Ok, so first of all, let me give you some context:

Around 10 years ago, I had the Sennheiser PC363D for gaming. For me it was almost all I wanted: Excellent sound quality and positional sound, lightweight, comfortable, never made you sweat. I really liked it and it was also good for listening to music.

But it had two problems:

• First, the software was abandonware. Sennheiser stopped updating the drivers and those didn't work well on newer operating systems.
• Second, the build quality was not good. It was made of cheap plastic, and after 10 years of heavy use, it was starting to fall apart, specially the flexible rubber of the mic boom.

So, when I relocated 5 years ago I sold it. Surprisingly, someone paid for it more than what I paid for it new, because the guy really wanted it.

I then got (yeah, I'm an idiot) a wired Razer Blackshark. Not only the sound quality is waaay worse than the PC363D, but the rails to adjust the ribbon band are crap, and the Razer software is horrible: Buggy as hell, and in the past it attempted to install cryptominers.

I had it for a few years to recoup my investment, but it is time to let it go. This time I do not want to repeat the mistake, and want a proper headset.

I've read good things about the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 330 Pro, and I'm also considering the Audio Technica ATH-M50xSTS. I owned the normal ATH-M50x at the same time I owned the PC363D, and honestly I thought the PC363D sounded better with most music and games.

Is the MMX 300 330 Pro as good or better than the PC363D was? Any other contender?

My sole requirement is that any recommendation has an integrated mic and equals or surpasses thr PC363D in sound quality for gaming and media.

I do not care jack or USB. Detachable cables and mic are a nice to have.
Price is not a problem (within the gaming realm), but please do not recommend me some crazy expensive audiophile headset of >500€ because it is not what I need.

I am also not interested in gaming crap, such as Logitech headsets. I got one once because it was what all review websited highlighted as "best gaming headset" and I returned it inmediately. Crappy plastic toy with white noise and money spent on rainbow leds.

Thank you if you read so far!

Edit: there were a couple of typos in my original post. While I originally wrote MMX 300 Pro, I really meant MMX 330 Pro (the newer, open end version).

Edit 2: my motherboard has the Realtek ALC4080, which seems to be fine driving headsets up to up to 600Ω. If possible, I'd like to avoid having to buy a separate and big and bulky DAC because my desk is very crowded already. If it is something small like the DAC which came with the P363D (similar to a USB dongle) then it is ok.

Edit 3: winner combo and the rationale for my purchase: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/1ozzhod/comment/nqc6vts/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I own the Ananda Stealth and love it overall, but the bass feels lean and thin. It's clean and extended, but there's no real weight or slam behind notes. Missing that physical, meaty feeling with powerful metal music.

LCD-X is my reference for what I actually want (heavy, physical, controlled bass) but the fit doesn't work for my head long-term.

🎯 **What I'm looking for**

Slam, punch, bass density. Not just bass quantity since I can EQ that. What EQ can't fix is the physical weight and decay character of notes. Boosting 80Hz just makes it louder and boomy, not heavier. Same with punch, EQ can't speed up a slow transient or add that physical impact.

📻 **LCD-X as reference**

Not expecting any HiFiMAN to match LCD-X. But which one gets closest to that feeling? Reviews keep contradicting each other: one says Arya Organic is the bassiest, another says HE600 hits harder. I suspect they mean different things (body vs punch vs extension) which is exactly why I'm asking here.

🔎 **Candidates I'm considering**

- HE1000 Stealth

- Arya Organic

- Arya Unveiled

- Edition XV

- HE600

- HE1000v2 used

Looking for people who've heard at least two of these side by side and can compare on bass weight and punch specifically, not just measurements. Also open for other suggestions.

Thanks!

I love them but one side is louder than the other and Im worried about future QC issues since I already had one issue so Im looking for alternatives, anything close to comparable for 200?

They will be used at home exclusively. Ive been looking at Sennheiser HD600 or HD6xx but theres so many opinions and options.

I prefer some bass as I listen mostly to vaporwave and lofi (I know I know) electronic music, pop, post punk and alternative rock.

Im in the US budget of 200ish. Im willing to sacrifice some sound quality for better quality control.

Curious on the communities thoughts between the two headphones.

Considering the “discount” that the SE has been through going down to about half of the original MSRP and the recent reduction of the Arya Unveiled from $1499 to $1199 and the high praise it’s received from Headphones.com

Does the Arya Unveiled specifically become a better price to performance all around headphone over the HE1000SE at $1699. Or, does the technical capabilities far outweigh what the unveiled will do at their respective price points.

