Recommendation, Gaming headphones for RB6 | Forums

[Steve_Mcr_UK]

For your requirements you should really check out the hyper x cloud headset. I have them for the Xbox and they are great. Plenty of YouTube reviews if you are interested.

Whatever you do don't buy the Microsoft headset. They are cheaply built. My mic went out within 4 months of owning them and they are all plastic.

I have this headset. The reason I chose these over all the others I researched was many. I was going to buy myself some more sennheiser 350s, which i had but had worn out and couldnt replace the earcups, so, I thought i want a pair I can replace the parts if they are not durable and break within a few years and teh Hyper X come with a a spare set of ear cups! And they are made of aluminium and very sturdy, so, job done there.

I then checked the following against the top end headsets:

Frequency response: 15Hz-25KHz (earphones)
• Nominal impedance: 60 ohm per system
• Nominal SPL: 98+/-3dB
• T.H.D: < 2%
• Power handling capacity: 150mW
• Sound coupling to the ear: Circumaural
• Ambient noise attenuation: approx.20 dBA
• Headband pressure: 5 N

And they were comparable if not BETTER than most headsets over £100, so you know teh sound quality should be as good if not better than those headsets.

I then watched reviews on youtube and searched reviews on the net, which all came back positive, in fact saying that these are the best headset you can buy for the money in the range between £80 - £150, and they only cost me £60.

And then theirs the proof of the pudding! I use them everyday for gaming and tehy give fantastic positional awareness when playing FPS games, better that previous Steelseries and sennheiser headsets I have used. The clarity is fantastic, the strange thing is they sound clear and loud when needed but never seem to feel too loud. They are comfortable when wearing them for hours, and I feel that they are that good I dont mind raving about them in a forum! lol.

Other pluses are: They can remove the mic so you can use them like a regular headset for music, plenty of cable length that can be adjusted by removing or adding a section, extremely comfortable for long hours of gaming, choose between leatherette or velvet feel cups.

Now, stop messing about and go and buy them.

[AgentEcho.]

If you are a hardcore gamer, invest in a set of monitors (not speakers, or headsets). Get a condenser mic with a mic stand and you won't go wrong. Headsets are cheap **** and always break.

My two cents, the bankers stole all my euros.

[Char.Aznadoge]

About the AKG K550 + mod mic combo. Since there is only one plug on the ps4 controler, I got the following.

http://www.amazon.ca/Creative-Sound-...+sound+blaster

So for those that missed my earlier post:

If you already have a good headset that you use daily, you can just get the mod mic + usb sound card.
Now I'm not a sound w*ore, but that setup was great for me for my everyday gaming/music needs since I don't need to get multiple headsets as I can just unclip the mod mic from my headset and go out, come back, clip it back and play.

I could be wrong though, like I said I'm no expert, just trying to give my thought on what I experienced.

[oO_ShadowFox_Oo]

Wow. !

Firstly, i would just like to thank everyone that replied to this post. I do appreciate all your feed back
as it now gives me a direction to head in, positive and negative is always welcomed.

I have taken the time to read ALL your replies as i’ve found them all helpful.

I will say, after that, i think i will start on the following

* Steelseries Siberia V2,
* Turtle Beach XO One
* Kingston Hyper X Cloud
* Turtle Beach - Ear Force Stealth 500X 7.1


The sennheiser 363D is a little bit out of my preferred price range tho, for the level of gaming I’m at. I would have to be truly convince, although i don’t doubt they aren’t good but i do think i could be satisfied on something that would be a little bit cheaper.

Also, those of you that mentioned 7.1, it’s a valid point, makes sense, so i’ll bear that in mind while choosing,

But lastly, just wanted to say thank you to oO_ShadowFox_Oo

What you said about training your ears makes good sense also, really helpful what you said there. will definitely take that onboard and focus on that when playing

I’ll let you guys know what i get and how it goes once i’ve picked up something

thanks again, responses was great

You're welcome.

I don't think I'll be able to convince you otherwise because it seems like you've already made your mind up. And I learned long ago that trying to change someone's mind on the internet is the biggest waste of time (haha, no implication about you there, just an internet truth.)

But I feel compelled to add a few more comments based on my experience, as they may apply to your next purchasing decision -- or some others reading this thread may benefit from them.

I'd suggest that while the higher "up-front cost" for higher quality headphones may make them seem the more expensive option, you should still consider them as they will save you money in the long term.

Quality manufactured headphones from reliable and experienced audio manufacturing companies will cost you far less over their lifetime.

Plus, the driver quality (how good the speaker is) and frequency range (how well the speaker recreates the pure audio signal) you get from specialty audio/speaker manufacturers (like Sennheiser, Bose etc...) is vastly superior to anything put out by "specialist" gaming headset companies.

