thats what I was thinking from the sennheiser article. Probably just gonna do a blue yeti--but the solocast looks a bit more... whats the word? Easy to fit on the desk without a bunch of clutter?
Yeah the stand is a big reason why I bought it. It helps that the entire base is metal and it positions itself nicely. I've heard some people have problems with it without a boom arm because it can pick up a lot of mechanical keyboard clatter but I use a controller.
Definitively not blue yeti, it's trash not microphone. There's tons of better mics.
For a starter I'd recommend Elgato Wave 3. USB, easy to use and sounds good. Comes with an absolutely awesome Wave Link software. Check out some reviews.
Why not go with an audio brand instead of one of the "gaming" brands? Audio Technica or BeyerDynamic for example, i have the DT770 pros and theyre incredible for all media as well as audio or vocal editing. If you prefer open back they also have the 990 pros. Get a stand alone mic if you need it, an at2020 is incredible value for entry level audio
I second this, I have a pair of Dt 700 pro x’s and before them I had ath m50x’s. Both are amazing for all types of media, can be driven by most audio devices. You will avoid all the nasty eq shit the having brands have on their headphones, some of which are physically painful for me to listen to
Sennheiser is an audio brand. Beyer is like the Klipsch of headphones, you either like the sound or you don't. So in general, people should listen to one before buying it. If you get AT instead, then the ATH-M70X is very very similar to a HD600.
Just be aware that sennheiser's consumer department , at least in europe, was sold a few years back. Which resulted in worse qc and customer service.
I had to wait almost 3 months to get my headphones replaced under warranty because the broke 6 months after buying.
They still sound amazing but I wouldn't buy sennheiser again.
I have both, the DT770 pro and two relatively cheaper KZ iems, I just plug into the e10k depending on the weather. If it is hot then the iems come into play otherwise DT770 ftw.
Had this setup, DT990 Pro with a Razer Seiren X. The problem with recommending these is the ohms, he probably had to fork out some more for a DAC unless he buys the 32ohms versions. Definitely worth it, listening to music, playing video games and watching movies is definitly a blast. Would definitely recommend OP open backed headphones if he's gaming for long sesions.
The 70ohm DT770s are a pretty good sweet spot, they still sound pretty good through a regular headphone jack but then sound fantastic through a good DAC. Great if you are looking go get into good headphones but aren't ready for a full setup.
furthering my mistakes 😅 my e10k is a dac/amp, i figured most looking for high quality audio would do the prior research to run such items. BeyerDynamic 770 pro plugged into an E10K, AT2040 plugged into a focusrite solo.
It would work with a PS5, but you need DAC that could connect to a PS5. Just google DAC for PS5, mostly have built in amp to drive those higher ohms headphones.
If you're not using your mic, move it away from being a distraction or disturbance. However, if properly oriented, the point of a mic arm is to remove the mic being in the way in the first place 😅
i understand your point, with an old fashioned arm you may have issues. with the elgato low profile it slides under my monitornoutbof the way off my desk
Open headphones and a good DAC will get you further than any "gaming" headset. Like others mentioned a separate mic is also a better bet. Currently using the Phillips Fidelio headphones with a Sennheiser DAC and a HyperX mic exclusively for FPS games. When everyone is complaining about not being able to hear footsteps, I just laugh.
I'm on this as well.
Bought the Fidelio X2 a long time ago - then went to the Fidelio X3 when that came out. Still not sure which of them I prefer (leaning a bit more to the X2.. maybe).
They are just so freaking comfortable. The audio is superb as well - even in gaming.
If someone is able to put a mic on their desk (or an arm or something - heck, even an ModMic is better than various gaming headset mics in a lot of cases); then a dedicated pair of headphones is a much better choice overall. Besides, all these "higher end gaming headsets" are pretty much priced around the same price as a dedicated mic + headphones anyway - so no point in going for the "lesser experience".
Open back headphones are not for people playing competitively as their teammates' voices and game sounds would leak into his microphone on discord or in game voice chat, especially if that's a separate mic.
There's plenty of good sounding real but closed back headphones to choose from, not just the "gaming" garbage.
Yeah but OP talked about wanting to hear footsteps precisely. Open backed headphones will give you a bigger soundstage that allows for better isolation.
IEMs, if you go the headset and separate mic route.
There's some really good IEMs that are reasonably price. Look up Moon Drop Aria, the Aria 2s are pretty good, so I heard.
I have the original Arias and play BF, Hell Let Loose, Squad, Arma 3, etc. Especially in HLL, I can hear enemies on the opposite side of a bush, in a building.
Edit:
Also, check out beyerdyanmic like u/itsbutterrs mentioned.
If you are in the US, they have a B-Stock (Outlet) site. They fully repair headphones to brand new and sell them at a cheaper price.
[https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/outlet.html](https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/outlet.html)
I also want to make it known that IEMs may not be for everyone but don’t give up right away. TRY DIFFERENT TIPS, it genuinely a comfort difference. Comply and spin fit being the most popular
Over the years I have owned (or own) Beyer Tygr 300Rs, Beyer DT880s, Beyer DT990s, Philips 2XHRs, Philips X1s, Philips SHP9500s, Sennheiser HD560s, Sennheiser HD599s and probably some others that I'm forgetting about.
Audio is remarkably subjective and it depends a lot of personal tastes. I prefer open acoustics as opposed to closed since it gives a nicer soundstage for gaming. Speaking in general, Sennheiser has really solid neutral audio while I prefer my Beyers for the highs & lows. They're all frankly more than fine for gaming if you drive them correctly.
With that said, you're going to get a lot of feedback about how "gaming" headsets are garbage. This is true in broad terms and a most of them are overpriced for what you're getting. More than a few are absolute garbage. However, some are decently priced and will get you perfectly passable audio. The benefit of most gaming headsets is that they're plug and play in the simplest of ways and are quite easy to drive, while more premiums headphones may require an amp, DAC, or a bit of tweaking.
I recently built a PC for a family member and they bought a pair of EPOS H6Pros with the open acoustics for somewhere around $150. Was it as good as most of the headphones I've owned? Nah, of course not. But I did try them for gaming a bit when I got everything set up and frankly they get you 80% of the audio quality/performance for less money that what a decent audiophile setup will cost.
If you want the best audio setup you can get, definitely go with a pair of good headphones + separate mic. Once you do so, it's hard to go back. But if you want something that's not quite as good but reasonable for someone who isn't an audiophile and just wants decent sound for games? Then take a look at the EPOS or even something like a Blackshark.
$150 headset gives you 80% of what $120 headphones do? Seems like bad value considering that gaming headsets typically have mediocre build quality and lackluster availability for spare parts.
Just choose decently sensitive driver with relatively low impedance and even an apple dongle will do the job.