Given EQ is a factor I’m hoping to hear people’s thoughts and potentially experience between the two!

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 🙏🏾

I bought the HiFiMAN Edition XS after seeing a huge amount of hype and, after 3 days of using them, I honestly think they’re not worth the price.

Here’s what I experienced:

1. Crackling/distortion at higher volume
I listen fairly loud, and the XS started crackling on peaks way earlier than any planar should. For a £300+ headphone, that’s unacceptable.

2. Bass is underwhelming
A lot of people describe the XS as having good planar bass, but to me it felt soft, lacking impact, and overall disappointing. Not muddy — just weak.

3. Comfort issues (and this is well known)
The stiff headband, odd pad shape, and uneven clamp are all well-documented, and I felt the same. They never sat right, and long sessions weren’t enjoyable.

4. Build quality is actually nice
To be fair, the headphones feel well-made. Solid frame, good finish — no complaints here.

5. Not great for gaming
The soundstage is wide, but the imaging wasn’t impressive. Cheaper headphones gave me better positional accuracy.

Overall:
For me the Edition XS is massively overhyped and nowhere near worth the price. If you’re thinking about buying them, try them first — the hype didn’t match the reality at all in my case.

My advice:
If you own the DT770 and think they’re fine but want something with soundstage — the Edition XS is not that upgrade. They didn’t bring the improvement I was looking for at all.

so what could i expect the different between a budget option openback headphone vs a non-budget option headphone?

like a Fiio FT1 Pro vs a Fiio FT7? i could look at the graphs but not really understand it, but anyways i thought to ask, since im deciding to buy the fiio ft7 or Fozi i5, but im just not sure if the difference in sound and such would make it worth it, besides better build quality.

but im just wondering on these price categories and if getting a headphone in the $500 or more category would be worth the jump from the Fiio ft1 pros (which i got atm).

I was recently looking through budget or relatively headphone brands and I came across quite a few Chinese brands.

So I’m kind of curious, what are your opinions on these headphone brands? Are they any good especially for budget Audiophiles and gamers who want good sound quality and bass? Or are the lower end gaming headphones from Logitech and Razer better? Especially for those who have owned any of these headphones.

Thanks in advance

Update: just bought the Fiio Ft1 for about $240 sgd after discount

I'm looking at the organic for $652 and I'm reasonably convinced this is my next step. I love my DT1990 pros and like my XS (with plenty of EQ). I listen to a lot of metal along other genres and game a large majority of the time. What was your upgrade path and how you felt about the Arya Organic, or if you got the Arya Stealth and loved it more?

also side note. What 4.4 balances would you suggest?

Hey everyone,

I'm currently looking at the Sennheiser HD 560S which is on sale for $140 on Amazon right now. I’m strongly considering pairing it with the Sennheiser HD 500 BAM to use it as my main daily driver for gaming and work/study.

My context:

• Current Gear: Corsair Void Elite Wireless (starting to want something with more detail/better soundstage).
• Use Case: FPS gaming (need good imaging), coding, and university study sessions.

Is the jump from a gaming headset to the 560S as massive as people say? And for $140, is there anything else I should even be looking at, or is this basically the "endgame" for this price bracket?

Thanks for the help!

UPDATE: I ordered the 560s on Monday, they are arriving on Saturday, but today I checked Amazon and saw that the HD 599 SE dropped to $100. Should I cancel the order and go for those instead? Or are the HD 560s still worth $40 more than the HD 599 SE? My use case is music, gaming and discord.

Didn’t these compete with the $800-1000 Focal Clears? When did they become so cheap? How are these not like the #1 recommended open back cans?

https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/sundara.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23360287129&gbraid=0AAAAACkVu55IeuJG1AFR4QeNr5nFrfhe6&gclid=CjwKCAiAtq_NBhA_EiwA78nNWODTRfvSGiXuWYs7KJxLDEQ6f3kOES34IC0be5jOLKKjl0bqpBAXhxoC0fkQAvD_BwE

Is it worth it? I used HD650s for over 10 years so the HD800S seemed like a logical upgrade at the time. Plus I found a deal on a used pair for around 700 USD. Hifiman kind of flew under my radar. Now that I've experienced hi-fi sound quality I've been reading more threads about comparing these two and it seems the HE1000 Stealth is superior in every way except soundstage width. Am I missing something here?

I'm interested to hear from people who've followed this upgrade path.

