[FlukeNL]

Choosing a headphone wisely seems to be way more complicated that I first thought. That's what brought me here, eventually.
So... hi! I'm very new in the audio-world so sadly I don't have anything to offer myself. Instead I'm jumping straight in with something I "need". Sorry for that .
 
 
Current situation
I'm "playing" military flightsimulators and ARMA 3. Not much else. At least not to the extent It should have any impact on my headphone choice. I'm using an onboard soundcard on an MSI Z77 G43 motherobard:
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z77A-G43.html
 
In short:
 
• Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC892
- Flexible 8-channel audio with jack sensing
- Compliant with Azalia 1.0 Spec
THX TruStudio PRO
 
My headset? Lol... well...
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/6625
The mic works fine, let's keep it at that .
 
I cannot use a surround system with my PC, so headphones is the only option. I rarely listen to music, so anything that's better than my current headphones in that regard would be ok.
 
Wishes
Budget is tight (having looked at some quality headphones, I have to conclude my budget is VERY tight). Let's say €100, but that's the absolute limit. Realistically speaking it's more like €75.
 
I'd like   
 
a) better soundquality for my games in general
b) better positional audio for use in ARMA 3
 
That shouldn't be too hard if you look at my startingpoint, right? Wrong... -ish...
 
 
So... what's the problem?
With this budget, what would be the smarter choice?
 
1) Getting a cheap soundcard (no clue how good or bad my onboard sound is) and relatively cheap headphones?
2) Or stick to the onboard sound and get a bit better headphone?
3) Go for stereo headphones and rip the mic of the old headset or go for some gaming headset (I guess option 1)?
4) USB or analog (after reading a lot online, I guess the latter one)?
 
Any insight would be much appreciated. And if you can tell me why you make certain choices, I would even learn from it! Please stick to the budget though. I fully realize I'll get what I'm paying for. If only.... .
 
Thanks in advance. Hopefully I've given enough information. If that's not the case: I'll be away for a week starting this weekend, so in that period I won't be responding!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Takstar Hi2050 (Technical Pro HPT-990) semi-open headphones.
Samson SR850 semi-open headphones.
 
 
An Asus Xonar DG sound card might(?) improve audio quality for headphones.
But the listed headphones will work decently plugged straight into the motherboard.

 

[FlukeNL]

Thanks for your reply!
 
The Samson I can get here in NL, for the low price of €37. The Takstar is not available locally.
 
Any particular reason for choosing these 2 models? Or is it reasonably clear-cut in this pricerange?
 
How do these 2 relate to gaming headsets?
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for your reply!
 
The Samson I can get here in NL, for the low price of €37. The Takstar is not available locally.
 
Any particular reason for choosing these 2 models? Or is it reasonably clear-cut in this price range?
 
How do these 2 relate to gaming headsets?
 

NL - Netherlands?
 
The SR850 and Hi2050 are the only models that come to my mind, for the 75 Euro (or less) price range.
 
Gaming headsets seem to be low cost headphones (mostly) with an intergrated mic.
Some good sounding "gaming" headphones come with an intergrated mic worth $20, but the headphones have a $75 markup in price.
 
Also low costing "gaming" headsets are for those that do not know any better because they may have never used quality headphones.
 
On Head-Fi, a headphone has to good at playing music to be liked, gaming ability may or may not be a factor, depending on the buyer and headphone use.

 

[FlukeNL]

Thanks a lot so far for pointing me in the right directions. The Asus Xonar DG(X) indeed seems to be my choice for a soundcard. But for now I'll start with new headphones. Trying out an AKG k701 I've had a taste of what new headphones can do .
 
I've found a local (indeed, The Netherlands) shop that sells a large number of headphones. Including the Samson SR850. They also have the Panasonic RP-HTF600E-S (a model you have advised someone in an old 2011 thread on this same topic). These sets absolutely fall into my budget.
 
Samson sr850: http://www.bax-shop.nl/studio-hoofdtelefoons/samson-sr850-studio-hoofdtelefoon/product-details.html
 
I've also tried to ask this shop for some alternatives, but somehow I don't think they're on par with your advice. They come up with the following alternatives, based on... "less accurate but more pleasing" sound:
 
 Sennheiser HD 205 Pioneer SE-MJ751 Pioneer SE-M-390
 
As far as I have gathered so far, positional audio in games favours the more accurate headset? Meaning the Samson still outperforms those other 3 ones?
 
