I would go with closed headphones if you plan to go to LAN parties or tournaments.
Personally I can reccomend the HD380 headphones, they have been specifically designed for audio monitoring and will offer one of the best experiences if you really want to hear each step an opponent makes. Closed headphones will also make sure that none of the sound is lost since it can't escape out of the headphones.
In my experience the 380's are an amazing set for gaming, I mostly play Halo when I'm on the Xbox and I can say that they play sounds amazingly. I can actually hear people respawn from across the map, you hear a small "click" (from the weapon) and a "thump" when the Spartans legs hit the ground on spawn. I have not experienced any other headphones apart from my HD800's to be able to produce those sounds (and in the HD800's I have to play the sound considerably louder).
If you need a headset with a microphone the Sennheiser PC350 which is a near equivelant to the 380's.
You can also get a clip on microphone that you can attach to the headphone cable, something that works for me pretty well.
Zalman makes a product called "Zalman Zm-Mic1"
For home use semi-open headphones would be your best bet though, they offer better airflow and more comfort then fully closed cans.
The Sennheiser HD555's do a great job. As for a headset the Sennheiser PC360's are pretty great open headphones.
Overall I would say that Sennheiser is your best bet. The soundstage is unmatched when it comes to Sennheiser headphones in pretty much any price range, and whils't it wont make much of a difference in positional audio. It will give you a great idea of how far away the sounds are coming from when multiple explosions are coming from the same direction. With many other branded headphones I can only hear the closest battle on the right side of me for example, but with Sennheisers I can hear that there might be another battle after that and one even further away (if that made any sense now).
However the only other cans from the same price range that i've listened to are Audio-Technicas, Sonys and AKG's
I've also tried a few "dedicated gaming headphone brands" like Steelseries Siberia V2's, Razer Orca's and Trittons, however I have to say that they do not come even close with professional audio manufacterers.
Again I'd like to emphatize on the HD380's if you are looking for an amazing soundstage in closed cans. I have never experienced other closed headphones, even more expensive ones that would come close to the soundstage of the 380's
Quote:
Originally Posted by
thedunnyman 
I believe this is in the wrong section?
He is asking for gaming headphones... I believe it's the right thread in the right section.
Edited by FinnishSpartan - 4/11/12 at 6:28pm