Hey guys
New to the forum, been agonizing about which headphones to get for the past few weeks. Here's the skinny: I use headphones for both gaming and music, my budget would be up to $500 but ideally much much lower (think $200-$300 range) and I have a mixture of a NAD 325 BEE amp and Korg DS-DAC-100m (this thing:
https://www.korg.com/us/products/audio/ds_dac_100m/), which generally drives my speaker setup. The problem I've heard is that neither the NAD nor the Korg are particularly good when it comes to headphone jacks, and therein we come to the crux of my problem. I cannot decide between multiple models, including Senn 560s's or 599s, Meze 99s (heavily eq'd per Amir's instructions), or something from the Sundara lineup OR Beyerdynamic TYGR 300-R's.
At the moment, I could get the TYGRs for 160e new, Senns for around 185e new (or pretty-much-brand-new 599s for 150e, which I guess is still a pretty bad deal), Hifiman 400SE's for 170e, Sundaras for around 300e hardly used, and Sundara Closed Backs for 360e pretty much new (just opened). Also pretty much untouched Meze Classics for 200e. I missed my chance on a 400e pretty-much-new version of the Edition XS cause the guy literally just changed his mind, which further makes me believe those are the best option by far on the list (he tried them and loved them but realized the open back design doesn't work with his current living situation - put them on sale and then immediately regretted it, lol).
My questions are this: 1) can all of these (esp the planar Hifimans) be driven reasonably on the setup I have? 2) Which would you suggest to someone who does like a slightly warmer sound and detailed mids but does like a punchy bass? I realize that doesn't go along with my preference for 560s, but I also do like my sound clean and relatively precise, which is why I also put the 599's in contention I guess?
Anyways, yeah, out of this list, could I run everything, and what, in your guys opinion is the best overall option? Should I just hold out or save up more money and go for the Edition XS even at full price or will an EQ'd Sundara or 560s or 400SE give me a close enough thing for much less money? Will they all be good for imaging and soundstage (another reason I prefer 560s cause I game a lot, too)? Are there any other good suggestions (maybe AKG K371)? Can the warm and comfortable Meze Classics do the job EQ'd since I've heard nothing but hate from audiophiles other than the bass performance?
Sorry for the huge post, and thanks in advance
PS the reason I mention getting used (or at least opened and listened to once or twice) headphones, which is generally a ****** idea to me, too, is that some brands are pretty damn hard to come by where I live new and would be ridiculously more expensive with the customs fees etc.