Headphones For Directional Sound

Headphones for directional Sound. Know where your enemy is before you see them. Dominate the battlefield with sound hacking.

I’ll be focusing on PC gaming and touch a little bit, of what you can do to give a better positional Audio output on consoles.

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Directional Sound & Positional ability

​Positional ability is to position enemies in the environment just by hearing them and some headphones just do this better.

This gives you a massive advantage when playing FPS games or other games where sound plays a role.

So read on if you want to know more about it.

directional accuracy

Digital VS Analog Signal for directional sound?

Analog signal

Analog headphones connect via a traditional headphone jack to your Soundcard or a audio processor built into the computer. 

The old way to do it but there are both positives and negatives about it.  

analog

Digital signal

Digital headphones connect either into a USB port or a digital audio out jack and receive digital information to an internally-installed audio processor/soundcard.

This can make a headset very heavy and expensive.

digital

There are pro’s and cons with both technologies so what it basically comes down to is, how good the individual headphone is built. 

This is where I start to lean to the Analog headphones for audio, the big brands around the world still produce extremely well-built analog headphones, they also produce digital but this is where a normal budget starts to cap out.

You just get a lot more by going analog combined with a good soundcard, so let’s take a look at that.

Closed vs Open Headphones for directional sound

Closed

Pros

  • Best isolation for noisier environments

  • Can be enjoyed at lower/safer volume levels

  • Music won’t be easily heard by others nearby

  • Enhancement of lower-level frequencies

Cons

  • Overall clarity/accuracy can be diminished

  • Soundstage seems less open/airy

  • Music is more “inside your head”

  • Ears end up sweaty over long periods of use

Open

Pros

  • Allows better situational awareness

  • The soundstage is more open/airy and natural

  • Music envelops the user, akin to stereo speakers

  • Ears won’t get so hot/sweaty

Cons

  • Least amount of isolation from surrounding environments

  • The volume used to compensate for noise can reach unsafe levels

  • Music leaks, easily disturbing those nearby

Best Headphones for directional Sound

Audio Technica ATH-ADG1X

headphones for directional accuracy

Sennheiser G4me ONE

headphones for directional accuracy

The Audio-Technica ATH-ADG1X is the best Headphones for directional audio out there PERIOD… 

This is really the creme de la creme if you don’t mind spending ~300$ for it.

These Headphones are not made to be bass-heavy, they are mid-leveled and extremely precise, if you haven’t tried high-fi headphones before then this will give you quite a shock. 

Hear things that you have never noticed before and conquer the battlefield by knowing where everyone else is before you see them. 

The microphone on these is also fantastic.

Find the best price here ATH-ADG1X

Sennheiser G4me One is the most popular pair of gaming headphones in competitive gaming around the world.

The directional sound is absolutely phenomenal on these too and probably the most comfortable headphones out there.

I’m using these myself every day and have them in open and closed back so I can switch when I feel like it.

They are really close to the Audio-Technica’s but more comfortable when using them for long hours.

Find the best price here G4me One

A retro alternative for headphones for directional sound?

Now let’s see what we can do to find some Retro headphone alternatives, something that’s better, or looks more Retro.

We know that Audio-Technica and Sennheiser make the best headsets for gaming, so let’s see what else they have to offer…

sennheiser vs audio-technica worlds best headphones for accuracy

Soo I did a lot of digging and testing and found that both headphones can be replaced with something more Retro or cheaper. 

The downside though is that these two headphones don’t have a built-in mic. 

For me, that’s perfect cause I use a Condenser Mic for better Sound quality. 

Audio-Technica AD700X

headphones for directional accuracy

The Audio-Technica ATH AD700X is as good as the ADG1X but with a price of 91$, it’s only a third of the price.

This could be to milk the gamers a little, by creating “GAMER” Headphones.

Buy a good Condenser Mic and you have an even better setup than with the ADG1X.

Find the best price here AD700X

Sennheiser HD 599

headphones for directional accuracy

Sennheiser HD 599 is really a premium variant of the G4me one with its brown leather and sleek design.

This is a perfect Retro alternative that gives you the same high specs and comfort.

I have just ordered this myself just because I love the g4me one so much.

Find the best price here HD 599

Soundcard for best directional sound

Many people forget to buy a sound card when they build a custom setup and miss out on this very important aspect. 

I personally think that the Sound blasterX AE-5 and the Sound Blaster Z, are some of the best sound cards on the market.

If you want a really good external soundcard I would recommend the Sennheiser GSX 1000.

For console gaming, the Astro MixAMP is a must if you play competitively on PS4 or Xbox.   

soundcard for directional accuracy

I hope this article helped you to get better positional sound in your headphones, and if you are interested in other Retro stuff and articles we have a lot of great ones in our POSTS section.