Headphones for a gamer?

When i used to game competitively, I, along with everyone in my team used Steelseries. Granted, we were sponsored by them but they were great.

 

I used the Steelseries Siberia V2, which are really good for gaming but on the other hand not that good for music. Most people either used that one or the Steelseries 7H. The 7H is also a bit more comfortable.

 

All of these are 100-130 dollars. And I know for a fact that the Siberia V2 are closed, meaning that sound doesn't leak and you're isolated, so your adult hearings would be fine i guess.

Edited by rokr32 - 12/21/11 at 1:21pm

Actually Siberia V2 doesn't isolate at all. But it doesn't leak either.

Just going to say this: I'm against getting any sort of full-on gaming headset ever. You pay a premium because it is specialized for "gaming," you pay more because it has a headphone and mic built in together, and you generally pay a premium because they have brands which require a premium like Razer. Avoid anything that is "5.1" or "7.1" like the plague -- multiple drivers sound terrible and don't help you in gaming at all. 

 

At the same time, I suggest avoiding the general suggestion people give for gaming -- the Audio-Technica AD700. It's an open headphone that just absolutely guts the music of its bass. Does it have a very wide soundstage, which is good for gaming? Yes, but it comes at a great expense. Ask yourself if you'd make that trade -- I think for your music listening genres, I would suggest heavily against this.

 

For a closed pair of headphones, the KRK KNS 8400 or Brainwavz HM5 are my two picks. They have above-average sized soundstages for a closed headphone, and they have a bigger bass response than the AD700. They're both very good for music listening as well.

 

For an open pair of headphones, a refurbished HD598 falls under your price range. They're supposed to have a pretty strong sound stage for gaming and should sound excellent for music as well. 

 

For an idea, I can normally hear open headphones pretty clear as day from the hallway when I have them on listening to music at a reasonably loud volume. 

I have to echo the recommendation for the Brainwavz HM5 (I've been like a broken record recommending these the past few days). They are simply great. The way sounds are presented sounds very open, but the cans themselves are closed and leak almost no sound. The soundstage is amazing and instrument separation is very nice. They're one of the greatest deals currently available and fit gaming well, but there's a lot of demand for them at the moment so you may have trouble getting your hands on a pair soon.

The Mad Lust Envy thread is a good place to start. Look through the offerings, find which ones fit in your budget, and make sure to leave $35 for a ModMic, which has the additional perk of being easily removable when it's unneeded.

 

I'd suggest focusing on the ones with higher "Fun" scores, as those tend to have more bass, which I think you'd enjoy much more for music listening (or if you prioritize rumbly explosions over being able to make out footsteps for a situational awareness advantage).

When I see rap and hip-hop, I normally imagine bass as being important. Off-hand, I'd probably guess that the X11s would sound worse than the AD700s, even in hip-hop, all things considered. Of all of the mid-fi headphones, I'd really call the AD700s one of the most bass weak in its class. It won't necessarily be "bad" but it'd say it'd be worse than the alternative you could buy in its price range. 

 

When you say that you play games like League of Legends, though, do realize the purpose of most "gaming" headphones: the wide soundstage makes it easier to locate enemies in first person shooters by sound alone. For League of Legends, you don't really need that kind of locating. You may not be looking for such a heavy gaming focused headphone as you may think.
 

Do consider a Zalman clip-on mic as well as the ModMic. The ModMic is, no doubt, a much nicer accessory, but it also comes at almost a $30 premium.

 

 

That ModMic is sweet, I've been looking for something like that all my life.

I'd look out for the HD558 on Amazon.

CALs (Creative Aurvana Live) closed, only 32-Ohm, nice all around sound.

Are currently selling at there lowest price point ($65) at Amazon and Creative Labs.

 

Panasonic RP-HTF600-S (semi-open), with Beyerdynamic EDT 200 Velour ear pads, total around $60.

Nice bass for the price.

Semi-open leaks less then fully open headphones, like the ATH-AD700s.

The Velour pads make for comfortable headphones.

 

Senn HD-558s are at a great price at Electronics Expo, use the coupon code "BOUNTII".

For the love of anything good, do NOT get the Zalman (picks up more ambient noise than your own voice most of the time). Utter garbage. Get the Deal Extreme clip on, which actually works and is cheap.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mini-clip-on-microphone-7080

It will take about a month to arrive though.
Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 12/22/11 at 2:31am

Having used the Zalman clip-on microphone for about four years of competitive gaming, I can safely say that it is a wonderful product and simply works very well.

You must have had a faulty one, because there is absolutely no noise on mine, quality is excellent.

From what I've seen, the Zalman clip-on gets mixed reviews, there are alot of people who are iffy about it, as well as those who absolutely love it. After seeing multiple reviews and recommendations for the Deal Extreme microphone (around the MLG forums as well), I figured I'd go with it; $2 wouldn't be much of a loss if I hated them anyway. Recording is really clear for voice, and I haven't had any complaints in Skype or gaming.