So I've done some real A/B testing, jumping from headphone to headphone rather than relying on past listening memory for the first time
The shootout participants.
ASUS Strix 7.1 (True surround 4 drivers per ear) - set to Stereo mode
Turtle Beach Elite Atlas running off Sennheiser GSX1200
Elite Atlas running off onboard audio
AKGK7XX running off GSX1200
Philips Fidelio X2 running off GSX1200
Logitech G-Pro X running off GSX1200
Sennheiser G4ME Zero running off GSX1200
I suppose I should have done one with the Logitech G-Pro X running off it's own USB dongle but I can tell you that thing is garbage VS my other gear without including it in this test.
I'm no great music listener so I used The Vile Peaks soundtrack from FF13 as this is where I noticed the biggest sound differences and then the bassy start of the Taylor Swift song - Ready for it
Results:
I am definitely a closed can kind of guy, or maybe semi-open at most. If I try to smother the cups of the K7XX with my hands the sound of it improves tremendously for me.
My GSX1200 is definitely still better than my onboard sound despite the new motherboard.
I really really like the sound the Elite Atlas makes. It might not always win but it's definitely my best all-rounder. Nothing is over-emphasized or crushed, it just sometimes now and again reminds you that it's not audiophile royalty by running out of range to play with. As an example of that running out of legroom it seems to drop off at 30hz already rather than making it down to 20 like the X2 and K7XX.
The AKG K7XX has the highest quality sound by a significant margin but it's so open. It's like holding a concert on a meadow in the Alps, there's nothing for the sound to bounce off of it just keeps going and going and going and as a result one has to increase the volume quite a bit to make it comparable to the others to make sure those little sounds don't just trail off to nowhere without ever being heard.
The X2 produces the best sound but it has the tendency to hide sounds/let sounds overshadow others.
The Logitech G-Pro X is narrow as heck and lets bass and occasionally others sounds crush other sounds. It can sound the best of the lot but at the same time you can clearly hear it has limited range.
The G4ME Zero sounds like I'm listening to a recording of a recording. It's flat and lifeless and yet claustrophobic (probably due to the Sennie clamp which I do not get along with as it's likely the reason these headphones can make me physically sick).
The Strix 7.1 is my most powerful audio device by a significant margin (which stands to reason I guess running off 2 USBs rather than one like the GSX1200). When you combine that power with the large cups you get really good sound despite the frowned upon 4-driver per ear configuration. You can sometimes hear it's not audiophile quality but other times it's as good if not more pleasing than the other headphones/headsets in this shootout.
Overall though the winner in my current selection is the Elite Atlas. Just like the G-Pro X you can sometimes hear the limitation in range or space VS the audiophile selection but within the range and space it has access to it is just stellar. Bass response is phenomenal being the most visceral and yet the least muddy (not that the K7XX or X2 are muddy but they don't quite achieve the same visceral level although the X2 comes close). And yet no other part of the track feels drowned out to achieve this. I just love them. If they have one drawback it's that together with the G-Pro X they are the noisiest of the headphones/headsets when nothing is playing, the hiss just never stops till sound plays. So you don't really want to keep them on your ears if you aren't using them.
The Elite Atlas is also the cheapest of the bunch. You can currently grab them on Carb from
@TManJones for 1.5K + shipping. This makes them a total no-brainer for anyone looking for new headphone who hasn't jumped into the audio hole yet or someone who has jumped but is now looking for some closed cans.
Just a quick note about gaming. Despite everything that is usually said about sound stage and imaging and how 4-drivers per ear are not an advantage the Strix has the best positioning. Maybe it's not due to the driver configuration but rather the size of the cups and the power of its amp but it's definitely best. Next up is the Elite Atlas just slightly behind. The K7XX can't compete because whilst it's directionality is on par with the Strix or Elite Atlas it has no distance approximation, a monster could be behind me or roaring at me from miles and miles away. The X2 on the other hands has the same problem as the G-Pro X in that its narrow, however being open backed its a little less narrow than the G-Pro X, but too narrow to be of great aid when it comes to positioning. And let's not even talk of the G4ME Zero which sounds like playing a game through a kid's can-string telephone from an adjacent room by comparison to the others.
www.sivgaaudio.com
