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Headphone Advice

purplepenguin202

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get a pair of headphones for less than $100.  My primary use for them will be gaming, and having a microphone is a must.  I also listen to music on spotify, and I'm far from an audiophile, so the sound quality doesn't have to be top notch, my main priority is reliability and build quality.  Right now the headphones that I'm looking at are the HyperX Cloud II's.  Are there better ones that I can get for a similar price ($100), or maybe similar ones for a lower price?  I've done a fair amount of research but I made a mistake on the last set of headphones I bought and I'm looking for some reassurance in my purchasing decision this time :P 

I've looked through this forum a fair amount for a similar post but I can't find one with a comparable budget (maybe there is one, sorry if this is a redundant post).  

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This is a compilation of headphones and microphones I've read and heard people recommend for gaming in the $100 range.

 

Headphones:

  • Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X (open-back)
  • Creative Aurvana Live! (closed-back)
  • Philips SHP9500 (open-back)
  • Samson SR850 (semi-open-back)
  • Superlux HD681 (semi-open-back)
  • Superlux HD681 EVO (semi-open-back)
  • Superlux HD669 (closed-back)
  • Superlux HD668B (semi-open-back)
  • Superlux HD662 (closed-back)
  • Superlux HD662 EVO (closed-back)
  • Takstar Pro 82 (closed-back)

Descriptions:

Spoiler

I have Philips SHP9500, Superlux HD668B, and Superlux HD681 EVO of these.

 

SHP9500 has a well-balanced sound profile, with subdued sub-bass (which is how deep the bass goes and is where rumble comes from), and a little boosted treble. The bass is clean. The treble can sound smooth or a little too crisp and sparkly depending on how treble sensitive you are and what headphones you're used to. It has an average/medium soundstage, decent imaging, decent separation, great clarity, and good detail retrieval.

It has a lightweight and durable build without flimsy and squeaky parts. The ear cups tilt and swivel, so they should adjust to your head without issues. The earpads are large, but shallow. They are, however, detachable and easily replaceable. The pads are soft and well padded. They are made of smooth, non-itchy fabric and breathe well. The headband has great weight distribution and doesn't cause hotspots on top of my head. The clamping force is very light for an average sized head.

To replace the earpads, you have to modify them or buy 3D printed rings that the new earpads attach to. Modifying is very easy and quick to do and doesn't require new/extra parts aside from the replacement earpads, but the stock earpads will be destroyed. I've made a tutorial. 3D printed parts can be bought from Mod House Audio. I recommend Shure HPAEC1840 for earpads.
 

HD668B (w/ velour earpads from Brainwavz) has subdued sub-bass, boosted mid-bass (which is where boom and punch come from), and boosted treble, more so than SHP9500. The bass is clean. The treble can be sharp and splashy. It has a large (not huge) soundstage, and very good imaging, separation, clarity and detail retrieval.

It's lightweight and durable without flimsy and squeaky parts. The ear cups tilt and swivel. The earpads are shallow, very firm, and have bad quality, so I strongly recommend replacing them, especially with softer pads since the clamping force is on the stronger side.

 

HD681 EVO (w/ velour earpads from Brainwavz) has a large soundstage, good detail retrieval, and very good clarity, but it has poor imaging and separation. It has a warm sound signature/profile with smooth treble and deep, clean bass.

The build quality is the same as HD668B. The drivers protrude out of the cups quite a bit, so I recommend taking out the loose felt inside the cups and replacing the earpads with velour earpads from Brainwavz.
 
I'm also comparing to AKG K712 Pro, Q701; Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X, AD2000X; Beyerdynamic DT990 Edition (600-ohm); HiFiMan HE400i rev. 1, HE-500; HyperX Cloud II; Koss KSC75, Porta Pro; Monolith M1060; Philips Fidelio X2, SHP9500; Sennheiser HD580, HD598, HD700, and HD800.

 

I assess headphones mainly in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a game with great sound design that I've played for over 3000 hours and I'm acutely familiar with. (This is for PS3 -- not PC -- as PC has virtual surround sound or some spatialization software that makes it very difficult to hear footsteps and other sound cues.)

