For gaming, I’ve been rocking cheapo Superlux 668b with velour pads for 5 years or so and I’m looking for a bit of an upgrade.
What I like about them is just how wide they are. That’s what I was looking for when buying them, it’s what I’ve gotten used to over the years and it’s what I still want.
Second to that is comfort. The 668b themselves are pretty bad in this regard but the velour pads are truly transformative here. Comfort is pretty decent with them, so I’d like at least that or (ideally) better. On-ear or shallow pads are out of the question.
What I don’t like is how bright and kinda sharp they sound. It kinda gets on my ears after a while. This is what I’d like to upgrade the most but build quality is kinda wonky too.
I had a pair of Sennheiser 660s for a while and while and while I much prefer their sound signature (still a bit odd tbh) and greatly appreciate their comfort and imaging, they just don’t do it for me in the sound stage department, so I returned them.
I tried the HD800S at a local HiFi store and they’re amazing. Probably my end-game as I didn’t like any of the other (supposedly) HiFi headphones they had there (x000€ headphones that rattle when shook and/or have the comfort of a 30€ gaming headset; wtf?).
They’re a tad too expensive for me though. They’re extremely good but not 10x as good as my 668b, so they fall very flat w.r.t. value, and kinda overkill for my purposes (mainly gaming).
Other headphones I have tried:
- AKG K712: Didn’t immediately seem to be a downgrade in sound stage but I don’t think I fully liked them. I’ll have to re-test them.
- ATH-M40x: Didn’t buy them for gaming but they’re obviously very tight. While also quite V-Shaped, they’re not as “sharp” as the 668b
- HiFiman Ananda: Decent sound stage but terrible material quality (I want to upgrade away from that). Also too expensive for what it is and the bass makes me sick
Other constraints:
- AMP is a MOTU M2. Should be able to power everything that isn’t terribly inefficient.
- No wireless.
- Must be reasonably purchasable in Germany
What other headphones do you think are worth checking out?
If you love soundstage (presumably imaging as well) you should try a r70x. It’s on the higher end of the range you listed but I think they are fantastic for comfort and staging.
I will, thanks.
How large are your ears? Over-ear headphones become uncomfortable on-ear headphones for me if their pads aren’t what I’d describe as “rather deep”.
my ears are on the smaller side. Admittedly the r70s stock pads are on the smaller end for most people as well. Nothing some aftermarket pads can’t help with though.
Aftermarket pads are what I’d like to avoid. They drastically alter sound signature IME.
I find interesting that you talk about all kinds of headphones, yet not a beep about open back beyers, the headphones actually being close in sound to 668b. A DT880/990 may not feel that much of an upgrade, mainly because it is a 40 year old design. A DT900 pro x will blow you out of the water.
Need someone to vouch for it? Hey! Hi! Former 668b daily driver here. These DT900 pro x-es really kick ass.
Maybe even higher grade beyers if you look at their outlet.
Yea, first time I tried my DT 990 Pros, I was blown away by the soundstage. They’re also fairly bright, but I don’t mind.
I never actually tried those. Those actually are more open than the 668b or the 900 pro x.
I will have to try these, thanks. They’ve kinda gone off my radar as one of the properties of the 668b I want to upgrade away from is their sharp sound and Beyers are kinda known for that, aren’t they?
Did you have fat velour pads on the 668b too?
240€ are absolutely fine given that I’ve sorta come to the conclusion that I’d need to cough up ~800€ for a used HD 800S to get an appreciable upgrade, so I’ll take a look at their higher-end offerings aswell.
No, it broke before I had the chance to buy velour for it. I threw it on the ground and the extremely fragile headband part broke so that one cup had no sound.
I can only vouch for the 900 pro x, but treble is part of the show here. Yeah, its kind of high, but it is not terrible. You can just EQ it down and it will follow your lead. Also you can add bass like a madman and it will take it. And the mids are not recessed, it does not feel V shape.
You could try the Superlux HD-660 Pro. They are rather closed and offer a great stage. You might have a problem with the highs there too. For me, a layer of tissue on the membranes lowered the tips a bit.
The poor build quality of the 668b is one of the reasons I want to upgrade. It’s cheap but you get what you pay for and I doubt it’d be different for the 660 Pro.
Expensive, but Beyerdynamic DT 177x gos. Best soundstage I’ve ever heard from closed backs, 32 ohm impedance instead of the 250 ohms of the non mass drop version. Proprietary cable is absolute ass though.