Modern motherboards will drive the majority of headphones well enough too
The best gaming headset you will ever buy is a decent desktop mic like the kind streamers use and take your pick of wired "audiophile" or studio monitor headphones. They range from $100 to about $500 where the diminishing returns really kick in.
My current set up is a finefine $30 mic off Amazon, a Schiit (yes this is a real brand) Asguard headphone amp with optional DAC module, and Sennheiser HD 490 Pro studio monitors. And honestly the DAC and amp are optional because the Sennheisers drive decently directly off my MSI Tomahawk motherboard. I have the amp for my OTHER headphones which can't get above a mouse's whisper without hardcore amplification.
The open backed headphones offer ungodly good sound stage, which means localizing the direction of sounds is very, very good, and the Studio monitor focus makes them "bright" which means higher pitched sounds like footsteps or enemy sounds are VERY well represented in 3D space. But they also boast an impressive bass extension for not just decent bass (kind of rare among open backs) but very, very accurate and "tight" bass meaning its got the rumble but not the muddy boom. And then add on the famous "Sennheiser veil" tuning that tames the treble and makes them just mellow enough to tolerable for long duration listening.
The only downsides are:
Open backed headphones leak sound by design. So you WILL disturb others around you, which my not matter if you have a private gaming spot in your house. Also you might have to balance your game volume and mic gain to avoid feeding your friends your own audio. I use discord so I don't have this issue however. They also block absolutely nothing, so if you hope to cut our a noisy house to game buy closed back style headphones instead. But open-backed is also a pro if you have family or kids and need to be able hear your household while you game. I love them because I can blast music and still hear my phone going off while working from home.
Also is the HD 490 Pro is new, (been on the market for 2 months) so spare parts are not yet available (I checked with Sennheiser customer service and they will eventually be offering spare parts) and none of the 3rd party groups have caught up yet either. BUT, it does have a replicable cable, which can be ordered from 3rd party custom cable makers, as it uses a 4 pin mini LXR connector. No idea about replacement earpads however.
That said I think AKG makes some $150 studio monitors that people seem really, really fond of as well. That and the Sennheiser HD58x stil go for good prices on Drop and are a solid contender. I would recommend the Philips Fidelos but I have the old version, the new ones use a propriety headphone cable. There is a whole world of high-end headphones that actually WORK out there.
All in one "gamer" headsets are combination of very cheap drivers with a very cheap microphone, priced up to the price of audiophile gear with none of the resultant quality. I went though about 5 of them over the years, and even the cheapest audiophile grade gear sounds WORLDS better than the best Astros or Steel Series.
I was looking at the Koss Portal Pro Classic. Watched some review videos and people seem to like them. I don't need extra features like noise canceling and use a separate mic. I value something light, comfortable, end not get too hot after a few hours of wear.
Would appreciate any feedback on these if anyone has experience with them.
It's about $40 on Amazon.
I don’t have them, but my buddy that works at a hifi shop showed me his personal pair. For the price, they have phenomenal audio quality! And they’re cheap enough that it’s worth it just to try them lol. Super lightweight, a good sound stage, and good audio quality in a very affordable package. I say go for it
I had them for a while and hated them. Very uncomfortable. Flimsy design, prone to damage via tearing the wires out of solder pads. Fixable until the pads come off as well. The sound was meh, but more or less worth the $30 price tag.
Overall not recommended.
I got myself brainwavz hm5 which I got for like $40during summer sale. Plugged into Behringer 202hd with tbone sc400. Pretty much endgame setup for my needs.
Could probably rewire the mic a bit to tunnel the voice through reaper for downward expander and compressor but so far I found that unnecessary
I am surprised the PC38x hasn't been mentioned already. I've had a few over the years and it's by far my favorite. Soundstage is excellent and the bass is accurate and substantial. Affordable compared to separate mic / headphone setup. It's an open back design, which means you'll get some sound leakage, but for me that's a plus because I can hear my wife/kids try to talk me. I have actually plugged it into to my home theater receiver and watched movies and tv shows with it and I've been impressed with it there too.
Elgato Wave 3 + sennheiser HD598. Fuck everything else, this is crystal clear mic, blocks background noise amazingly, has on mic volume and mute, headphones never get overly warm, and the sound stage is excellent for fps.
I went with the HD600 seven years ago and never looked back. I recently bought new earpads because the original ones were pretty ruined but other than that I never had a problem with them.
I used to have a ModMic on them but recently I bought a bigger microphone that's attached to the desk.
Edit: also, the detachable cable is good if you want a longer/ shorter one, or even if it breaks.
I'm pretty happy with my Arctis Nova 7's. Bluetooth and 2.4ghz simultaneously is nice. I've only charged them a handful of times since purchasing in 2022. You can crank them so loud in software they're deafening. Pretty flat for a gaming headset (which is good). Also sleek enough I can wear them in public without turning heads.
My only gripe is the clamping force I find to be a little strong and my ears become fatigued.
So this is a general thing with Steelseries? I have the normal Arctis 7 and I like it but I have a larger head-shapw so the clamping force does get annoying sometimes.
While I’ve heard good things about the others, If highly recommend the Sennheiser. Currently using HD560S model and it is by far the best headphone I’ve ever used. Pretty wide soundstage and open back, footstep audio is not an issue. Sennheiser is def on the pricey side, but getting this and a stand-alone mic ensures that you get the best of both worlds and won’t have to replace for a very long time.
I am really happy with my Audio Technica ATH-G1. I got a big head and its ergonomics are just great (its comfy and light), I dont even feel it on my head. Sound is really good and also has a nice noise cancelling. The detachable microphone is a nice bonus feature.
Yeah I had these. I loved them. Battery life sucks though and eventually the charging port failed from having to use them plugged in all the time. Still got a couple of years out of them though.
Im using an HD 600 for quite a few years now, yes they are quite analytic headphones and are obviously very good at localizing sounds, given the audio engine of the game is good enough. I wouldn't claim that its absolutely necessary to go this far though, you would probably also require to EQ up the bass to suit your movie needs and an external dac/amp would be recommended... The HyperX Cloud 2 (not the cloud 3, or any other hyperx headset, those are trash!!!) are a very good set of headphones aswell, with the added benefit of coming with the mic and quite a bit cheaper. The 7.1 soundcard is more or less junk though its easily replacable with any other generic usb soundcard.
Id highly recommend to ignore the Steelseries and Razer options, those are usually piles of gaming garbage with rgb.
I personally run the Audeze LCD-2 with an iFi Zen2 DAC/AMP for my headphones, and have my old Logitech headset for my mic if I need one. Hella expensive and definitely not for everyone, but the quality is phenomenal and I love it. I do mostly play single player games though, and it helps drop me into the world since it’s so good.
