Buying a New Headset (or headphone + mic combo)

[Teslamonger]

I've been considering buying a new headset to replace my Corsair Vengeance 2000s, which I have RMA'd 5 times now (about to be 6) due to cracking sides, DOA units, or battery issues. My preferred pricepoint is ~$200, but is fexible by nearly another $100 (although I really wouldn't want to hit $300 unless I'm buying something semi-audiophile grade). Although I'd prefer analog, so that I could finally make use of my Xonar DX, but it's not a requirement. If it's USB then the drivers have to at least par that of the DX. I truly don't care between open/closed headsets, and audio reproduction accuracy isn't a priority (I'm a slight bass head). Also, I'd prefer not go to with the Antlion ModMic route. My personal preference would be getting a headset (with a built in mic) due to convience, but feel free to throw suggestions down for a headphone + mic combo regardless. One last thing to add, the headphones definitely must be around-the-ear, and not above-the-ear..

I was recently looking at the Sibera Elite, but the horrible mic quality drew me off. I really don't know what else to say, i just brain dumped everthing i can think of... more details and information can be given if requested.

 

TL;DR

-Headset or headphones + mic

-Around $200

-Either analog or USB, don't care.

-Don't want a ModMic

-Around-the-Ear

-Current sound card: Xonar DX

[Rorgash]

If you also want music on the move and are a bit of a bass head but dont want it to ruin the sound either, the M voda M-100 are amazing, but does go all the way to your cap but with the boom mic you can buy for them that attaches to them same as the normal cable would not be that different than built in mics except that you can remove it

[Dylan lol]

game one or game zero is prob the best headset

[NannerBeans]

I would say Beyerdynamic DT990 pro 250ohm to get over the 10 ohm output impedance of that sound card. 

[Teslamonger]

game one or game zero is prob the best headset

I'm really digging the G4ME Zero, but the microphone looks extremely strange with its large size. I'd be alright if the mic was detachable, but since it's not I'd have to think more about considering it.

[Quantum]

Not too big on headsets myself, so I'd recommend something like HD 558s and a Blue Snowball 

[Silent_R493]

I'm really digging the G4ME Zero, but the microphone looks extremely strange with its large size. I'd be alright if the mic was detachable, but since it's not I'd have to think more about considering it.

G4ME Zero and their PC 350 SE are the same thing. Depends if you like the Zeros newer color options.   If you not afraid of Amazon Warehouse Deals you can get the PC 350 SE for a good price like I did.  I got them in Like New while they were already on sale. ($127) Current is $150-ish in Very Good Condition.

 

Also if you need reference. the G4ME Zero and the PC 350 SE are based on Sennheiser's HD380 Pros Design. They are all one and the same.

 

the G4ME One's and the PC 360 are HD558's. 

Edited May 20, 2014 by Silent_R493

[Teslamonger]

Not too big on headsets myself, so I'd recommend something like HD 558s and a Blue Snowball 

Before asking around, I was considering buying a nice pair of Sennheisers and getting a yeti. Any opnions on Yeti vs Snowball?

Also, I'm still open to more headset recommendations, I haven't decided anything yet.

[ShearMe]

Before asking around, I was considering buying a nice pair of Sennheisers and getting a yeti. Any opnions on Yeti vs Snowball?

 

Yeti is overkill. +1 for separate solutions

[Teslamonger]

Any opinions on GAME Z4RO vs GAME ONE? Is the only difference in the open/closed back, and will an open back design cause sound leakage into the mic?

[Ethanololol]

How do you feel about wireless?

 

Steelseries H Wireless

[SSL]

Any opinions on GAME Z4RO vs GAME ONE? Is the only difference in the open/closed back, and will an open back design cause sound leakage into the mic?

 

It shouldn't.

[ShearMe]

Any opinions on GAME Z4RO vs GAME ONE? Is the only difference in the open/closed back, and will an open back design cause sound leakage into the mic?

 

Closed = better/more bass

Open = better/more soundstage

 

The mic wont pickup the open headphones so long as you're a) listening at reasonable volume levels and/or b) don't have the mic turned up too loud. Realistically, you should never run into a problem.

[Teslamonger]

How do you feel about wireless?

 

Steelseries H Wireless

My personal preference would be wireless, hence why I originally bought a Corsair Vengeance 2000. But... after the hoard of problems I had with it, I'm skeptical to buy another wireless headset.

EDIT: After listening to Linus' mic test for the Steelseries H, I'm definitely not going to buy it.

[Silent_R493]

My personal preference would be wireless, hence why I originally bought a Corsair Vengeance 2000. But... after the hoard of problems I had with it, I'm skeptical to buy another wireless headset.

For the price of the H wireless you could get pretty much anything else that would sound better IMO.  

 

Consider either of the G4ME headset if you like those and if that how much your willing to spend.  Those are just HD headphones with a mic attached. Which are known to sound good to a lot of people.   

 

I Personally like Headsets or Headphones with detachable mic.    V-Moda LP2 and Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro are examples of the second mentioned.  Mics are optional add on purchase.