Anyway, I'd love to hear from you and if you have the time... maybe you could even take a look at the website. The reason I'm not directly set on the Samson is because it leaves a little room in my budget. They are €38 now, leaving 10-15. If that gets me something better... I'll go for it. If not, it's a good deal.
 
This is the headphone section (in dutch, but I'm sure you could manage):
http://www.bax-shop.nl/hoofdtelefoons/bekijk-alle-producten.html
 
Another option would be (also in english, check the flag at the top of the windows)
 
http://www.thomann.de/nl/cat.html?gf=studio_koptelefoon&oa=pra
 
Where they sell the Samson SR950 and also the Superlux cans that are presumed to be the same as the Samson (for less).

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks a lot so far for pointing me in the right directions. The Asus Xonar DG(X) indeed seems to be my choice for a sound card. But for now I'll start with new headphones. Trying out an AKG k701 I've had a taste of what new headphones can do .
 
I've found a local (indeed, The Netherlands) shop that sells a large number of headphones. Including the Samson SR850. They also have the Panasonic RP-HTF600E-S (a model you have advised someone in an old 2011 thread on this same topic). These sets absolutely fall into my budget.
 I've also tried to ask this shop for some alternatives, but somehow I don't think they're on par with your advice. They come up with the following alternatives, based on... "less accurate but more pleasing" sound:
As far as I have gathered so far, positional audio in games favours the more accurate headset? Meaning the Samson still outperforms those other 3 ones?
Anyway, I'd love to hear from you and if you have the time... maybe you could even take a look at the website. The reason I'm not directly set on the Samson is because it leaves a little room in my budget. They are €38 now, leaving 10-15. If that gets me something better... I'll go for it. If not, it's a good deal.
Where they sell the Samson SR950 and also the Superlux cans that are presumed to be the same as the Samson (for less).

To the best of my knowledge, the Samson SR-850 (made by Superlux) is about the best all around (gaming & music) headphones in their price range. The Panasonic RP-HTF600E-S is made from thin plastic, so it's not the best for durability.
I'm assuming the shop is trying to sell headphones for music and really does not deal with "gaming" audio.
So far the SR-850 looks like the best headphones (at the shop or on Thomann website) for your needs, in your price range. you would need to triple your budget (150 euros?) to make a noticeable improvement over the SR850s, for headphones that are both good at gaming and better for music.
The SR850 uses the same size ear pads as the AKG K240/241/270/271 & Superlux HD681, HD668b, HD 669 headphones, so if you want to change ear pads, there are AKG Velour ear pads and lower costing (12 euros on eBay) "Made in China" ear pads. The Superlux HD-681 are well liked for music, not sure how they compare to the SR-850 for gaming.
 
You could try asking on these "gaming" threads, post that your looking at getting the SR-850s for gaming and music (& movies?), see if they can offer something better.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-9-2-2013-sony-ma900-added
http://www.head-fi.org/t/593050/the-nameless-guide-to-pc-gaming-audio-with-binaural-headphone-surround-sound

 

[FlukeNL]

Well, I guess I'm done than . Your help is much appreciated. At first I also thought the SR850 was exactly the same as the superlux hd668b, but judging by your reply and some threads about those 2 models, it seems there's a small difference between the two. I guess my decision will be about the removable cord of the Superlux (I've seen a mod to them for adding a boom mic) vs the local availability of the Samson.
 
I've read both of the threads you've mentioned and learnt a lot, so I'm by no means leaving Head-Fi empty handed. I'll spread the word .

 

[FlukeNL]

Ugh... I usually don't like it myself when people dont tell what they end up with after I've given some advice.
 
Sorry, I'll make it right:
 
I've bought the Samson SR850. It's cheap and works. It appears my internal soundcard is more than adequate for now, so I also bought the ModMic as a microphone solution. I'm happy. No need to upgrade for a while. When it's upgrade-time I am going to look more closely to binaural sound, but for now it's not my main concern anymore.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Ugh... I usually don't like it myself when people dont tell what they end up with after I've given some advice.
 
Sorry, I'll make it right:
 
I've bought the Samson SR850. It's cheap and works. It appears my internal sound card is more than adequate for now, so I also bought the ModMic as a microphone solution. I'm happy. No need to upgrade for a while. When it's upgrade-time I am going to look more closely to binaural sound, but for now it's not my main concern anymore.

 
AKG K240 Velour ear pads (13 GBP)  will fit on the SR850.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_k240270271_velour_ohrpolster.htm