Massdrop x HIFIMAN Edition XX Headphones Discussions | Drop

Oct 29, 2018

RaptorMagneticThe HE4XX do well with gaming. I used them almost exclusively until I got the Elex. I still use them from to time to time and still enjoy them (more bass than the Elex). For their cost, they make a good planar worth gaming with.

Oct 29, 2018

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Rayndalf

364

Oct 29, 2018

RaptorMagneticAssuming the games you play have decent positional audio with the stereo setting (say HRTF in CSGO) these would work well. For games with a lackluster stereo setting (bad enough that virtual surround sound offers an improvement) these would be at a disadvantage by not offering that. Considering pros regularly play with $50 earbuds, any headphones worth their salt should work well once you get accustomed to their signature and their soundstage (but IMO exaggerated sound stages can make positional audio more 'immersive' but somewhat deceptive). Also, keep worrying about gaming, videogames with quality sound design deserve to be appreciated, and their is more to soundstage accuracy and positional audio than the overdone 'its a keyboard in your right ear, now its your left ear' shtick

Oct 29, 2018

Oct 30, 2018

RaptorMagneticHaving used a good number of planars including the HE400i, HE4xx, LCD2C, and HE560, the only ones I'd game in regularly are the HE560. The HE400i/HE4xx get the job done, but the imaging is nothing to write home about. I've had better luck with the THx00 (despite the miniscule stage) because the imaging is pretty accurate, and above those, the Sennheiser HD58x and HD6xx work a treat for gaming. If you're goal is just gaming, any of thsoe would be a step up in imaging above the 7xx. And, this is purely personal, I'd take crap stage and sharp imaging over a huge stage and meh imaging any day.

Oct 30, 2018

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Oct 30, 2018

SqueeI have the TRX00 Ebony's and they definitely do not have better imaging over the HE4XX nor do they have a larger soundstage. The one thing they do excel at in gaming is LFE. I'm going to assume you're not using any sort of AVR with your HE4XX (I game out of a Yamaha A3080). That made a world of difference for me in terms of power and audio decoding as they are quite power hungry. Even on the THX 789, I have to set the gain to 3 and the volume dial is at 3 o'clock and they still could take more power. I still personally prefer the Elex over everything due to their imaging, dynamic range, and separation. They do very well with shooters and sound wonderful with big open world games (playing RDR2 right now).

Oct 30, 2018

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dnalekaw

211

Oct 30, 2018

CokemanI wouldn't say quite yet... My HD 800 SDR are still a massive improvement over the HD 58x, HE 4xx etc. when it comes to gaming. Although they could be considered some of the best, if not the absolute best headphones for gaming I see them as worth it for that purpose alone. Different people will prioritise headphones for gaming in different ways and I am certainly one of them. Since sound engines within games are also improving at a quick rate, the disparity between higher end and lower end audio products is broadening.

Oct 30, 2018

Oct 30, 2018

jaydunndidditI never said thx00 have larger sound stage. I said they image better, and they do. I play mostly competitive shooters, like Rainbow six, overwatch, pubg, ring of Elysium, etc. The he400/xx are competent, but I have gotten miscues from sound. Especially in elevation. I don't use any dsp, because a good headphone doesn't need them. My setup is PC to bimby to adcom gfp 555 which feeds out to an Aune x7s, 789, Mac 1900, and Lake people g103. I also have an Astro mixamp kicking around somewhere but not hooked up.

Oct 30, 2018

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Oct 30, 2018

dnalekawI think his larger point is the effective benefits of totl headphones used for gaming show extremely diminishing returns, which is especially true considering the audio itself is likely very compressed, very affected by software dsp in engine, whereas the real benefits would probably reveal themselves listening to well-mastered, uncompressed recordings.

Oct 30, 2018

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Oct 30, 2018

SqueeAgree to disagree on imaging. I'm using an AVR that's tailored to decoding audio streams without touching the signal in Pure Direct Mode via HDMI. That comment about DSP is pretty silly. DSP like EQ exists for a reason and I'd be pretty hard-pressed to not enjoy Atmos through my Focal's or any of my other "good" headphones. I used the HE4XX with Battlefield 1, Wolfenstein 2, Titanfall 2, Far Cry 5, Forza 7, Dirt 4, Rocket League, etc. I used to be more competitive in ranked league play but just didn't have the time to keep up with practicing. The 4XX help up very well in all settings and were dynamic enough to create the proper amount of range. As much as I love the Ebony's, they don't image well, have horrible depth, and really lack clarity in the mids compared to the other frequencies. Not to mention, their ringing/resonance can really throw off pinpointing exact locations and their 2nd order distortion is pretty high in the lower frequencies. Even with all that, they excel at movies and TV shows over the HE4XX. I think they have a place, just not for gaming. Just my .02 cents.

Oct 30, 2018

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Oct 30, 2018

jaydunndidditSomething of a self defeating argument... TV shows are almost pure mids, which you like on thx00, but you don't like their mids? Distortion in low frequencies, but you like them in movies, which are just bass and mids. If AVR doesn't mess with the signal, no reason for 4xx to sound good specifically on that system and different from other non-dsp sources If DSP and EQ work so well, why buy good headphones at all? Just buy the cheapest headphones and EQ them. There's an unmentioned agreement that digitally altering a signal is precisely the opposite goal of high end audio, which is trying to bring you as close to the sound in the recording studio as possible, with as little distortion from the original signal as possible. If you honestly believe dsp and EQ can turn meh qualities into great qualities, there's no need for 599+ cans when software can fix hardware problems. Again, not arguing sound stage.

Oct 30, 2018

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