Considerations
Whilst I'm looking to step into good audio, I've not the funds to warrant $500 cans that'll let me dream right. My price point is negotiable depending on advice to follow, but I'd ideally want to stick to no more than £150 ($237), so probably what is considered bare bones in this thread.
I'm anticipating the answer is no, "get a pair of headphones with a desktop mic".
Thanks for helping out a newb, I'll promise to neglect audio a little less.
Wo33er,
I can tell from your word choice that you are both gentleman and scholar. Since your main motivation seems to be that your broken speakers are finally starting to get to you, that your audio expenditures trail the investment in other components, and finally because I am not paid to do this, I'm going to say that the more passionate enthusiast audio setups aren't for you... yet. You could jump straight up to flagship headphones with flagship amps and components, feel quite "Oh wow!"ed by the experience, and save a lot of money and time building up your experience to that point,
but you wouldn't have quite the same sense of value, satisfaction, and trained ears as someone who struggled up to that point.
An entry/mid-range headphone will still be an epiphany relative to your current experience, and you'll get to feel whether you have satiated your audio appetite or wish to pursue specific improvements down the line.
You said we'd probably suggest headphone + separate mic, and you were right. Sure there is a place for headsets & their convenience, but if you buy a lapel mic like
this one or the one MLE suggested in the OP (mine shipped faster, nice having spares), you can buy a headphone that will beat headsets on price, sound quality, comfort, versatility, and refined looks (Hey! Why not have taste?). To connect the 3.5mm plug on the mic to the Xbox controller's 2.5mm jack, I am having success with
this adapter, or you can get a similarly cheap adapter cable. I tell my Xbox to play chat audio through the "Speakers," but with the adapter I'm using, I have options (like if I want to separately send chat audio to a sound processor like the Mixamp).
As far as what to look for in a headphone, I'll quote fellow head-fi'er WiR3D for his concise points:
- very accurate imaging (most important feature)
- 2 drivers ONLY.
- HUGE soundstage
- a Black background
- Analytical sound (aids in picking up details)
- not too boosted treble (to avoid loud piercing pains)
- completely circumaural and ultracomfortable.
- Weak isolation can be a bonus at LANs, but its not particularly a goal.
So that brings me to the point you are most interested in, what are the recommended headphones at an entry/mid-range price? Well, I'm going to suggest you look at the bottom of MLE's list. I don't know the prices in your area, but I would suggest the HD555 with some of the easymods documented on Head-Fi, Creative Aurvana Live!, or AD700. My personal experience at that range is with the AD700, it has been very good to me for years and responds pretty well to a little EQ, LOVE the soundstage & positioning, but if you aren't interested in a competitive-tuned headphone, the Sennheiser is capable, apparently cheaper, and doesn't have the polarizing looks of the unique AD700. I haven't heard the CAL!, but for perhaps cheaper I can give honorable mention to a suprise headphone I have heard that is not on MLE's list... the JVC HA-RX700. It's a little big, but pretty comfortable, and an amazing value for the price to get an engaging, musical sound. It doesn't have the soundstage of the AD700 (what does?) and in the week I had it to test and modify before giving it to my friend as a graduation present I didn't test it for positional cues in gaming, but it was detailed and a lot of fun. Of course, if you can save up to afford the DT770 and DT880 recommended by MLE, you'll be better off I think, but money still ought to go towards the final bit: sound components.
Mad Lust Envy swears by Dolby Headphone and binaural sound for gaming, and so do I if you can easily enable it. We're gonna ignore the (worthwhile IMO) upgrade to amps for right now, as my above suggestions should not require a dedicated amp to get you started. Right now my only headphone virtual surround option available is through my Yamaha receiver for Silent Cinema, but I can't set that up at the moment unfortunately, a problem I intend to solve with Creative's Recon3D USB sound processor that is on the way to my home. The Recon3D can be used with Windows, Mac, Xbox 360, & PS3. I hope you've checked out NamelessPFG's guide to computer gaming audio, because both he & I intend to review that sound processor next week, and of course Nameless already has a bunch of great suggestions for sound cards. His value favorite seems to be the Creative X-Fi titanium if you can find one refurbished, but Creative creates uncertainty about continued driver support. The Asus Xonar DX is also highly recommended around Head-Fi for value, but of course you have to compare prices. The Mixamp is Mad Lust Envy's favorite sound processor as someone who primarily games on console, but if your computer has an optical-out, the Mixamp could conceivably be used with the PC as well. Turtle Beach's best processor, the original DSS, can be found really cheap on eBay, but FWIR it's not as refined as the Mixamp. For quality at the least price, you're probably best off getting a refurbished decent soundcard, but if you've really gotta be cheap & your Motherboard's audio has an optical out, a used DSS is the cheapest way to get Dolby Headphone from all your devices.
Did I give you adaquate suggestions? Lol, maybe I should copy/paste this post into my own thread on gaming with headphones >_< Hey Mad, Nameless, and Purple Angel, wouldn't it be great to be paid for our research and recommendations? Or at least be sent stuff to review? Ha!
