Introduction
"Sound
Styles" isn't an industry standard term, so using it outside of my
guides will result in confusion. "Sound Styles" are just the term i use
to differentiate the different categories of headphones for gaming
purposes. Not to be confused with "Sound Signatures" which is the
description of the headphones tuning.
Simply read the description of the "Sound styles" and pick the one that matches your needs best. For now I have expanded and changed up the "Sound Styles" and would love feedback on if you want less or more. All changes are made with careful consideration based on past feedback and how people tend to interact with them.
Something to note, all my Sound Styles do put a bit of emphasis on sound quality and everything must pass a certain level of sound quality. There will be some things on the list that do sacrifice a bit of quality but I try to not have anything "BAD" just because its good at lets say COMP FPS. Though some categories like Comp FPS will have some mediocre options when it comes to sound overall.
There is also a lot of overlap between different Sound Styles. Each of the Guides will eventually have a spread sheet of all the listed Headphones/headsets, which will help show what overlapping category each product fits in. For now please view the MASTER GRADE LIST to see this.
Simply read the description of the "Sound styles" and pick the one that matches your needs best. For now I have expanded and changed up the "Sound Styles" and would love feedback on if you want less or more. All changes are made with careful consideration based on past feedback and how people tend to interact with them.
Something to note, all my Sound Styles do put a bit of emphasis on sound quality and everything must pass a certain level of sound quality. There will be some things on the list that do sacrifice a bit of quality but I try to not have anything "BAD" just because its good at lets say COMP FPS. Though some categories like Comp FPS will have some mediocre options when it comes to sound overall.
There is also a lot of overlap between different Sound Styles. Each of the Guides will eventually have a spread sheet of all the listed Headphones/headsets, which will help show what overlapping category each product fits in. For now please view the MASTER GRADE LIST to see this.
1.1A: Competitive FPS (Open-Back Only)
Description:
This Category is slightly different than it was before as now it does
sacrifice a bit more sound quality in favor of positioning performance.
Some headphones listed will fall below my standards like the AD series.
But if all you care about is "Pure FPS" performance this is where you
look. They will still all be better than a lot of the gaming crap that
isn't even tuned well for games that you see on the market. So while
yes, some won't hit my standards for Music there better than a lot of
the consumer crap you see.
Yes I have changed it to Open-Back only and that is because there really isn't any Closed Back headphones that truly offer Pure FPS performance.
If you can't do open-back for your own reasons but still want something that can be great for FPS check the Warm FPS category. As most closed-backs that are good for FPS tend to have a warmer tilt to them. Also if you know that you can only position well in games well with lets say something closed-back or an IEM then view those guides rather than trying to tell everyone those are better for FPS just because they work for you. If your someone curious if closed-back or IEMs may work better for you in FPS games then by all means give those a shot. Check out my other non-FPS guides for recommendations on that front. But in general Open-Back will be just plan better for FPS.
Yes I have changed it to Open-Back only and that is because there really isn't any Closed Back headphones that truly offer Pure FPS performance.
If you can't do open-back for your own reasons but still want something that can be great for FPS check the Warm FPS category. As most closed-backs that are good for FPS tend to have a warmer tilt to them. Also if you know that you can only position well in games well with lets say something closed-back or an IEM then view those guides rather than trying to tell everyone those are better for FPS just because they work for you. If your someone curious if closed-back or IEMs may work better for you in FPS games then by all means give those a shot. Check out my other non-FPS guides for recommendations on that front. But in general Open-Back will be just plan better for FPS.
1.1B: Warm Competitive FPS
Description:
Warm FPS now is in its own category. This still tries to embody what
Pure FPS is but with more warmth to the overall sound. This will still
be a smaller category and will sacrifice some Technical performance or
tonal balance for the sake of warmth and fps performance.
1.1C: Music FPS
Description:
This category really is changed. Where before it was purgatory for
headphones that were not amazing at anything but ok at everything. Now
is more what I originally wanted it to be. It's Tonal balance and
Technical performance first but without sacrificial positioning ability
or a bit of fun. So poor sounding headphones like the AD700x won't be
here and staging limited headphones like the HD6xx also won't.