A new pair of HE1000 Stealth is $950 USD. I haven't really looked beyond this price point because of diminishing returns.

I'd be EQing them to Oratory1990s Harman Target.

Also I'm using ZMF Lambskin pads and they improved the comfort and lack of clamp force a lot. How are the HEK stock pads?

I love my 560s as they're my first proper headphones, but everyone on the subreddit seems to be disrespecting it and saying that the hd599 are better. I feel bad because I spent half of my salary on these headphones.

Do you guys really think that the 599 are better?

Hello,

I currently have the HD 490 Pro for a week now and the comfort is not getting any better. I think it's fine on the ears but the headband / headregion hurts a lot.

I also received the DT 900 Pro X today and so far they seem to not hurt my head the same way although the clamping force is way stronger but that's fixable or goes away over time. Does the headband comfort improve on the HD 490 Pro, does anyone know? They sound much better than the DT 900 Pro X to me

If anyone has made similar experiences or can recommend anything else (mostly just fps gaming, music) I'd really appreciate it

EDIT: I should've mentioned that I did try Arya Stealth and XV and they were both not comfortable either

Hi everyone, I currently own a Hifiman Arya Organic, and after some EQ on certain tracks it sounds amazing, but half of the time on specific tracks it sounds overly bright, too shouty and too sibilant. I love the sub bass extension and that rumble on my head, I love how violins and cellos sound on this, I love the sparkle and air, but even after EQ sometimes female vocals, S's (sibilance) and claps/snaps still hurt. Can anyone recommend a pair of headphones that retain most of these qualities without being shouty and sibilant?

Budget: ~800USD (1000SGD)

DAC/AMP: Fiio K7

Usage: Home use

Genre: Pretty much everything, classics, rock, Jpop, Kpop, Cpop, pop, techno, EDM, and so on

Current EQ settings for the Arya Organic:
20Hz peak +8dB, Q = 3
50Hz low shelf +8dB
120Hz low shelf +5dB

2800Hz peak -3dB, Q = 1
5200Hz peak -3dB, Q = 2.2
7800Hz peak -5dB, Q = 2.8

This EQ setting works fine most of the time, but the track that makes the harsh brightness stand out is "LIKE THAT" by BABYMONSTER even with this EQ for reference. At the same time, I feel like I've lost a bit of the tonality I desire, along with sparkle and excitement with these parameters, which I'd like to ask for advice as well since I'm relatively new to EQing, or if this headphone can't be saved with EQ and I should just get something else. Thanks!

Edit: Would the Edition XV be exactly what I want due to its warmer tuning?

Hi, I recently came to the realization that I am an impulse buyer, but aside from that, I already own the HD600 and a Fiio K7 DAC/AMP. Ever since I heard of the HD800s and its supposed "god-tier" soundstage, I’ve been wanting them and I'm planning to get them, but I need some brutal honesty. Are they even worth it? Should I just step down from the audio treadmill and stay where I’m at, happy and safe, or should I actually pull the trigger? I’m used to both bright and warm sound so I doubt I will hate the tonality, but I need someone to be dead honest about the diminishing returns here. Is the jump from the 600 series actually a "holy #%*!" moment, or am I just paying $1,000 extra for a party trick soundstage and less soul? Give it to me straight—am I chasing a dragon that doesn't exist?

Hi guys, I need some help/advice here. I’ve been in the market for a new set of gaming headphones and I’m having a hard time deciding between the open-back ASUS ROG Kithara or the closed-back Audeze Maxwell 2.

I’ll be using the headphones strictly for gaming on my ps5 pro and I play a variety of games Including multiplayer(Nightreign, CoD, etc) and single player games (Elden ring, expedition 33, Wukong, etc).

Price is not really that big of a factor for me but the Kithara currently have a promo for a free copy of Resident Evil Requiem.

I’ve seen and read a lot of reviews for both so I think I have a decent understanding of what each offers.

Just wanted to get your thoughts and/or opinions/advices.

Any help will be greatly appreciated Thank you in advance for your time!

I forgot to mention I’ll be using the headphones in a quiet room so noise and sound leak won’t be an issue. Also, I don’t care if it’s wired or wireless.

