Can' decide on a headset?

[PriitM]

Good morning/day/evening and night. 

 

Having the itch for a new headset, but just can't decide between literally thousands of options? 

So many questions like: is the sound good? can I ware them anywere/use for anything? Good value? Will it work on my amp/portable player etc

 

So, to remedy this, I have a few guidelines/rules o' thumb when narrowing down what might work. 

 

1. What are they for: 

• High-fi: 99% music/movies/audio playback
• Gaming: high priority on spacial re-production 
• Portable: Sturdy build with comfort priority
• Utility: Noise-cancelling for work/noisy environments.

2. Where are they used:

• Indoors: low levels of ambient noise, movement, low wear 
• Outdoors: high levels of ambient noise, medium movement, medium wear
• Work: high/extreme levels of ambient noise, movement, extreme wear 

3. Pragmatic considerations: 

• Value: how often would/should you buy new ones. Mainly determined by wear items like cushions and general rough handling. Also frequency of RMA. 
• Comfort: how long will you use them on average. Considerations for weight, clamping pressures and what material is used for cushion foam covers: leather of fabric. 
• Impedance match: 99% outputs are between 16-32 ohm. 1% is everything else combined. 

I included work environments, since there are a few people who could consider noise-cancelling headphones (like electric forklift operators in warehouses) over dedicated heavy duty work headphones. 

 

Hope this helps in narrowing down something for you and your use.