enclosure.

heavyfeul wrote:
skeletonframes wrote:

On that note: I'm looking for a new pair of headphones. Probably within the $2-300 price range for consoles, mostly. Anyone have any that they love for me to check out?

Sennheiser HD600, HD598, or HD558 depending on how much you want to spend.

Best buy out there in my opinion, however, is the Audio Technica ATH-AD700, which I recommended earlier and others can vouch for. They are a $100 headphone that sound like a $300 headphone.

I do not have enough experience to recommend a closed headphone, but there are some gems out there. They are usually very expensive though. I think it takes a little more R&D and tinkering to get big naturalistic sound from a small enclosure.

The AKG K702's are great! That's what I ended up with when I was in the same boat. I like a lot of jazz and classical, though, so that influenced my decision quite a bit. They are perfect.

My initial thoughts were here , here, and lots of photos are here.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

The AKG K702's are great! That's what I ended up with when I was in the same boat. I like a lot of jazz and classical, though, so that influenced my decision quite a bit. They are perfect.

My initial thoughts were here , here, and lots of photos are here.

If they're anything like the K701's which were popular for many years, they are soundstage kings. The K701's needed some good amping though, I don't know if the K702's are similar.

I'll look into all these over the weekend. I do sit pretty far back from my system and TV and have a weird compulsion when cords brush against my arms, so I'll be taking that into account. I'd like to keep these phones strictly gaming, so I don't have to unhook them. They don't have to be multi-purpose. I have an older pair of sennheisers for music that I like just fine.

Thanks for the recommendations. I've got research to do.

Thin_J wrote:

Ok, this is much easier in a thread than on twitter

My current setup for my 360:
Astro Mixamp
AudioTechnica AD-700's
Antlion Modmic

Some people will turn their nose up at the price on the mic, but it's a genuinely good microphone. I've had a few headsets and have never yet encountered one with a built-in mic that was as good as that little modmic.

Now with that said, there are some things to consider with the mixamp. One, it's not a set top box. The actual mixamp itself kind of needs to be near you so if you're sitting across the room from your TV and your 360 it's not going to work for you without a fair amount of hassle. I use my 360 at my computer desk these days on my secondary monitor so there's no issue using it at all, but I get that's not the case for many.

Do you need something that works better as a box that stays in near your TV?

Too bad they don't sell the wireless MixAmp separately.

So that ModMic is working well for you then? I have been wondering about it recently.

TigerBill wrote:

Too bad they don't sell the wireless MixAmp separately. :(

They used to. I bought mine at release by itself.

It's nice, my only complaint is that it doesn't have enough battery. 3 AAA's (or their battery pack) probably should have been 2-3 AA's instead. It's not horrible, but that wouldn't have added much to the size and would make a lot of difference I think.

MannishBoy wrote:

It's nice, my only complaint is that it doesn't have enough battery. 3 AAA's (or their battery pack) probably should have been 2-3 AA's instead. It's not horrible, but that wouldn't have added much to the size and would make a lot of difference I think.

How many hours on average do you get from the 3 AAA's? My TB X41's get about 12 hours from 2 AAA's; so I am used to keeping rechargeables around.

TigerBill wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

It's nice, my only complaint is that it doesn't have enough battery. 3 AAA's (or their battery pack) probably should have been 2-3 AA's instead. It's not horrible, but that wouldn't have added much to the size and would make a lot of difference I think.

How many hours on average do you get from the 3 AAA's? My TB X41's get about 12 hours from 2 AAA's; so I am used to keeping rechargeables around.

Less than my X41s. Not sure exactly how much, though. Not sure if the radio is more powerful or not to use the 3 batteries faster than the 2 on the X41s.

I still havent found a solution for my Sennheiser 558s's cord

Comes with a 10' cord with a 1/4 jack. Most of the time I use em at my desk though but still

Razer is having a 24 hour sale on everything in their store. If there's something you're looking for, you should probably get it quick, several things I wanted are already sold out.

soonerjudd wrote:

Razer is having a 24 hour sale on everything in their store. If there's something you're looking for, you should probably get it quick, several things I wanted are already sold out.

Your link took me to a facebook page.

Yeah, sorry, that's the announcement from Razer on their FB. You need the code listed there to get the discount. Here it is:

We humbly offer you 50% off all Razer Gaming Peripherals and 10% off the Razer Blade on the RazerStore (http://j.mp/T47YWb) for the next 24 hours: 9 a.m. PST, 1/11/13, to 9 a.m. PST, 1/12/13. This offer is good on available products and while supplies last.

Order what you’d like at http://j.mp/T47YWb and just type-in one of these promo codes upon checkout: (Codes will only work at 9 a.m. PST on 1/11/13)
BESTOFCES2013 for 50% off peripherals;
BESTOFCES2013BLADE for 10% off the Razer Blade.