[Ethanololol]

My personal preference would be wireless, hence why I originally bought a Corsair Vengeance 2000. But... after the hoard of problems I had with it, I'm skeptical to buy another wireless headset.

EDIT: After listening to Linus' mic test for the Steelseries H, I'm definitely not going to buy it.

Yeah... the mic leaves much to be desired to say the least...

[Teslamonger]

So basically, the only decent headset on the market for ~$200 is the G4ME series?

[BoredErica]

My opinion, I like the Yeti. I like how it has different modes, like omnidirectional, cardoid, etc. I got mine secondhand from Amazon for $64 . But I understand if some people want a cheaper option. IMO though the Snowball is a little ugly. And the HD650 can be bought at $350 used on Amazon if you wait. HD650 is an audiophile grade headphone. Might not be #1 on your priority list, but it's still an option. The HD 598 is $160 right now on Amazon.

 

You said your Corsair headset has pooped out SIX TIMES?! JESUS!  :blink:  You must hate Corsair for life now.

[NannerBeans]

So basically, the only decent headset on the market for ~$200 is the G4ME series?

Headset yes, but there are many headphones in that price range and you can get a modmic. I would suggest getting a high impedance headphone to get over that 10 ohm output impedance of your sound card. 

[Teslamonger]

Headset yes, but there are many headphones in that price range and you can get a modmic. I would suggest getting a high impedance headphone to get over that 10 ohm output impedance of your sound card. 

Alright, so I don't really understand what the "impedance" and "ohm" rating of audio actually means, although I kind of understand it has something to do with electrical resistance. Is using a high impedance headphone with my sound card beneficial? I've always used a Klipschh S4 on my sound card and the sound isn't terrible, but then again I have 0 experience with audiophile grade products.

[SSL]

Alright, so I don't really understand what the "impedance" and "ohm" rating of audio actually means, although I kind of understand it has something to do with electrical resistance. Is using a high impedance headphone with my sound card beneficial? I've always used a Klipschh S4 on my sound card and the sound isn't terrible, but then again I have 0 experience with audiophile grade products.

 

As a rule of thumb your headphone impedance should be at least 8x the output impedance of the source (this is the damping factor). Otherwise it has the potential to distort the sound badly.

[NannerBeans]

Alright, so I don't really understand what the "impedance" and "ohm" rating of audio actually means, although I kind of understand it has something to do with electrical resistance. Is using a high impedance headphone with my sound card beneficial? I've always used a Klipschh S4 on my sound card and the sound isn't terrible, but then again I have 0 experience with audiophile grade products.

 

This is taken from the FAQ in this subforum

 

90% of the time, onboard audio chipsets like the Realtek ALC889 are actually more suitable for your favorite gaming headset than fancy add-on cards. WHY?!? The long answer is much more complicated. First of all, most -- if not all -- gaming headsets have a low impedance and a high efficiency, meaning that driving them does NOT take special amplification. While you could certainly plug your headset into a Xonar Essence STX, for example, and it would get plenty loud, you'd only be able to use about 30% of the volume control before it blows your ears off, and if you ever set it too high by mistake it can even damage your headphones or even worse, your hearing. Basically, it's overkill in most cases for low impedance headphones. Second, and most importantly, as you'll see below the output impedance of most dedicated soundcard amps is relatively high, in the Essence STX's case it's 10 Ohms as opposed to the Realtek ALC889's 2 Ohms. That's around 1.6 db of extra distortion, and is AUDIBLY detrimental to the fidelity of your audio. Please take pause before you write off the onboard you already have as inherently worse than a dedicated card which could cost you a lot of extra money. A lack of power is the main issue with onboard chipsets such as the Realtek chips, and higher impedance headphones will be hard to drive with these chips. There are lots of other issues with the quality of onboard audio solutions, such as drivers, latency, and other software-based issues, but as you've seen from posts on this board, NO SOUNDCARD is immune to these issues. The Xonar Essence STX for example, is NOT a true pci-e device, but a pci to pci-e bridge card, meaning that a pci bus is attached to the pci-e card and requires exactly an extra 6 ms of latency to transfer the data across that bridge. The Creative driver problems need no introduction. If you really want hassle free sound, your best bet is a class 1 usb audio device like the O2+ODAC or FiiO E10. These are driven by windows native drivers and are plug-and-play.

 

The distortion it is talking about if the dampening effect and to avoid that, your headphone impedance must be 8x higher than your sound card's output impedance. Now the question of if you can hear this distortion or not I can't say for sure but getting high impedance headphones would be more beneficial. 

[NannerBeans]

As a rule of thumb your headphone impedance should be at least 8x the output impedance of the source (this is the damping factor). Otherwise it has the potential to distort the sound badly.

GG I took my time to try to properly answer the question and you answer it the short way and beat me to it

[SSL]

This is taken from the FAQ in this subforum

 

 

The distortion it is talking about if the dampening effect and to avoid that, your headphone impedance must be 8x higher than your sound card's output impedance. Now the question of if you can hear this distortion or not I can't say for sure but getting high impedance headphones would be more beneficial. 

 

It can be very audible: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html

[NannerBeans]

It can be very audible: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html

Some people are deaf okay? lol