PC Headset/Headphone's audiophile's POST here!

[Jonny]

so yeah what do you have and would recommend?


dole edit: beats by dre/random shitty brand by random shitty rapper trolling will result in a swift ban. use discretion.

Jonny Edit: whoa didn't even see this shit^ lol

[Reality]

just got a pair of nokia bh-905i's, i posted in the other thread about them but yeah they're fucking legittttttt

[Orden]

I use Logitech g930's and they suite me just fine. Wireless, 2.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Perfect mic. Is perfect. I just with the usb receiver was shorter for my laptop. The thing sticks out too much and I've already broken one.

[Kohan]

Despite what the thread was originally about, a valid discussion about great headphones happened here:

http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/101...To-Buy-General

[Boyiee]

Step 1: Read these two links and familiarize yourself with the site. Figure out your price range and learn.

http://www.head-fi.org/a/buying-guid...by-price-range
http://www.head-fi.org/a/a-hopefully...ies-by-boomana

In a nutshell:

If you don't want to spend too much, although they are higher priced than normal right now: http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD5.../dp/B0001FTVDQ

If you want to spend more, HD598, HD600, or HD650's (depending on your wallet) will suit you but the 6xx series will require ampage, of which the Fiio e9+e7 combo is a good start. Although the HD650's will be begging for a $600-1200 tube amp within your second week of owning them.

Beyer dynamic's DT880 600ohm model and DT990 are amazing pairs of cans for the price and should not be overlooked. AKG 7xx's are also hugely popular and a great buy.

Basically once you spend over 200-250, if you aren't amp'd you're probably doing it wrong (at least in most cases). An amp will make a huge difference in the $100-200 headphone range as well. Always check Head-fi.org link above to see if you should be amp'd on the phones you want.

If you want a headset, listen to me on this one: The best "headsets" are headphones paired with a cheap microphone. Companies like razer, logitech, and a billion others, will take a cheap pair of headphones, a cheap microphone, combine them and sell them for a huge premium. Typically, but not always, when you buy something that is marketed as a "headset" you are getting lesser quality headphones, and lesser quality sound, with a cheap mic stapled to it. High quality computer mics wont run you more than 10-15$, but some companies will have you paying a ton for it to be marked "headset," and you'll be losing out on your sound quality. Buy yourself a pair of good headphones, like the HD555's, or even something cheaper - just make sure they are headphones. Then buy yourself a cheap zalman mic that usually runs for $8-16 on amazon, in fact I bought a second one for $9.05 last week. You will not be unhappy with this purchase. You will get better sound in games, for music and movies, as well as sound pretty much as best you can over vent/skype/teamspeak. Do not sacrifice sound quality for a microphone, they are all pretty much the same.

[Kazen]

While that normally is true Boyiee I think Sennheiser does "headsets" correctly. Although they only make very few models, the PC350 & PC360 are the best they make. They actually use a really nice pair of headphones and pair it with a good quality mic.

But yeah it is true, you're usually paying for a headset due to convenience and most of them are shit.

[Boyiee]

Yeah I tried to use words like "typically" and "usually" cause senn does do headsets well as well as 1 or 2 other brands.

Razer, Steelseries, Logitech. Absolute shit. Cheap construction, 5$ mic stapled on a 20$ headphone sell for 50-100. Spend ~120 on HD555+zalman and you're set for a couple years with great quality.

[Jonny]

so Boyiee or anyone that has/had a pair don't push my shit in, but what do you think of Astro's?

[Kohan]

Tossing Astro and www.head-fi.org into Google brings this up:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/astr...o-system-white

2 1/2 stars. Only one review, but I wouldn't spend $200 on that.

EDIT: Personally, here's what I recommend to people looking for quality headphones and a microphone for gaming situations: first, get a real nice pair of headphones for what you'd spend on a ridiculously overpriced "gaming headset." Then purchase a separate lapel microphone. If you're worried about running two wires, just tie them together with a velcro strap or something similar.