Just bough these bad boys! My first bluetooth headphones!

LG Electronics HBS-700W Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset

soonerjudd wrote:

Yeah, sorry, that's the announcement from Razer on their FB. You need the code listed there to get the discount. Here it is:

We humbly offer you 50% off all Razer Gaming Peripherals and 10% off the Razer Blade on the RazerStore (http://j.mp/T47YWb) for the next 24 hours: 9 a.m. PST, 1/11/13, to 9 a.m. PST, 1/12/13. This offer is good on available products and while supplies last.

Order what you’d like at http://j.mp/T47YWb and just type-in one of these promo codes upon checkout: (Codes will only work at 9 a.m. PST on 1/11/13)
BESTOFCES2013 for 50% off peripherals;
BESTOFCES2013BLADE for 10% off the Razer Blade.

Man, I have had a decent Logitech mouse for a few years but it sure doesn't have as many buttons as that naga molten. I think I'm gonna have to go for it!

I was thinking of picking up the Chimaera headset, but they were already sold out when I looked this morning.

I've still been mulling over picking up some headphones and a mic. I had pretty much decided to follow the advice given often on here and pick up a set of the AD700 headphones. I have a bit of concern, though, with them being the open style. How much sound bleeds out of them? I'd like to be able to wear them in my cubicle to block out noisy neighbors, and on those occasions when I find myself in an airplane in addition to around the house.

I don't need to be able to crank the volume, would music/movies, etc. at moderate volume be loud enough to annoy someone sitting next to me?

I plan to add that $10 Zalman clip-on mic for gaming.

fleabagmatt wrote:

I've still been mulling over picking up some headphones and a mic. I had pretty much decided to follow the advice given often on here and pick up a set of the AD700 headphones. I have a bit of concern, though, with them being the open style. How much sound bleeds out of them? I'd like to be able to wear them in my cubicle to block out noisy neighbors, and on those occasions when I find myself in an airplane in addition to around the house.

I don't need to be able to crank the volume, would music/movies, etc. at moderate volume be loud enough to annoy someone sitting next to me?

I plan to add that $10 Zalman clip-on mic for gaming.

If anyone is say, in the same room with you, they will probably be able to hear what you are listening to when you use open headphones. You would definitely not be able to use them on an airplane. Get the closed flavor if you want them for that. You will probably sacrifice a bit of soundstage quality, but you will gain some of that versatility you are looking for.

You can get good soundstage with closed headphones... you just pay more for it

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
fleabagmatt wrote:

I've still been mulling over picking up some headphones and a mic. I had pretty much decided to follow the advice given often on here and pick up a set of the AD700 headphones. I have a bit of concern, though, with them being the open style. How much sound bleeds out of them? I'd like to be able to wear them in my cubicle to block out noisy neighbors, and on those occasions when I find myself in an airplane in addition to around the house.

I don't need to be able to crank the volume, would music/movies, etc. at moderate volume be loud enough to annoy someone sitting next to me?

I plan to add that $10 Zalman clip-on mic for gaming.

If anyone is say, in the same room with you, they will probably be able to hear what you are listening to when you use open headphones. You would definitely not be able to use them on an airplane. Get the closed flavor if you want them for that. You will probably sacrifice a bit of soundstage quality, but you will gain some of that versatility you are looking for.

I kind of thought that would be the answer. That means back to searching again. Any suggestions on closed headphones in a similar price range ($100-ish)? I remember coming across a few comments in this thread when I was looking over it, but not any specifics.

There's a closed version of the AD700, the A700. They're a bit over $150, though.

So. My Etymotic MC5's that have seen use roughly five days a week for multiple hours for a solid couple of years finally got broken. I was at work and I failed to put the left one all the way in my shirt pocket, and later when I leaned over a conveyer it fell out and caught on a drive sprocket. Yanked it right out of the connection on the cord where the two cords for the left and right meet. I was... unhappy.

After a little impromptu surgery on that cord with an exacto knife I discovered rather quickly there's close to zero chance of me managing to repair the things on my own. It's this super tiny braided cable, and I'm still not sure I ever managed to see exactly how it was connected. I've never been all that precise with a soldering iron so I gave up, committed them to a garbage can, and started looking into replacements.

After a lot of browsing around and digging on Head-Fi and other places, I ended up ordering the Brainwavz R1 from Amazon for $30. At about half the price of the MC5's I wasn't expecting a ton, but people on Head-Fi and other places rave about these things continuously so I took a flier.

And they're great. If you want some IEM's and don't want to pay a ton of money these things are kind of amazing. They're particularly strong on the bass end of things, which is something I've never experienced before with any other IEM's, be they from Sennheiser or Etymotic or Shure. The R1's just own them all at low end. Now as a result, and this is probably based heavily on me being so accustomed to the MC5's after such prolonged use, the highs do seem a little recessed. I experimented just a little bit with using EQ to tone down the bass a little and then just raise the volume a little, to balance out the highs, and it was helpful, but I backed off as I'm not generally a fan of using EQ on anything.

