New headset suggestions

[PedroL2000]

I'm planning on getting a new headset in the near future and would like to hear out some suggestions. I've been a Razer Kraken user for years (had a 2017 Kraken and in 2020 I bought a TE Edition), but unfortunately the material covering the headband is starting to flake off. I absolutely love the sound quality even though reviews says otherwise, however I'm not an audiophile. I did get a Kraken V3 but hated the audio quality, I don't know if that's a Synapse issue as I don't have Synapse enabled for my TE (I read about Synapse update affecting audio in late 2023). Also I'm willing to get a wireless headset, is there a big difference in audio quality between wired and wireless? I was thinking about getting a Blackshark V2 Pro 2023 edition, but I want to hear you out first.

[191x7]

Do you need the integrated microphone?

 

Razer headsets are terrible for any kind of competitive gaming. The same as Logitech/Astro, Steelseries, and such.

Bad positioning, distancing, elevation, soundstage, but not just that - many sounds mix/blend and some sounds overpower the others. Simply bad.

 

Have you considered IEMs? Maybe some open-back headphones that are good for gaming like the Sennheiser HD 560S or the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X?

[Psittac]

My personal anecdote. I bought the kraken pro v2 back in 2017, at that time I had just started my headFi experience with a Topping DX7 (balanced dac/amp) and Hifiman HE400i 2017 (neutral planar magnetic) but had been using the Sennheiser Game One for a few years and previously a 5.1 home theater.  When I put the Kraken on and gamed, it was golden for signature.  I never analyzed it in anything competitive but when something exploded or gunshots etc etc it was full and vibrant.  I thought they were amazing until I attempted to listen to music or watch YouTube..... And they were pure and absolute garbage compared to anything else I had experience with.  I had only purchased them as an attempt to get my blind friend onto comms (which never panned out) but other than that day's trip to a lanparty and a brief stop at bestbuy... I never used them again.

 

My point here being that they are VERY.. To use an audiophile term, colored.  They have been tuned for immersive gaming with no regard for anything else.

 

With all of that said, I will admit that when you listen to the same audio output device every day it normalizes in your brain and sounds just as good or bad as almost anything else would, within reason.  Also when you don't know what you are missing.... you don't know what you are missing.  That's why I like to change up my headphones on the regular to keep my brain tingly.  Just don't go to far in this hobby because everyone will admit that there is a point of diminishing returns.  If you are sitting here, like I have, and A/B testing something and focusing your mind on what the differences are you're either crazy and/or to deep in the rabbit hole to come back.

 

As to your question about wired vs wireless.... it mostly comes down to convenience and packaging.  Wireless is an all in one package and includes dac amp and headphone/mic.  Wired (outside of the gaming headset world) offers more customization. In theory wireless has limited bandwidth but again, in the headset world this is negligible.

 

Which leads me, considering the price tag of the V3 as a potential budget to your overall suggestion...

 

queue @Cocococo

 

 

*edit: or make another post for a wired solution and give a budget

[Cocococo]

Razer just aren't a reliable company for headsets at all, if you must use a gaming headset (and need wireless) then i'd probably look at HyperX Clouds, no hate to gaming headset users out there but frankly if you don't need wireless in your setup then 10/10 times you're better off buying a "budget" closed back headphone and getting some other mic solution. a more efficient way to get answers if you aren't willing to risk Razer's quality control (so many Razer headsets just straight up die or arrive broken) then i'd make a separate post asking for recommendations, give a budget, location, wired or wireless requirements, use case I.E. console, PC, also use for travel and if you want open or closed headphones. 

[QuantumRand]

I'm no audiophile either, but I can say that I noticed a significant quality difference when I tried the Audeze Maxwell compared to Razer (Barracuda Pro), Steelseries (Arctis 7 and 7+), and Bang & Olufsen (Beoplay Portal). The sound profile was pretty neutral, and it had a huge sound stage. The Maxwell and the Beoplay Portal both had noticeably less distortion than the others as well.

 

Even though I think the Maxwells sound noticeably better, I actually still prefer the Beoplay Portal though. The Maxwells are just heavy AF, whereas the Portals are literally the most comfortable headset I've ever worn.

 

As for your question about wireless headset quality, as long as you go for a headset that does lossless encoding (which is most of the high-end/gaming focused headsets), the quality is just as good as a cable, unless you're far away and the signal cuts outs. What you have to be careful with is latency. Not all headsets use low-latency codecs/connections. Microphone sound quality is where you'll notice the biggest difference between wired/wireless though. I'm not aware of any gaming focused headsets that do lossless microphone transmission.

[Psittac]

5 hours ago, Cocococo said:

Razer just aren't a reliable company for headsets at all, if you must use a gaming headset (and need wireless) then i'd probably look at HyperX Clouds, no hate to gaming headset users out there but frankly if you don't need wireless in your setup then 10/10 times you're better off buying a "budget" closed back headphone and getting some other mic solution. a more efficient way to get answers if you aren't willing to risk Razer's quality control (so many Razer headsets just straight up die or arrive broken) then i'd make a separate post asking for recommendations, give a budget, location, wired or wireless requirements, use case I.E. console, PC, also use for travel and if you want open or closed headphones. 

Oh man, I set you up for the perfect Maxwell recommendation, the Razer he is looking at is right in that budget range 

[Cocococo]

1 hour ago, Psittac said:

Oh man, I set you up for the perfect Maxwell recommendation, the Razer he is looking at is right in that budget range 

Better to let people ask before you push something like Maxwell onto them

[Psittac]

9 hours ago, Cocococo said:

Better to let people ask before you push something like Maxwell onto them

Agreed, last night I was on a kick to google thing's and found that his potential buy was just short of the maxwell.  So I thought it would be epic to set you up for that suggestion.  I would love to hear the Maxwell however I have A LOT of thing's infront of audio stuff when my wallet is concerned right now.  I did get some KEF floorstanding's but over the past 2 years I have been preparing for my basement finish and now that it's here I have many thing's to get that aren't audio related.

 

I appreciate the fact that audio is a hobby of mine however this go round it's going to have to be situational environment that I go for.  I'm going to have two oversized recliners infront of a fish tank and speakers with various headphone amp's in-between the chairs.  So while my experience via collection won't grow, I will have a spot to really sit down and reflect on what I already have.  I think that a comfortable place to listen to music and enjoy hardware has been lacking, previously if I got comfortable enough I would just fall asleep and take a "music nap" which is wonderful in it's self, but not conducive to analyzing hardware.

[BetteBalterZen]

A year ago or so I went from a Steelseries Arctis Pro + GameDAC (which at the time were the best headset sound I've ever heard) to a Beyerdynamics TYGR 300R. And yup, the audio is simply just something else with the Beyerdynamics. Everything is better; Lows, Mids, Highs and the soundstage is just on another level entirely. Sure, TYGR 300R are openback, which of course helps, but still - to even compare the Arctis Pro + GameDAC to the Beyerdynamics, no no, that we don't do I'm never going back to a traditional "gaming" headset again, never. 

Also the Beyerdynamics TYGR 300R is priced quite fairly. No mic though.