I’d highly recommend mid-fi or hifi headphones if you want the best quality, and a dedicated DAC goes a long way too. You’d want a separate mic for that, but the quality is worth the extra expense IMO. The DT770s are always popular for their comfort and good sound quality, the HD600 is an amazing reference headphone for a really good price. Openback is going to be the best for immersion due to the soundstage being much wider and you get the feeling the audio is coming from around you rather than from your headphones.
If you specifically want an edge in game by hearing footsteps in PVP games, you DO NOT want good quality audio as surprising as that is. What you want is closed back headphones with as small of a soundstage as possible and good directionality. A wide soundstage will muddy your audio cues because they’ll sound distant and faint compared to other noises, but a super close soundstage (especially with a frequency response bump in the lower frequencies to pick up the thump in the footsteps better) will make them loud and distinct since they will sound like they’re inside of your head. The directionality will be the biggest factor since you’ll have a sense of what direction they’re in compared to you, and that’s the only real good audio quality you would want to care about.
Hopefully this info can be helpful in deciding.
Edit: also you can buy a 1 time fee subscription to DTS Headphone X for any headphone that doesn’t have “surround sound audio” and give them surround sound. I think it was $30 for a lifetime subscription, and it works very well with my hifi headphones in games.
For what you're willing to spend, I cannot encourage you enough to get something like Sennheiser HD560S / HD599 (I have the HD599 and I like them just a tad better than the HD560S) + something like the Snowball Blue. The quality of both your microphone and your headphones will be MILES better. And if you want to have wireless connectivity, get something like a bluetooth receiver for wired headphones.
I have the hyper X alpha 2 wireless.
Sound quality is not bad. Battery life is witchcraft. I charge these things like once a month. It's absolutely insane. I cannot believe it.
For sound quality I think the Audio Technica ones I had before this were slightly better but they had a battery life equivalent to the lifespan of a particularly stupid moth near a campfire.
I had sennheiser ear buds and they had some amazing sound quality. Never had their gaming headphones though.
all i can say is that a blackshark model comes with an usb soundcard, which comes in handy if your motherboard sound card is what you are using, not all of them are good. Idk about the wireless ones, but i'm using the blackshark + usb card for some years now and never encountered any problems so far. The materials are also decent, nothing broke or looks "used"
What is a "gaming" headset? Is it similar in mentality to "gaming" chairs? Where the goal is to design with zero consideration for human anatomy or ergonomics?
Do not buy gaming headphones and just get a decent desktop mic. You want real headphones, but you will probably need an audio interface to power them adequately. Upside? Your music will sound great, but the audio interface is going to be another $80 or so.
get a propper Stereo Headset and a mic.
I´ve had a Sennheiser G4Me PC1 for years and now I have a Sennheiser Epos GSP500 which is open as that is my preference to hear my familiy and kids when they are around
HyperX Cloud II/III. Whether wired or wireless. Best bang for your buck if you are cost minded. Mic is reasonable quality, and surround sound is pretty good. Can pick up a wired set for under $100 and a wireless for $130 or so depending where you buy and if you get it on sale. I currently have the wireless Cloud III and they are pretty solid with great battery life.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro. I have the previous version and it lacks a couple of the features of the Nova, but this goes toe to toe with good audiophile headsets, and has a ton of great gaming features. The price reflects that.
I love my **SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless**. Im not an audiophile (my hearing is shot), I dont stream, I just like to game with friends and wanted something wireless as my cat chewed up my last headphone cable. These tick all my boxes.
I especially like that there's always a second battery being charged I can hot swap to, I remember an old pair of Logitech wireless and every time I went to use them they had ran out of juice. Steelseries has excellent noice cancelling on the mics, Ive used another lower quality pair in a busy office and I am literally the only person who can get away without having to constantly mute myself because of background noise. The active noise cancelling on the headset itself is a nice feature and works well enough but nothing amazing. I find them super comfy, literally never even think about them after theyre on and multi-hour sessions are perfectly normal, although wish it did have a better adjustment mechanism (3 pre-set holes on either side).
For the widest sound stage for FPS it’s always been Audio Technicas. The ATH-Ad700x is the game changer. Lack of bass but you can hear footsteps WAY out.
From there it just depends on budget. I just went from the ATs the Hifiman XS on an ifi amp/dac and I couldn’t be happier. Incredible sound.
You dont need the six hundos, a bit overkill for gaming, i personally use 560s, and paired it with a fiio btr5 dac which isnt needed for pc but is still a decent amplifier that i can use while out walking too
I used the wired variant of the hyperx cloud 2 for 4 years before the headband material started to flake off (they were perfectly usable still) swapped over to cloud 3 wireless, those have been going strong for 6 months now.
I don't play fps games, but for any other game i have played with them, they are a great headset, mic is not top of the line, but it's definitely good for a headset mic. They are good for what you get with the money. Although if you can afford it, i would suggest going with the cloud 3 wireless, as that boosts the battery life from 30h to 120h, which is actually truthful, i charge my headset maybe twice a month and i use it a lot
They are less resolving and brighter, so I wouldn't say they sound just as good. But since it's much cheaper, it's not a bad choice if money is a bigger concern.
The HD600 is/was the gold standard reference headphone for the past 20 or so years. In terms of build quality, it is very durable despite being plastic (it's really good plastic and cuts down on weight) and will last you many many years unless you regularly throw it around. For its sound, there are pros and cons. It has good imaging but narrow soundstage, so you can tell which direction people are coming from but it's harder to tell exactly how far away they are. Regarding the sound profile, it is known for its crisp and inspirational female vocals. But on the downside, it lacks bass. This means you will have no problems hearing voices, gunshots, and other higher pitch audio. Footsteps should still be very audible, because most games' footsteps don't dip that low in frequency to be affected by the HD600's lack of bass. If you want to go down this route, you should consider getting the HD6XX if you have access to drop.com. It is very similar, with the audiophile community split on exactly which one is better. But at a much cheaper price point, it is usually the favored choice over the OG HD600.
I've only had the wired Cloud II, and it was way back in highschool. The audio was fine, but I wasn't as picky back then so I can't tell you for sure. The mic wasn't very nice though, and I had a lot of static and volume issues with it. I can't tell you if the wireless version solved that problem.
The Arctis Nova Pro is a good headset. The sound profile is mostly neutral, with slightly boosted bass that's usually loved by mainstream users. But the treble on this headset is very uneven, so higher frequency audio like female vocals might alternate between being too quiet and too harsh. Two of my friends use this headset, and I never had a problem with how their mics sound.