 

Open-back means that the earcups have perforations/openings that allow sound to freely pass in and out. The benefits are generally a larger soundstage and better imaging. Soundstage is perceived space and environment of sound, it's distance to sound. Imaging is direction of sound. If your ears tend to heat up, open-back may also help mitigate this as it allows more airflow and heat to dissipate.

 

Closed-back means the earcups have solid shells that attenuate sound from passing through.

 

Soundstage is perceived space and environment of sound, it's distance to sound.

 

Imaging is direction of sound.

 

Separation is how you discern individual sounds from a range of overlapping sounds.

 

 

Microphones:

  • Antlion ModMic 4
  • Massdrop Minimic
  • Sony ECMCS3
  • V-MODA BoomPro
  • Zalman ZM-Mic1

Descriptions:

Spoiler

Antlion ModMic 4 attaches magnetically to a base that you stick to either earcup. The Minimic uses the same clasp system except with velcro instead. They're easy to attach and detach, especially the Minimic since it's modular. They have their own cable and operate separately from the headphone, so they're compatible with all headphones. ModMic 4 can be bought with and without a mute switch, and Minimic comes with a mute switch.

 

V-MODA BoomPro connects directly to the headphone, replacing the original headphone cable. It's compatible with Philips SHP9500 and Status Audio CB-1 of my recommendations/suggestions. It has a mute switch and volume control.

 

The other mics clip onto your clothing or the headphone cable and don't have any in-line controls.

 
 
 

 

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45 minutes ago, Tacanacy said:

snip snap

Thanks a ton dude, I really appreciate the time and thought that you put into responding to my post.  Based on what you said, and also the amazon reviews, I'm going to go with the SHP9500s and a V-MODA BoomPro.  The design looks more appealing to me (the way it's built, not just the aesthetics) and the reviews are more consistent.  I'd just like to thank you again for your time and knowledge, since it sounds like my suspicion about the Cloud II's being too "gamer-y" was correct, and hopefully this improves my experience from what it would have been.

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14 hours ago, Tacanacy said:

This is a compilation of headphones and microphones I've read and heard people recommend for gaming, in the $100 range combined.

 

Headphones:

  • AKG K52 (closed-back)
  • Audio-Technica ATH-AD500x (open-back)
  • Philips SHP9500 (open-back)
  • Samson SR850 (semi-open-back)
  • Status Audio OB-1 (open-back)
  • Status Audio CB-1 (closed-back)
  • Superlux HD681 (B, F) (semi-open-back)
  • Superlux HD681 EVO (semi-open-back) + velour earpads from HiFiMAN
  • Superlux HD669 (closed-back)
  • Superlux HD668B (semi-open-back) + velour earpads from HiFiMAN
  • Superlux HD662 (B, F) (closed-back)
  • Superlux HD662 EVO (closed-back)

Descriptions:

  Hide contents

 

I have AKG K52, Philips SHP9500, Superlux HD662 EVO, Superlux HD668B, Superlux HD669 and Superlux HD681 EVO of these.

 

K52 has a large soundstage, good imaging, clarity, detail retrieval and texture, and decent separation. It has a balanced sound signature. The bass can sound slightly distorted in explosions and other big and loud sounds.

It's over-ear, very lightweight, has a durable construction and detachable earpads, but the earpads are shallow. For aftermarket earpads, I recommend these; they are deep, very soft and have great quality.

 

SHP9500 has a large soundstage, good imaging, separation and detail retrieval, and very good clarity and texture. It has a balanced sound signature.

It's over-ear, lightweight, has a durable construction, a detachable cable and detachable earpads, but they are shallow. The clamping force is very light, so I don't recommend the headphone for children or if you frequently move your head down and have an average sized head. To replace the earpads, you have to modify them or buy 3D printed rings that the new earpads attach to. Modifying is very easy and quick to do and doesn't require new/extra parts aside from the replacement earpads, but the stock earpads will be destroyed. I've made a tutorial. 3D printed parts can be bought from Mod House Audio and Thingverse. I recommend Shure HPAEC1840 for earpads. These will tighten the clamping force for a little.