Specialist gaming headset companies only have 10 years of manufacturing experience behind them -- at most. Most have far, far fewer. And practically all of them use cheap, outsourced manufacturing to build their products.

I'd suggest you view this reality versus expderienced speciality audio manufacturers, who have several decades of research & experience behind them - sometimes as much as 70+ years, and many of whom have pioneered several audio innovations.

Most people/gamers who say "these ABC specialist gaming headphones sound amaaaazing" probably haven't owned proper high-end headphones before in their life (some may have, but most haven't).

It's the same phenomenon as plenty of people thinking Beats headphones are "beast!". When in fact, they are very low quality speakers, shoddily assembled, and sold at very high profit margins.

The thing about Beats is that they're just better than what people were used to before.

Cheaply manufactured headphones, like Turtle Beach, Tritton, Astros etc... cost less per model, but you get what you pay for.

You'll have to buy 2-3 pairs over the course of 5-8 years.

Quality headphones will last until the technology -- stereo headphones -- becomes obsolete... which isn't going to happen anytime in our lifetime.

Anyways, I don't want to act like I'm preaching, but as a recreational DJ and long-term gamer, I've owned close to 20 sets of headphones (gaming, DJing, studio etc) throughout my life.

Here are 4 things I've learned:

1) Be very wary of how well designed and durable the headphone casing is. Most headphones die because of poor design and/or plastic being used in high stress structural areas. It's not the speaker that breaks, it's the casing. When the plastic parts crack, movement happens, then wires become loose and the headset eventually needs replacing because no spare parts are available. Look for headsets where the designers have taken this reality into account. Be afraid of joints and moving parts.

See examples how of this works below, using my existing headsets. First pic is my old Trittons. Second is my current Sennheiser headphones.




2) Whenever you can, always buy "open" headphones for recreational uses. Open design gives superior sound quality and is better for your ear health because they they don't have to "contain" the sound within the earcup. You only need "closed" headphones (the type that almost act as earmuffs, where environmental sound is reduced) when you are using headphones in environments with high levels of background audio, such as DJ gigs, social spaces, etc...

3) 2 big audio drivers (speakers) give better sound quality than 3-5 smaller drivers. Lot's of people will talk about "true 7.1 surround sound". To achieve this you need to use several speakers inside your headsets like this:






This means that each of these speakers is a much lower quality than if the manufacturer had used 2 dedicated Left and Right drivers. Having several speakers does not make the audio quality better. In fact, it reduces it.

I would recommend that you do not buy these headsets.

Simulated surround sound gives the same practical effect by using a software or a sound card to process the exact audio signals that 2 speakers need to create to render the same surround sound audio from your gaming environment.

To understand how this works, pop in your standard set of stereo headphones and watch this clip.

Pay attention to how you get a full surround sound experience, with only two speakers:

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This is already achievable with a surround sound card (available for all consoles) or the Xbox one gamepad headset adapter.

Practically ALL "surround sound" headsets -- including most Turtle Beach headsets and the XBox One surround sound headset -- are in fact stereo headsets that either use software or hardware to create this effect.

4) Paying for quality pays long-term dividends. Not only will your headsets sound vastly superior, but so will your mic audio. And you'll have this quality for YEARS, rather than having to wonder "which headset will I buy now" when your Tritton's, Turtle Beaches, Astros.... whatever... crack, break and fail in 2 years time.

Anyways, that's my 2c. Hopefully someone finds it useful.

If you're just venturing into this space for the first time, and are on a shoe-string budget, go ahead and purchase whatever you can afford.

Getting ANY surround sound headset is better than not having one.

That's what I did, when I bought a set of Tritton surround sound cans, and they were fantastic - up until they broke.

But if you can, cough up the extra $70-100 and buy from a reliable audio company.

I've purchased the Sennheiser Game One headphones and they're probably the best sounding and designed headphones I have EVER owned - gaming or otherwise.

And with the Xbox One Headset adapter, they still offer the same surround sound effect the Tritton's did.

So, that's why I suggest you save the $150 bucks you'll spend now, and just fork over the $70 extra so you'll have the best set of headphones that will last for 10+ years.

Hope this helps and gives some clarity to anyone looking to make a headphone purchasing decision.

[jason.vp]

I've purchased the Sennheiser Game One headphones and they're probably the best sounding and designed headphones I have EVER owned - gaming or otherwise.

Yep. I generally agree with everything you wrote in this big post. Quality does have cost involved with it, and you literally can't beat Senn when it comes to cans. It's what they specialize in. No one does them better.

