Worth Upgrading Headphones?

[benjy08]

I am currently in a dilemma. I'm not sure if I should upgrade my current headphones (HyperX Cloud) to an audiophile headset (HD 558). The Cloud's don't feel too great on my ears and with the upgrade might improve my gaming and music experience. Right now I'm asking if it would be worth upgrading to the HD 558's in my current situation (I'm fine with the open back design of the HD 558) and if anyone was in the same situation that I am in right now (upgrading from gaming headset to audiophile headphone).

Thanks

 

[RCFProd]

It depends on what you're connecting the headphones to. If you're connecting it directly to your PC, which motherboard does your PC have?

 

[Dunlop0078]

Well I am bit of an audio snob so in opinion it is absolutely worth it, Im not a fan of really any "gaming" branded headphones however I will give it to the clouds for not being absolutely terrible. I own the HD558s and I would say they are the most comfortable headphones at that price range, they fit me perfectly almost to the point I forget they are even on my head. The HD558s will certainly be better than the clouds for things like soundstage and mid and highs, however if you like punchy bass the HD558s are probably not for you they are a bit light in the bass department however what is there is tight and controlled. Do you need a mic? Do you have a sound card or external dac/amp? If not will you be using the mobos integrated sound card? If so what mobo is it?

 

[benjy08]

answering both your questions, I would be plugging it into the Asus DGX Sound Card, and I already own an external mic.

 

[benjy08]

Adding to the discomfort, my ears would normally get hot after ~1 hour of use, which would be remedied by an open back design headphone

 

[Dunlop0078]

Adding to the discomfort, my ears would normally get hot after ~1 hour of use, which would be remedied by an open back design headphone

The xonar DGX should power 558s just fine they are only 50ohm, not that hard to drive. The xonar does not have the best DAC, I have herd users complain of a high noise floor which means when you plug the headphones in with nothing playing you hear a bit of static in the background ideally you would want silence. But that is a minor gripe, overall the xonar should do fine.

My ears never really get hot in the 558s maybe a bit on a hot summer day. They are open back as you said so that will help keep your ears cool, they also use velour ear pads which are much more breathable than leather or pleather.

 

[RCFProd]

Well I am bit of an audio snob so in opinion it is absolutely worth it, Im not a fan of really any "gaming" branded headphones however I will give it to the clouds for not being absolutely terrible.

The Clouds are not just ''not absolutely terrible''. It is based on the Takstar Pro 80 which is one of the best price/performance headphones on the market under 100 USD. It seems like you're still kind of underrating the headset a bit.

 

[Dunlop0078]

Well I am bit of an audio snob so in opinion it is absolutely worth it, Im not a fan of really any "gaming" branded headphones however I will give it to the clouds for not being absolutely terrible.

The Clouds are not just ''not absolutely terrible''. It is based on the Takstar Pro 80 which is one of the best price/performance headphones on the market under 100 USD. It seems like you're still kind of underrating the headset a bit.

Maybe so, didn't know that. I have never tried the takstars but I have tried the clouds, I didn't think the ear pads were very good and the bass was quite overwhelming for music like most gaming headphones. I would think kingston colored the clouds a bit for gaming, I just read a review on takstars and they dont mention the overwhelming bass I heard with the clouds. But audio is very subjective, so take mine or anybody's opinion on what sounds good with a grain of salt.

 

[RCFProd]

Ear pads aren't very good, that's true. They're a lot better with better ones.

I personally didn't find the bass overwhelming though.

 

[ssddx]

as with all audio.. what one person thinks is utter garbage another might love.

the general consensus on the cloud/pro80 are that its a decent sounding headphone for the under $100 market (though the mic on the cloud is not that great).

the 558 gets good marks as well. the 518 is likely a better buy for value but the 558 brings better pads so is worth the extra cash. if you can score a 598 on sale that is worth considering as well.

another good budget headphone design is the ad500x/ad700x.

 

[benjy08]

How does the clamp force compare between the clouds and hd558?