 

HD668B with velour earpads from HiFiMAN has a very large soundstage, very good imaging, separation and detail retrieval, good clarity, and decent texture. It has emphasized treble, a small boost in the mid-bass and overall clean bass.

It's over-ear, very lightweight, has a sturdy construction, a detachable cable and detachable earpads, but they are shallow and have bad quality.

 

HD681 EVO with velour earpads from HiFiMAN has a very large soundstage, good detail retrieval, very good clarity and texture, but has poor imaging and separation. It h as a warm sound signature with deep sub-bass.

It's over-ear, lightweight, has a durable build, a detachable cable and detachable earpads, but they are shallow, and the driver sticks out quite a bit, so I recommend taking out the loose felt inside the cups. I also recommend replacing the earpads with velour earpads from HiFiMAN. If you have big ears or want more bass, then I recommend round velour earpads from Brainwavz. They contain memory foam are very soft. They cost $25, but the headphone's sound quality is well worth it.

 

I'm currently testing Superlux HD669 and Superlux HD662 EVO.
 
I also compare to AKG Q701, Audio-Technica ATH-AD700x, Beyerdynamic DT990 (600 ohms), HyperX Cloud, Philips Fidelio X2 and Sennheiser HD700. I bought all aforementioned headphones for gaming and my evaluations derive mostly from listening to games. All of my headphones/headsets have been burned in for at least 20 hours, some several hundred. I can't emphasize enough that perceived performance in headphones/headsets is relative.

 

I strongly advise against HyperX Cloud / Cloud II / CloudX because they have a very bad price-performance ratio compared to SHP9500, HD668B and HD681 EVO and a bad one compared to K52. The Clouds have a small soundstage, bad imaging, and they sound very muddy with grainy bass.

 

 

Closed-back headphones have cups with solid shells that largely isolate sound from passing in and out.

 

Open-back / semi-open-back headphones have cups with perforations/grills that allow outside sound to freely pass in and sound from the drivers to freely pass out. How loud you hear outside sound and how loud people around you hear the sound emanating from the headphones depend on your volume, of course. The sonic benefit to open-back is generally a big soundstage.

 

Soundstage is perceived space and environment of sound. It can be compared to virtual surround sound; both attempt to produce the same spacious, three-dimensional effect. VSS can sound more ambient and immersive, which depends on the processor (CMSS-3D, Dolby, SBX, etc.), but it degrades the sound quality and diminishes detailing due to compression from digital processing. You might also experience less accurate imaging and separation if the headphone already has good imaging and separation. Note that a deep soundstage is equally important as a wide soundstage.

 

Imaging determines how accurately sounds/objects are positioned across the soundstage. And I mean where they are positioned and not merely which direction they come from. This distinction is important because being unable to tell height (levels/floors) and distance isn't good enough for me when playing against people or on high difficulties. Imaging is inherent to the audio content, so if the game is recorded or mixed poorly, a headphone with good imaging won’t improve the positional audio, so don't judge the headphone before using it in games you're very familiar with. I test mine mostly in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a game that has great recording and mixing and that I've played for over six years.

 

Separation is separating individual sounds from a range of sounds. Good separation makes it easier to filter out or discern overlapping sounds from other sounds and track them.

 

 

Microphones:

  • Antlion ModMic 4
  • Massdrop Minimic
  • Neewer Clip on Mini Lapel Microphone
  • Sony ECMCS3
  • V-MODA BoomPro
  • Zalman ZM-Mic1

Descriptions:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Antlion ModMic 4 and Massdrop Minimic use a clasp system to attach to headphones and are easy to attach and remove. They are compatible with all headphones and have a mute switch.

The Minimic isn't available on Massdrop for the time being, but I mention it in case you want to save money and wait until it becomes available. I recommend requesting it on Massdrop in the meanwhile.

 

V-MODA BoomPro connects to the headphone's jack, replacing the headphone cable. It's compatible with Philips SHP9500 and Status Audio CB-1 of my recommendations. It has a mute switch and a volume control.

 

The other mics clip onto your clothing and don't have any in-line controls.

 

 

This guy has the right idea. Good thing I made sure to read the comments before going out of my way to explain the differences in headphones, sound stage, etc. 

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