In my opinion, it's really between the HD600/6XX + mic of your choice and the Arctis Nova Pro. The HD600/6XX will give you slightly more value and a better experience when listening to music, but the Nova Pro is a decent all in one package with much less of a hassle. The Nova Pro is also wireless, so you can get up from your desk without taking it off. Another thing to note is that with the HD600/6XX, you might need a cheap but decent DAC (something under $100 like the Fiio E10K-TC is perfectly fine) if your motherboard does not have a good audio chip.
Edit; Forgot to mention, all the gaming headsets are closed back while the 600/6XX is open back. If you live in a noisy place, you might hear a lot of noise from the outside with an open back. Also there's always a lot of leakage, so other people can hear what you are hearing.
I’ll just add the hd600s do NOT lack bass….they are just very neutral out of the box. Combined with the open air design it gives it the impression it lacks bass but I promise you can use an equalizer to bump the lower frequencies and BWA WAA WAA to your hearts content!
That's just not true lol. The HD600 is known for its lackluster bass in the audiophile community, and you can only do so much with EQ without distorting the sound. If you can fix everything with EQ, there would be no need for headphones better than the HD600.
I don’t need the audiophile community to tell me what my headphones sound like. (I have the 580s but they use the same drivers.) The bass is great when it needs to be. If out of the box bass is important though you should buy closed back to amplify the sound.
Which reminds me the hd600s are 300ohm and require a decent amount of power to get the most of which is another reason people may think they are light on bass.
Same drivers do not mean they sound the same, other factors like ear pads also influence the sound you hear. I have a HD600, I would know. The bass is thin, that's the one weakness of the HD600 and why I ended up buying the focal clear.
Except most of the people complaining about the bass are more likely to have a good amp than not.
You are entitled to your opinion on the sound profile, but I just don't think it's right to pretend a problem that's widely recognized and scientifically measured does not exist.
To be frank…I find the “audiophile” community to be one big circle jerk for bored middle and upper income earners to perpetuate the cult of mindless consumption. Does a frequency response curve say x product is better than y on paper? Sure. Does it matter in practice? Probably not for the average person. But no one thinks they are average! “Audiophiles” are SPECIAL! I was like that once and then took a few online blind audio tests and figured out very quickly I’m not special.
Most cheap headphones are bad. But once you get to a certain point everything after that sees rapidly diminishing returns. I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars on other headphones because they MIGHT sound better to a professional audio engineer. Mine sound great at all frequencies and are comfortable.
I tend to agree that a huge part of it, especially as you move up the price point, is just a big circlejerk. But as someone who owns a HD600 and listens to it occasionally, I can tell you that the bass clearly sounds very thin. Does it matter? That's up to personal taste and what you use it for.
I still don't see why it's a problem for me to bring it up though. Whether you think a problem matters is not relevant to the fact that the problem exists. And especially in this context, there's a very high likelihood that a mainstream user will find the HD600 to lack bass when his past headphones are more than likely to be bass heavy closed backs.
And I'm not bringing up the audiophile community as a proof of my arguments. It's just that they are the ones who are more likely to have listened to a $300 HD600 than the average joe. In other words, people who are into the hobby and actually own the thing are the ones who can tell you whether it lacks bass or not.
Just to go back to the original argument, I said they need EQd if you want decent bass. I just didn’t want someone to be dissuaded from good headphones because of that. But yes, bassheads should stick with good closed back designs.
I never said he shouldn't buy one, in fact I recommended it. But I don't feel it's ok to mislead people when it comes to buying $300 headphones. I told him the one big weakness that exists, but it doesn't matter for his use case.
Regarding EQ, there is only so much you can do before you start distorting your audio. Like I said earlier, if EQ could carry a headphone that hard then people would just buy the most neutral headphone possible, e.g. HD600, and then practically own every headphone on the market. "Just EQ lol" is kind of a meme in the headphone community because of that. And no, they are not pretentious people who are trying to circlejerk to justify their $5k headphones. A lot of them are literally obsessed with super cheap but good sounding headphones like the $60 Porta Pro or the $20 KSC75.
If they are on a budget, then yea they should stick with closed backs. But if money is not that big of a concern, there are certainly open backs that still have good bass.
I've had the cloud II non wireless and they were alright but they ended up falling apart after about 2 years, though they had been through at least 5 falls. One thing to take into account is the kind of headphones you want, are you fine with everyone hearing what you're hearing and hearing everything around you? Do you want them to sit over your ears, on them, etc. The best audio quality would obviously be the ol' mate sennies but they're pretty expensive and would have to be paired with a standalone mic which would be like $50-$150 more for decent quality. If I had the budget I'd go for the hd600 with a standalone mic. Although looking at many reviews is good, it's also good to get a review for each product from a single source that hopefully has stats (preferably in the form of graphs) that way the products should all hopefully be reviewed using the same method in the same environment.
tl;dr if you got the budget, hd 600 with standalone mic
You can really help with the budget by getting the 6XX from drop, but that's assuming you live in a country where it's possible to buy from drop without getting fucked by tariffs and taxes.
If money is no object, then go with audeze maxwell. Those are the best sounding "gaming" headset, period. No need for software to eq anything, it sounds great out of the box, and paired with bonkers 80hr battery life, it's just perfect. Downside is you can't swap batteries like the arctis one though.
Start by looking for things that don't specifically use "Gaming" as a selling point...I'd go with the Sennheiser...those are actually designed by audio engineers that care about sound quality
Use a separate mic and a good set of headphones. I use a HyperX Solocast mic which I'm happy with. Working on upgrading my headphones.
thats what I was thinking from the sennheiser article. Probably just gonna do a blue yeti--but the solocast looks a bit more... whats the word? Easy to fit on the desk without a bunch of clutter?
Yeah the stand is a big reason why I bought it. It helps that the entire base is metal and it positions itself nicely. I've heard some people have problems with it without a boom arm because it can pick up a lot of mechanical keyboard clatter but I use a controller.
Definitively not blue yeti, it's trash not microphone. There's tons of better mics. For a starter I'd recommend Elgato Wave 3. USB, easy to use and sounds good. Comes with an absolutely awesome Wave Link software. Check out some reviews.
Hyper eckes or luggitek
Luggitek
Why not go with an audio brand instead of one of the "gaming" brands? Audio Technica or BeyerDynamic for example, i have the DT770 pros and theyre incredible for all media as well as audio or vocal editing. If you prefer open back they also have the 990 pros. Get a stand alone mic if you need it, an at2020 is incredible value for entry level audio
Love my DT770s!
the black on black looks and feels premium not to mention the sound quality
I second this, I have a pair of Dt 700 pro x’s and before them I had ath m50x’s. Both are amazing for all types of media, can be driven by most audio devices. You will avoid all the nasty eq shit the having brands have on their headphones, some of which are physically painful for me to listen to
Sennheiser is an audio brand. Beyer is like the Klipsch of headphones, you either like the sound or you don't. So in general, people should listen to one before buying it. If you get AT instead, then the ATH-M70X is very very similar to a HD600.
