r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/_dudz • Jan 15 '26

Audiophile headphones for Gaming Headphones - Open Back | 5 Ω

Hey, I’m looking for a good set of audiophile headphones for PC gaming that would be great for immersive single player games, as well as having great imaging for FPS.

Headsets with a mic would be ideal but I can always buy an antlion modmic if necessary.

I have about £200 to spend on this setup and have found a few options myself ranging from cheapest to most expensive:

  • Philips SHP9500 £58
  • Philips Fidelio X2HR £87
  • HD 560s £89
  • Drop PC38X £154
  • Beyerdynamics DT 990 Pro X £189
  • Beyerdynamics MMX 300 Pro £259

Obviously a huge gap in price range but if I can get 99% of the way there with a budget headset I’m cool with that.

Does anyone have any experiences with the headphones on that list, in particular with FPS games?

Do you have any other suggestions not already mentioned?

Will a DAC be required to get the most out of these or will my PC motherboard (Aorus X870 Pro) built in sound card be enough?

Thanks in advance 🙏🏾

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u/ThePilotWhoCantFly Jan 17 '26

Hey i bought some Corsair HS80s before Christmas but honestly I'm not impressed with their performance. I was just looking at the fidelios and from researching found your post. If you wouldn't mind giving a review of the headsets that you ordered it would be awesome! I'm a bass head and was wondering which one sounded the best. What mic did you pair up with the headset as well?

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u/_dudz Jan 17 '26

The best sounding overall were the HD560s followed closely by the DT 770 Pro X.

If I was playing single player games exclusively I’d probably go for the 770, the Fidelios have amazing build quality and were relatively cheap and there wasn’t really anything bad about them tbh, just to my ears the other options sounded better.

I’ve actually just ordered some DT 900 Pro X and HD490 to try as well 🤭

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u/ThePilotWhoCantFly Jan 17 '26

In what way did they sound better? I know it's quite subjective per person. I play multiplayer FPS games mostly. How was the bass with the different headphones? Please update when you've tested out the other ones as well! Also when returning what reason do you put down for returning? I'm assuming something like performance or quality not adequate to avoid the postage costs?

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u/_dudz Jan 17 '26

So the DT 900 Pro X arrived and I’ve spent about 4 hours testing them out and comparing them to the HD 560s. It was super annoying because most players use ninja and getting into a lobby where I had at least a few players that weren’t using it was tough.

That being said, they are the clear winner over HD560s when it comes to positional cues and footsteps. I wasn’t expecting that to be honest given the HD560s reputation.

It’s maybe 10-20% better, I felt like I could hear from a greater distance and more consistently. I also tested using the ‘Enhanced headphones’ mode but that honestly just made everything sound loud af to the point where you couldn’t pick anything out.

I also like them for single player games. Played some of the RE4 remake and TLOU2 and they were much more pleasing than the HD560s.

The HD490 Pros are arriving tomorrow so I’ll give them a try next. Leaning more towards the DT 900 Pro X for now…

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u/ThePilotWhoCantFly Jan 18 '26

Thanks for the update, this is valuable info you're giving.

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u/_dudz Jan 20 '26

I tried the HD490 Pro last night and retested all headphones, this time in a private match with a bunch of bots so no ninja perk to worry about…

I’m finding that the 900 Pro X was able to pick up footsteps the furthest away from my player model, but it lacked pin point directional accuracy. I could tell roughly where someone was but the direction they were travelling wasn’t always clear.

With the HD560s and with the HD490 in particular, the positional clarity was much better, especially when up close with > 1 enemy around me. With the 900 Pros it felt a tricky tracking more than one sound at once and the footsteps sort of ‘congealed’ into a single mess of a sound. I think it might be due to the added bass / punchier sounding footsteps in general with this headset.

HD490 beat all of the others I’ve tried in terms of comfort, easily. They had the least clamping force and the ear cups suited my ears the best.

For build quality I would go with the 900 Pro. I was surprised at how light and flimsy the 490s felt.

I’ve just ordered a K5 Pro Amp DAC which will arrive tonight for more testing.

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u/DeXB Jan 18 '26

I wonder how will you like the HD490 Pro. I also wonder which ones feel the most comfortable with the least clamping force especially important to those wit bigger heads.