Wireless headphones - what to choose?

[Mangovnik]

Prelude:

I have been using Hyperx Cloud II for years now. Even that they tried to die 3 times already, I forced my dad to rewire them and they still work as good as new. That said I don't really need to buy new headphones, if I conclude that I am not satisfied with current selection.

 

Usage - mainly with PC (gaming, yt, music, discord)

 

I decided that I should treat myself with something nice and decided that it should be new headphones. After being confused, not really knowledgeable about what to look for in headphones and reading/viewing bunch of reviews I ended up with this selection:

• Philips TAH8506
• Sony WH-H910N
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2

• Sennheiser PXC 550 II

I would like to ask you, what of these you think are better to pick up? Or are there any similar wireless headphones that would give better performance/value?

 

Price tag of Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 is roughly the max I am willing to spend, however I would not mind spending little bit more if there would be headphones really worth it. Next decision point would also be mic quality. I would not like to get wireless headphones just to plug a mic on my table because the headphone's mic is bad. I have watched review videos for each of the mentioned headphones where they also recorded some audio with build in mics. They said it is kinda meh, but I did not actually heard any differences and they sounded ok to me. Maybe I am somewhat deaf? Feel free to elaborate on mic quality.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Mangovnik
Added new headphones.

[mr fobs]

Are you dead set on a wireless headset? You can such better sound quality from wired headsets, plus spend less money. Or you could do it the ProGamer  way and get a quality pair of headphones with a USB condenser Mic.

[Mangovnik]

14 minutes ago, mr fobs said:

Are you dead set on a wireless headset? You can such better sound quality from wired headsets, plus spend less money. Or you could do it the ProGamer  way and get a quality pair of headphones with a USB condenser Mic.

If I will buy some headphones, I am set to get a wireless one atm. I already have wired headphones that I am satisfied with. Unless somebody will convince me that getting new wired headphones is worth the upgrade.

 

Edit: USB condeser mic is over the quality I am looking for. Maybe I placed to much emphasis on the mic quality in original post. All I ask for is the mic quality be good without any background wind noises.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Mangovnik

[Xwartu]

On this topic, I absolutely abhor circle based wireless gaming headphones, whether it be Razer or Corsair. I don't know why they're popular. I traded in a pair of Corsair Virtuosos (not literally, just they sit on a shelf) for a pair of much inferior but still decent Corsair HS70s just to not chaff my ears after usage. I would really go to a Best Buy or somewhere that allows you to try on headphones to see if you'll hate them too, but that's if you're wanting consumer grade headphones. 

 

I can't recommend much, except that a lot of people really like SteelSeries headphones, and that Razer in general seems to hold up well in reviews and consumer satisfaction. It really depends on how much of an audiophile you are tbh for what you're looking for. If audio is your bead and butter, something from Sennheiser (despite their buyout) or Bower's and Wilkins may be worth it. 

 

Overall HyperX I'd say is midgrade like Corsair, in that there's kind of a reason they were sold off to HP by Kingston. They just don't seem to command the same market share, outside of the Cloud 2s and it's derivatives you already have, at least in my anecdotal experience. 

[Mangovnik]

17 minutes ago, Xwartu said:

On this topic, I absolutely abhor circle based wireless gaming headphones, whether it be Razer or Corsair. I don't know why they're popular. I traded in a pair of Corsair Virtuosos (not literally, just they sit on a shelf) for a pair of much inferior but still decent Corsair HS70s just to not chaff my ears after usage. I would really go to a Best Buy or somewhere that allows you to try on headphones to see if you'll hate them too, but that's if you're wanting consumer grade headphones. 

 

I can't recommend much, except that a lot of people really like SteelSeries headphones, and that Razer in general seems to hold up well in reviews and consumer satisfaction. It really depends on how much of an audiophile you are tbh for what you're looking for. If audio is your bead and butter, something from Sennheiser (despite their buyout) or Bower's and Wilkins may be worth it. 

 

Overall HyperX I'd say is midgrade like Corsair, in that there's kind of a reason they were sold off to HP by Kingston. They just don't seem to command the same market share, outside of the Cloud 2s and it's derivatives you already have, at least in my anecdotal experience. 

Unfortunately retailer put on display only small selection of headphones in my area. So I can't try out all headphones that I would be interested in.

 

I was also checking out steelseries. I may reconsider them. On topic of Razer... I try not to buy from them because I had to ditch my Razer Naga mmo mouse because their old software made it unusable and their new software does not support it.

 

I do not enjoy crappy audio, but I am no audiofil. The Cloud II I have are good for me and I have no complains about their sound. Does not mean I would not appreciate an upgrade - assuming I could tell the difference. Gonna check out brands you mentioned.

[Brooksie359]

4 minutes ago, Mangovnik said:

Unfortunately retailer put on display only small selection of headphones in my area. So I can't try out all headphones that I would be interested in.

 

I was also checking out steelseries. I may reconsider them. On topic of Razer... I try not to buy from them because I had to ditch my Razer Naga mmo mouse because their old software made it unusable and their new software does not support it.

 

I do not enjoy crappy audio, but I am no audiofil. The Cloud II I have are good for me and I have no complains about their sound. Does not mean I would not appreciate an upgrade - assuming I could tell the difference. Gonna check out brands you mentioned.

Tbh the cloud II is pretty much one of the best sounding gaming headsets out there. I have had quite a few headsets and basically all of them were subpar when it comes to audio compared to the cloud II. Obviously audiophile headphones sound better than the cloud II but again for a pair of gaming headphones the could II are much better than the competition imo. 

[Psittac]

I haven't purchase a gaming headset in about 8 years, they served me well but as soon as I started getting into audiophile equipment I just bought a modmic and can use anything I want so I haven't had a need to buy another headset.  They may have improved in sound quality since but given the gamer tax my opinion is that it's far better to get something made for music and add a mic to it. (I did get the razer kraken pro v2 and it was horrible for everything other than gaming).

 

If your looking for wireless headphones with an acceptable mic I can throw the AKG 361-bt into the mix, I haven't been able to get the BT on my desktop to work yet so I don't know how the mic quality is but for sound quality they are pretty good, abundant bass ok mids and good treble.  They're a quality build and can fold down into a compact form.  Only thing that could be a problem is the ear pads are narrow and even my relatively small ears touch a little on the back and a bit against the driver.  But overall I really enjoy them so it's one possibility for you to look at.

 

The only other thing I can add is that if you plan on getting into the audiophile space as a hobby I would recommend an antlion modmic so any headphone is a gaming headset, just buy extra mounts for it for a few bucks.  They do make a wireless version but the price point doesn't make sense for the budget you're looking at.  Still you could get a modmic uni and only pop it on when you're going to use comms and run wireless the rest of the time, it's a magnetic attachment mechanism so it's very simple to put on and off.

[BiotechBen]

15 minutes ago, Mangovnik said:

If I will buy some headphones, I am set to get a wireless one atm. I already have wired headphones that I am satisfied with. Unless somebody will convince me that getting new wired headphones is worth the upgrade.

I mean, all my JBL Bluetooth headsets have great audio quality and I've never gotten a complaint about the mic quality on a call while using them.

JBL E55BT (discontinued?)

JBL UA ~$250 (worth it)

Also have some Anker Soundcore Life Q20 headphones, super comfy