Got the X-Fi soundcard, now I need headphones!

MuToiD_MaN

MuToiD_MaN

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I just picked up the SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic soundcard. My current headphones suddenly sound SEVERAL times better because the card has some sort of headphone-specific processing features, but the phones themselves aren't that good. They're cheapo $20 things that get uncomfortable within an hour of use and I get the impression that they're not doing my sound card justice.

So I have some extra spending cash and am willing to go as high as $120 to get some headphones that'll be better for gaming than my previous ones. I'm aware that the top-of-the-line in headphones can go to ten times that, but I'm confident that $120 can buy me all the quality I'm able to appreciate.

So share experiences, opinions, and recommendations!!!
 
I know that you can get 5.1 surround sound earphones which are supposed to be really good. Think they are made my a company called speedlink or medusa, something like that. Also Sennheiser are a decent make. Zalman surround sound earphones are pretty good too.
 
With the X-Fi, you really only need a good pair of regular headphones. No need for "5.1" headphones because the X-Fi can create a better surround sound field with just two speakers. It's actually pretty amazing how good they sound.

When I first bought my X-Fi, I shopped around a LONG time for headphones in the same price range as you.. I finally settled on the ones listed in my sig, the Sony MDR-X400? (exact model is in sig). They are the perfect gaming headphones. They look funny but they sound awesome, from deep and low base with no distortion, to the subtle nuances of the mids and highs. The base is actually truly amazing, it gets real low and deep and feels like the whole room is shaking! Of course though, it's not.

I compared them against every possible headphone in the price range. My only other choice would have been the Grado SR-80's but I found out that while they sound great for music, they aren't the best for gaming. The Sony's have some of the crispest sound I've heard, better than my 5.1 home theater even. I would solidly recommend them. You can even find some on Amazon for $80 or so. I paid $100 at Best Buy. They get so frickin loud too, I typically have to leave my X-Fi volume at 35% to have a comfortable listening volume. At the same time, it's great for cranking up during those intense game experiences where you truly want to feel the bombs exploding all around you.. these will certainly give you that effect of being in the battlefield... I just beat Quake 4 yesterday with them on, and it was great..

I'm very picky about my sound too... Other people like the similarly priced Sennheiser's, but they sound too muddled for me. The highs are great, and the mids are some of the smoothest and most accurate I've heard, but they don't have the deep low rumbling base that I require.. they kinda get distorted at low hertz.
 
Grado GRADO GRADO.



COuldn't recommend this brand highly enough. Ive got the cheapest (sr60s) and they are stunningly good.
 
Wow, NJSPeed, thanks alot! Just the sort of testimony I was hoping to get; I just might buy those now.
 
I have Sennheiser PC150 or something (can't remember exact model) but they are good with mic. About 65$.
 
A friend of mine recommended me to the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's. He said the bass response developed over time once they were "broken in" over a couple of weeks. Are those the ones you are referring to, NJSpeed?
 
Bose tripod...all the way...I don't care about the reviews of the other headphones. From experience the Bose headphones are the best.
 
MuToiD_MaN said:
A friend of mine recommended me to the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's. He said the bass response developed over time once they were "broken in" over a couple of weeks. Are those the ones you are referring to, NJSpeed?
Click to expand...

Yeah those were the ones I was referring to. They do sound really good, theres no disputing that, after a while, I just decided they could sound BETTER.

I had them for a long while and whenever my brother would come and visit, he'd always go crazy over them.. Playing HL2 with the Sennheisers was basically a necessity, as they sounded way better than my Harmon Kardon 2.1PC speakers, and give you more immersion than my 5.1 home theater. I always thought they sounded fantastic until I started to notice some distortion after having them for a year.. Sounds didn't sound as sharp, especially noises where there was the deep base along with a mid or a high. The mid or high would come through clearly but the base would distort slightly, kind of making the whole sound seem less clear.. Hope that makes sense.. So don't get me wrong, those are great headphones and maybe mine just got too much use, but I really think I just started to notice the fact they could sound clearer on certain sounds.. it's like anything.. you turn 17 and any car is great.. then you go from a Civic to a Porsche and the Porsche seems fast. Drive it for a year and even though it's just as quick, it doesn't FEEL just as quick.. your used to it, and for example, you notice that third gear could be faster.. next thing you know, you want a Ferrari so you get the thrill back.. get it..

I knew that there had to be better headphones for the same/similar price, so I shopped around, read tons of reviews, etc, and settled on the Sony's. To me, the sound quality just seems better. Like I said, it's better than my home theater which I happen to be rather proud of. Then again so did the Sennheisers. I also like the fact that the Sony's have 35mm drivers, one of the few headphones that have that size. Personally I'll think they will last longer and stay sounding clearer because the larger driver handles more power easier. A larger driver also makes it easier for the speaker to reproduce multiple, simultaneous sounds, which is vital with the X-fi, since it handles up to 128 different voices. Smaller speakers can sound muddled, and when tons of things are going on in a game, instead of each sound coming out clear, they all get muddled together into one big sound that sounds bad.. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean with that... The deep base is also so perfect sounding, at first I would swear that my subwoofer was accidently turned on and the whole room was vibrating. The Sennheisers just can't go as deep and smooth as the Sony's have proven able to.

(The larger driver is also the reason why the headphones are so huge and funny looking. You DONT want to be seen walking around the mall with your Ipod and these babies, lol)

What you could always do is buy them, bring them to your friends house and do a direct comparison.. send them back if you don't like em.. but I think you will.. After using the Sony's I could detect the difference immediately. I actually remember the first thing I loaded up was HL2, Sandtraps, right before you get to Nova Prospekt.. and damn.. I never even noticed you could hear every single antlion footstep, crisp as hell.. that wasn't just the X-Fi either, because I played through the whole thing with the Sennheisers on the X-Fi before I bought the Sony's.

