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*TPU's Gaming Headphone/Headset Thread*

Hey guys, received a pair of Q701

First of all. These are just flat out amazing and I am glad I bought these. No they aren't hard to drive even with the 2011 versions of the Astro Mixamps are decent, granted my volume knobs are set to almost max, I am still able to hear positioning correctly(Video Games, Movies, Music, and the virtual barbershop). If anyone has considered it, I will tell you right now the 2011 version will NOT BE ENOUGH TO POWER THESE HEADPHONES. I am sure a lot of you knew that, but I want to make it clear that the 2011's will not be enough to get the most out of the Q701, the 2013 model will probably work for 60+ohms headphones. As a matter of fact I am going to put my mixamp on sale pretty soon.
Unless someone will answer a question for me: What amp can I use with the mixamp that's cheap enough, but will, should be enough to power the Q701, without me having to sell my Astro Mixamp? Price range is $50-75. If not going to sell the Mixamp and use the money to grab a Schiit Magini, heard it's amazing with the Q701, so that and a Asus DG (around 30 bucks?) would be pretty fantastic.

I should mention that, a lot of the forums I have seen have not giving me straight answers and as amazing as the Q701's are currently I almost fear that I made the wrong purchase :(

I had this big review, the I accidentally hit back, and it was not saved. I will retype the review when I get the time.
 
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I've heard of guys using the mixamp and FiiO e17 in combo or maybe it was replacing the mixamp? I dunno...I've read about so many amps recently. I have read a lot of good about the E17 in the price-range though. Might be worth a look! Maybe consider a used E9...I am impressed with mine. Though I still find myself switching between the E9 and my Denon receiver. The Denon has a smoother and seeming lower bass with less sub-bass roll off...the E9 is more about power...has more punch. The Denon is also sharper and better defined on the hi's and mids...the E9 again seems to just amplify the signal it receivers. Both options are great...makes it super challenging to choose a victor!

I've read great things about the Q701's. I considered them and other AKG's.. But the more I read about the Hifiman HE-400's the more I HAD to try them. I'm glad I did!

I have read the Schitt Magni is supposed to be pretty damn good too! That Asus DG card is solid, runs my GF's setup (Logitech X-230 2.1 speakers and Sony XB500 headphones). Solid EQ, decent little built-in HP amp (nothing compared to the Magni tho!).

Retype your review once you get your HP's properly powered. But write down fresh notes of what's going on now. I hope you get to enjoy them! :toast:


In my news...I used my JVC HA-DX3's last night, I gotta say I still really like them a lot. Their comfort is still better than the HE-400's. And yes they sound great, but when A|B-ing with the HE-400's...it's no comparison. The only area the JVC's have a clear run up in would be isolation being a true closed headphone...but again I give them major credit for what they are capable of. I took the foam rings from the stock pleathers of the 400's and stuffed them under the foam pads...didn't change much and actually reduced comfort a tad..so I removed them. Then i decided with all the extra room in the D2000 pads I could stuff those rings between the HE-400 mount ring and the D2000 pad base ring. I may have lost a little impact...but overall comfort has improved, and the overall sound is still AMAZING! I keep hopping on the PC to game, and keep getting lost in my music...damn Winamp is always open and my playlist is just too entertaining! :D
 
Review of AKG Q701

So, a lot of you know that a while back I was looking into a Q701, well guess what? I have them and to put it into one word simply, impressive. I am sitting here wondering why I didn't grab these earlier. So without further wasted typing space let's get started.
NOTE:THESE ARE MY IMPRESSIONS WITH THE ASTRO MIXAMP SO FAR
Gonna do a couple of categories for now let's start with music:

MUSICSo these are essentially studio headphones at least to me they are, I can definitely see myself using these for recording purposes. So regardless of the mixamp not properly powering them I feel like I am still able to review these.
I've listened many genres and all have their ups and downs.

RAP/R&BListened to a number of tracks, it sounds pretty damn good I wont lie, granted not enough bass I feel but it's clean nonetheless. Vocals come out nice and clear and compliments it all. I listened to Rap God by Eminem, A couple of tracks from the Fingerbangerz which is a DJ group that have pretty good rhythm and have enjoyed their mixed songs for quite some time, Royals by Lorde song came out real nice from these headphones I could feel a lot of the bass in this one.
ROCK
So I started off by listening to Icky Thump by The White Stripes, HOLY HELL I heard everything little thing they could have possibly added in the track. Needless to say that my rock experience started off pretty well regardless of the under powered mixamp. Next up I wanted to really listen to vocals and I thought that Paramore would be good for that (don't judge me, her vocals are pretty damn amazing), again another home run on this. I listened to a couple of tracks new album as well as some of the older stuff. This is getting way too fun so I continued with other artists, Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon, System of a Down, Fall Out Boy, etc. My only complaint is that with a little bass or a better amp I would be so sure that I would be at a concert, damn you astro mixamp.

