Upgrading from a gaming headset? Three entry level ‘audiophile’ headphones reviewed

1. Introduction2. The Headphones: Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

Getting into the audiophile market is an expensive business, no doubt about it – a setup including an amp, DAC, high-end cable and flagship headphones could easily set you back tens of thousands of pounds.

This article has been about entry-level gear, though, specifically for those who have been using gaming headsets for a while and want to take the next step into higher-quality gear.

We have looked at three difference headphones, currently priced from £129-157. Given all three launched with much higher prices, these headphones represent excellent value and are, to be frank, bargains. This is only furthered when you consider many high-end gaming headsets can cost similar, if not more, amounts of cash – the HyperX Cloud Revolver S is £129, for example.

The AKG K702s is an open back pair of headphones which cost £129 from Amazon UK. Overall, I found the sound quality to be good, though the K702s are definitely more analytical than ‘fun' sounding, as these are designed to be reference headphones. While gaming, though, the large soundstage creates a really immersive atmosphere which absolutely trumps any gaming headset I've used. Recommended.

However, the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Editions (£157.50 on Amazon UK) proved to be my favourite pair of cans overall. They are also open back but have a much brighter sound signature than the K702s. This won't be for everyone but I really enjoyed listening to music with them – the sound is clear and detailed, while there is still a decent bass response to keep things balanced. I did find the high-end to get a bit distracting while playing games, though, but I'll continue to listen to my music with these.

I must say that, compared to the other two open back headphones on test, I did not enjoy using the Sennheiser HD 598 Cs (£148.98 on Amazon UK) as much. These closed back cans do leak considerably less noise than the other two headphones, so if you want to use something out and about these will still offer much better sound quality than your average headset. However, the soundstage is limited in comparison with the K702s and DT 990s, while I found the overall sound to be a bit muffled.

If you are looking for some of our other headphone reviews, make sure to check out our Sennhesier HD 800S review HERE, our Sony MDR-Z1R review HERE and our round-up of the best flagship amplifiers over HERE.

KitGuru says: Overall, I can absolutely say those who have been using gaming headsets for their audio needs will notice a huge difference by switching to a dedicated pair of headphones. In particular, gaming with the open back AKG K702s has massively improved the overall experience for me, to the point where it would feel hard for me to go back. I guess I'll have to, though, as we have plenty of headset reviews coming this month!

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