[Giggidy]

Hi Head-Fi community. 
 
I've just recently subscribed to your website, hoping for a little guidance regarding headphones for gaming.
 
My problem is that my old headset broke down, and here I am, trying to find out which new headset to buy.
 
First I tried reddit, and one of my fellow redditors referred to you guys, as you'd seem the experts.
 
Thus I truely hope that you'll take time to answer some of my questions. Thanks in advance !
 
1. I was recommended headphones with a mic attachment, instead of an actual headset, because the sound quality is much better. If I told you I was going to use the headphones/headset for BOTH gaming and music, what would you say about that statement?
Higher sound quality VS the virtual sorround gaming headsets can provide. 
 
2. If I told you I was to spend 100-150 US dollars on the headset/headphones, do some headphones pop into mind? Or perhaps if you have any personal experience with a headset in this price range?
 
3. If i get a wireless headset, will the wireless feature decrease the sound performance? 
 
4. I want you to take into consideration that I listen to a very wide variety of music, thus a set of 'forgiving' headphones, is one of my preferences. 
 
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm very grateful for all the help I can get.
 
Once again I thank you for your time. Have a pleasant day  

 

[Povell42]

Below is your quote and I put my responses after each of your questions  starting with the indented "Reply".
 
Quote:

1. I was recommended headphones with a mic attachment, instead of an actual headset, because the sound quality is much better. If I told you I was going to use the headphones/headset for BOTH gaming and music, what would you say about that statement?
Higher sound quality VS the virtual sorround gaming headsets can provide. 
 
        Reply:  I have been on a quest the past couple of months to find a great set of audiophile headphones for gaming also.  This was because my Tritton AX PRO mic started going out and after using them for a few years, I realized how unsatisfied I was with the audio quality of them as well as most gaming headsets out there.  I had tried all the big Gaming headsets out there: Astro A40/A50, Turtle Beach XP Seven...ect.  All of them had something I was dissatisfied with and I had two defective Astro's which lead me away from that brand (I guess it was just bad luck).  One gaming headset that I actually like is the new model Sony Pulse for $150 (it has both 3.5mm plug-in and usb wireless audio options)
 
2. If I told you I was to spend 100-150 US dollars on the headset/headphones, do some headphones pop into mind? Or perhaps if you have any personal experience with a headset in this price range?
 
     Reply:  I have tried a few headphones (not headsets) recently, including :
               -ATH AD700
               -AKG Q701
               -DT990 pro
               -Superlux HD668b
               -Ultrasone Pro 900
 
      So, The only ones that are in your price range (or cheaper) are the AD700 and the HD668b.  To clarify, I actually kept the HD668b because the audio quality was amazing for a headphone only costing $50. It rivaled the other headphones close enough to where I could not justify the price difference compared to the Q701. Keep in mind the build quality and comfort was not as good in comparison to the others, but the audio quality was good enough to rival them.  They had less bass than the DT990 pro, but more bass than the Q701.  (Search the forums about the HD668b to get more info if you interested in them. 
 
   The Audio Technica ATH-AD700 are also in your price range of $100.  They have an amazing sound stage on them, great for gaming.  In many reviews of headphones...a reviewer commonly uses the AD700 as the standard to compare how wide a sound stage is. The only downfall to them is they do not have much bass.  The bass is punchy and present, but it suffers with lower drawn out frequencies. A very good option though. I loved them for FPS games.  They will shine with many genres of music that do not rely on a lot of bass (obviously).
 
Those are the headphones I have used and tested in your price range, and I ended up keeping the Bargain buy ($50) Superlux.
 
I also have the Ultrasone Pro 900 currently and really like them also, but they are about $300.
 
3. If i get a wireless headset, will the wireless feature decrease the sound performance? 
 
          Reply:  Wireless headphones are pretty good now a days in my experience.  However, their are a few draw backs that keep me away form them. 
     1) Volume levels - the wireless headphones I have used have been somewhat soft in volume.  For example with the Sony Pulse, listening to them wireless, I have to have the volume all the way up and I still wish they were a little louder sometimes.
     2) Battery life -  The louder you listen to them, the less the battery lasts.  Plus I always worry about the battery getting worse overtime.
 
4. I want you to take into consideration that I listen to a very wide variety of music, thus a set of 'forgiving' headphones, is one of my preferences. 
 
     Reply:  I find the HD668b to do well with many genres of music. If you find them comfortable enough and treat them nicely, they may fit your bill and you save some money. 

