Need a replacement gaming headset!

[Kaidesa]

Hello everyone!

 

I've come across a major dilemma.  Recently, my beloved Razer Kraken 7.1 headset has fallen into disrepair, and as such, I've been put into a bit of a pickle.  You see, I'm a professional gamer (not in the realm of competitive gaming, but in the sense that gaming is, in fact, my job), and a decent headset with decent surround sound is quite important to keep me performing at my best.

 

Now, I'm going to go ahead and say that  I, unfortunately, have a rather limited budget for my audio setup while working.  My current maximum budget is $150 (give or take $20, but no more).  I'm looking for a replacement for the Razer Kraken 7.1, and would prefer a gaming headset with both decent surround sound (true, or virtual) AND a decent microphone, as I can't really afford a standalone mic as well as a decent set of headphones to go with them at this current point in time.

 

For added information, I recently purchased a Steelseries Siberia Elite Prism, from Amazon, while it was at sale for $150.  Unfortunately, I didn't much care for it at all.  I found that it was extremely uncomfortable during long gaming sessions, which isn't good, considering I'm often at the computer for 8-12 hours a day wearing a headset.  Not only was it heavy, and bulky, but it squeezed down on the side of my head like it was trying to make it explode.  I think this may have something to do with the metallic frame it has just not being very stretchy.  I also found the virtual Dolby surround to be quite annoying, and noticed that it added quite a bit of reverb to... well, everything.  That's not really acceptable, and as functional surround sound is a requirement, this just won't do.  Needless to say, I returned them.

 

So, I'm looking for recommendations for a good, overall gaming headset with a price range of $100 - $150 (USD).  If anyone can give any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.  Looking to get a replacement for sure by next week, as I'm currently unable to work, which hurts...  A lot.

[Bl00dgod]

Sennheiser Game ONE or the hyperx cloud 2?

[sobe]

The Sennheiser G4ME One would have my top recommendation, otherwise the HyperX Cloud.

[Benji_w]

SNIP

 

I have the corsair H2100 which do a good job at comfort audio quality is a bit meh when it comes to heavy ass bass but I'm pretty happy with the comfort overall. Not sure on US prices so they might be out of your price range.

[Kaidesa]

I was actually looking at the HyperX Cloud II, but I heard that, not only did it have some design flaws which lead to a short overall life of the headset, but that people were having a ton of issues with the built-in virtual surround, and resorted on things like Razer Surround in order to manage the virtual surround rather than what comes with the headset.  If that's the case, I may as well just throw out even less cash for some analog headset and run it through Razer Surround.

 

Could just be a bunch of noise, but then again... Linus and just about everyone else in the tech community absolutely adored the Siberia Elite, and I find it to be kind of meh, at best.  Just personal opinion, I guess.  That and that damn clamping factor...

 

I'll take a look at the Sennheiser, but I'm going to be waiting until the weekend before I decide to make a purchase.  Want to get my research in, without taking too much time.

 

Anyone else have any suggestions?  What do you guys use, and do you have anything to compare them to?  Thanks for the info so far.  

[TriBeard]

I also have the corsair H2100's. I like them for gaming, and they're alright for general music or movie use too.

 

My normal setup is either a set of 5.1 klipsch speakers off a marantz reciever, or a pair of either marshall monitors or Shure 840's driven off that same reciever. While the corsairs don't sound as good, the bass is well defined but not overwhelming and it doesn't overpower everything else. Too much/low quality bass is something I think a lot of gaming headsets have in an effort to help you "feel" the explosions and whatnot, and the h2100 to me is the ideal balance in that reguard.

[sobe]

I was actually looking at the HyperX Cloud II, but I heard that, not only did it have some design flaws which lead to a short overall life of the headset, but that people were having a ton of issues with the built-in virtual surround, and resorted on things like Razer Surround in order to manage the virtual surround rather than what comes with the headset.  If that's the case, I may as well just throw out even less cash for some analog headset and run it through Razer Surround.

 

Could just be a bunch of noise, but then again... Linus and just about everyone else in the tech community absolutely adored the Siberia Elite, and I find it to be kind of meh, at best.  Just personal opinion, I guess.  That and that damn clamping factor...

 

I'll take a look at the Sennheiser, but I'm going to be waiting until the weekend before I decide to make a purchase.  Want to get my research in, without taking too much time.

 

Anyone else have any suggestions?  What do you guys use, and do you have anything to compare them to?  Thanks for the info so far.  

 

The Siberias are garbage, and as far as surround sound... It is all the same, there is no such thing as surround sound for headphones. The simulated surround crap, there is next to no difference between Dolby (what most headsets come with when using usb), Creative, Razer, or whatever other surround software is out there.

The HyperX Cloud is a headset clone of the Takstar Pro80 headPHONES which have a proven track record, if you do happen to get a bad one, that is what returns are for.