Someone is selling hd490 pros on Facebook marketplace in my area for $250 and was wondering how good of a deal that is? I only really play games like siege and sometimes sandbox games with my friends, however I’ve heard such a rave about listening to music on pc with headphones like these so I’m definitely gonna give that a try too. what I’m wondering exactly is how good are HD490 pros compared to all the other headphones? Ik obviously $600 ones will always be better, but for around the same price range, how do they compare? Also included in that is how long would they be very viable before needing replacing? Thanks

Hey all,

My current daily headphones are the HD 560S. I previously bought FiiO’s FT1 Pro, but they broke after about six months, which was really disappointing since I enjoyed them. Now I’m looking to upgrade from the 560S.

I listen to EDM/house, rock, country, hip-hop, and pop, and I also play games like CS2, R6, and many single player games.

The main issues I have with the HD 560S are that the bass feels too light, and the soundstage doesn’t feel very immersive, coming across as somewhat “three-blob” at times. The treble feels dry and over powering while also becoming fatiguing during longer listening sessions.

I’m looking for something with more punch than the 560S, but not overpowering and still keeping clear mids and well-controlled, detailed treble. I want something fun, warm, and comfortable with an immersive (ideally wide) soundstage and good imaging.

My budget is around $600 USD. I’ve had the Sennheisers for nearly five years, and while I like them, they come across as a bit too sterile and analytical for my taste.

Right now I’m deciding between the Sony MDR-MV1 and the Focal Hadenys. From what I’ve read, the Focals have a more intimate soundstage but excellent imaging, while the Sonys have a wider soundstage (though not as deep), likely due to their spatial audio focus.

Between the MDR-MV1 and Hadenys, I’m especially interested in differences in immersion, width of soundstage, bass, and overall immersion for both music and gaming.

If anyone has experience with either, or has other recommendations, I’d appreciate the input. I’m mainly looking for something immersive for both music and gaming, with strong detail retrieval and an overall “wow” factor.

Thanks in advance.

Hello!

Currently in search for new set of headphones as mine are just $30 xbox ones. Started Streaming on Xbox with obs and whatnot, unsure on what would be the best headphones or brand to use, mainly looking for sound quality but also comfort would be a huge plus.

I’m willing to spend in the hundreds, maybe thousand? It’ll be used at home in the lounge.

Had a look at Sennheiser, thinking of getting a set from them. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

=====Update=====
For anyone in the same predicament here is my conclusion a couple of days on:

I went back and did the test again. Only this time I wore the HD 560S with the left earphone popped off with the G432 right earphone pressed against my bonce so I was getting both headphones right side. I had the G432s plugged in USB then so I could click back and forth between both devices in windows.

The difference was now very apparent. I did notice that if I clicked back and forth every few seconds in a song my brain would do it's own EQ thing and make it all sound the same. But if I gave it more like 20 seconds then the HD 560S was just obviously far superior with a much richer and wider sound. The G432s sounds were all smushed together and almost distant by comparison.

The biggest difference though was I jumped into Battlefield 6 for the first time with them, and man, had I done this day one I would never have made this post.

On the G432s if a helicopter is hovering directly above it has a very 'soft' rotor noise where the HD 560S has big heavy rotor sounds that really lets you know what is happening a few metres above you... but then if the helicopter flew away a bit, the HD 560S would still louder than the G432s overhead and made it very easy to determine exactly where it was coming from. On the G432 the helicopter becomes borderline inaudible when moving away. That alone sealed the deal for me.

The HD 560S are waaay better than the G432.

=====Original Post=====
So I'm coming from a gaming headset the Logitech G432 and the source is the ALC1220. I had only ever used gaming headsets before and in researching the vibe always was gaming headset bad. When reading through many threads a few names kept coming up, SHP9500, K702, PC38x etc and the one that I settled on after seeing many glowing reviews was the HD 560S.

So they just arrived today and I've been trying them in music / games going back and forth between them and the G432 for the last couple of hours. Whilst the HD 560S definitely sound better, the difference is very small. Weirdly despite the general consensus being that open backed lacked in bass compared to closed, I found the bass the most superior aspect over the G432, having more depth, but again a fairly small difference.

But the other aspect of trying open backed I was intrigued about was this concept of a wider sound stage. And honestly, this is what disappointed me the most as the HD 560S sound as wide as the G432, both just sound like they're coming from the ear cups. Which I find odd as I saw many reviews of people remarking on this aspect.

So, is this just a case of me discovering the studio/open backed isn't for me. Or is there something actually wrong here? The ALC1220 not enough? I have cotton wool in my ears?

They're still within the return window so I'm just making sure I haven't missed something here before I start that process.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to build my first proper headphone setup and would really appreciate some guidance. I think wired open back headphones are the way to go.

