Investing in a Gaming Headset

Egriz · Dec 9, 2014

"Gaming Headsets" are crap.

You will be MUCH better off buying a good pair of headphones. Especially with a $100+ budget.

Surround sound does not exist in headsets. Don't give into the marketing lies.

Head on over to http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones and educate yourself ;) The wiki/sidebar has some good information to read up on.

I don't have experience with other manufacturers besides Sennheiser, but they have great cans. For the $100 price range, I would recommend the Sennheiser HD 558's, which are currently $120 Amazon. I'm sure others will chime in with some recommendations from other manufacturers. Other good brands are AKG, Audio-Technica, Grado, and Beyerdynamic.

I would recommend open-backed headphones. However, if you're going to be using them in a crowded areas of public spots, please don't ;)

Then just buy a modmic, a desktop mic, or a Zalman clip-on mic.

CrashMan054 · Dec 9, 2014

Egriz has a point: I have 200$ "audio" headphones that have great quality, but they don't have a mic. So, I bought a 10$ desktop mic from amazon. It sounds great, and even sounds better than a lot of "gaming" headset's mics. If you want a high quality mic, use one like a lot of twitch streamers use(for example, TEST's badnewsbaron).

svenrichter · Dec 9, 2014

At 100+ my vote goes to Bayerdynamic DTs of your choice (open, closed, half open). And get a DAC+AMP. An entry level one, would be one from Fiio. Or step your game up a bit and go with a shiit audio setup in your pricerange. The only headset I can recommend soundwise is:

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/mmx-300.html?SID=33750cd43ed91d2968fe43aa770ad3a7&___store=usa_en&___from_store=de

But its just a Bayer DT with a mic slapped on. and for that price you can get a blue yeti mic. (Twitch Gold standard).

A setup like this will sound 3 to 5 times better than a 200$ gaming headset.

Shar Treuse · Dec 10, 2014

A good set of headphones and a separate mic will save ou a bit of money, but canbe bad in the long run because you will never find one that really puts the mic in a comfortable position to use without leaning or moving towards it. Yes, there are mics that you don't have to be half an inch from stuffing down your throat for it to pick up your voice, but you'll get artifatcs and background noises which will be audible while the mic is active. You also don't want one that is going to pick up the audio from the headset speakers and rebroadcast it.

Hands down, Sennheiser PC and HD series provide the best sound of any headset with a mic, but they are bloody expensive, because they are studio equipment adapted for gaming use.

Steelseries are much less expensive and don't sacrifice too much sound quality. The Siberia v2/7H is the cheaper model while the standard 7H is a little more expensive, but also a little better quality.

Plantronics 367 are ultracheap and the sound is decent, for a $30 set, or you can jump up to the 780 at $80.

There are lots of others, but I drew this from a Lifehacker article because I have used at least one of each of these three brands so I can personally vouch for them.

WarrenPeace · Dec 10, 2014

I'm using a set of Logitech 930's. Not bad, but I'm glad that I bought them on discount. The power cable has major issues with not actually charging the headset, and I occasionally pick up interference from the wireless. If I can get them to start charging more reliably, I'm gonna have to RMA them.

Egriz · Dec 10, 2014

Shar Treuse said:
A good set of headphones and a separate mic will save ou a bit of money, but canbe bad in the long run because you will never find one that really puts the mic in a comfortable position to use without leaning or moving towards it. Yes, there are mics that you don't have to be half an inch from stuffing down your throat for it to pick up your voice, but you'll get artifatcs and background noises which will be audible while the mic is active. You also don't want one that is going to pick up the audio from the headset speakers and rebroadcast it.

Hands down, Sennheiser PC and HD series provide the best sound of any headset with a mic, but they are bloody expensive, because they are studio equipment adapted for gaming use.

Steelseries are much less expensive and don't sacrifice too much sound quality. The Siberia v2/7H is the cheaper model while the standard 7H is a little more expensive, but also a little better quality.

Plantronics 367 are ultracheap and the sound is decent, for a $30 set, or you can jump up to the 780 at $80.

There are lots of others, but I drew this from a Lifehacker article because I have used at least one of each of these three brands so I can personally vouch for them.

http://www.modmic.com/

Or a cardioid mic on your desk.

MAGGIOMAN · Dec 10, 2014

Agreed, Gaming headsets are bad, unless you really want to pay an exorbitant price tag for the good stuff.

Get a nice AMP/DAC for the desktop, with some >30 ohm resistance headphones. Open back headphones are the bees knees. There are some really good condenser mics on the market, and the popular Yeti Blue is a very nice for the price.

Save your money, it will go a lot further with this combination.

ShadyBrady · Dec 10, 2014

I was looking at the HyperX Clouds. Anyone have experience with these?

Dortz · Dec 10, 2014

@ShadyBrady I have one on the way to me right now. I mean, technically, Santa is going to give it to me on Christmas, so I can let you know then.

What sold me on it, was that it has similar stats and capabilities as my current headset (Razer Kraken Pro) especially that it is touted as being super comfy.

What I learned recently that usb headsets have 'integrated' sound cards in the headset itself. Unless you are buying a super quality headset, that mini sound card is usually not as good as your motherboards sound, or if you have a separate sound card. So a 3.5 combined jack is usually the way to go for headsets in the 50-100 dollar range.

