CCRS's Gaming with Audiophile Gear

Hi all,

As sacrilegious as this might be, I usually end up using my audiophile equipment for gaming (yeah, I own a Sennheiser gaming headset, and no, I haven't used it since starting this hobby). In my case, I do this do to several reasons:

1. All my audiophile headphones are open-back (well, the Auteur is kind of semi-open, but you get the point). With living in the usually hot southern California, and me being a sweaty human, this extra breathability means lots of extra comfort (no sweaty ears!). Your experience may differ based on your location and how your body is, but I absolutely adore the extra breathability of open-backs and can't go back.
2. My desktop PC serves as my source for my headphone rig. Unfortunately, my room arrangement doesn't allow for even nearfield desk monitors (for reference, I can't even fit Audioengine A5+ on my desk). While I do have a pair of Creative T30, I can't usually use speakers in gaming sessions because the walls are thin and I'd disturb peoples' sleep here (in an Asian family this means instant death). Since the desktop serves as both a work rig and a recreational rig, it gets tons of use.
3. Finally, I own this stuff, so I might as well use it. Some video games have amazing soundtracks and this lets me appreciate them more.

With all that out of the way, this is going to be a random thread where I'm just going to briefly talk about (and informally rate) the gear that I've used while playing games. I play a fair amount of FPS games, but I also play some Planet Coaster and random Plants vs Zombies. I'll update this thread as I either accumulate more gear, or I get things through loaners that I happen to use for games (this inevitably happens to everything that I like). Keep in mind this has absolutely no bearing on what gear I think are "better" or "worse," this is just meant to be random shenanigans.

*Periodically, I'll update both this post when new gear comes by, and maybe make a larger blurb about it as a post in the thread. On that note, I'll expand my impressions if people are curious on anything listed here.

DACs:

• Matrix X-Sabre Pro MQA: Forward stage (kind of like Schiit DACs), but actually pretty good at localization. The super clean and zippy transients mean that if you're a footstep whore, you'll hear them alright.
• iFi iDSD Black Label: I used this as an all-in-one. I recommend turning both the xBass and the 3D+ off. Used in this setting, really not bad, although it tends to be more left-right and not have as much forward-back. Passable.
• Schiit Yggdrasil GS: I think the forward stage coupled with the Yggdrasil's ability to convey depth really work well here, especially with SR1a. Unlike the X-Sabre Pro, the images are not razor-thin and have actual substance.

Amps:

• Schiit Asgard 3: Upfront stage. Sweet midrange makes some soundtracks sound real nice. Lacks a bit in the footstep department; doesn't seem to emphasize the "MLG pro gamerzzz" frequencies (which is a REALLY good thing for music). Occasionally sounds busy when lots and lots of things are going on, but this is not common unless you're playing Risk of Rain 2 and are 100 minutes into a run. Not the most air up top means that you won't get a huge atmospheric feeling.
• Schiit Jotunheim R: See Raal SR1a notes below since this was used in combination.
  
• DNA Starlett: I always feel a little bad using this for games, but it's so good for games. Beautiful soundtrack renditions, conveys scale very well, stages in a way that makes footsteps incredibly obvious in direction and position (@Donald North maybe you could put that as a selling point and say that I endorsed it as the best amp for gaming?)
• Feliks Euforia: Intimate, bloomy, warm character makes this actually kind of fun for games. Not the best if you absolutely need cracking footsteps and pinpoint imaging, but fine for RPGs and Divinity 2.

Headphones

• AKG K7XX: Often recommended on Drop for games for its airy presentation, which gives the illusion of enormous stage. Does have an open stage, and has the response where footsteps are obvious, but actually not the best imaging; IMHO worse imaging than HD 650. However, it's lightweight and comfortable for hours.
• Focal Utopia: The best traditional headphone! Small stage sure, but images very precisely, and has the type of voicing and resolve where it feels like I can hear everything. However, the Utopia doesn't up for my lack of skills (@Hands can attest LOL). This is one area that really showcases the Utopia's trait of not really drawing attention to itself. Also makes the game itself sound good (unless the game sounds suck; you know what I mean).
• Raal Requisite SR1a: Actually the best!Actual soundstage outside your head! Very clean, fast transients, accurate imaging, and great resolve means positional queues are obvious. I personally found this headphone comfortable for hours; however, refraining from head movement is key to avoid an expensive accident.
• Sennheiser HD 600 (JAR mod): Kind of similar to the 650, but the JAR 600 evens the tonality quite a bit, and sounds very snappy; kind of Focal-like. It will never get away from its small stage and kind of poor imagining, but despite the slight amount of extra weight compared to the HD650, it's comfortable. Also, synergizes better with Asgard 3 than HD650, for those times when I don't want to either burn Starlett tubes or use SR1a.
  
