Audio Upgrade for casual Streaming and Gaming

[Ravaged]

Well its that time of the year again to upgrade something with my PC and this time is my audio. I currently am using a cheap $20 pair of earbuds from JLabs that are fine for gaming and playing with friends in discord but I want a better experience in the sound I hear as well as the sound others will hear but with that I figured I will need a good mic for streaming as the one that is built in to the earbuds aren't that great but it works. I have used other headsets in the past (about $50-$80 each) but they only seemed to last me about 4 months at most before something would break or go out so that's why I went with the cheap option I have now. I have found a headset (https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-pro-gamedac?color=black) which seems good but I figured I would ask around and see what you guys know. As for a Mic I found that the Yeticaster is a nice all in one bundle but again I figured I would ask and see what you guys would recommend. My overall budget for this audio upgrade is about $600 I know I can get more out of this budget but I am no audiophile so I'm not sure what is worth the money.

 

What I'm Looking for

• Strong build quality (metal or strong plastic)
• Open or closed back either works for me
• plug n play would be nice but I ok with having to tune or set software up
• Good Headset for the sound and a Good Mic to Sound good
• Most Important something that will last for a few years both for build and something I wont need to upgrade

[FakeFBI]

im gonna be stupid again and say  get hyperx or if u want waste money on steelseries

ill look for good pairs, also logitech has some headphones

for speakers go logitech, i got some, it will do a bit of like static if its just plain earape sounds, but mine are like $40 they are value

mic i feel is logitech or turtle beach maybe, but i dont specialize in mics

[Tigerleon]

21 minutes ago, ComputerBuilder said:

im gonna be stupid again and say  get hyperx or if u want waste money on steelseries

ill look for good pairs, also logitech has some headphones

for speakers go logitech, i got some, it will do a bit of like static if its just plain earape sounds, but mine are like $40 they are value

mic i feel is logitech or turtle beach maybe, but i dont specialize in mics

I'd say go for the MH751's which have the best mic I've ever heard under 100 dollars for a pair of headset. Don't be tricked by the price-tag. Also. I would say. Get the Sound Blaster G5 or G6 depending on your budget so you can tweak sound settings and even have voice changers for the mic on the headset if you care about that haha.

[FakeFBI]

the logitech headphones i got theres like no tuning but its plug in and use  definitly

[Tigerleon]

Just now, ComputerBuilder said:

the logitech headphones i got theres like no tuning but its plug in and use  definitly

I don't think you know what you are saying. There is either 3.5mm headphones that doesn't use a dongle (USB) and one that has a USB. 3.5mm is a more flexible connector and can be used for other devices. And paired with DAC/amps. The main reason why you can tune is because of the USB dongle because it has software you can use on your PC.

[Tigerleon]

52 minutes ago, Ravaged said:

 

• Strong build quality (metal or strong plastic)
• Open or closed back either works for me
• plug n play would be nice but I ok with having to tune or set software up
• Good Headset for the sound and a Good Mic to Sound good
• Most Important something that will last for a few years both for build and something I wont need to upgrade

If you need a pretty good mic just get a USB mic. I do know that @The Flying Slothwill kill me for saying that but it is just easier to setup and you have less stuff to route and you most likely wont have a proper use of the interface anyways. You could get the DT 990 pros 250ohm which are open back and sounds better than the MH751's I recommended before. Pair those with the Sound Blaster G5 or G6 and you'll have an easy controllable EQ and other settings to mess around with. YOU CAN'T USE THE DT 990'S WITHOUT AN AMP!! You can but they'll sound like muffled shitty gaming headsets.

[FakeFBI]

4 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

I don't think you know what you are saying. There is either 3.5mm headphones that doesn't use a dongle (USB) and one that has a USB. 3.5mm is a more flexible connector and can be used for other devices. And paired with DAC/amps. The main reason why you can tune is because of the USB dongle because it has software you can use on your PC.

oops i meant speakers sorry

[Tigerleon]

1 minute ago, ComputerBuilder said:

oops i meant speakers sorry

Makes sense.

[FakeFBI]

yea, i just play first person shooter

[FakeFBI]

and stuff like that, i bought them from best buy

[Ahoy Hoy]

Few questions does the microphone have to be USB or are you happy using a audio interface?

Is there other things you want like ability to plug in your phone to play music or sound effects etc.

Do you run a two system recording streaming

[The Flying Sloth]

2 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

If you need a pretty good mic just get a USB mic. I do know that @The Flying Slothwill kill me for saying that but it is just easier to setup and you have less stuff to route and you most likely wont have a proper use of the interface anyways. You could get the DT 990 pros 250ohm which are open back and sounds better than the MH751's I recommended before. Pair those with the Sound Blaster G5 or G6 and you'll have an easy controllable EQ and other settings to mess around with. YOU CAN'T USE THE DT 990'S WITHOUT AN AMP!! You can but they'll sound like muffled shitty gaming headsets.

Consider yourself killed

OP, if you want a good mic I'd strongly suggest getting a UMC202HD and a real XLR mic, if you want some more info about that take a look at the link in my signature to check out my audio gear recommendation list. On top of that the 202HD has balanced outputs and a dedicated headphone amp to assist with whatever speaker or headphones you choose to pair it with.

[Ahoy Hoy]

Mixer/interface - Yamaha AG03 $150 - the streaming king. Plug you microphone in headphones in, any other extra things and its super easy to mix it all.
Headphones - DT990 $140 - Just hard to go wrong with these headphones. No one on this forum is going to say these are bad or not recommend them. Just great performance to money
Microphone - Rode PodMic $99 - Decent microphone for price 
Mic Stand - Rode PSA1 $99 - bit expensive probably find cheaper but this is the king of quality
XLR cable 10ft $22 - Its the cable you need.

Total - $510 If you shop around be able to find better prices. Im not American so I based my prices all of one website.


Things to possibly change

Got to be USB buy the Shure mv7 USB and get rid of the XLR cable as well as the mixer. If you want to spend extra money get a headphone dac amp but probably not 100% necessary. 
If you want to start breaking the bank on audio quality for the microphone Rode Podcaster or Shure SM7B

Different stands
Small sit on desk
Cheaper stand also free cable and pop shield ooo. But its cheaper so getting slightly less quality

Headphone options
DT770 - similar to 990 but closed back so have more bass and low end. If your into that kind thing go for it. I have closed backs because I like the low end.
Sennheiser HD25 - thinking of becoming a sick DJ then look no further
Other people have more experiences with me with headphones ill let them deal with that.


Also if anyone recommends a yamaha mg mixer I will hunt you down and shoot you in a video game

[Ravaged]

3 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Few questions does the microphone have to be USB or are you happy using a audio interface?

Is there other things you want like ability to plug in your phone to play music or sound effects etc.

Do you run a two system recording streaming

The mic doesn't need to be USB and ya I'm fine using an interface.

I wont be pluging in other things so that wont matter to much and I use a single system.

[Ravaged]

What about the Yeti X which is both XLR and USB so I could upgrade in the future to Full/Tru XLR. I also was wondering what makes steel series so bad? A lot of twitch streamers use steel series pro or some kind of gaming headset Im just curious. 

 

[The Flying Sloth]

57 minutes ago, Ravaged said:

What about the Yeti X which is both XLR and USB so I could upgrade in the future to Full/Tru XLR. I also was wondering what makes steel series so bad? A lot of twitch streamers use steel series pro or some kind of gaming headset Im just curious. 

 

I have to get back for work so I will explain later but no, that mic isn't great, they're just not built well enough or good enough sounding to justify the price. Take a look at that link in my signature to hear how good a cheap proper XLR mic can sound.