[Deusnocturne]

First let me say Hi I'm new to the forums but I've lurked here off and on for awhile, after the time I spent here I couldn't really say I'm an audiophile persay (regardless of what I may have thought before coming here) but I truly enjoy good sound quality and I figured there is no better way to find out the best bang for my buck then asking here. So let me get down to it, I haven't owned a quality set of gaming headphones in probably 2 years, I had previously been using a set of mediocre Steelseries Siberia V1 (yea I know not the best) butthey finally bit the dust after years of not so quality service. I recently built a new rig and decided I'd pick up a sound card and a decent set of cans to go with it.

As i understand it the Asus Xonar Dg(x) is a cheap but worthwhile boost over most on board sound which is fine by me (might look into what the next step up from that would be) but my real quandary is I have LITERALLY no idea where to start with a headset... I am aware that a separate headphone and mic is going to be better quality, but I'm not sure I'm particularly interested in going that route, So what I am looking for is a good headset that I can use for gaming and music listening that is around $150 or so. For reference on my musical tastes and listening preferences since I know it factors in a lot, I listen to a lot of Metal/Industrial/etc but I am also becoming an avid fan of stuff like Two Steps from Hell/Audiomachine/E.S. Posthumus/Celldweller (is there a name for that genre? I'm sure there is I'm just ignorant to it) . So does anyone have any good suggestions for me? Thanks in advance for the input I know this is the best place to ask a question like this.

 

[trog]

For the money stereo, wired cans + seperate mic offers far superior SQ and there are threads on this:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/607014/modmic-on-my-dt880

 

[jackwess]

Quote:

For the money stereo, wired cans + seperate mic offers far superior SQ and there are threads on this:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/607014/modmic-on-my-dt880

 
Seconded. 
There are some nice headphones you can take a look such as the superlux or samson. 
 
I saw a picture of the HD681 EVO with a mic attached to it. 

 

[Deusnocturne]

Thanks for your input trog I expected this to be the first response I got, I'm not too sure how fond I am of the separate set up as I've heard/seen from reviews/friend's & my own anecdotal evidence the voice quality is usually pretty sub-par, although that Mod-mic thing looks super sweet. Also As I should have mentioned I'm willing to sacrifice some positional cues for better music listening, I'm really looking for something decent at both and I accept I'm sacrificing in both categories since I'm limited on funds for now.

 

[weez82]

Modmic is badass and voice quality is very good. If you go separate mic (highly recommended) then look at this thread for good headphones in your price range http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-5-23-2013-mrspeakers-mad-dog-v-3-2-reviewed