[Kaidesa]

... there is no such thing as surround sound for headphones. The simulated surround crap, there is next to no difference between Dolby (what most headsets come with when using usb), Creative, Razer, or whatever other surround software is out there.

The HyperX Cloud is a headset clone of the Takstar Pro80 headPHONES which have a proven track record, if you do happen to get a bad one, that is what returns are for.

 

I'm aware there's no such thing as true surround sound for headphones.  However, you're wrong in assuming there is no difference between the different types of virtual surround sound implementations.  Each of them tend to colorize the sounds in a unique way, and each company performs different tweaks with the sounds and positional audio queues if it's not purely specified by the source.

 

I was looking at the HyperX Cloud headset, but I keep hearing problems about the usability when plugged in via USB, having them stutter, pop and hiss at random times.  In response to an Amazon review of this headset, Kingston themselves identified the problem as being with ALL of the USB dongles they pushed out, and once properly fixed, plan on sending replacement USB dongles out to anyone who requests them.  Glad to see some companies actually care about their customers.

[Kaidesa]

The Sennheiser G4ME One would have my top recommendation, otherwise the HyperX Cloud.

 

I just checked out the G4me Ones and they seem pretty promising.  I also noticed that, thanks to a sale at the moment, I can also get the G4me Zero for about $10 more.

 

This may be a safe bet.  The mic quality doesn't seem bad at all, and I've heard nothing but great things about Sennheiser.

 

Out of curiosity, though... is the G4me one just an open-backed version of the G4me Zero with cloth ear cuffs instead of the leatherette ones?  I can't seem to find any actual specs on the official Sennheiser website, and there's really no difference mentioned on the pages besides that.

[sobe]

I'd say the G4ME Zero is just the closed back version of the One, since the one's design somewhat follows the typical HD 5xx sets. The Zero uses leatherette pads similar to the majority of closed pads on the market vs the velour on the Open which is similar to what is used on the majority of open headphones on the market.

 

For games I'd personally get the G4ME One so as to not sacrifice anything as far as sound stage goes, but then again, if you need even a little bit of noise isolation, the closed cans (Zero) may be of more use to you.

[AlTech]

Hello everyone!

 

I've come across a major dilemma.  Recently, my beloved Razer Kraken 7.1 headset has fallen into disrepair, and as such, I've been put into a bit of a pickle.  You see, I'm a professional gamer (not in the realm of competitive gaming, but in the sense that gaming is, in fact, my job), and a decent headset with decent surround sound is quite important to keep me performing at my best.

 

Now, I'm going to go ahead and say that  I, unfortunately, have a rather limited budget for my audio setup while working.  My current maximum budget is $150 (give or take $20, but no more).  I'm looking for a replacement for the Razer Kraken 7.1, and would prefer a gaming headset with both decent surround sound (true, or virtual) AND a decent microphone, as I can't really afford a standalone mic as well as a decent set of headphones to go with them at this current point in time.

 

For added information, I recently purchased a Steelseries Siberia Elite Prism, from Amazon, while it was at sale for $150.  Unfortunately, I didn't much care for it at all.  I found that it was extremely uncomfortable during long gaming sessions, which isn't good, considering I'm often at the computer for 8-12 hours a day wearing a headset.  Not only was it heavy, and bulky, but it squeezed down on the side of my head like it was trying to make it explode.  I think this may have something to do with the metallic frame it has just not being very stretchy.  I also found the virtual Dolby surround to be quite annoying, and noticed that it added quite a bit of reverb to... well, everything.  That's not really acceptable, and as functional surround sound is a requirement, this just won't do.  Needless to say, I returned them.

 

So, I'm looking for recommendations for a good, overall gaming headset with a price range of $100 - $150 (USD).  If anyone can give any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.  Looking to get a replacement for sure by next week, as I'm currently unable to work, which hurts...  A lot.

Logitech G633?

[VortexS]

I was actually looking at the HyperX Cloud II, but I heard that, not only did it have some design flaws which lead to a short overall life of the headset, but that people were having a ton of issues with the built-in virtual surround, and resorted on things like Razer Surround in order to manage the virtual surround rather than what comes with the headset.  If that's the case, I may as well just throw out even less cash for some analog headset and run it through Razer Surround.

 

Could just be a bunch of noise, but then again... Linus and just about everyone else in the tech community absolutely adored the Siberia Elite, and I find it to be kind of meh, at best.  Just personal opinion, I guess.  That and that damn clamping factor...

 

I'll take a look at the Sennheiser, but I'm going to be waiting until the weekend before I decide to make a purchase.  Want to get my research in, without taking too much time.

 

Anyone else have any suggestions?  What do you guys use, and do you have anything to compare them to?  Thanks for the info so far.  

 

If you really want surround just go for the HyperX Cloud (1) and use Razer surround. Otherwise just go for the HyperX Cloud (1)

[Adorza]

Logitech G633?

NO