I went from PC 350s to the G4me Ones to well beyond the OP's budget: the HD 800s. I had those PC 350s for almost 10(!) years. I wouldn't recommend the latter of those to anyone unless they have a quality DAC (my Sound Blaster ZxR counts) that can deal with high impedance cans. Further, you have to be insanely dedicated to sound to want to spend that kind of cash on a set of cans. But, I can't begin to properly put into words the difference they make in my enjoyment of the games I play. They're audiophile headphones meant for music, not gaming. But holy **** do they work fantastically for shooters.

Crystal, fricken, clear. Absolutely stunning. When I first started using them, I was playing Battlefield 4. Dice has some of the best sound engineers in the gaming world, and BF4 is no exception. That game combined with the new cans had me physically twitching, looking for the guy actually standing behind me firing a rifle. It's how real it seemed.

Pay now, or continue to pay later (and later, and later). It applies to cans as well as most other things.

[oO_ShadowFox_Oo]

So many clueless people in this thread...

Here are a few things.

- Surround 5.1/7.1 headphones are a waste of money and only make audio worse. Most modern games modify audio for proper positional sound. 7.1 headphones are a gimmick for people who don't understand headphone acoustics.
- Get headphones with a good sound stage for gaming. The Audio Technica AD range is made for gaming and pretty good value.
- Open headphones vs closed, if you have no background noise problems open headphones usually produce a better soundstage than closed headphones.
- Don't buy any "gaming" headphones, they are rubbish and/or overpriced.

If you want good audio quality don't get wireless or USB headphones, if you have the money get a fairly cheap usb/desktop heapphone AMP/DAC.

If you want to actually get good headphones do more research and DON'T ask for recommendations on gaming forums. Gamers are just gullible consumers like everyone else.
A good place to start to understand the basics would be to watch z reviews what makes good gaming headphones.

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p.s you will actually save money and get better audio quality steering away from any "gaming" headphones.

Truth!

[djml9]

The PlayStation Wireless Stereo Headset - Elite Edition is an amazing headset. It sounds great, its very comfortable, its got surround sound, noise-cancellation, and the earpieces have actual rumblers in them that translate bass as physical pulses. they add a whole new dimension to games, movies, and especially music. The headset works wirelessly with any USB device (idk about xbox but it works on PC), and there is a removable headphone cable so they work with anything that has a headphone jack. the only flaw is that they're a bit fragile. but if you're careful, they'll last you a long time.

[oO_ShadowFox_Oo]

Yeah, i understand what you are saying, to be honest that goes pretty much for a lot of things.

There's always a casual, medium and high end to most consumer markets, its the way companies can attract the most customers, appeal to everyone.

For me i am more learning towards the casual end, there will be times when i wont be gaming for weeks etc... plus my setup is an Xbox One, it simple and i don't have to worry about trying to get the best performance out of it because the machine and most of the accessories have done that for me.

Although i could easily afford to buy all those head phones in one go in that Youtube video it's all overkill, cos i'm not that serious about gaming on that kind of level, if i was that video would be great, still very informative tho.

The closed and Open concept was interesting, my budget at tops is £100, but looking more at £80, just wish there was somewhere i could go to test a bunch out for myself, hearing is subjective.

Hopefully i'll make a decision in the next few days and be happy with it

but thank you for sharing

If you are on XBox One, just buy the Xbox Controller Headset adapter and look at Sennheiser's lower end models for your price range.

You'll get a much higher quality product than looking at any "surround sound" gaming headset for the same price point, and they'll all be using the exact same technology.

Also, read this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/com...dsetssurround/

[oO_ShadowFox_Oo]

Yep. I generally agree with everything you wrote in this big post. Quality does have cost involved with it, and you literally can't beat Senn when it comes to cans. It's what they specialize in. No one does them better.

I went from PC 350s to the G4me Ones to well beyond the OP's budget: the HD 800s. I had those PC 350s for almost 10(!) years. I wouldn't recommend the latter of those to anyone unless they have a quality DAC (my Sound Blaster ZxR counts) that can deal with high impedance cans. Further, you have to be insanely dedicated to sound to want to spend that kind of cash on a set of cans. But, I can't begin to properly put into words the difference they make in my enjoyment of the games I play. They're audiophile headphones meant for music, not gaming. But holy **** do they work fantastically for shooters.

Crystal, fricken, clear. Absolutely stunning. When I first started using them, I was playing Battlefield 4. Dice has some of the best sound engineers in the gaming world, and BF4 is no exception. That game combined with the new cans had me physically twitching, looking for the guy actually standing behind me firing a rifle. It's how real it seemed.

Pay now, or continue to pay later (and later, and later). It applies to cans as well as most other things.

The main problem with making the upwards move like you did is that you'll never be able to go back.

Seeing the promised land is often a curse.

[jason.vp]

The main problem with making the upwards move like you did is that you'll never be able to go back.

Seeing the promised land is often a curse.

Who says I want to go back or will have to?