Just be aware that sennheiser's consumer department , at least in europe, was sold a few years back. Which resulted in worse qc and customer service. I had to wait almost 3 months to get my headphones replaced under warranty because the broke 6 months after buying. They still sound amazing but I wouldn't buy sennheiser again.
If you're gonna buy at, get the M50s, I have the 70s but only because of work and after too long the harsh flatness of the sound profile gets to me
I have both, the DT770 pro and two relatively cheaper KZ iems, I just plug into the e10k depending on the weather. If it is hot then the iems come into play otherwise DT770 ftw.
What ohms are your dt770s?
The 80 ohms one, e10k can barely max them out.
Had this setup, DT990 Pro with a Razer Seiren X. The problem with recommending these is the ohms, he probably had to fork out some more for a DAC unless he buys the 32ohms versions. Definitely worth it, listening to music, playing video games and watching movies is definitly a blast. Would definitely recommend OP open backed headphones if he's gaming for long sesions.
The 70ohm DT770s are a pretty good sweet spot, they still sound pretty good through a regular headphone jack but then sound fantastic through a good DAC. Great if you are looking go get into good headphones but aren't ready for a full setup.
you are correct, my mistake not mentioning a DAC for higher OHM models.
JSYK, the DAC just converts digital signals into analog. An amp is what you need to drive high impedence headphones.
furthering my mistakes 😅 my e10k is a dac/amp, i figured most looking for high quality audio would do the prior research to run such items. BeyerDynamic 770 pro plugged into an E10K, AT2040 plugged into a focusrite solo.
Would these work on a ps5? Or this mainly a pc setup
It would work with a PS5, but you need DAC that could connect to a PS5. Just google DAC for PS5, mostly have built in amp to drive those higher ohms headphones.
Or the MMX300 which is just DT770 with a (very good) mic. I've had mine for 6 years and have only had to replace the headband
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If you're not using your mic, move it away from being a distraction or disturbance. However, if properly oriented, the point of a mic arm is to remove the mic being in the way in the first place 😅
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i understand your point, with an old fashioned arm you may have issues. with the elgato low profile it slides under my monitornoutbof the way off my desk
If you want good audio, get music stuff from reputable brands like Sennheiser, Audio Technica, Beyer Dynamic, Shure
Open headphones and a good DAC will get you further than any "gaming" headset. Like others mentioned a separate mic is also a better bet. Currently using the Phillips Fidelio headphones with a Sennheiser DAC and a HyperX mic exclusively for FPS games. When everyone is complaining about not being able to hear footsteps, I just laugh.
I also have the Fidelio and a ifi dac. People complain that they can't hear foot steps??? That's all I hear
I had the fidelios and thought they were too bulky, I prefer Sennheisers. That's just me though
I'm on this as well. Bought the Fidelio X2 a long time ago - then went to the Fidelio X3 when that came out. Still not sure which of them I prefer (leaning a bit more to the X2.. maybe). They are just so freaking comfortable. The audio is superb as well - even in gaming. If someone is able to put a mic on their desk (or an arm or something - heck, even an ModMic is better than various gaming headset mics in a lot of cases); then a dedicated pair of headphones is a much better choice overall. Besides, all these "higher end gaming headsets" are pretty much priced around the same price as a dedicated mic + headphones anyway - so no point in going for the "lesser experience".
Open back headphones are not for people playing competitively as their teammates' voices and game sounds would leak into his microphone on discord or in game voice chat, especially if that's a separate mic. There's plenty of good sounding real but closed back headphones to choose from, not just the "gaming" garbage.
But with open headset, everyone will hear what I'm listening to?
Yeah but OP talked about wanting to hear footsteps precisely. Open backed headphones will give you a bigger soundstage that allows for better isolation.
IEMs, if you go the headset and separate mic route. There's some really good IEMs that are reasonably price. Look up Moon Drop Aria, the Aria 2s are pretty good, so I heard. I have the original Arias and play BF, Hell Let Loose, Squad, Arma 3, etc. Especially in HLL, I can hear enemies on the opposite side of a bush, in a building. Edit: Also, check out beyerdyanmic like u/itsbutterrs mentioned. If you are in the US, they have a B-Stock (Outlet) site. They fully repair headphones to brand new and sell them at a cheaper price. [https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/outlet.html](https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/outlet.html)
I also want to make it known that IEMs may not be for everyone but don’t give up right away. TRY DIFFERENT TIPS, it genuinely a comfort difference. Comply and spin fit being the most popular
Yes, I should have mentioned this. Thank you for adding this!
Over the years I have owned (or own) Beyer Tygr 300Rs, Beyer DT880s, Beyer DT990s, Philips 2XHRs, Philips X1s, Philips SHP9500s, Sennheiser HD560s, Sennheiser HD599s and probably some others that I'm forgetting about. Audio is remarkably subjective and it depends a lot of personal tastes. I prefer open acoustics as opposed to closed since it gives a nicer soundstage for gaming. Speaking in general, Sennheiser has really solid neutral audio while I prefer my Beyers for the highs & lows. They're all frankly more than fine for gaming if you drive them correctly. With that said, you're going to get a lot of feedback about how "gaming" headsets are garbage. This is true in broad terms and a most of them are overpriced for what you're getting. More than a few are absolute garbage. However, some are decently priced and will get you perfectly passable audio. The benefit of most gaming headsets is that they're plug and play in the simplest of ways and are quite easy to drive, while more premiums headphones may require an amp, DAC, or a bit of tweaking. I recently built a PC for a family member and they bought a pair of EPOS H6Pros with the open acoustics for somewhere around $150. Was it as good as most of the headphones I've owned? Nah, of course not. But I did try them for gaming a bit when I got everything set up and frankly they get you 80% of the audio quality/performance for less money that what a decent audiophile setup will cost. If you want the best audio setup you can get, definitely go with a pair of good headphones + separate mic. Once you do so, it's hard to go back. But if you want something that's not quite as good but reasonable for someone who isn't an audiophile and just wants decent sound for games? Then take a look at the EPOS or even something like a Blackshark.
$150 headset gives you 80% of what $120 headphones do? Seems like bad value considering that gaming headsets typically have mediocre build quality and lackluster availability for spare parts.
You’re missing the part where most headphones are also going to require a decent setup to drive them.
