All the time. Audiophile headphones are there to produce details in music but also just audio in general. Not to mention there's often music in games. Running along Assassin's Creed on a mount? Waiting on a dungeon to open up in multiplayer? There's music. Closed-backs have depth, and you'll hear nuances in the footsteps. Open-backs have more sound stage, so you'll hear foot steps coming. And you might even get an idea of the direction. "Gaming" is a marketing term. Good on you to realize good headphones are good gaming headphones. More on reddit.com

Think of it as less "audiophile headphones" vs "gaming headphones" and more just good headphones. Good headphones will sound good, period. No gaming headphones have anything in there that will make it better for gaming than other headphones. From your list, the HD560S and the Beyers DTxxx are great. Your HyperX are a third the price of any of those, and these mentioned headphones are certified good headphones for their prices (and even above) themselves. So yes, they're going to most likely beat your HyperX in most categories of listening, gaming or not. Should you buy them? Your choice, really. Closed back vs Open back, mostly depends on whether or not you prefer isolation (closed) or spaciousness/soundstage/how far apart sounds seem to appear when listening (open). Open-backs will make your life suffer if you have a noisy family. Other factors come into play, of course, but most people new into the scene will notice these first. You don't need an Amp/Dac other than maaaybe an Apple/Samsung/whatever dongle to connect the headphones to a device. As long as you use the lower ohm versions or the HD560S. Further reading on DTxxx difference between versions (incl. ohms): https://www.head-fi.org/threads/guide-sonic-differences-between-dt770-dt990-models-more.513393/ Short: the 80ohm ones sound well without amp. 32ohm versions don't need amp too, but have different sound profile. 250 ohm needs amp. More on reddit.com

If you wait for a sale you can probably get the R70x for under $300, I ordered a pair for $250 from Amazon last week. I can't personally speak to their quality yet, but a lot of people say they're top tier as far as imaging goes and they're often a strong recommendation for gaming. I do have the HD 560s and don't think you can go wrong with those for gaming either. More on reddit.com

Audeze maxwell

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