Flashwit · Dec 10, 2014

Some may call me a headphone aficionado so I'll poke in here. I'll say that I can't really speak to 'gaming' headsets as I've never been a fan of those. What I CAN tell you is that the very concept of surround sound in headphones is bullshit, so don't get any of that crap.

You'll want to do what other people are saying and get a nice pair of open, over-ear stereo headphones, preferably not 'gaming' branded. Mostly all 'gaming' headphones means is that they're going to jack up the price for equal or lesser quality than what you would get in a regular pair of quality headphones.
If you do end up getting a pair without a microphone, grab the ol trusty zalman clip on, or feel free to spend a bit more and get something better.

My koalifications are that I own or have owned 13+ pairs of medium-high end headphones and have spent far too much money on this.

Egriz · Dec 10, 2014

Flashwit said:
My koalifications are that I own or have owned 13+ pairs of medium-high end headphones and have spent far too much money on this.

CrashMan054 · Dec 10, 2014

Egriz said:

That looks like something I can spend money on. I want it.

CitizenDad · Dec 10, 2014

Right now the Corsair Vengeance 2100 is what my company is selling a lot of them and we are suggesting to everyone. There really is no better value. At least for us here in the US. The Corsair support you can count on (So much better to anyone else), great reliability/low failure rates (About has as many issues/RMA's as the best of the competitors), probably the best availability as well, the best design IMO -built by the best Peripheral Makers in the business (Corsair headhunted all the best from Logitech years back, told them they could come to Corsair make whatever they wanted, as you know Logitech is only interested in making money, and marketing to the masses, not us Gamers/Enthusiats). Oh yeah, and the pricing just can not be matched. This is why they have such great value.

If not Corsair, Mad Catz is probably next best.

Really looking forward to what Corsair is working on though. Can't wait for CES!

svenrichter · Dec 10, 2014

ZeroKool said:
Right now the Corsair Vengeance 2100 is what my company is selling a lot of them and we are suggesting to everyone. There really is no better value. At least for us here in the US. The Corsair support you can count on (So much better to anyone else), great reliability/low failure rates (About has as many issues/RMA's as the best of the competitors), probably the best availability as well, the best design IMO -built by the best Peripheral Makers in the business (Corsair headhunted all the best from Logitech years back, told them they could come to Corsair make whatever they wanted, as you know Logitech is only interested in making money, and marketing to the masses, not us Gamers/Enthusiats). Oh yeah, and the pricing just can not be matched. This is why they have such great value.

If not Corsair, Mad Catz is probably next best.

Really looking forward to what Corsair is working on though. Can't wait for CES!

Hmm. Usually hifi headphones last a lifetime. You might have to change the ear padding every once in a while, but that's it. Gaming headsets on the other end... Also wireless sound is yucky generally speaking. I would seriously suggest anyone to visit a local music shed (Not just an electronics store) and try some headphones and amps/dacs. Oh and headphone enthusiast gear is 5k+ lol.

Erroll · Dec 11, 2014

I am using a Corsair HS1. Its been really great. I like the micro-fiber ear cup material. I have had some issues from time to time but usually it will kick in when I plug it in and then go back to the MB audio when I unplug. The only thing that has been a problem is the little volume thingy is poorly made and has become quirky. It is the weak link in an excellent product.

However, that being said, I would not buy another wired gaming head set again. I have lost too many beers to head set wires (an one keyboard to said beer spillage) and I always seem to be running over them with my chair. My next headset will be some kind of non-bluetooth wireless. Bluetooth creates latency in the way it handles packets so a responsive wireless gaming headset needs to be RF.

E

ps - this is the one I would probably get today (pending checking some reviews): http://gaming.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-gaming-h2100-wireless-dolby-7-1-gaming-headset

I have this on my Christmas list but it has no Mic. Its more for when I am watching movies after the family has gone to bed:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001FTVEK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A32DHUU2L2KC92

Shar Treuse · Dec 11, 2014

Price is the reason I included the Plantronics GameCom 367, it's a discontinued product but can still be had for little scratch. Currently $42.95 on Amazon with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-Closed-Ear-Gaming-Headset/dp/B001E45XT4

Alternately there is the updated version,the 380, for a couple bucks more and there's a nice deal lower on the page that gets you a USB converter (good stuff, I've used one of those for 7 years) and a stereo jack splitter for using it with various audio sources like tvs and portable devices:

http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-380-Stereo-Headset/dp/B006ZS5AQA/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Overlord · Dec 11, 2014

Use Logical wireless and am pretty happy despite them being rather flimsy.

deathstrike · Dec 11, 2014

I have moved to only Sennheiser headphones in the last few years. They are really nice stuff, last well, and score consistently high in test for sound quality. I have PC 350s to game with and they've been replaced with some fancy update that's a bit cheaper now. So I would recommend the PC 350 SE's.

CitizenDad · Dec 11, 2014

deathstrike said:
I have moved to only Sennheiser headphones in the last few years. They are really nice stuff, last well, and score consistently high in test for sound quality. I have PC 350s to game with and they've been replaced with some fancy update that's a bit cheaper now. So I would recommend the PC 350 SE's.

Man, am I stupid. I do not know how I forgot about Senns. DERP! I actually use the hell out of mine that I got from a Rep at CES last year. That reminds me, I really need to call him back. But yeah, Senns are great and you can mod some of them to work really good, for next to nothing. Still, Corsair Headsets are still the best out there for most end-users.

Investing in a Gaming Headset

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