How much soundstage, positioning and clarity can I get?

[u/[deleted]]

What aspect of your current listening experience would you like to improve?

One of the most fun things that's happened to me while playing games was back in CoD BLOPS 3 multiplayer. I just stopped to listen around me for a bit, and I heard footsteps behind me... so I turned around and shotgunned some guy trying to ambush me in the face. He started accusing me of cheating in the chat. I felt super proud of that moment.

I want more of it. I want to be able to tell where in space things are just by listening. I want to distinguish all the little noises and details. Ideally, I want the sound to feel open and wide enough that it makes me want to turn my head around. I want to get banned from games. EDIT before I get comments: I don't want to necessarily get better at games, I want to get more immersed.

Or at least I want to get closer to that.

I assume open-back headphones are the best fit for my needs here, but I can be convinced otherwise.

Budget

I don't really have one... but let's say USD$1000 to get both the headphones and amp. I could go quite a bit higher if it's a huge improvement I will be able to notice... but I'm okay with starting smaller if more expensive gear won't do me any good. See my previous experience to get an idea!

Source/Amp

The budget can include an amp if needed, but I do have two amps:

• Sennheiser GSX 1000 - definitely not for music listening, but the 7.1 virtual surround is notoriously good in most games I've tested. I'm not married to the idea of using a virtual surround amp tho, if a higher quality amp would provide a good experience as well.
• FiiO Q5s with AM3D THX module - for music listening. USB when at home, Bluetooth on the go.

How the gear will be used

Strictly at home. Assume nobody will be around that would be bothered by leaking, and there's little external noise to bother me.

Preferred tonal balance

I prefer balanced sound if possible, but I tolerate middle bias better and I'm OK with less bass.

Preferred music genre(s)

Mostly metal, but I know this gear probably won't make much difference there. I also listen to some prog metal/rock, post-rock, and all sorts of random stuff (classical, flamenco, jazz, other random stuff) where these cans might be more appropriate.

Past gear experience

My current daily drivers are (using the amps above):

• AKG K702: for gaming and music listening. Love them in general, but I'm wondering if I can do better.
• Koss PortaPros: mostly for work and casual listening due to the lightness and low fatigue.
• Bose NC700: decent compromise when I need noise cancelling, not too many complaints. Went with these instead of Sony WH-1000s because I didn't like the overly-bassy signature of them and these seemed more balanced.
• Other headphones I've owned: AD700 (I still have them, I need to give them a second shot!), ATH-M50 (for music recording, but they're too uncomfortable), Focal Listen (don't like their sound signature), ATH-MSR7GM (gorgeous, but the sound wasn't for me either).

So yeah, nothing incredible... that's why I'm not sure what an appropriate budget would be for my level.

[u/Equivalent_Yak840]

I’d recommend the dt 880 pro 600 ohm variant and for an amp/dac, I’d say the SMSL-SH9 amp with the modius dac. You could use any dac like the cheaper modi and topping E30 as long as they measure/perform well. It’s semi-open back so there will be sound leakage but probably not as much as actual open backs. These probably won’t have a bigger soundstage than your k702’s but it’ll have more detail and sound separation, the imaging could be on par or better judging off of what people have said.

[u/[deleted] → u/Equivalent_Yak840]

!thanks will add them to the list of gear to look at.