 
I hope this helps a little and gives you a place to start.  I am no audiophile (yet), but I have definitely been obsessed with headphone the past few months and have done way to much research.  There are many options out there (as you know) and it can be frustrating trying to find the ones that best fit you.  

 

[Povell42]

Also, you may want to check out the Skullcandy SLYR. I have heard they are a pretty good bang for your buck.
They are $80. Plus most Targets carry them, so it is an easy purchase and if you do not like them just return them. 
Might be worth checking them out. 
 
Fun fact if you did not know - Skullcandy took over the Astro gaming headsets brand in late 2012.  Could be a good thing.

 

[Magnum26]

I've recently replaced my gaming headset with a proper pair of headphones, but the sound on the old ones are pretty good. I have the Roccat Kaves which is a 5.1 surround headset. Music quality is ok not fantastic in terms of bass but it's what I would class as average, for games etc it's pretty good and they are "true" 5.1 surround not software driven.
 
If you could afford a decent pair of normal headphones instead like some nice HD595's or something similar you could look down the route of a clip on mic such as the zalman ones or something a bit more "fancy" a ModMic.

 

[Giggidy]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. 

Povell42 I must admit I instantly fell in love with the Sony Pulse headphones... wauw they look so smooth. Only thing is the PS mark on the side, but I can live with that.

Just two questions, does it function as well on a computer as on a PS? If you know that is. 
 
Is it easy to handle? Because it seems by the review that there is a hella lot of different controllers and might be some software update as well. 

 
Magnum26, thanks for the reply. The Roccat Kaves looks pretty cool as well. However I must admit, I'm in love with the Sony Pulse ones.. I liked the reference to the clip on mic from Zalman. Seems ideal to what I had figured I would buy.

However. I just realised that the Sony Pulse has a mic built in. 
 
Very much appreciate your time and your answers guys !

 

[Povell42]

Quote:

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. 

Povell42 I must admit I instantly fell in love with the Sony Pulse headphones... wauw they look so smooth. Only thing is the PS mark on the side, but I can live with that.

Just two questions, does it function as well on a computer as on a PS? If you know that is. 
 
Is it easy to handle? Because it seems by the review that there is a hella lot of different controllers and might be some software update as well. 

 

 
Sony Pulse is a good headset with tons of features for its price It is both wireless and wired so that was a huge feature I liked about it.
 
To respond to your question about PC. It is okay sounding if you use it wireless.  I tested it out.  You need to go into your sound devices that right click on the Sony headset device, then go to properties and click on one of the tabs found on the top of the pop up window to set up the features.  It has a virtual surround check box as well as a couple other things like bass boost ect. One thing to keep in mind it is the mic only works with the wireless usb.  So you will still need an additional mic if you use it via 3.5mm.
 
However, I mainly used it via 3.5mm jack connected to my Sound Blaster Z sound card and it  sounded much better. The surround sound and other features on my sound card are much better than the Sony usb simulater the   Like I said earlier, wireless means a little less volume and power.  So, I prefer them much more with my soundcard.  You can still turn on the headset and use most of the features as well. (like the bass boost)
 
Compared to what they sound like on my PC hooked up with the 3.5mm, they did not sound as good with my PS3 wireless.  So the wireless option is there but I prefer using them with the 3.5mm on PC.
 
PS.  You can plug the wireless usb transmitter into any usb power source and plug any 3.5mm device into it and listen to it wirelessly on the headset.  Very cool. 

 

[Giggidy]

Thanks once again for your response mate. I must admit I didn't buy the Sony Pulse, even though they are so very awesome. Simply because I felt a bit insecure regarding the fact that it was originally made for PS3, and when I read up on them, it seemed as if some of the software wasn't compatible for PC. Thus I ended up buying some Corsair 1500, simply because they had great reviews, and seemed rather cheap. If the Sony Pulse had been designed for PC, I would have bought it right away. 

Well, once again thanks for the feedback. 

- Have a forthcoming pleasant day sir. 

 

[Povell42]

Quote:

Thanks once again for your response mate. I must admit I didn't buy the Sony Pulse, even though they are so very awesome. Simply because I felt a bit insecure regarding the fact that it was originally made for PS3, and when I read up on them, it seemed as if some of the software wasn't compatible for PC. Thus I ended up buying some Corsair 1500, simply because they had great reviews, and seemed rather cheap. If the Sony Pulse had been designed for PC, I would have bought it right away. 

Well, once again thanks for the feedback. 

- Have a forthcoming pleasant day sir. 

Cool, congrates on the purchase.  After you get some time with them, let us know what you think of them.