Reddit mentions of BRAINWAVZ XL Large Velour Replacement Memory Foam Earpads - Suitable For Many Other Large Over The Ear Headphones - Sennheiser, AKG, HifiMan, ATH, Philips, Fostex, Sony

I use these: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86

I think there are audiophiles with stronger opinions than me tho. The only thing I will recommend is to use them with VELOUR ear pads and not pleather. The pleather earpads make the bass super heavy and uneven, I also find the velour is more comfortable

Something like these: https://www.amazon.com/BRAINWAVZ-Velour-Replacement-Memory-Earpads/dp/B078HDVCN2/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=velour+m50+earpads&qid=1550508424&s=musical-instruments&sr=8-5

Clamp (Free)

I have the DT 990s, (DT series headphones all use the same earpads). I assume the clamp of the DT 770s is pretty strong, b/c they're closed backs. Mine were really uncomfortable until I "stretched" them out a little. Basically what you do is you find something(s) that matches the size of your head + a little extra wiggle room to help increase the default "clamping distance" (term I just made up).

You can be really clinical about this, and measure your head with measuring tape, find the diameter, and use something like textbooks stacked vertically to gradually increase the size. (start out with a few and incrementally move up, trying them on in between stretches to see when the clamp is loosened enough) I'm not sure if you can over stretch them; I just picked an arbitrary large object, and rested my headphones on them for I think about ~2 nights, wearing them during the day in between stretches. The clamping pressure felt a lot better after the first night, but it wasn't perfect until after the 2nd night.

Since you love the isolation, I'd be careful in case there is such a thing as over stretching. Once again I'm not sure. This is just some random pseudo-science I'm coming up with on the spot. See what works for your head size, my ears kinda stick straight out of my head so what works for me might not work completely for you.

Earpads ($25-$35)

My earpads felt a little shallow for my ears, (I have the black ones) apparently the silver OEM earpads have a different feel (more soft and comfortable). I took it with a grain of salt since I just heard it on another thread, and never got to try it myself. (About $34 on amazon)

Personally what I used were the Brainwavz XL velour pads (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078HDVCN2/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). They are much deeper, and thus didn't hurt my ears as much. (though at this point I had already done the aforementioned stretching) Getting these earpads was just kind of icing on the cake. The leather material that's used to wrap around the headphones is much more than you need. I'd fold it over itself; I personally tried to cut some of it off, and there are certain parts of the material that don't hold as securely anymore. I'd advise just folding it over itself, shouldn't be a problem. Now I feel no pressure or aching pain on my ears after long sessions.

Once again, just my experience. Different things work for different people, and this is what worked for me. Best of luck finding what works.

My a900x pads were doing the same exact thing and I swapped them out with some brainwavs velour pads as well. Have had them on for a year now and have had no problems with them at all, sound is still great! Btw I would recommend these over the ones you posted: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078HDVCN2/ as they offer a better fit.

If I were you, I might do it a little differently.

Steelseries makes good keyboards and they're very customizable. r/mechanicalkeyboards might throw a hissy fit at me for saying that, but they're good all around boards. Every key can be customized with macros and stuff if he so chooses, right in the Steelseries software. No need to mess around with AHK.

Mice are a very personal thing. Does he know you're getting him PC peripherals for Christmas? If so, knowing the size of his hand, and if possible, how he grips a mouse would be super helpful. I spend a shameful amount of time on r/mousereview and would love to help you out! The Xtrfy M4 is very popular at the moment if he has medium or small hands. Right here you can see how to measure hand size properly.

If you can't get a precise measurement or grip style that's fine - could you maybe compare his hand to yours (a simple "Hey, which one of us has bigger hands?" should do), measure yours, and estimate roughly how different they are.

If he's got the space for a setup, he'd be much better off with a dedicated set of headphones and a dedicated microphone than with a headset, and it'd be cheaper too! I personally recommend the Superlux 668B headphones with a set of replacement earpads (these ones are amazing, but these ones are still very good while being much cheaper). Then grab yourself a Fifine microphone and something cheap to hold it and you've saved yourself a lot of money while getting him a much better product!

Oh, those headphones will let in a fair amount of background noise, and they'll leak a bit of the sound playing through them. If your house/apartment is often loud or you share a space and don't want to hear his games, these Takstars are shockingly good for the price. If you wanna save a few bucks and not go for a separate microphone, this CM headset is based off them but has an attached mic!

Good luck and I hope he enjoys his gift! Feel free to ask any questions you've got, PM if you want :)

Superlux HD668B and these pads:
https://www.amazon.com/BRAINWAVZ-Velour-Replacement-Memory-Earpads/dp/B078HDVCN2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537292732&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=xl+velour+earpads&dpPl=1&dpID=41SinaFf2FL&ref=plSrch

Soundstage is very big with these headphones especially with the pad upgrade. Imaging is pretty good too.

these ones yes? https://www.amazon.com/BRAINWAVZ-Velour-Replacement-Memory-Earpads/dp/B078HDVCN2/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=brainwavz+xl&qid=1558998113&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A2XYIDHW2C10EQ

Velour like these.