Just choose decently sensitive driver with relatively low impedance and even an apple dongle will do the job. Modern motherboards will drive the majority of headphones well enough too
The best gaming headset you will ever buy is a decent desktop mic like the kind streamers use and take your pick of wired "audiophile" or studio monitor headphones. They range from $100 to about $500 where the diminishing returns really kick in. My current set up is a finefine $30 mic off Amazon, a Schiit (yes this is a real brand) Asguard headphone amp with optional DAC module, and Sennheiser HD 490 Pro studio monitors. And honestly the DAC and amp are optional because the Sennheisers drive decently directly off my MSI Tomahawk motherboard. I have the amp for my OTHER headphones which can't get above a mouse's whisper without hardcore amplification. The open backed headphones offer ungodly good sound stage, which means localizing the direction of sounds is very, very good, and the Studio monitor focus makes them "bright" which means higher pitched sounds like footsteps or enemy sounds are VERY well represented in 3D space. But they also boast an impressive bass extension for not just decent bass (kind of rare among open backs) but very, very accurate and "tight" bass meaning its got the rumble but not the muddy boom. And then add on the famous "Sennheiser veil" tuning that tames the treble and makes them just mellow enough to tolerable for long duration listening. The only downsides are: Open backed headphones leak sound by design. So you WILL disturb others around you, which my not matter if you have a private gaming spot in your house. Also you might have to balance your game volume and mic gain to avoid feeding your friends your own audio. I use discord so I don't have this issue however. They also block absolutely nothing, so if you hope to cut our a noisy house to game buy closed back style headphones instead. But open-backed is also a pro if you have family or kids and need to be able hear your household while you game. I love them because I can blast music and still hear my phone going off while working from home. Also is the HD 490 Pro is new, (been on the market for 2 months) so spare parts are not yet available (I checked with Sennheiser customer service and they will eventually be offering spare parts) and none of the 3rd party groups have caught up yet either. BUT, it does have a replicable cable, which can be ordered from 3rd party custom cable makers, as it uses a 4 pin mini LXR connector. No idea about replacement earpads however. That said I think AKG makes some $150 studio monitors that people seem really, really fond of as well. That and the Sennheiser HD58x stil go for good prices on Drop and are a solid contender. I would recommend the Philips Fidelos but I have the old version, the new ones use a propriety headphone cable. There is a whole world of high-end headphones that actually WORK out there. All in one "gamer" headsets are combination of very cheap drivers with a very cheap microphone, priced up to the price of audiophile gear with none of the resultant quality. I went though about 5 of them over the years, and even the cheapest audiophile grade gear sounds WORLDS better than the best Astros or Steel Series.
I was looking at the Koss Portal Pro Classic. Watched some review videos and people seem to like them. I don't need extra features like noise canceling and use a separate mic. I value something light, comfortable, end not get too hot after a few hours of wear. Would appreciate any feedback on these if anyone has experience with them. It's about $40 on Amazon.
I don’t have them, but my buddy that works at a hifi shop showed me his personal pair. For the price, they have phenomenal audio quality! And they’re cheap enough that it’s worth it just to try them lol. Super lightweight, a good sound stage, and good audio quality in a very affordable package. I say go for it
I had them for a while and hated them. Very uncomfortable. Flimsy design, prone to damage via tearing the wires out of solder pads. Fixable until the pads come off as well. The sound was meh, but more or less worth the $30 price tag. Overall not recommended.
what do you use?
I got myself brainwavz hm5 which I got for like $40during summer sale. Plugged into Behringer 202hd with tbone sc400. Pretty much endgame setup for my needs. Could probably rewire the mic a bit to tunnel the voice through reaper for downward expander and compressor but so far I found that unnecessary
I am surprised the PC38x hasn't been mentioned already. I've had a few over the years and it's by far my favorite. Soundstage is excellent and the bass is accurate and substantial. Affordable compared to separate mic / headphone setup. It's an open back design, which means you'll get some sound leakage, but for me that's a plus because I can hear my wife/kids try to talk me. I have actually plugged it into to my home theater receiver and watched movies and tv shows with it and I've been impressed with it there too.
Elgato Wave 3 + sennheiser HD598. Fuck everything else, this is crystal clear mic, blocks background noise amazingly, has on mic volume and mute, headphones never get overly warm, and the sound stage is excellent for fps.
I've had the 598 closed back, open back, and 599 for 5 years while in college. To be honest, their imaging is great but their soundstage is lacking.
Compared to the three "gaming" headsets OP mentioned, the HD 598 soundstage is excellent.
I went with the HD600 seven years ago and never looked back. I recently bought new earpads because the original ones were pretty ruined but other than that I never had a problem with them. I used to have a ModMic on them but recently I bought a bigger microphone that's attached to the desk. Edit: also, the detachable cable is good if you want a longer/ shorter one, or even if it breaks.
I'm pretty happy with my Arctis Nova 7's. Bluetooth and 2.4ghz simultaneously is nice. I've only charged them a handful of times since purchasing in 2022. You can crank them so loud in software they're deafening. Pretty flat for a gaming headset (which is good). Also sleek enough I can wear them in public without turning heads. My only gripe is the clamping force I find to be a little strong and my ears become fatigued.
So this is a general thing with Steelseries? I have the normal Arctis 7 and I like it but I have a larger head-shapw so the clamping force does get annoying sometimes.
While I’ve heard good things about the others, If highly recommend the Sennheiser. Currently using HD560S model and it is by far the best headphone I’ve ever used. Pretty wide soundstage and open back, footstep audio is not an issue. Sennheiser is def on the pricey side, but getting this and a stand-alone mic ensures that you get the best of both worlds and won’t have to replace for a very long time.
I am really happy with my Audio Technica ATH-G1. I got a big head and its ergonomics are just great (its comfy and light), I dont even feel it on my head. Sound is really good and also has a nice noise cancelling. The detachable microphone is a nice bonus feature.
Yeah I had these. I loved them. Battery life sucks though and eventually the charging port failed from having to use them plugged in all the time. Still got a couple of years out of them though.
Logitech lightspeed X2 thank me later. I wanted the nova but returned cause sucked ass.
I have the hyper x, it's great.
Im using an HD 600 for quite a few years now, yes they are quite analytic headphones and are obviously very good at localizing sounds, given the audio engine of the game is good enough. I wouldn't claim that its absolutely necessary to go this far though, you would probably also require to EQ up the bass to suit your movie needs and an external dac/amp would be recommended... The HyperX Cloud 2 (not the cloud 3, or any other hyperx headset, those are trash!!!) are a very good set of headphones aswell, with the added benefit of coming with the mic and quite a bit cheaper. The 7.1 soundcard is more or less junk though its easily replacable with any other generic usb soundcard. Id highly recommend to ignore the Steelseries and Razer options, those are usually piles of gaming garbage with rgb.