This is now pretty much the headphones I recommend most for people who want good positing for games but don't want to really sacrifice much sound quality. So this will have a lot more of a varied selection of sound signatures and will not really have any headphones unique to the category but more so picking out some from other categories that fit here.
This is now pretty much the headphones I recommend most for people who want good positing for games but don't want to really sacrifice much sound quality. So this will have a lot more of a varied selection of sound signatures and will not really have any headphones unique to the category but more so picking out some from other categories that fit here.
1.1D: Fun Gaming
Description:
Sort of the reverse of the Pure FPS category, this doesn't sacrifice a
lot of technical ability (but still some) but does sacrifice a lot of
tonal balance for the sake of fun and immersive.
This will include some headphones you won't see me recommending in Music Guides as they tend to be way to V-Shaped or funky tonally. But boy can they be fun to listen too.
Overall unless you know you like funky tonal balances I wouldn't use this guide for a headphones that will be used outside of just fun gaming.
This will include some headphones you won't see me recommending in Music Guides as they tend to be way to V-Shaped or funky tonally. But boy can they be fun to listen too.
Overall unless you know you like funky tonal balances I wouldn't use this guide for a headphones that will be used outside of just fun gaming.
1.1E: Music Gaming
Description: This
"Sound Style" focuses on "Technical Performance" and "Tonal Balance".
If you plan on playing games but don't really care about positioning or
immersion as much and just want really damn good sounding headphones
look here. This is pretty much a condensed version of what I think is
the best headphones and headsets on the market from a sound quality
point of view.
You can treat this as a sneak peak or a simplified version of the full headphone guide I plan to put out for people not interested in gaming. That guide will put a lot more focus on Technical ability and not as much on tonal balance as Tonal Balance can lean more into preference and EQ can fix some tonal issues.
You can treat this as a sneak peak or a simplified version of the full headphone guide I plan to put out for people not interested in gaming. That guide will put a lot more focus on Technical ability and not as much on tonal balance as Tonal Balance can lean more into preference and EQ can fix some tonal issues.
1.1F: Gaming Headsets (Formally AIOs) (Bonus Style)
Description: Not a Sound Style but a bonus guide. This
is just a simplified section that only includes Headsets, so option
with built in mics. Originally called "All in Ones" I had to change the
name as to many people would not read the "Sound Style" descriptions and
instead think it was a category of magic headphones that were amazing
at everything.
This will not include all headphones that work with cable replacement mics like the V-Moda Boom Pro(VMBP). If your OK Attaching mics like that or the Ant Lion Mod Mics then ignore this category an look at one of the other ones, which will list if a headphone is compatible with a cable replacement mic, and all are compatible with the Mod Mic.
This will include some headphones that come with a in-line cable mic or ones Compatible with VMBP if there is no better option at its price range, so really only at the sub $50 price point.
There will be no headphones included that can work with a VMBP via an adapter or modding as I don't recommend that.
This will not include all headphones that work with cable replacement mics like the V-Moda Boom Pro(VMBP). If your OK Attaching mics like that or the Ant Lion Mod Mics then ignore this category an look at one of the other ones, which will list if a headphone is compatible with a cable replacement mic, and all are compatible with the Mod Mic.
This will include some headphones that come with a in-line cable mic or ones Compatible with VMBP if there is no better option at its price range, so really only at the sub $50 price point.
There will be no headphones included that can work with a VMBP via an adapter or modding as I don't recommend that.
1.1G: Wireless Gaming (Bonus Style)
Description:
Not a Sound Style but a bonus guide. Sort of different than before but
mostly the same. If you are not willing to sacrifice quality for
wireless than turn away now.
But if you for your own reason needs wireless and are willing to sacrifice value, and quality then this list will have the best of the worse. An options that may not be amazing but will still be decent. But know that your options will be limited and don't expect to be able to get amazing "Pure FPS" performance or amazing tonal balance out of any of these.
But if you for your own reason needs wireless and are willing to sacrifice value, and quality then this list will have the best of the worse. An options that may not be amazing but will still be decent. But know that your options will be limited and don't expect to be able to get amazing "Pure FPS" performance or amazing tonal balance out of any of these.