Best headphones/headset gaming

[Themysteriousstranger]

I am looking for headphones or a headset to replace my old headset and I've read that gaming headsets are overpriced and most are crap. What would be the best audio setup for around $200?

[JarJarWinks]

Im no expert, though I recently bought the razer kraken 7.1, and it seems quite good, considering the price. The issues of the heavy bass was fixed with a software update. It being very comfotable is a plus.

If you enjoy fps games the surround is very good, and the bass boost feature works well with things like BF(dont overdo it though).

[ShearMe]

ATH-AD500X will give you great positional sound, DT990 will give you nice bass, and HD518 is somewhere in between and mellow sounding. There's other options if you give us some more specific info of your tastes, but those are the generic three, imo.

 

.The issues of the heavy bass was fixed with a software update.

 

Oh wow, so it was entirely artificial...

[ForsakenLive]

Best smart purchase: Sennheiser HD 518 + Zalman Clip Mic (or modmic or mic on a stand). Cheap and has an outstanding price per goodness ratio.

If you want a headset that doesn't suck, you can get the Kingston HyperX Cloud or the QPAD QH-90, which are the same headset.

 

Getting closer to $200 there is a lot more variant, like the Beyerdinamic DT 880.

[JarJarWinks]

ATH-AD500X will give you great positional sound, DT990 will give you nice bass, and HD518 is somewhere in between and mellow sounding. There's other options if you give us some more specific info of your tastes, but those are the generic three, imo.

 

 

Oh wow, so it was entirely artificial...

They seem to have boosted the bass by 50% software side originally

[Themysteriousstranger]

ATH-AD500X will give you great positional sound, DT990 will give you nice bass, and HD518 is somewhere in between and mellow sounding. There's other options if you give us some more specific info of your tastes, but those are the generic three, imo.

Well positional sound would be useful sense i play fps games but taste wise i will pretty much play any good game although I particularly like rpg and fps games. If that's what you mean by tastes, I already have headphones for music so i wont be listening to music on this setup. 

 

What about the hd 558? Would any of these headphones benefit from a amp/soundcard?  

[ShearMe]

Well positional sound would be useful sense i play fps games but taste wise i will pretty much play any good game although I particularly like rpg and fps games. If that's what you mean by tastes, I already have headphones for music so i wont be listening to music on this setup. 

 

"Taste" when it comes to headphones usually means overall frequency response. If you already have "headphones for music" then why are you looking for another one for gaming?

 

 

What about the hd 558? 

 

At least in the US, the 518 is much cheaper, doge. They sound pretty close to the same thing.

 

 

Would any of these headphones benefit from a amp/soundcard?  

 

the DT990's I mentioned may or may not need an amp depending on what volume level you prefer, but the others wont benefit.

[Themysteriousstranger]

"Taste" when it comes to headphones usually means overall frequency response. If you already have "headphones for music" then why are you looking for another one for gaming?

Well it sounds like the headphones that are good for positioning and gaming are open and would leak sound. I've tried playing games with my headphones and everything sounds wrong, but that's probably because their not the best headphones   http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-X10 they were on sale and I was ignorant of better brands like sennheiser.

[ShearMe]

Well it sounds like the headphones that are good for positioning and gaming are open and would leak sound. I've tried playing games with my headphones and everything sounds wrong, but that's probably because their not the best headphones   http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-X10 they were on sale and I was ignorant of better brands like sennheiser.

 

AD500X will definitely be a completely different experience from those....

[Themysteriousstranger]

Best smart purchase: Sennheiser HD 518 + Zalman Clip Mic (or modmic or mic on a stand). Cheap and has an outstanding price per goodness ratio.

If you want a headset that doesn't suck, you can get the Kingston HyperX Cloud or the QPAD QH-90, which are the same headset.

 

Getting closer to $200 there is a lot more variant, like the Beyerdinamic DT 880.

That headset looks good, how would it compare to the hd 518 and AD500x?

[ForsakenLive]

That headset looks good, how would it compare to the hd 518 and AD500x?

Both headphones you mentioned are better than the Cloud/QH-90, In terms of price/benefit the HD 518 demolish everything as it can be found for around $80. I have them and love them. I like the ergonomic of it as well.

But this headset has some pretty good audio quality, and the mic is quite good too. It depends on what's more important to you, both are good purchases.

[Themysteriousstranger]

Thanks for the help, I'm going with the hyper x cloud.