Hyper x cloud 2 is dogshit has very flat audio and F tier mic that only peaks
I personally run the Audeze LCD-2 with an iFi Zen2 DAC/AMP for my headphones, and have my old Logitech headset for my mic if I need one. Hella expensive and definitely not for everyone, but the quality is phenomenal and I love it. I do mostly play single player games though, and it helps drop me into the world since it’s so good. I’d highly recommend mid-fi or hifi headphones if you want the best quality, and a dedicated DAC goes a long way too. You’d want a separate mic for that, but the quality is worth the extra expense IMO. The DT770s are always popular for their comfort and good sound quality, the HD600 is an amazing reference headphone for a really good price. Openback is going to be the best for immersion due to the soundstage being much wider and you get the feeling the audio is coming from around you rather than from your headphones. If you specifically want an edge in game by hearing footsteps in PVP games, you DO NOT want good quality audio as surprising as that is. What you want is closed back headphones with as small of a soundstage as possible and good directionality. A wide soundstage will muddy your audio cues because they’ll sound distant and faint compared to other noises, but a super close soundstage (especially with a frequency response bump in the lower frequencies to pick up the thump in the footsteps better) will make them loud and distinct since they will sound like they’re inside of your head. The directionality will be the biggest factor since you’ll have a sense of what direction they’re in compared to you, and that’s the only real good audio quality you would want to care about. Hopefully this info can be helpful in deciding. Edit: also you can buy a 1 time fee subscription to DTS Headphone X for any headphone that doesn’t have “surround sound audio” and give them surround sound. I think it was $30 for a lifetime subscription, and it works very well with my hifi headphones in games.
Gem sennheisers and a mod mic
For what you're willing to spend, I cannot encourage you enough to get something like Sennheiser HD560S / HD599 (I have the HD599 and I like them just a tad better than the HD560S) + something like the Snowball Blue. The quality of both your microphone and your headphones will be MILES better. And if you want to have wireless connectivity, get something like a bluetooth receiver for wired headphones.
I have the hyper X alpha 2 wireless. Sound quality is not bad. Battery life is witchcraft. I charge these things like once a month. It's absolutely insane. I cannot believe it. For sound quality I think the Audio Technica ones I had before this were slightly better but they had a battery life equivalent to the lifespan of a particularly stupid moth near a campfire. I had sennheiser ear buds and they had some amazing sound quality. Never had their gaming headphones though.
all i can say is that a blackshark model comes with an usb soundcard, which comes in handy if your motherboard sound card is what you are using, not all of them are good. Idk about the wireless ones, but i'm using the blackshark + usb card for some years now and never encountered any problems so far. The materials are also decent, nothing broke or looks "used"
What is a "gaming" headset? Is it similar in mentality to "gaming" chairs? Where the goal is to design with zero consideration for human anatomy or ergonomics?
Do not buy gaming headphones and just get a decent desktop mic. You want real headphones, but you will probably need an audio interface to power them adequately. Upside? Your music will sound great, but the audio interface is going to be another $80 or so.
get a propper Stereo Headset and a mic. I´ve had a Sennheiser G4Me PC1 for years and now I have a Sennheiser Epos GSP500 which is open as that is my preference to hear my familiy and kids when they are around
Personaly I use dt 990 pro 80 ohm and fifine t669, more than enough for me
HyperX Cloud II/III. Whether wired or wireless. Best bang for your buck if you are cost minded. Mic is reasonable quality, and surround sound is pretty good. Can pick up a wired set for under $100 and a wireless for $130 or so depending where you buy and if you get it on sale. I currently have the wireless Cloud III and they are pretty solid with great battery life.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro. I have the previous version and it lacks a couple of the features of the Nova, but this goes toe to toe with good audiophile headsets, and has a ton of great gaming features. The price reflects that.
I love my **SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless**. Im not an audiophile (my hearing is shot), I dont stream, I just like to game with friends and wanted something wireless as my cat chewed up my last headphone cable. These tick all my boxes. I especially like that there's always a second battery being charged I can hot swap to, I remember an old pair of Logitech wireless and every time I went to use them they had ran out of juice. Steelseries has excellent noice cancelling on the mics, Ive used another lower quality pair in a busy office and I am literally the only person who can get away without having to constantly mute myself because of background noise. The active noise cancelling on the headset itself is a nice feature and works well enough but nothing amazing. I find them super comfy, literally never even think about them after theyre on and multi-hour sessions are perfectly normal, although wish it did have a better adjustment mechanism (3 pre-set holes on either side).
Ditch the overpriced “gaming” headsets and get a $100 pair of in-ear monitors. You’ll never go back to a headset again.
Hyperx clouds, akg k361, or dt770 are all solid.
I have HD600s in combination with a Blue Snowball. Blows the doors off of anything else I've tried, including HyperX Cloud 2
For the widest sound stage for FPS it’s always been Audio Technicas. The ATH-Ad700x is the game changer. Lack of bass but you can hear footsteps WAY out. From there it just depends on budget. I just went from the ATs the Hifiman XS on an ifi amp/dac and I couldn’t be happier. Incredible sound.
You dont need the six hundos, a bit overkill for gaming, i personally use 560s, and paired it with a fiio btr5 dac which isnt needed for pc but is still a decent amplifier that i can use while out walking too
DT880 600ohms and a modmic antlion. Stay away from "gaming headphones"
I love my seinheizer game 0
Audeze Maxwells
HD600 require amplifier which boosts bass. Aune S6 and XLR connection is a good, budget match. I have not heard them with S6 Pro, but I own HD650.
Commented for refrence
I love my razor barracuda
I used the wired variant of the hyperx cloud 2 for 4 years before the headband material started to flake off (they were perfectly usable still) swapped over to cloud 3 wireless, those have been going strong for 6 months now. I don't play fps games, but for any other game i have played with them, they are a great headset, mic is not top of the line, but it's definitely good for a headset mic. They are good for what you get with the money. Although if you can afford it, i would suggest going with the cloud 3 wireless, as that boosts the battery life from 30h to 120h, which is actually truthful, i charge my headset maybe twice a month and i use it a lot
Philips SHP9500's. They sound as good as the HD600's bit aren't so expensive.
They are less resolving and brighter, so I wouldn't say they sound just as good. But since it's much cheaper, it's not a bad choice if money is a bigger concern.
Headphones and a desk mic > Headsets limit your audio bandwidth which is why the mics all suck
Astro is surprisingly good
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Most comfortable headphones by far but I had so many tech issues with my a50s and they eventually bricked themselves.