I'll see how I feel after some more use.

But seriously guys, Brainwavz R1. They're excellent. I can't believe they were only $30.

This has me super, super interested in getting the Brainwavz HM5's (which also get excellent reviews) to replace my slowly deteriorating Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's.

*Oh, also, if anybody knows that they like the AudioTechnica kind of standard sound signature, the newer revisions of their headphones are kind of amazing.

A buddy of mine forked up the cash for the AD900X's (~$300) and they sound SO GOOD. They have the same clarity and accuracy that the AT's tend to always have, but they've managed to increase the bass response without sacrificing any of the wide soundstage they're known for. They're super impressive. I suspect if I got more time with them they would quickly become my favorite fullsize headphones ever. I want a pair bigtime.

I've gotten to the point where I don't buy IEMs without mic and controls for use with my phone. Looks like the Brainwavz has an identically priced set with a mic, if anybody's taking Thin_J's recommendation. (I was just curious, as I'm good with my Klipsch for the moment).

I experimented just a little bit with using EQ to tone down the bass a little and then just raise the volume a little, to balance out the highs, and it was helpful, but I backed off as I'm not generally a fan of using EQ on anything.

Well, remember that you're basically using EQ already, because you have earphones that are overbalanced toward bass. This is what EQ is really for, to try to bring bad gear or a lousy room into better control. What gets EQ the super-bad rap is the way so many people use the 'smile curve', and forget about it.

I don't think I would ever recommend cans that were that out of balance, whatever their other qualities might be. If they're good, but have ridiculously overdriven bass, then, well, they're not actually good. At least, not in terms of reproducing sound as much like the original as possible; for those who aren't interested in that, they might be outstanding. But I want roughly flattish response, with accuracy in the time domain if possible.

And you don't want big bass in headphones, anyway... you don't have the full-body cues that the music is too loud, and we all tend to way overcrank it. You end up beating the sh*t out of the most sensitive organ in your body to try to duplicate that feeling of full-body slam. That isn't really going to happen, and you'll turn your poor ears to goo.

The way I figure, always buy headphones for classical music. If they're good at classical, they'll be good at everything.

Malor wrote:

The way I figure, always buy headphones for classical music. If they're good at classical, they'll be good at everything.

Yeah! That's what I did! It's worked well for me.

Malor wrote:

ridiculously overdriven bass

At no point did I say this or even anything like it. Don't put words in my mouth, or imply they're in my post, such as it is.

The R1's are not the IEM version of the Sony XB700's. I said they were strong on the bass end of things, which is a failing of a majority of IEM's. They have a very warm sound to them. They remind me a little of my old Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's, but again, in an IEM with slightly more rolled off mid-high end.

Hey all, kind of a newbie to the audio scene. A while back I picked up a pair of Phillips Downtown headphones. I am pleased so far with the stereo quality audio they have given me.

However, I feel the need to get into the surround sound experience (with headphones). I began looking at the Astro line of headphones that come with a mix amp to mock 5.1 sound. The cheapest with the mixamp is $200. I found this to just seem to pricey, after a bit of research I found that if you hook them up to your pc's optical out set to "dolby 5.1" then you get the same results without the mixamp, landing the headset at $100.

So I have a few questions that arose from this research

-If I get a optical out to 3.5mm to my current headphones would I get the same mock 5.1 results?
-Is there a mixamp i should look at the get the best out of that set up? so headphones to mixamp to optical fiber
-Are there any true surround sound headphones(5.1 or 7.1)/ mixamps that I should look into?
-Are these all in one gaming headset solutions worth the price point? any of them? Trittons, astros etc.

I am gettin that sweet refund check soon and am looking to keep this relatively cheap, but splurge a bit.

EDIT: would these be the items I need to convert the Optical to the regular headphone jack?

http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Con...

Do we think for example the Astro's that mock the 7.1 with proper connection would be better than my regular phillips headset?

The astro site says they mock the 7.1 with their connection, so with my weird hook up it would only do 5.1 because thats what my card can output through the optical, would there be a distinct difference between those?

Go for the Astro systems. They are the best in that category. You will need an optical cable from the source to get surround. Most receivers do not have optical outs and virtually no television will pass 5.1/7.1 through. Nearly all will downsample to stereo.

heavyfeul wrote:

Go for the Astro systems. They are the best in that category. You will need an optical cable from the source to get surround. Most receivers do not have optical outs and virtually no television will pass 5.1/7.1 through. Nearly all will downsample to stereo.

If I use the optical out from my mobo to the converter would it keep the 5.1? My mobo optical out has Dolby live digital 5.1 output capability.