As for breaking in, you'll have to break in any headphone you get, no matter what. You can do it the regular way and just let them break in as you use them.. However, the best way is to do a few overnight "burn ins" where you'll leave them on overnight while playing a variety of music... so they break in faster. Any headphone really sounds stiff at first until you burn it in and loosen it up a little bit.

All in all I'm sure you'll be happy with any of the ones we've talked about.. The Sennheisers, the Grado's, or the Sony's. I'm just really picky when it comes to sound. Sorry for the whole thesis paper.
 
NJspeed said:
Sorry for the whole thesis paper.
Click to expand...
No apology necessary! I appreciate all the input you've given me ... it allows me to freeload on all the hard research you've done :naughty:
 
MuToiD_MaN said:
A friend of mine recommended me to the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's. He said the bass response developed over time once they were "broken in" over a couple of weeks. Are those the ones you are referring to, NJSpeed?
Click to expand...
Hey I have those exact headphones :) they are great phones, although the treble sounds a bit harsh on my iPod mini for some reason.
 
NJspeed said:
(The larger driver is also the reason why the headphones are so huge and funny looking. You DONT want to be seen walking around the mall with your Ipod and these babies, lol)
Click to expand...
so that's why people keep staring at me :(
 
I bought the Elite Pro (I do studio stuff) and I bought some INSPiRE 5500s. X-Fi was well worth the money, hehe. :cheers:

I won't need a sound upgrade for a long while...

By the way, that set top console is huge. I can put my 20" widescreen flat panel on it (great position for it too).
 
Now some people don't believe in "burning in," that it's just a placebo effect, and that their sounding better is just a factor of your getting used to them. I guess I'll find out tonight if it helped (I've been playing the Quake 2 and Wipeout 3 soundtracks through them on loop all day).
 
Wait, now I'm confused. Which headphone did you eventually buy MuToiD.
.
Oh jeah and NJspeed, are you talking about the sony mdr-xd400, cause it says otherwise in your signature, plus Iseen them for like 79,- which seems way to cheao to satisfy an audiophile like you.
 
Sony MDR-XD400

I once mentioned in another forum how I'm more of a "audiophile on a budget". I paid $100 which is pretty expensive for me. Sure there are those $200 to $400 headphones but that just seems excessive for most people, I'd imagine.

Burning in definately works. It's actually the same with any speaker but the difference with headphones is that you don't hear them blasting for 12 hours straight, unlike you would with regular speakers.
 
Yeah I got the DX400s. Gigantic crash victim halo frame holding those cans to your ears, but wow do they already sound sweet! I'll have my own personal testimony tomorrow.
 
I'm still confused, I can't find the mdr-xd4000, Nj are you talking about the xd400 or are there really some others that are called xd4000
This is the Sony mdr-XD400
Plus is there a site that has a review of the xd400 and the grado sr60, so I can decide which is the best, cause they are both about the same pricerange.
 
Lol my bad, yeah its 400! Post the link to that comparison, I'd like to see it. I've heard Grado's are _great_ for music but poorer for gaming. While I didn't read a direct comparison, I did read several reviews on the different Grado's. I was even considering the sr80's which go for $150.

*fixes sig and posts*

Heres some other links to forums discussing the XD400's :

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100663

http://forums.minidisc.org/lofiversion/index.php/t9439.html

All the reviews I've seen have been pretty damn good, which I guess is why I bought them to begin with.

BTW I also made a mistake in one of my previous posts when I said it has a 35mm driver which is larger than most competitors. It actually has a 50mm driver while most similar headphones are 40mm. My mistake.
 
The frequency response is great. Today I'm burning in with some sine sweeps, and the bass is audible down to 12 Hz!! I know the packaging makes the outlandish claim of 5 Hz, but there's no way you'd be able to detect that frequency, especially on headphones. You'd need to have a 30" sub to move enough air to feel that frequency, forget about hearing it.
 
Whats actually the big differance, why are some better for music and others for gaming, I would think the better headphone would be better for music and for gaming.
 
MuToiD_MaN said:
The frequency response is great. Today I'm burning in with some sine sweeps, and the bass is audible down to 12 Hz!! I know the packaging makes the outlandish claim of 5 Hz, but there's no way you'd be able to detect that frequency, especially on headphones. You'd need to have a 30" sub to move enough air to feel that frequency, forget about hearing it.
Click to expand...
Not if the headphones are right at your ear compared to having the 30" subwoofer sitting across the room. Your ears are actually rather sensitive to pressure changes (even if the frequency doesn't vibrate the little hairs in your inner ear)... which is all that you can detect from subsonic frequencies. Most headphones just don't support such low frequencies because it's difficult to accurately replicate them with such tiny hardware. Albeit, with a massive woofer you do end up feeling it across your entire body.
 
Well, that may be, but from my experience yesterday, "frequency response" doesn't mean listener response. There's no way headphones of even this size can pull that off, I'm sorry to say. But being able to at least hear/feel 12 Hz on headphones is already freaking amazing, considering 20 Hz is considered to be the low threshhold of audible sound.
 
I'm in the opposite situation as you, I have good headphones but integrated sound :(
 
Hehe, your headphones must be very sad. You should consider the X-Fi upgrade if at all possible ... you have no idea how much that card improves headphone gaming!
 
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