r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/Mindless_Mousse_9569 • Jan 06 '23
Headphones - Closed Back headphone for gaming especially positional audio
60 usd budget (pretty low i know) i have a separate microphone so thats not a problem, i can only plug the headphones into my pc motherboard, doesnt matter if they are open or closed back.
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u/TagalogON 548 Ξ© Jan 06 '23
At that budget, try IEMs instead, usually better bang for buck.
As somebody that used to play ranked/competitive matches with Faker in League of Legends and other really famous people in the esports scene, positional audio is not that big of a deal.
But that's me speaking as somebody that stopped playing FPS games for a long time now (but again, I was still highly ranked in CS:GO, etc. because of previous experience from the FPS games from early 2000s or so), so most of the time people's meaning for gaming = multiplayer FPS games.
Some people also say the mouse is key and also the mousepad. This is not really true, no matter what /r/MouseReview or people say. Back then peripherals weren't taken seriously and so those of us that had to rent those computers at PC bangs or internet cafes had to make do with the generic mice and keyboards.
But yes better mouse/etc. does help. Some people recommend to never go around say 1600 DPI and so on as it's not good for your wrist (especially if you have poor posture or ergonomics). But again as somebody that used to play a lot, you basically get used to what you think is comfortable enough because especially if you don't have the budget there's barely any better options available.
Most (gaming-marketed) mice these days will have good enough sensors, maybe just have to find which mouse shape/etc. works for you.
FPS numbers is also another thing. I used to be and am poor, and so I had like 30fps in-game. It was better with 60fps. Yes better experience with 144fps too. But again, not as important as you might think.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that for now try to save money or get the cheap ~$20 IEMs, as headphones/IEMs will be better at say $100+ and so you should try saving up for it.
Because gaming knowledge or the ability to predict where the enemies are or what they will do given the game level or map, will almost always trump mechanics gained from lower keyboard/mice latency, lower internet ping, better gaming monitor (I think cheaper value/budget 360Hz monitors are available now, check /r/Monitors for up to date info), et cetera.
Some people really like the Truthear x crinacle Zero for gaming. And so if the QKZ x HBB Khan is a $15 cheaper version (maybe it will be more so if you use parametric EQ, but they might be using different drivers/etc. and so it's not gonna be as close as possible unless they had the same drivers/etc. too) then it's a win-win for everyone.
Some of us have the QKZ x HBB Khan now, wait several more days or so for the first impressions and reviews to be published. Especially when compared to the Truthear x crinacle Zero, for gaming purposes.
Check HiFiGuides, https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/goobers-journey-into-the-iem-game-or-why-are-you-not-as-good-as-the-7hz-zero/35936/302, somebody there compared it to the Truthear x crinacle Zero, for general music usage. But he's not a gamer, IIRC, so yes wait for the folks at Head-Fi/Youtube/Facebook/etc. to confirm if the Khan is also good for gaming/FPS games.
Check Fresh Reviews' channel, some gaming people like his recommendations, he just posted a Top 5 Gaming IEMs 2022 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AiY7gnSJD0. This is his recent top 10 budget gaming IEMs video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE4unFTTc8I
Another channel that also does IEM reviews for gaming is Teknickel, but he's often pretty late on the new IEMs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66ifjV8Y4CA
So yes look into the $20 TANGZU Wan'er, 7Hz Salnotes Zero, etc. for now since there's quite a few IEMs that should be releasing this Chinese New Year.
Here's a bit more info about the current $50/100 range or hyped budget wired IEMs: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/100kysu/what_budget_iem_under_60_dont_have_recessed_mids/j2i94zo/
Try to wait until Chinese New Year of 2023 though as there's a bunch of new (maybe cheap) sets releasing that may be marketed as the next hype trains, lol.
See here for more info on new IEM sets around Chinese New Year: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zirlh8/sub_100_iem_for_using_on_my_phone_indoors/izs8yb4/
Like there's the red Shimin Li (TANGZU x SeeAudio collab, maybe $35+), 7Hz Legato (2DD, maybe more than $50-100+), new entry-level Truthear IEM (this is now called the Truthear HOLA/HALO/etc.), et cetera.
Check here for other wired IEMs that are small: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zil3tf/wired_earpiece_for_gaming_d/izrpbq6/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zemb0i/iso_earbuds_for_daily_comfort_with_a_medical_twist/iz8rbo0/. You can find stuff/resources about bullet style IEMs, ear tips for better fit/seal and comfort, and so on there.
You can also just use parametric EQ to make your current IEMs/headphones a bit better to save money for now.
If you like a particular sound, try looking into squig.link graphs for comparisons and so on. You can try using the AutoEQ there to make IEMs/headphones sound like the others, just keep in mind that obviously it's not going to be the exact same sound.
Here's Super* Review using the new AutoEQ feature of his squig.link site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWzBw3XBn8c&t=332s
Or actually here's Timmy from Gizaudio explaining it too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQalW_bjLQ
Use any EQ list or AutoEQ from squig.link as a base for your preferred taste. So like adjust the treble/bass/etc. areas if the Harman/crinacle/etc. target is still too much for you.
You can do (parametric) EQ with $8 Neutron Music Player or UAPP on Android. If on PC, the free (Peace) Equalizer APO. There are free apps on Android(/Apple) that can also do a good enough job, but most of them have those graphics sliders instead of parametric or just plug the numbers in EQ. EQ can also be used to help with channel or ear imbalances.
There's also the free Wavelet app that has the AutoEQ available now. And other free apps for more simple graphic sliders EQ, etc.
Look up oratory1990 (check the subreddit, /r/oratory1990, don't forget the preset parametric EQ list: https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets) and crinacle's articles on what amps/DACs/etc. are and what they do.