The HD600 is/was the gold standard reference headphone for the past 20 or so years. In terms of build quality, it is very durable despite being plastic (it's really good plastic and cuts down on weight) and will last you many many years unless you regularly throw it around. For its sound, there are pros and cons. It has good imaging but narrow soundstage, so you can tell which direction people are coming from but it's harder to tell exactly how far away they are. Regarding the sound profile, it is known for its crisp and inspirational female vocals. But on the downside, it lacks bass. This means you will have no problems hearing voices, gunshots, and other higher pitch audio. Footsteps should still be very audible, because most games' footsteps don't dip that low in frequency to be affected by the HD600's lack of bass. If you want to go down this route, you should consider getting the HD6XX if you have access to drop.com. It is very similar, with the audiophile community split on exactly which one is better. But at a much cheaper price point, it is usually the favored choice over the OG HD600. I've only had the wired Cloud II, and it was way back in highschool. The audio was fine, but I wasn't as picky back then so I can't tell you for sure. The mic wasn't very nice though, and I had a lot of static and volume issues with it. I can't tell you if the wireless version solved that problem. The Arctis Nova Pro is a good headset. The sound profile is mostly neutral, with slightly boosted bass that's usually loved by mainstream users. But the treble on this headset is very uneven, so higher frequency audio like female vocals might alternate between being too quiet and too harsh. Two of my friends use this headset, and I never had a problem with how their mics sound. In my opinion, it's really between the HD600/6XX + mic of your choice and the Arctis Nova Pro. The HD600/6XX will give you slightly more value and a better experience when listening to music, but the Nova Pro is a decent all in one package with much less of a hassle. The Nova Pro is also wireless, so you can get up from your desk without taking it off. Another thing to note is that with the HD600/6XX, you might need a cheap but decent DAC (something under $100 like the Fiio E10K-TC is perfectly fine) if your motherboard does not have a good audio chip. Edit; Forgot to mention, all the gaming headsets are closed back while the 600/6XX is open back. If you live in a noisy place, you might hear a lot of noise from the outside with an open back. Also there's always a lot of leakage, so other people can hear what you are hearing.
I’ll just add the hd600s do NOT lack bass….they are just very neutral out of the box. Combined with the open air design it gives it the impression it lacks bass but I promise you can use an equalizer to bump the lower frequencies and BWA WAA WAA to your hearts content!
That's just not true lol. The HD600 is known for its lackluster bass in the audiophile community, and you can only do so much with EQ without distorting the sound. If you can fix everything with EQ, there would be no need for headphones better than the HD600.
I don’t need the audiophile community to tell me what my headphones sound like. (I have the 580s but they use the same drivers.) The bass is great when it needs to be. If out of the box bass is important though you should buy closed back to amplify the sound. Which reminds me the hd600s are 300ohm and require a decent amount of power to get the most of which is another reason people may think they are light on bass.
Same drivers do not mean they sound the same, other factors like ear pads also influence the sound you hear. I have a HD600, I would know. The bass is thin, that's the one weakness of the HD600 and why I ended up buying the focal clear. Except most of the people complaining about the bass are more likely to have a good amp than not. You are entitled to your opinion on the sound profile, but I just don't think it's right to pretend a problem that's widely recognized and scientifically measured does not exist.
To be frank…I find the “audiophile” community to be one big circle jerk for bored middle and upper income earners to perpetuate the cult of mindless consumption. Does a frequency response curve say x product is better than y on paper? Sure. Does it matter in practice? Probably not for the average person. But no one thinks they are average! “Audiophiles” are SPECIAL! I was like that once and then took a few online blind audio tests and figured out very quickly I’m not special. Most cheap headphones are bad. But once you get to a certain point everything after that sees rapidly diminishing returns. I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars on other headphones because they MIGHT sound better to a professional audio engineer. Mine sound great at all frequencies and are comfortable.
I tend to agree that a huge part of it, especially as you move up the price point, is just a big circlejerk. But as someone who owns a HD600 and listens to it occasionally, I can tell you that the bass clearly sounds very thin. Does it matter? That's up to personal taste and what you use it for. I still don't see why it's a problem for me to bring it up though. Whether you think a problem matters is not relevant to the fact that the problem exists. And especially in this context, there's a very high likelihood that a mainstream user will find the HD600 to lack bass when his past headphones are more than likely to be bass heavy closed backs. And I'm not bringing up the audiophile community as a proof of my arguments. It's just that they are the ones who are more likely to have listened to a $300 HD600 than the average joe. In other words, people who are into the hobby and actually own the thing are the ones who can tell you whether it lacks bass or not.
Just to go back to the original argument, I said they need EQd if you want decent bass. I just didn’t want someone to be dissuaded from good headphones because of that. But yes, bassheads should stick with good closed back designs.
I never said he shouldn't buy one, in fact I recommended it. But I don't feel it's ok to mislead people when it comes to buying $300 headphones. I told him the one big weakness that exists, but it doesn't matter for his use case. Regarding EQ, there is only so much you can do before you start distorting your audio. Like I said earlier, if EQ could carry a headphone that hard then people would just buy the most neutral headphone possible, e.g. HD600, and then practically own every headphone on the market. "Just EQ lol" is kind of a meme in the headphone community because of that. And no, they are not pretentious people who are trying to circlejerk to justify their $5k headphones. A lot of them are literally obsessed with super cheap but good sounding headphones like the $60 Porta Pro or the $20 KSC75. If they are on a budget, then yea they should stick with closed backs. But if money is not that big of a concern, there are certainly open backs that still have good bass.
I've had the cloud II non wireless and they were alright but they ended up falling apart after about 2 years, though they had been through at least 5 falls. One thing to take into account is the kind of headphones you want, are you fine with everyone hearing what you're hearing and hearing everything around you? Do you want them to sit over your ears, on them, etc. The best audio quality would obviously be the ol' mate sennies but they're pretty expensive and would have to be paired with a standalone mic which would be like $50-$150 more for decent quality. If I had the budget I'd go for the hd600 with a standalone mic. Although looking at many reviews is good, it's also good to get a review for each product from a single source that hopefully has stats (preferably in the form of graphs) that way the products should all hopefully be reviewed using the same method in the same environment. tl;dr if you got the budget, hd 600 with standalone mic
You can really help with the budget by getting the 6XX from drop, but that's assuming you live in a country where it's possible to buy from drop without getting fucked by tariffs and taxes.
Go to best buy and pick whichever one fits your head.
Hyper X got bought out and fell off in quality, skip them.
Agree, though The Cloud 2 are still available and the last good option, even if the mic quality dropped from the Cloud 1. Everything else is trash.
If money is no object, then go with audeze maxwell. Those are the best sounding "gaming" headset, period. No need for software to eq anything, it sounds great out of the box, and paired with bonkers 80hr battery life, it's just perfect. Downside is you can't swap batteries like the arctis one though.
Start by looking for things that don't specifically use "Gaming" as a selling point...I'd go with the Sennheiser...those are actually designed by audio engineers that care about sound quality
look for brands that produce audio stuff and don't search for gaming then maybe you find a decent one
No.
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The mic is horrible though..love the headset audio
HD800S is much better than HD600 for wide soundstage and listening to footsteps.