TECHNO/DANCE
Really people? No bass huh? I listened to Giorgio by Moroder by Daft Punk, I figured this would be a good song to really test the headphones in terms of soundstage. It felt really good listening to this entire album especially this song. Nightcall by Kavinsky made me feel like I was in the movie theater watching 'Drive' again.
SPECIAL
This one is titled "Special" because I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to listen to a couple of tracks that Quincy Jones himself has produced and what better way to start this one off than to listen to the Thriller album by Michael Jackson? Before purchasing these headphones I saw the YouTube video of Quincy himself saying he wanted people to pretty much hear what he was hearing when making the Thriller album, well it's time to test that.
From listening to "Wanna be starting something" to "Lady in my life" I can honestly say that I wish the album didn't end. I heard everything single thing again,all instruments and I FELT the bass line holy hell did I ever. I think it's funny cause everyone says these don't have bass but it's not about if it's thumping in your ear to me it's SO much more than that, you have to be able to hear it and I got both from my experience with the album, I felt and heard every single note. The vocals came out just right clean, crisp, absolutely no complaints.

P.S. At night while listening to Thriller (the actual song) the intro has this door opening and foot steps....I thought someone was in my house for a second. Such clean sound.

BONUS
I really wanted to try musicals because, well, there's SO much going on in them Disney, Little Shop Of Horrors, Rocky Horror, and the list goes on and on.

So for this test I went ahead and just listened to a couple of Disney tracks. Plus being an animator I....I just want to.

Aladdin, Hercules, Tangled, you name it it sounded amazing, flat out.


MOVIES
So I only had time to watch one movie and one TV Show. I watched Dr. Who on Netflix and it must of been Netflix but it was,well, kind of lame, I suppose I can't complain though because I was expecting it.
I decided to give Netflix another chance, I started watching 'Only God Forgives'. For those of you that haven't seen it I don't want to spoil it for you, but for those of you who have,

LOL, there isn't much to say, I heard Ryan Gosling get his ass kicked, and felt it too. That soundtrack was (I'm guessing here) suppose to cover every "oomph","swush", "UGH". NOPE heard it all, feet movements, Ryan Gosling actually getting hurt, at least I thought it was real for a second.


GAMES
I almost feel as though this is a given, but sure why not?

CS:GO
I HEAR EVERYTHING, there was just a little more bass this time the AD700s pretty had none and I didn't mind.

Borderlands 2
I felt this or any game like it should be in the games category. Only because it's Sci -Fi and Sci-Fi seems to always have pretty good sound effects. Overall, it made Borderlands 2 a lot more fun, everything down to the Mechromancer yelling out "MULTIKILL!!!".

GTA5
So I tried these headphones previously at a friends house he had them hooked up to GTA 5. Guns, Cars, Crashes, Police Sirens, Voice Acting, Explosions, everything came in clear even all at once I was able to tell where it was coming from and what was chasing me etc. Beautiful game.


OVERALL
I am going to refrain from giving these headphones a score only because I am almost sure it's obvious what I will give them. It's not about the score. To mean it's more than a score, it's about the sound, the drop of a pin to the explosions I've heard in these video games. So honestly, how about you all tell me? I would like you all to try them out somehow before coming to any conclusion and you will see what I am talking about. Don't get me wrong I like bass as much as the next person but sometimes it's about how clean it is rather than how much it will mess up my eardrums. I can't wait to test these out with a better amp, if I like them already with an old Astro Mixamp, then I can't imagine what it will sound like when I have something that will properly drive it. Granted I don't know a thing about headphones, mids, highs, lows, etc. but I feel that I know what sounds good to the ear and what doesn't.
 
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My cans arrived quite a while ago, and I've bee doing some burn-ins - not too much, just a few 4hr sessions. I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the sound quality. The sound stage could be a little better though. The bass is more than adequate. And the high/mid tones aren't muddled by the bass. The mid-range is a tad subtle, but not bad at all. But the synthetic ear-pads are a bit on the uncomfortable side, particularly when used for more than 20mins. Noise isolation is okay when music/game/movie is playing, and it does help a LOT in my neighborhood.
 
MT Alex said:
Kokanee are right up there with perch and brookies as being my favorite eaters.

The QPAD QH-90 are worth checking out in that price range, I usually see them listed between $200-$250 but they are harder to find stateside. I haven't listened to them, but I have observed Frederik S. recommend them in several threads, and he wrote a rather glowing review on them. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/QPAD/QH-90/4.html

Ah, here's a pair for sub $200: http://www.qpad.com/shop/en/headset/1-qh-90-black.html
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Hey Alex,

I just wanted to thank you for the recommendation. I actually did end up going with the QPADS. I ordered them through Amazon UK. Holy crap these are nice headphones. They are extremely comfortable and have a great stock sound. I would definitely recommend these to anyone looking for excellently priced high quality head phones. Can someone recommend an external amp for surround that would pair well with these? Or if its even worth it? They do sound very good stock.