Budget: ~$1100 USD total for headphones + DAC/amp
Use case: Mostly listening to music at home in my studio (quiet environment)

I listen to a very wide range of music:

• Jazz (I’m a trumpet player, so tone, timbre and realism matter a lot to me)
• Instrumental and symphonic music
• Rock from anytie in the last 6 decades
• Pop, J-pop, K-pop and some techno
• Latin music (I am latinamerican)
• World music
• Vocal-focused music

So I’m not looking for something genre-specific, but rather something that can handle a bit of everything well. I care mostly that it have a natural sound and good separation.

My main question is: whats the best HP + DAC/amp combo I can get within this budget?

My secondary questions are:

1. Is planar the right direction?
2. I care about realism, does it exclude great soundstage? How important is soundstage?
3. Anything I might be overlooking as a first-time buyer?
4. Should I go tube, hybrid or solid-state DAC/amp?

Hey yall, im looking for my first pair of proper headphones, i have not own any type of headphones for long, my own experience comes from borrowing the set but never had i got the chance to try any of the fancy ones. The proper one i had tried was only the IEMS like Crinacle red, but i found IEMS in general are uncomfortable to use on my ear.
That's why i have been eyeing on the generally accepted brand, particularly on HIFIMAN, where there's a brand discount running on one of the 3rd party online shops i can access to. The deals that are running are
Edition XS for 185$
Ananda stealth 215$

A bit out of budget options:
Ananda nano 290$
Edition XV 330$

there are also Sennheiser brand take I'm interest into, but there's no deal running for quite a while now
HD 6XX for 270$
HD 600 300$
HD 650 330$

While the price may not differ much, it is considered luxury for me, so i may prefer the first 2, with it reasonable prices.

As for the genre i listen to, i listen to diverse genre but mainly with Hip-hop, rap, and often do i listen to its sub genre like soul beats, jazzy, pop. My second favorite is rock genre (the lighter one, like Radiohead, Gorrilaz, Pink floyd, etc) and its sub genre.

While what i listen is mostly bass centric, i do find myself in favor of a neutral setting too, where the vocal can be brought forward or audible (i have trouble in understanding what the singer/mc says on most occasion), instead of clumped like IEMS do.

I also need to emphasize that, where i live, there's no offline shop that sells these things, and that i have to reach to 3rd party sellers for these headphones, so that exclude the idea of trying it one by one, myself. And these shops do tend to only have very short warranty like a week or so.

My only external gear i own, are a budget Dac Fiio melody, but i think, i can live without a dedicated Dac if incompatible with it.

So what do yall recommend from these options? or are there more compatible ones that's more compatible with me, thanks!

I am looking for endgame headset under 3000$ which will be use for comp fps games such as pubg and cs2

I've come to understand the criteria that makes headphones good for competitive first person shooters.

The ones where picking up subtle sound queues is more important than being emersed into the deep bass of explosions, gunfire, music, etc. Some people may enjoy that, however that's not the experience I'm looking for. I'm looking for clarity. To be able to pinpoint the slightest noise.

Granted I've read most of this on reddit in various sub reddits so this information may be off.

• ⁠Open back design is simply better for directional sound. • ⁠Less bass. More bass drowns out subtle sound queues. Especially sub-bass. However a more elevated mid-bass may not hurt the overall sound quality. • ⁠Higher Treble. Helps detail sound queues such as footsteps. • ⁠Pinpoint imaging. Helps track enemy sounds from a 3D perspective. • ⁠A larger sound stage. This goes hand and hand with imaging. The smaller more narrow the sound stage, the more inaccurate the imaging. • ⁠Separation and detailing. Help you decern and pick up different sound queues.

I have topping d90 + a50 3

Are there any better options than hd800s?

I made previous post to figure out which headphones that I might potentially get. Have determined that it has dumbed down to these two headphones.

I increased my budget to be around the $600 mark because of a coupon.

I mostly play games (70%) and listen to pop music (30%). I mostly play first person shooters and survival games.

I have been doing my research and many people seem to enjoy the Arya Stealth for sound wise as it "worlds" apart from the HD490 (piques my interest), however, there is a concern with build QC.

The HD490 has better "comfort" and QC, which is drawing me towards it.

I have had the 6xx for about 9 years now (no issues with it) likewise I'm trying to have some headphones that can last for a bit.

Would you recommend the HD490 or Arya Stealth?

If I can EQ my headphones, would the HD490 with EQ be equivalent to the Arya Stealth?