How to make the best out of audiophile headphones on the PS5 ?

Peter2448

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For this console generation I decided to get some decent pair of headphones. Right know i am looking at the Beyerdynamics DT880 and Tygr 300 R. The thing I didn't know is the fact, that these types of headphones seemingly need more power to really shine. Lot of people on other forums think that you shouldn't use these types of headphones on the Dualsense 5 (they keep telling me, that the volume may be okay, but you can't expect to soundwise come close to what the headphones are capable of). So i have been looking for what others think to do in this case and it looks like a lot of people with this problem would take one of these two options.
  • PS5 -> BlasterX G6 -> Headphones
  • PS5 -> HDMI -> TV -> SPDIF -> Loxjie D30/Topping DX3 Pro/Fiio K5 Pro -> Headphones
I don't really know if any of this options are really useful because i am really not that into audio tech so i can only look what others do....maybe some of the "real audiophiles" and tech enthusiasts here can help out...maybe there is a much better way to do it.
 
My internet reading suggests you are broadly correct

*PS5 controller directly to 3.5mm headphone

*PS5 controller 3.5mm to a headphone amp to a headphone (double amping and I am unsure how much extra volume will be generated)

*TV optical or spdif out to a DAC headphone amp. This should give good stereo quality. Sony are not yet supporting 3D audio over the HDMI. So you lose out on the 3D audio Tempest engine until Sony allow it over HDMI

*PS5 USB out to wireless USB headphones

*Internet suggests the PS5 only supports USB Audio Class 1 DACs, where the majority are USB Audio Class 2 DACs. I am unsure whether 3D audio is supported if you happen to have a USB Audio Class 1 DAC
 
Thank you for your reply.

What do you think on the following:

Headphones loud enough over TV audio output(3,5mm)/PS5 Controller <-> AMP/DAC useless

With "useless" I mean, that the difference between AMP/DAC and "no AMP/DAC" is so small, that it's just a waste of money to buy such a device.
 
I do not yet own either new generation console!

The advice to choose a more efficient headphone that can be easily powered (or driven) by the PS5 controller 3.5mm port has value, not least as this option = support for the PS5's 3D audio Tempest engine

Also do watch out for what PS5 owners report:


 
What would you say in general(not referring to the Dualsense) ?

Can someone deduce something about the general utilization of the headphone based on the volume ?
This is interesting for me, because there are so many people who say "just plug it in, if it is loud enough skip amp/dac".
 
For this console generation I decided to get some decent pair of headphones. Right know i am looking at the Beyerdynamics DT880 and Tygr 300 R. The thing I didn't know is the fact, that these types of headphones seemingly need more power to really shine. Lot of people on other forums think that you shouldn't use these types of headphones on the Dualsense 5 (they keep telling me, that the volume may be okay, but you can't expect to soundwise come close to what the headphones are capable of). So i have been looking for what others think to do in this case and it looks like a lot of people with this problem would take one of these two options.
  • PS5 -> BlasterX G6 -> Headphones
  • PS5 -> HDMI -> TV -> SPDIF -> Loxjie D30/Topping DX3 Pro/Fiio K5 Pro -> Headphones
I don't really know if any of this options are really useful because i am really not that into audio tech so i can only look what others do....maybe some of the "real audiophiles" and tech enthusiasts here can help out...maybe there is a much better way to do it.
  • PS5 -> BlasterX G6 -> Headphones is exactly my set up at home with the DT880 as well. It's easy and sound quality better than through 3.5mm port on controller.
In fact for convenience and sound quality I think it's the best setup.

The BlasterXG6 only works when plugged into the back of the PS5, front USB port would not recognise it for some reason.
 
Personally I would suggest going with Stevens advice and buying headphones that are fit for purpose (low impedance ones that are easily powered by just plugging into the 3.5mm socket).

If you already had good headphones that happened to require a strong amp to power them then in that scenario buying something like the Blaster would be an option. I would still suggest you could get good headphones or IEMs for the cost of the Blaster which nearly costs as much as the headphones you are looking at.

I currently use two options:
1) RF stereo headphones - sound is ok for cheap headphones for TV and gaming.
2) I plug in my IEMs - Etymotic ER4XR or ER4SR. These give a far more satisfying result for me - better sound quality, much more isolation and in-the-game feeling. I use IEMs as they suit me better - I don’t do mic/chat - I’m too anti-social.

Both of the cans you are looking at can be had in low impedance 32 ohms, so either should be good - no need for a blaster in my opinion if you get one of these (not sure which ohm version razattack uses).
 

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