Thanks!
 
Cja123 said:
Hey Alex,

I just wanted to thank you for the recommendation. I actually did end up going with the QPADS. I ordered them through Amazon UK. Holy crap these are nice headphones. They are extremely comfortable and have a great stock sound. I would definitely recommend these to anyone looking for excellently priced high quality head phones. Can someone recommend an external amp for surround that would pair well with these? Or if its even worth it? They do sound very good stock.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that:toast:
 
Cja123 said:
Hey Alex,

I just wanted to thank you for the recommendation. I actually did end up going with the QPADS. I ordered them through Amazon UK. Holy crap these are nice headphones. They are extremely comfortable and have a great stock sound. I would definitely recommend these to anyone looking for excellently priced high quality head phones. Can someone recommend an external amp for surround that would pair well with these? Or if its even worth it? They do sound very good stock.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

the sound card you have should be good enough. Schiit Magni? http://www.electromod.co.uk/schiit-audio.asp
 
OK, the senny 518 are actually a bit too bass heavy for me. It does have a nice sound stage for the price but the bass is too overpowering. I will have to turn it down in the mix.
 
I use a pair of Sound Blaster 3D Tactical Wrath they are pretty awesome I think :)
 
Easy Rhino said:
OK, the senny 518 are actually a bit too bass heavy for me. It does have a nice sound stage for the price but the bass is too overpowering. I will have to turn it down in the mix.
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I wasn't expecting that. you could try contacting Amazon and exchange them for some Grados or send them to Jesus and I will get you something different at the end of the month like the AKG K612 Pro or Sennheiser HD598.
 
Give em to me!!!
 
I already bought you headphones :P

i'm not the headphone fairy.
 
BumbleBee said:
I wasn't expecting that. you could try contacting Amazon and exchange them for some Grados or send them to Jesus and I will get you something different at the end of the month like the AKG K612 Pro or Sennheiser HD598.
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I like a very neutral sound stage. I want to hear everything clearly with maybe a slight emphasis on the mid range because vocals in songs are important to me. It must be because the senny 518 are a gaming headset that there is heavy bass so the explosions, etc sound good.. Let me give them a listen a bit more and we will see.
 
you would probably like the Sennheiser HD600.

once you start moving up to AKG K702, AKG K712, Sennheiser HD600, Sennheiser HD650, etc. you need to invest into a D/A converter and Headphone Amplifier. a sound card isn't going to do them justice.
 
BumbleBee said:
you would probably like the Sennheiser HD600.

once you start moving up to AKG K702, AKG K712, Sennheiser HD600, Sennheiser HD650, etc. you need to invest into a D/A converter and Headphone Amplifier. a sound card isn't going to do them justice.
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Understood. I plugged the 518 headset directly into a Marantz Amp and got a direct source.
 
you won't get much more out of them with an amplifier.

something like this is going to set you back $450

CwFKiIe.jpg
 
Somebody will probably burn me at the cross! but i'm using a set of creative fatality headphones.. the Mic is deteriorating after 5-6 years. I'm looking for a cheapish set of headphones £20-30 is possibly my budget and i would like them to have a mic and a split plug.
 
I usually prefer the headphone plus clip on mic approach, you may want to consider that
 
n-ster said:
I usually prefer the headphone plus clip on mic approach, you may want to consider that
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I like them integrated if possible, it is a bit easier when i used my laptop then, less cables, less mess
 
For me it was more about getting better sound quality easier to shop for headphones etc approach, I usually didn't care about the extra cable. Also I use a DAC so having separate mic and headphone is actually beneficial
 
If you want a separate mic but not clip-on mess, why you don't use desktop mic like Blue Microphone Snowball or Samson Meteor? Shouldn't it better for VoIP? too costly, overkill, or something else?
I'm interested to buying one, but gaming community doesn't seem to use that kind of mic at all.
 
rooivalk said:
If you want a separate mic but not clip-on mess, why you don't use desktop mic like Blue Microphone Snowball or Samson Meteor? Shouldn't it better for VoIP? too costly, overkill, or something else?
I'm interested to buying one, but gaming community doesn't seem to use that kind of mic at all.
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ignore the gaming community, find out the youtube casters and such and see what they use - 'gamers' dont care about how they sound to others.
 
For those who use an external mic like the blue snow flake, do you find people complaining on the other end that they can hear you typing?
 
Easy Rhino said:
For those who use an external mic like the blue snow flake, do you find people complaining on the other end that they can hear you typing?
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no because most of them have push to talk setup. I have it setup so I have to press the tilde key in Teamspeak and Mumble to talk. probably shouldn't talk and type at the same time anyways.
 
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