Well the Beyer pads are so much more comfortable for sure. Like ear pillows. I tried the DT990 Pro but did not have the DAC/AMP combo and therefore returned them. We'll try Beyer DT 900 PRO X and if not I'll just have to admit I totally stink at COD MW2. I am getting sound "whored" in ways I cannot imagine possible and no one is beating out my gaming computer setup. I'm 48 and can afford nice gear. I'll duck walk two steps and someone jumps down from an upstairs window and kills me. Not only can they tell which room, but which section I am in. Cannot understand how until I got the HD560S. I'm close or as good as I'll get.
They sure are, and last longer in my experience with the 600 series while being cheaper, but they do need replacing after a few years (due to stink, color degradation [they'll look horrible trust me] and sonics).
Headphones aren't very good for "3D location", compared to surround sound speakers or real life. Headphones ARE very good for hearing little details (like footsteps).
To really "zoom-in" it helps if you can actually see what's making the sound. There are other "directional" cues but I think head movement is the most important.
Unfortunately some players wallhack (use cheats to see hidden enemy players on their screens), so not all the players that sense your location are doing it legit. You can do it with sound, but you'll still get some players that use cheats unfortunately. But, it's still a plus point to get a headphone which enables you to localise enemies accurately regardless of how many or few people are cheating. It's part of the enjoyment to be able to accurately locate players through sound.
Virtual 7.1 Surround Sound can work for some people in fps gaming. It works for me. There's a thread on it here, a lot of it is about choosing the virtualisation tech that works best for you whilst also setting up it's parameters optimally......these elements are also synergistic with the choice of headphone and any EQ you might use on it:Headphones aren't very good for "3D location", compared to surround sound speakers or real life. Headphones ARE very good for hearing little details (like footsteps).
Normally we naturally turn our head, sometimes just slightly and sometimes subconsciously, or sometimes we turn to look where the sound is coming from. The head movement gives more "readings" for our ears to triangulate the source of the sound. But even in real life, if you've ever tried to find a squeak or rattle in you car you realize how poorly it works.
Of course with headphones the sound source moves when we move our head so it doesn't work. Somebody used to make head-tracking headphones (for surround) where the sound changes when you move your head. I don't think they make them anymore but there are head tracking devices & software. (I've never tried any of it.)
www.audiosciencereview.com
So true! I dropped my hd800S, put new desk over them when i was assembling it an so far it works just fine.
If room accoustics are good i agree, but when accoustics are bad then imaging suffer so bad.Headphones aren't very good for "3D location", compared to surround sound speakers or real life. Headphones ARE very good for hearing little details (like footsteps).
Normally we naturally turn our head, sometimes just slightly and sometimes subconsciously, or sometimes we turn to look where the sound is coming from. The head movement gives more "readings" for our ears to triangulate the source of the sound. But even in real life, if you've ever tried to find a squeak or rattle in you car you realize how poorly it works.
Of course with headphones the sound source moves when we move our head so it doesn't work. Somebody used to make head-tracking headphones (for surround) where the sound changes when you move your head. I don't think they make them anymore but there are head tracking devices & software. (I've never tried any of it.)
+1 for this.
Some of what you say there is wrong, although it may depend on what the audio capabilities are like in the fps games you play. I find it very useful to identify the position of a player in BF1 using 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound, and most definitely the headphone used effects this capability. Running & Gunning vs Camping has got nothing to do with how you can identify player positioning through audio - unless you count camping with your back to a wall in corner so that you know for sure sound is coming from infront rather than behind - but if you use a good Virtual 7.1 Surround Sound combined with optimised surround variable settings & headphone that works well for you it's possible to distinguish front & back just through sound in which case that wouldn't apply to make the distinction between running & gunning vs camping when it comes to using sound to identify player location. In fact, running & gunning is when you need the most input from sound to enable you to instantly recognise nearby enemy position, precisely because the enemy player could come from any direction at you when running & gunning - it's more unpredictable - sound is key when running & gunning, less so when camping. The point you make about experience allowing you to predict where players are likely to show up is correct though, and it gives you an advantage in seeing & reacting to the other player first.
I can confirm HD560s is a great gaming headphone, although I've not tried the DT900 Pro X. I flip between using my HD560s and K702 for gaming, it's hard to choose which is best, very close - I am able to measure my K702 on my miniDSP EARS measuring rig though so I can balance the channels of the K702 which is crucial to gaming. The K702 has greater channel variance than the HD560s, so it's not necessary to balance the channels on any of my 3 units of HD560s, but it is necessary to balance the channels on my 3 units of K702. (I've been a bit of a K702 & HD560s nut, hence the multiple purchases, and part of the reason is through "hobby experimentation" and curiosity about these models when measured on my miniDSP EARS rig). HD600 is my worst gaming headphone, it's pretty hopeless in comparison to all my various other headphones for imaging, for some reason it doesn't create even panning effects, it tends to jump from left / centre / right, rather than smoothly moving in a virtual arc.
