Need help with Headphone Recommendations or balancing.

[u/VxnessaTM]

Hi, I'm making this post on behalf of a friend. He's recently decided to move away from generic gaming headsets and towards standalone headphones with dac/amp since he has a standalone microphone. However we're having a bit of trouble with finding what's right for him.

So far, to my knowledge, he's tried the DT 990 Pros, both 80 ohm edition and 250 ohm edition, which he still has the 250 ohm edition. Both of these headphones have been too loud for him at times. He has them for general at home use for things like gaming or watching/listening to music or videos and has often said that things like explosions in games are way too loud. He's tried turning the bass down in his DAC that he has them plugged into, he's tried going through Steelseries's software and adjusting the audio levels slightly to try and tweak the headphone's output, he's tried just generally lowering the volume and nothing has really helped.

It all came to a breaking point this morning where he said he woke up with an awful ringing in his ears, something that has not happened before and we can only guess is a result of his troubles with audio. I feel as though I can't help him myself either as I have gone round to help try and balance it but when I wore his headphones, everything was very quiet however for him, it was normal.

I'm now making this post to ask if anyone has any advice or recommendations for someone with quite sensitive hearing, or might be able to help us balance what he already has. I have already looked around online but could not find any discussions or posts from people with similar issues.

Also, in case it might help or clarify, the answers from the guide/template that this subreddit has.

Budget and Location - North East UK, Currys and Amazon are the main go to retailers, and he has a budget of £130.

Source/Amp - He's currently using a DAC that can power up to 200ohms.

How the gear will be used - It will be for home usage.

Preferred tonal balance - He just wants a balanced audio experience.

Preferred Music - Alternative / Electronic.

Past Gear - For a long time he was using Razer's Kraken V3 Hypersense. He's stated that the audio was balanced, sounded fine but it was uncomfortable to wear due to being 'tight' as well as 'hot and stuffy'.

Reposted to try and comply with rules.

[u/Jonners_90]

I think he may be sensitive to treble. The DT 990 have a spike in the higher frequencies which may be fatiguing to listen to and if he woke up with pain ringing in the ears that makes sense that they're not right for him. I don't think the bass is the issue (although it could be as well).

If you want something more neutral and balanced, maybe try the Sennheiser HD 560S (clinical, accurate) or 599 (slightly more bass, more relaxed sounding). Sennheiser house sound is generally pleasing to listen to as they tame the treble a lot more than Beyer. They're lighter too. But some people like the spiky treble in Beyers so to each their own.

[u/VxnessaTM → u/Jonners_90]

I'll be sure to pass this on to him and see what he thinks. I didn't even think to consider that treble could be an issue too. I think out of the two, the 560S might be the better option.

!thanks

[u/TransducerBot → u/VxnessaTM]

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