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Budget-ish Microphone and Headphones

KrutoyEegrok
By KrutoyEegrok
in Audio
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PLEASE READ FULL POST

 

Up until recently I have been a person with a "gaming" headset with decent audio and a decent mic. Now I want to get a good microphone along with a good pair of headphones. I also started streaming somewhat recently and have been somewhat successful so I definitely want to continue that, but, with good mic quality. So, that being said, could you guys please list some good microphones and some good headphones with the qualifications below. Also, can you guys tell me whether USB or 3.5mm jack is better quality??

Thanks ahead of time.

 

I am in US

 

Microphone:

-Under $100

-Preferably one where I dont have to buy a stand, one where it can just sit on the desk

 

Headphones:

-Under $200

-Cloth earcups unless you can convince me to get leather, but it will take some convincing

-Over-ear (thats what I think it is, I want the ones that completely encompass my ear)

 

 

Thanks again.

 

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Audio-Technica ATH-A900X (Closed back)

Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X (Open back)

Modmic (pick a model that works for you)

 

IMAG0072.jpg

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Audio-Technica ATH-A900X (Closed back)

Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X (Open back)

Modmic (pick a model that works for you)

Dude, thats 350 dollars. My total is under 300 dollars, and hopefully a lot under.

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Dude, thats 350 dollars. My total is under 300 dollars, and hopefully a lot under.

 

Change the 9 to a 5

 

 

 Also, can you guys tell me whether USB or 3.5mm jack is better quality?

 

USB means there's a DAC and amp integrated into the headset - this is a bad thing because you're spending money on that instead of on the quality of the drivers. 3.5mm is analog, meaning there's nothing but wire between your amp and the drivers.

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Audio-Technica ATH-A900X (Closed back)

Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X (Open back)

Modmic (pick a model that works for you)

 

IMAG0072.jpg

 

At that price, you're better off just getting the AG1 or ADG1 (263 and 270 USD respectively). Plus OP did say it had to be preferably under 300. In which case, the 558/AD700x plus modmic or snowball would work better.

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BuyDig has the Audio-Technica headphones for under 200 dollars.... Where are you looking? The 900 X Art series headphones have 53mm drivers that are pretty damn good. I would imagine that they would out perform the smaller drivers from the 700 series.

 

If you shop around a bit you will be able to pick up a set of headphones and a modmic for about $250... that is under your budget of $300.

 

 

 

ATH-A900X New $169.99 w/ free shipping

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261522607863

 

Modmic 4.0 New $49.99

http://www.modmic.com/collections/frontpage/products/modmic-4-0

 

Total $219.98

 

 

ATH-AD900X New $184.00 w/ free shipping

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231287135452

 

Modmic 4.0 New $49.99

http://www.modmic.com/collections/frontpage/products/modmic-4-0

 
Total $ 233.99
 
 
 
With these prices you could even purchase a FiiO E7 DAC/AMP for $75 dollars and stay inside of budget (although it is not needed for these headphones.)
 
 
 
 
EDIT: Researched some prices for you...
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Change the 9 to a 5

 

 
 

 

USB means there's a DAC and amp integrated into the headset - this is a bad thing because you're spending money on that instead of on the quality of the drivers. 3.5mm is analog, meaning there's nothing but wire between your amp and the drivers.

Meaning, if I get an analog headset, I should get a DAC and AMP??

 

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An Amp/DAC combination will remove your system and your sound card from the audio.

 

This is not needed for most headphones. Some headphones have a very high ohm rating and this makes it difficult for the sound card to drive. The Audio Technica headphones that I picked out are 32ohm and are actually quite easy for a sound card to drive. Some Sennheiser and other brand of headphones are very high ohm loads (above 300ohm) and these headphones will REQUIRE an amplifier in order for them to reach their potential.

 

A more important thing to think about is do you want closed or open back. The sound stage and the noise floor is going to be completely different... even with the same drivers.

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It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be. ~Publius Vergilius Maro circa 50BC

 

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An Amp/DAC combination will remove your system and your sound card from the audio.

 

This is not needed for most headphones. Some headphones have a very high ohm rating and this makes it difficult for the sound card to drive. The Audio Technica headphones that I picked out are 32ohm and are actually quite easy for a sound card to drive. Some Sennheiser and other brand of headphones are very high ohm loads (above 300ohm) and these headphones will REQUIRE an amplifier in order for them to reach their potential.

 

A more important thing to think about is do you want closed or open back. The sound stage and the noise floor is going to be completely different... even with the same drivers.

All I want is some headphones for gaming and music, I dont need all perfect lows, mids and highs, personally I cant pick them out. I just want something that is good quality, comfortable and will let me enjoy my games. I was thinking about the ATH M50s, will those be good, I wont have an amp or dac and they will be driven from my motherboard, which is the gigabyte g1 sniper Z87.

Is this a good combo?

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The ATH M50 is an excellent pair of headphones. They will not require an amplifier. So you decided on a closed back headphone?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331194619264

ATH-M50x New $169.00 w/ Free shipping   (Same price as the ATH-A900X?)

AMD RYZEN 7 5800X3D \ Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite \  32GB 3600 G.SKILL Neo \  Gigabyte RTX 4080 Gaming OC \  Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo \  NVMe 2TB Samsung 990 Pro, SATA 4TB Samsung 970 Evo  \  WINDOWS 11 PRO 

It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be. ~Publius Vergilius Maro circa 50BC

 

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The ATH M50 is an excellent pair of headphones. They will not require an amplifier. So you decided on a closed back headphone?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331194619264

ATH-M50x New $169.00 w/ Free shipping   (Same price as the ATH-A900X?)

Yup. IMHO the closed back sound is a lot better than the open back sound. Also, since for me its primary use will be gaming, closed back makes it more immersive. Thanks for all your help.

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Kingston HyperX Cloud? I own a pair myself and for the 80 bucks I spent I have nothing but praise (though I believe they normally retail for 100$) they sound better than any 'headset' I've ever owned but like you they've been of the 'gaming' variety so take that with a grain of salt, haven't tried the included mic yet but I belief Logan did a mic test in this vid.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeoyJBwHc3U&list=UUNovoA9w0KnxyDP5bGrOYzg

 

 

About the 2:07 mark.

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