Help me find the right headphones for my needs pls

[CoccoBrutto]

Hi everyone, I’m totally new to audio setups and I’d really appreciate some help choosing one for my needs. I mainly want to hear enemy footsteps clearly in competitive games, enjoy music like classical, pop, phonk, and chill tracks, and have a nice immersive experience in single-player games. My budget is up to 3000€. Thanks to anyone who can help me.

 

[Aryzon]

If you just need a headphone for competitive gaming then Koss KSC75 or Moondrop Old Fashioned will do the trick.
If you want a headphone that is good at everything then get Edition XV and boost it's bass in EQ.

If you want everything and hate heavy headphones (like me), your only realistic option is the Hifiman Mini Shangri-la + whatever energizer you choose. Technically the best headphone on the planet right now but it's QC is so bad that you will likely have to go through multiple RMAs to get a working unit. So whether that's worth it for you is up to you.

Then for source, the new Topping DX1ii will power 99% of headphones out there. If you will go with the Edition XV route, that amp will be more than enough. It also has on board EQ which you can use to boost the bass and make other tweaks if you want to.
If you are paranoid that you will get a power hungry headphone in the future, get Topping DX5ii. Still pretty cheap all things considered but it has a lot more power.

 

[Redacted]

Do you need a mic. too?

 

[LTig]

With such a high budget my recommendation is the Sennheiser HD800(S) and a Qudelix 5K DAC/amp. Use the proper EQ supplied.

Why the HD800? Because it has the widest sound stage of all headphones with great spacial resolution which might help in games to detect where sounds come from. It also has very low distortion in the bass making it easy to EQ in the missing bass (missing compared to the Harman curve).

 

[Redacted]

First, buy some cheap IEMs for ~£20 from Amazon. Something like Truthear Gate with mic.
For gaming, if you are listening for things like quiet footsteps, well-sealed IEMs might prove better.
If you have $3000 spare, that would leave you about $2980 to buy some other phones later, and let you have the IEMs as spares to use with your phone.

Or if you hate IEMs try out some Austrian Audio phones for £99 to £125 from Amazon which can also send back if no good. Comfort is good.

Personally, for $3000, I'd want to try out a whole bunch of headphones before settling on one pair, as recommendations or brand loyalty are arguably pointless - a given phone with given measurements can sound surprising different on different ears. Don't assume your ears are shaped the same as the standard ears used for testing.

 

[RandomEar]

While IEMs are generalls reported to have less of a sound stage, I agree with @Redacted that noise isolation can give you a clear advantage for this use case. And if you don't like them, you're not out a lot of money and can still use them for music listening on the go.

IEM for gaming (competetive/esport)

Hi, I would like to buy headphones for gaming (competetive/esport) and as I was looking into it, i found out, that the best choice would be IEM headphones (right?). So my question is: What would be the best choice? Budget: up to $150 (or around $200 if something would be worth the price)...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Redacted]

While IEMs are generalls reported to have less of a sound stage, I agree with @Redacted that noise isolation can give you a clear advantage for this use case. And if you don't like them, you're not out a lot of money and can still use them for music listening on the go.

IEM for gaming (competetive/esport)

Hi, I would like to buy headphones for gaming (competetive/esport) and as I was looking into it, i found out, that the best choice would be IEM headphones (right?). So my question is: What would be the best choice? Budget: up to $150 (or around $200 if something would be worth the price)...

www.audiosciencereview.com

As I'm Mr Cheapo, I just give away kit I don't care for! I am often surprised in these modern times, how little you need to spend to get musical joy. Or sudden machine gun fire if that's you thing. My brain does the illusion of "sound stage" just as well with either of my IEMs compared with my over-ear 'phones - in fact, the better suppression of low-level external noises may even make it better for me.

 

[CoccoBrutto]

Do you need a mic. too?

Thanks for the help! I do need a mic, but I’m planning to buy it separately, so I’m not really looking for headphones with a built‑in microphone.
Before posting here I asked an AI to help me build an audio setup for my needs, and it suggested HIFIMAN HE1000se with the Topping E50 II and Topping A90 Discrete, or Audeze LCD‑X with the same stack. Do you think that makes sense?

 

[Ropeburn]

Thanks for the help! I do need a mic, but I’m planning to buy it separately, so I’m not really looking for headphones with a built‑in microphone.
Before posting here I asked an AI to help me build an audio setup for my needs, and it suggested HIFIMAN HE1000se with the Topping E50 II and Topping A90 Discrete, or Audeze LCD‑X with the same stack. Do you think that makes sense?

Regardless of whether that makes sense, do yourself a favour and forget AI for this sort of thing. Especially when you're planning to spend used car money.

 

[Redacted]

For this kind of thing, AI is the collected stories of "the man down the pub" and/or whoever knows how to promote products in a way that gets picked up by AI.

AI is good for the type of facts that are mostly unassailable, which it steals, mostly from Wikipedia.

 

[somebodyelse]

A number of the game engines can apply HRTF for binaural spatial output to headphones, so soundstage shouldn't be so much of an issue as when fed an ordinary stereo signal.

 

[CoccoBrutto]

Thanks a lot for the great advice, @Ropeburn and @Redacted. I had a feeling AI wasn’t the best thing to rely on for this kind of stuff.

 

[Redacted]

Thanks a lot for the great advice, @Ropeburn and @Redacted. I had a feeling AI wasn’t the best thing to rely on for this kind of stuff.

Honestly, you cannot beat trying for yourself, especially for expensive gear. For inexpensive, just take a chance and buy....

 

[Ropeburn]

Thanks a lot for the great advice, @Ropeburn and @Redacted. I had a feeling AI wasn’t the best thing to rely on for this kind of stuff.

Yes, your gut feeling was right here. Also because:

Honestly, you cannot beat trying for yourself, especially for expensive gear. For inexpensive, just take a chance and buy....

Especially for headphones it's a highly individual thing. How their sound fits your ears, how they fit your head, perhaps you're wearing glasses and one model presses on them but another doesn't, all those things that are somewhere between notoriously difficult and impossible to measure.

Definitely try out a few personally before making any decision. Perhaps take advantage of mailorder and return policies.

 

[RedPanda42]

My budget is up to 3000€

I'm jealous, you're going to be hearing things I don't even know exist. You've already gotten a lot of good advice so I'll just say you should try checking out GagetryTech on youtube. He is an FPS gamer who also reviews headphones and his reviews are really good. Lots of deep info and he reviews gamer and serious headphones. You should be able to find some good info there.