Recommend me gaming/movie headphones similar to HD-580

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sunchas3r

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Hello people,

Untill very recently I used to own a pair of Sennheiser HD-580 Precision headphones.
But now, after almost a decade of amazing performance, they died (bless them).
Too expensive to repair and just plain worn out.
So I recently upgraded my gaming pc and simultaneously purchased a Sound Blaster Zx and a pair of Philips Fidelio X1s.
I really liked the X1s but in the end i prefer the soundstage and comfort of Sennheisers (hey, if it aint broke..).
So i am looking for a pair of cans with a similar soundstage to the 580s, preferably a Sennheiser brand, but i'm open to suggestions.
Other preferences : full-sized circumaural, comfortable for long use, wired, oval shaped cups (easier to use while i'm laying down in bed watching movies).
I don't want to buy a separate amp, the SBZx has an onboard 600 Ohm headphone amp and this was plenty powerful to drive the X1s (volume in windows was set to max 25% and in games even less).
I am not saying my headphones can't sound even better with a dedicated amp, it's just not something i want to invest in extra.

I am certainly no audiophile per se but gaming and movie sound and music have always been very important to me and i do always strive to reach a good balance between budget and quality.
Primary use would be FPS-gaming like CSGO, BF, Quake etc but i also play a lot of sci-fi and fantasy games with great cinematic soundtracks like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Dead Space, WoW etc.
Secondary use would be movie-watching through the headphone out port of my Panasonic TX-P50ST50, also lots of fantasy and sci-fi there.

My budget would be around 250-300 USD max, but it doesn't have to reach that of course.
I am currently leaning towards the HD-598 which is 162 euro via amazon.de.

Thanks on any advice/tips/tricks/rants,
appreciate all of them.

Joseph

 
the sennheiser hd598 is definitely a nice pair of headphones.

also worth mentioning are the beyerdynamic dt880pro (semi-open, round earcups) and dt990pro 250 (open, oval earcups)

another good pair is the akg k701 (round earcups).

same with the audiotechnica ad700 (round earcups)

--

due to your "oval earcup" requirements the only good alternative i can think of is the dt990 pro. the 250ohm is within budget and a nice pair. i've heard that beyers are very comfortable. you can read a review here http://www.head-fi.org/products/beyerdynamic-dt990-250-ohm
 

sunchas3r

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Thanks for the info.

I ordered the HD-598 via amazon.de.
Can send them back within 30 days if i want to.
If i'm not content with them, i will use your list to research those models.

Gracias amigo..
 

sunchas3r

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Received the 598s and tested them for a day.

First thing i noticed is the build quality; definitely a notch down from the HD-580s but still OK.
Soundwise, i love them.
The sound signature for games, movies and music for me personnally is very balanced and cinematic.
Bass very clear, no distortio.
Good positional audio in CS:GO
Army of Darkness OST sounds fantastic.
Sound level in Windows still only at 20%, the onboard SBZx 600 Ohm amp is a bit overpowered for low impedance cans (these are 50 Ohm).

For the money a very good buy imo.

Cheers,
Joseph
 
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