$200 Headphones for Gaming

Communities Audio Hardware & Music
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Hey guys, I’m looking to buy a new pair of headphones, mostly for gaming. My budget is $200, I already have a ModMic, so I don’t need a built in microphone. I prefer a slightly heavier bass than normal, and I hear open back headphones are the best for games. Beyond the video Logan did a while back about audio myths, I’m a total audio n00b. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! Thanks!

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I'm not that big on using headphones in general, but figured that it would be worth getting a good pair for games. I knew from previous experience that I wanted an relatively lightweight open pair for "soundstage" and comfort. The AKG K612 Pro looked like a good option and indeed it was. When I got them I ended up listening to music the entire evening rather than gaming, the experience was such a positive surprise.

I've had them for six months now and primarily wear them when I'm playing a game and want to not only have a better experience but also perform better at the game than I could with my speakers.

They are 120 Ω, so an amplifier or a half decent sound card would be necessary to get the most out of them.

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What is your dac? Not much point is pending $200 on good headphones without a good soundcard / dac.

Open back headphones:

  • Pros: comfort, good ventilation, big sound stage, rarely any ear fatigue.
  • Cons: everybody around you can hear too. Outside noise doesn't get blocked. (lan parties, vacuum cleaners, fan noise, etc)
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Everyone can only hear what you're listening to if your volume is set too high, and in that case, you're damaging your hearing.

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The problem with your request is that having a lot of bass does two things A it distorts the sound this makig the positional audio not very good. B open back head phones are not amazing at bass unless you go up in price or come down.
So if you can find 20 extra bucks go with these

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not when they are very open.

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However if you aren't set on closed cans these work very well and have pretty good sound stage tho not as much as an open

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I'm plugging it straight into my motherboard. (EVGA X99 Micro 2)

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Those 2 look pretty nice. I've also looked at the Sennheiser HD 598s. Does anybody know anything about those?

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they wont have the bass you are looking for
Sennheiser doesnt have much when it comes to bass with most of their headphones
btw you wont need any dac or amp for those two i mentioned
558's maybe might work but again not very heavy in the bass but more so than the 598

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yes there awesome and the most accurate headphones for the money also the most comfortable headphones ive ever warn, been using them for 5 years an they still rock.. though due to them being very accurate they are not overly bass heavy but other then that 10/10 would recomend

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I just bought these on massdrop, sounds (hehe sound pun) like they fit your use case perfectly

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These would be perfect but they are out of his price range. What are they on mass drop now?

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I paid exactly $200 for them, which is exactly his price range

these are special red edition with slightly more bass

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I have a pair of these and they are awesome. But they are like 300 now but so worth it.

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I would say wait till next drop then lol

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True it really is worth the wait. but that could be awhile

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Absolutely get a dac! I cannot express strongly enough... There is no point in buying headphones in the $200 range without getting a good dac+amp to drive them. You won't be able to tell the difference in the headphones past $100 range without also getting a good dac.

What wrong with a mobo sound card? They are always shit...

  • Terrible SNR. It's VERY common to hear lots of noise from the fluctuating power draw of everything on the mobo. Example: moving the mouse around the screen, switching between programs, or when the fans are up really high, you will hear lots of buzzings and clickings.
  • No easily accessible control over output gain. The volume control in windows is digital, it is not controlling the output gain.
  • Low output power. Standard output channels for mobo sound cards is about 1.5w. With any big headphone you're going to be running at 75% of this power easily. Nothing sounds good when it taxes so highly.
  • Mobo sound card designers ALWAYS cut corners on clean power delivery and producing perfect sonic qualities. The main focus of all mobo sound cards is having as many channels as possible and having some fancy graphic logos to make it look professional. They do not focus on making it sound good. People don't buy mobos for the sound quality, they buy it because it had 7.1 surround. OH MY!
  • Ask ANY audiophile and they will confirm, mobo sound cards are shit.

Here are some affordable options that are going to sound WAY better and will be a good match for the headphone price range you're shopping in.

http://schiit.com/products/fulla

COMBO:
http://schiit.com/products/magni-2 + http://schiit.com/products/modi-2

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Now im not saying that a dac or an amp is a bad thing but they arent necessary. An amp and dac can help not will help. If cans are easy to drive there is no reason to spend extra money on an amp. but if you can i would consider one. Price has nothing to do with how hard or easy headphones are to drive. example the Fostex THX00 are $400 and dont need a dac or amp.

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I have never heard such things

when the fans are up high that is called "wind"

that word triggers me

precisely

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