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I currently owned a pair HD 600S with a X5 amp/dac.
I was wondering if upgrading to an HD 800S and iFi amp/dac would really show a difference especially for gaming?
Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I currently owned a pair HD 600S with a X5 amp/dac.
I was wondering if upgrading to an HD 800S and iFi amp/dac would really show a difference especially for gaming?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Not needed for gaming. Though you could sidegrade and tailor sound that's perfect for gaming.

For music, would recommend 800s.
 
I have the 800s, I use for music, I've never thought to use for gaming, just seemed like a waste. I will try tonight, probably really good.
 
ive had Arctis 5 some years and been happy with those ^^
I have a Arctic Series 7 headset, which when I picked was broadly promoted around as the best gaming headset for PC and console gaming.
I fucking hate it. Worst headset I've ever had.

Aside for the fact that its ergonomics aren't exactly stellar to begin with, it also has a stupid hardware problem where from time to time it keeps "crashing" (it just stops working without turning on or off anymore) and the only solution is to remove one of the earpads and "brute force" an hard reset with a pin.
It happens so often that at times I spend entire days without touching it because I can't be bothered doing it over and over.

The Logitech headset I had before it was WAY better and never gave me a single problem.
 
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I have a Arctic Series 7 headset, which when I picked was broadly promoted around as the best gaming headset for PC and console gaming.
I fucking hate it. Worst headset I've ever had.

Aside for the fact that its ergonomics aren't exactly stellar to begin with, it also has a stupid hardware problem where from time to time it keeps "crashing" (it just stops working without turning on or off anymore) and the only solution is to remove one of the earpads and "brute force" an hard reset with a pin.
It happens so often that at times I spend entire days without touching it because I can't be bothered doing it over and over.

The Logitech headset I had before it was WAY better and never gave me a single problem.
Buy headphones from headphone companies. Turn out to be better.

More comfort, reliability, availability of accessories when you wear them out … etc etc. And ofcourse way better sound if you get a good one.
 
In terms of bass quality, soundstage perception and EQ potential, the HD 800S is definitely an improvement over the HD 600, that's for sure.

On the other hand, I would swap the iFi for a Topping DX3 Pro+ or SMSL C200 if you are looking for an all-in-one solution (DAC and AMP) or if you want a separate stack, JDS Atom 2 DAC and AMP combo, Topping E30 II + L30 II or the Schiit Magni Heresy + Modi are better options in terms of power and measurements.

You don't need any more amplification than those options.
 
I currently owned a pair HD 600S with a X5 amp/dac.
I was wondering if upgrading to an HD 800S and iFi amp/dac would really show a difference especially for gaming?
Any advice would be appreciated.
You won't feel that much of a difference.

Story time: I've been using Sennheiser HD 800 for almost 13 years, and when they finally died (well, they broke apart due to an old age), I switched to a Chinese-made model called Sendy Apollo, which are super comfy compared to HD 800. Most reviews call Sendy Apollo quite detailed but too dark, even suffocating to listen to. The thing is, when I installed a system-wide equalizer for Windows (Equalizer APO) to straighten their frequency response... I realized it's almost the same thing. I can't tell what model is better now.

Point is, after a certain level of quality you can get almost any kind of sound signature from any headphones that are "good enough". We aren't talking about cheap stuff here - mid-tier headphones (including HD 600S) are capable of sounding almost exactly like those overly-expensive things.
 
You are already in the upper end. Yes, you can obviously spend more money but you most likely won't hear any difference.
 
Have the 800s with RME DAC ADI2.
I listen to my Apple max pods, or whatever they are called, 99% of the time. lol.

Don't waste money on a marginal upgrade.
 
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Have the 800s with RMA DAC ADI2.
I listen to my Apple max pods, or whatever they are called, 99% of the time. lol.

Don't waste money on a marginal upgrade.
I haven't heard air pod max or RME ADI 2, but I have decent experience on HD800.

And I doubt its a marginal upgrade.

I mean, when properly driven, just the bass region on HD800 has like 2..3…4 instruments playing in different layers. Rendered in full, all the way down to sub bass regions.

I doubt you would hear even a single, fully reproduced bass instrument on Air Pod Max, thanks to battery power and tiny electronics package.

But I do agree HD800 has reference tuning. Not everyone enjoys it, some lower end hps can sound better in that case.
 
I haven't heard air pod max or RME ADI 2, but I have decent experience on HD800.

And I doubt its a marginal upgrade.

I mean, when properly driven, just the bass region on HD800 has like 2..3…4 instruments playing in different layers. Rendered in full, all the way down to sub bass regions.

I doubt you would hear even a single, fully reproduced bass instrument on Air Pod Max, thanks to battery power and tiny electronics package.

But I do agree HD800 has reference tuning. Not everyone enjoys it, some lower end hps can sound better in that case.

They are not fun to listen to imo.

Bass on the HD800 may go low with low amounts of distortion but it's weak in output.
General consensus is to bring them to the Harman curve so you have to pump the EQ 12dB at the low end. And even then it's just okay. They have been designed for classic / Jazz people in mind. Anything relying on Bass is just not it on the HD800(s) imo.

Edit:
Even Sennheiser got the memo eventually and released a closed back HD820. That thing flopped as far as I can tell.

If I was to spend more money on hp I would go with focal.
 
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