• Sennheiser HD 6XX(650): What I started with (ol' faithful if you will). Although the stage is small, through amps that can image will it does a pretty good job at conveying directional queues. Not the best in the footstep department (I'm not sure what frequency that is), but definitely not bad. Overwatch in particular has super bassy, loud-ass footsteps and this headphone is great there.
• ZMF Auteur (cocobolo): No. Not as much cup reverberation, but still there. Plus, the Auteur isn't as open as the Verite, so there's slightly more heat build-up. Sorry @zach915m; I love your cans for music but if I cared about my Overwatch rank I wouldn't use yours.
• ZMF Verite (cocobolo): NO! Cup reverberation means that it's very hard to pick out exactly where sounds are coming from. That being said, the game itself still sounds good. But if you care about your ranks, min/maxing, etc, pick something else.

 

I can't recall, but have you used virtual surround solutions?

I know some games, like Overwatch, have their own thing built in. And even while that example in particular has a pretty good implementation, I still use the VSS offered by the Sound BlasterX G6 instead in 7.1 mode, at 66% surround. At least on the X-axis, I feel it offers one of the best positional representations of sound I've heard yet.

Plus, it has a fairly decent parametric EQ, so I can get most headphones to measure flat on it in stereo and no DSP. This further seems to help with VSS accuracy and overall sound quality in games.

What I haven't tried is using its optical out to a DAC, which it says it can carry over the fully DSP-modified signal. I will have to give it a try sometime, since you had such a good experience with the Starlett.

I used to use the ZDT Jr and my MA900 while gaming. I eventually got tired of the tubes ringing from me moving my mouse and typing on my keyboard. But my current desk setup is of the sort where I can prevent this now, so it's worth a revisit.

 

Well, my buddy had a cheap headset and couldn't hear the equivalency of an elephant clomping behind him in a competitive FPS. (I was next to him in game and managed to not die, because I heard the pig man coming.)

I hooked him up with a much better headset with decent VSS built in. Made a huge difference for him.

I also fixed his PC, which had been running at the lowest CPU multiplier for years (shitty BIOS), gave him a hand-me-down G502, and got him a 144Hz monitor.

Almost a night and day difference in play.

Now...can lowering or tweaking graphics settings away from ideal help in some scenarios? Absolutely. Can EQing your sound help emphasize certain sounds to give you an advantage? Yup. Do some VSS solutions make things worse, or just not work for some people? Mmhmm. But there are probably more examples of where better or more "accurate to source" stuff = better play than the other way around, I'd wager. This is, of course, ignoring one's own skill and the like.

 

I have back when I used my gaming headset. I'll have to see if I can somehow use an optical-out from my motherboard while using a virtual surround DSP. Nowadays, I do not use any DSP.

To use an IRL friend (the one I invited to play Overwatch with us), after I sold him my SDAC, Wyrd, and Magni 3 (he uses a HD650), he said that positional queues are much better than his gaming headset with virtual surround.

Me personally, I'm too shitty of a player to really know if this improved my play.

 

Raal Requisite SR1a (with Jot R):

This...."headphone"....is strange to me (I mean that in a good way). It really doesn't feel like headphones in stage, nor does the ribbon sound like any other transducer in any headphone I've heard. At the time of this writing, I'm still struggling to get my head around the sound. BUT DANG IT THIS THREAD IS ABOUT GAMES SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT!!!

I have to say that I disagree with the notion that these aren't good for gaming. While the stage certainly takes some getting used to (and lots of fiddling with the angle and position on head to find the sweet spot), I found that I had no with positional cues, and for me personally, having some sort of aspect of actual soundstage outside of my head increased my accuracy of guessing where footsteps and the like were coming from. It's actually kind of uncanny, and for music purposes I'm still very much getting used to this sound.

The voicing of the SR1a also has another bonus; in games where there's dialog, or when you're talking to people you're playing with, it easily cuts through the mix and is very articulate.

However, one big thing; while I personally find SR1a very comfortable, they do kind of feel like they're perched precariously on your head. Any sudden movements can and will dislodge them, so if you're a raging gamer, or particularly expressive, moving your head/body in directions WILL move them around. This means that I have to refrain from my typical exasperation reaction when dying in dumb ways (rolling eyes and tilting head).

Speaking of ergonomics though, the best part of these is that they only really touch part of your face, your head where the band is, and....that's it. Very open means that there's absolutely zero heat build-up, which is an important consideration for me since I sweat easily.

@abraxas666 will disagree, but I like these for games and will probably use these as a main gaming setup during the warm summertime where any amount of cooling down will be welcome (that and to save the Starlett's tubes).

 

Lots of things tbh. This thread was more or less meant to be just my own personal experiences with stuff and is in no way really a gaming "review."

A good gaming headset with DSP can be an answer. However, I've only used one of the Sennheiser ones (don't even remember the model) and haven't touched gaming headsets since.

In terms of "audiophile" stuff, I have no problems recommending a Fulla + headphone of your choice (your 58X would work fine). No idea about SBX G6, but if you're already okay with the sound you get out of it I don't see why you would switch (of course, if your cat plays with the cables then I can see it being an issue).