If you don't care about having a top-of-the-line microphone (I don't), here's a reliable one:

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-145045...5566827&sr=8-1

[Vandole]

Oh, i'm not sure if i told you guys but when i got my pc350 replaced i did a softmod to improve the bass on it. i took it apart and soldered two small holes in the enclosure on the driver. i couldnt tell a difference on the quality until i turned on my amp. holy shit. they werent kidding about how much this mod/an amp does for the headset.

[Pikarya]

inb4 beats/50 cent

senn 350s are hot and http://i42.tinypic.com/veacec.jpg too.

[Kazen]

What amp are you using dole? I'm about to purchase a new amp and I'm looking at this one atm. I'm going to be using it with my Senn's on both PC & PS3. http://www.astrogaming.com/mixamp-usb

[Hitoshura]

Tritton A/X Pro that I use for my PC/PS3 and recently the Logitech G930 for my PC, I returned the wired G35's because the wireless version were on sale. I love both a lot.

If you want something with cross compatibility go with the A/X Pro's, they are very loud and have some pretty amazing sound courtesy of the mix amp. If you want something that is just going to be for your rig, the G930's are very impressive considering the 7.1 Dobly and it being wireless. Not only that but you can adjust the amp within application, made it sound even better. I also love being able to walk outside to smoke and being able to use the keys on the headset as my personal wireless 7.1 MP3 player. Can even continue conversations on vent without worrying about it picking up any kind of noise or you can switch the mic up and it auto mutes. So much tools on this amazing thing, I can't even talk enough about it.

[xerodok]

If you don't want to spend $200+ on a headset, the new Sony headsets are pretty awesome:

http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Stere...5601579&sr=8-1

They sound great, fit nice, and work seamlessly with both PS3 and PC. Around $90.

[shidobu]

I got these. Fucking love them
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica...5604965&sr=8-1

[Tweek]

i got Tritton AX Pros and have absolutely loved them for PS3. used to have Tritton AX720s before and I was happy with them, but once I upgraded to the AX Pros there was no turning back could notice a difference with directional sound right away especially in FPS have had them for over a year no problems


i got a buddy with the newer sony ones cause he can't deal with cords they're cool but not true 7.1 etc similar to the AX 720s which again if you haven't played with true 5.1 you don't notice it for the most part

[Kerberoz]

ctrl-v

Audio shit not to buy:
* anything endorsed by a famous rapper
* Bose
* Monster
* any cable that claims to be better than a coat hanger
* Creative Labs
* any "gaming" audio products
* headphones with more than 1 pair of speakers
* headsets (price issue, not always quality issue)
* mic that costs over $15
* 100Ω+ headphones with no amp
* the vast majority of USB audio products
* anything a salesman recommends

[Serra]

Has anyone heard of/used Planar Magnetic headphones? I saw these posted on Gizmodo the other day, and read up on them. Even though they're $350, from the sounds of it, other ones are at least 1k.

http://www.head-direct.com/Products/?act=Detail&id=115

Kinda wanna hear some reviews since they're using new tech to produce them which is what's making them so cheap..

[Boyiee]

ctrl-v

You still need to remove the cable part.

[Amastacia]

I will agree with Kerb somewhat on the price issue when it comes to headsets, but Sennheiser PC350/360 headsets are pretty goddamn baller. They are marketed as gaming audio products, but they're not the usual price-inflated "gaming grade" garbage.

They use the same drivers as the HD595 headphones and a pair of noise-cancelling mics of pretty decent quality. I'm going to have to look into the bass mod, because that is far and away the PC350's weakpoint, but I also don't know if the PC360 suffers the same problem.

A good pair of cans plus a clip-on mic is likely still the most cost-effective way to go, but having done it myself and being very happy with the results, I can't fault anyone who ponies up for the PC350 or PC360 headset.

To be honest, the lack of bass punchiness mostly annoys me when I'm doing anything but gaming. The lack of boomy bass actually helps resolve footsteps and make gunshots more distinct and easier to locate, at least for me. These days I mainly just use them for FPS games or LAN parties, and use my entirely-not-shabby home theater system for other games where I am not playing competitive multiplayer.