Headphone advice under $200

[TankTop]

Im Looking for advice for headphones for gaming but I don’t need a mic. I’m worried that my Marantz SR5014 headphone amp and sitting 12’ from it may exacerbate the solution. I know there are headphone amps that plug into an Xbox controller or I could run optical from the Xbox to a dedicated headphone amp but I would prefer it if possible to simply run a 15’-20’ 1/4 cable. Is that too long of a cable and can the Marantz headphone amp handle it? If so what impedance headphones do I want? Am I over complicating this?

PS I did ask this question similarly on a different forum but did not get much of a response. Maybe everyone over there is in the medical field, I’ll give them a pass

 

[DuxServit]

I have a 10 meter extension cable for my headphones, for connecting to the TV for “loud’ games on the PS4. For the games, I just use an AKG K7XX bought from MassDrop (drop.com) for $199.

 

[maverickronin]

The Sennheiser HD6XX is the best $200 headphone you can get. If you want a larger soundstage at the expense of other aspects the AKG 7XX's may be better.

Headphone jacks on integrated amps used to just be the speaker taps run through some current limiting resistors, but I have no idea if that's still the case on more modern AV receivers.

If so, the HD6XX has high impedance and won't be pothered much by the series resistance. It may eat more power for the lower impedance AKGs OTOH if the head out is just an afterthought running the cheapest opamp they could spec it might not have enough power for either.

Either way, the extension cord is worst case a few ohms of series resistance which won't make much of an impact on the either.

 

[Doodski]

I have a 10 meter extension cable for my headphones, for connecting to the TV for “loud’ games on the PS4. For the games, I just use an AKG K7XX bought from MassDrop (drop.com) for $199.

The headphone extension cable should be of good quality to minimize line loss over the cable. There are many good headphones in your price range. Do you want open back or closed back headphones?

 

[DuxServit]

The Sennheiser HD6XX is the best $200 headphone you can get.

I second this. I forgot to say I also have a HD650 but it’s at my work desk.

 

[Doodski]

A 25 foot cable.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pig-Hog-Solutions-Headphone-Extension-Cable-1-4-10-ft-25-ft/104187826

 

[Doodski]

https://www.amazon.com/PHX14-25-TRSF-Headphone-Extension-Cable/dp/B017Y4UHGQ?language=en_US

 

[TankTop]

Thanks for the replies. The HD650’s look good to go, massdrop has them for half price, is that a legit website? Are those factory seconds or refurbs?

 

[maverickronin]

Thanks for the replies. The HD650’s look good to go, massdrop has them for half price, is that a legit website? Are those factory seconds or refurbs?

(Mass)drop is totally legit and they are brand new.

The HD6XX is a rebranded version of the HD650 in a slightly different color and with a shorter cord that has a 3.5 mm plug instead of instead of 1/4.

Somehow this manages not to offend the idiots in marketing who insist on minimum advertised pricing despite the fact that it's the exact same headphone in Groucho Marx glasses.

Massdrop made more or less the same deal with AKG, and Beyerdynamic although the price difference aren't as large.

Actually, the Koss 'stats too. I don't see them on Amazon right now but they used to fluctuate between $600 and $900 IIRC...

 

[Jesus LIVErpool]

I have been lately doing a deep research about headphones. All depends of if you want people to heard you or not.

Recommendations are a lot: Grado SR80s for less than $100 are quite good.

Also I would recommend you to check HiFiman website given that you can get a blow up headphones such as the HE400i for as little as $139 and those are Planar Magnetics Drivers.

Both versions comes with 3.5mm plugs and adaptors to 1/4.

 

[Rucker]

I love my HD6XX, but the positional accuracy of sound in games seems bad on my head.

 

[Jimbob54]

Im Looking for advice for headphones for gaming but I don’t need a mic. I’m worried that my Marantz SR5014 headphone amp and sitting 12’ from it may exacerbate the solution. I know there are headphone amps that plug into an Xbox controller or I could run optical from the Xbox to a dedicated headphone amp but I would prefer it if possible to simply run a 15’-20’ 1/4 cable. Is that too long of a cable and can the Marantz headphone amp handle it? If so what impedance headphones do I want? Am I over complicating this?

PS I did ask this question similarly on a different forum but did not get much of a response. Maybe everyone over there is in the medical field, I’ll give them a pass

Have a look at some of the musical equipment extensions on amazon. I was looking for a 6.35mm male to female 2m extension (hard to find) but some of the muso kit sellers have very long (4m+) of the same - £10 or so, maybe £20 for long lead. I already have a couple of 2 to 3m cables that have no issues with for 'phones. Trip hazard , yes. Effective, yes.