Looking to buy a good pair of headphones and a mic

[Laucien]

Hi!. 

 

I'm looking to buy some good headphones and a quality mic for my computer to replace my gaming headset but I don't know anything about audio stuff haha. 

 

Budget for the headphones is something around 300/350. They're going to be used almost exclusively with my computer (Might take them along for a trip or similar but not to listen to music on my commute to work) and will be used with a Strix RAID DLX sound card I already own. I kinda like the idea of active noise cancellation but never tried on a pair with that... is it worth it?. Someone recommended these to me but no idea if they're good or what, reviews seem to think so though. 

 

For mics I'm just as lost. This?.  

[dj_ripcord]

The V-Modas are nice for gaming from what I hear. I have never tried them personally, but they should work well for you. I personally prefer Audio Technica ATH-M50's because they are really the best value headphones money can buy for someone who marginally cares about audio. I think you will enjoy V-Moda though.

 

About the antlion, If I could stray you away from it I would. The sound quality is quite poor. LTT actually has a few videos on the antlion series like this one: 

 

HOWEVER!!! I hear that the 5.0 version of the mod mic is INCREDIBLY better than 4.0 or any of the previous versions. So by all means get the antlion if you want to spend the extra 20 bucks!

[Laucien]

Thanks!. 

 

I've been reading a ton of reviews and the V-Moda seem to get some really high scores. I've also seen the Beyerdynamic DT 880 recommended a lot too. 

One thing I'm not too sure about, seeing how the sound card I'm gonna be using them with is supposed to be able to move up to 600 ohms headphones... should I go with something with higher impedance? Like 250/600. Main use for the headphones is going to be music + movies + gaming all on my PC. 

 

For reference my current headset is a CloudX Revolver. 

 

 

For mics. I saw that video yeah and going from the reviews online and the videos from Bitwit/Paul's Hardware the ModMic 5 seems to be pretty awesome. It even takes care of the main complain Linus highlighted in that video by offering 2 ways of cable management. 

 

I'd LOVE to have an actual desk mic but I don't have the space for it. 

[Tacanacy]

[deleted]

[AAJoe]

Well, if it makes any difference, with ModMic you also get our amazing customer service and the feel goods of helping a cool company in Portland :D. Like, hey, what other company can you PM the director of marketing at any time you want and get a reply 100% of the time?

 

I will say this about any 3.5mm mic you get, ours or any of the others listed above. Be sure your PC is outputting a clear 3v minimum signal. Since it appears you'll be using a dedicated sound card, this should not be an issue, but often times people move from a USB mic to a 3.5mm mic and suddenly get a jump in white noise (because the USB typically has a filter built in to remove that noise). If you do get a jump in white nose, there are plenty of reasons it could happen and different ways to solve each. Ah the pursuit of perfect audio... lol.

[Eazy Cheezy]

As far as headphones go, the law of diminishing returns applies greatly to most headphones above the $100 price point. I personally own the Audio Technica ATH-M40X. It cost me $100 and provides solid all around audio and dynamic frequency range for gaming, video editing, sound recording, etc. I'd recommend saving $200 and getting those and and the ModMic. Hope this helps!

[Vigilante505]

If you're going to use the ModMic buy a wireless headset. The cables are bulky and a huge mess to deal with. I bought the Sennheiser HD 598s to pair with the modmic and returned both of them for a regular headset. I'm sure a desk mic would have been a better solution but by that time I was frustrated with the process. 

[AAJoe]

@Vigilante505 I just sent out a survey where we're trying to figure out (among other things) how many people use Wireless vs. Wired headphones with ModMic. Our CEO swears by using wireless headphones with it, so you can just pop the mic off and walk off with them. I can't bring myself to use wireless headphones for gaming though. So, as usual, different strokes for different folks!  

 

Anyway, we're glad you tried them out even if they weren't for you! Stay tuned as we secretly work on ... solutions to the wire thing  

[Vigilante505]

2 hours ago, AAJoe said:

@Vigilante505 I just sent out a survey where we're trying to figure out (among other things) how many people use Wireless vs. Wired headphones with ModMic. Our CEO swears by using wireless headphones with it, so you can just pop the mic off and walk off with them. I can't bring myself to use wireless headphones for gaming though. So, as usual, different strokes for different folks!  

 

Anyway, we're glad you tried them out even if they weren't for you! Stay tuned as we secretly work on ... solutions to the wire thing  

Very cool response. It just wasnt what i was looking for. Mic sounded great and it was a solid product but I'm like you in my headset choice. I prefer wired and the double wires to the computer felt as if i was tethered to the PC like I was in the Matrix.

[kokakolia]

Someone really needs to explain the appeal of a mod mic to me when something like a Sony ECMCS3 mic sells for $35. It's a cheap tiny mic that clips on to the shirt and sounds really clear. 

 

First, it clips on the shirt, not the headphone. So it doesn't add heft or extra wires to the headphone. It is also really tiny and unobstrusive. 

 

Second, the sound performance is really good. It sounds super clear. Dare I say better than the mod mic? I am referring to the earlier iterations of the mod mic. Perhaps the newer models have improved a bit. 

 

For $300 you should really consider a Sennheiser HD600 or HD650. You may want to check the used market as well. 

 

EDIT: if you already have an external webcam you may just want to use the mic on that. I have one of the cheapest Logitech webcams you can buy and it's good enough as a gaming mic. My friends hear me perfectly clear. 

[AAJoe]

@kokakolia That's a great question!

 

So lav mics are all designed to be extremely sensitive omni directional mics, which means they pick up everything. The ECMCS3 specifically has a range of about 50hz-100khz, while tolerable for being heard and understood, tends to be a bit limited for sounding 'natural'.

 

Lav mics are one of the three common form factors of mics. Coming down to personal preference, not everyone wants a desktop mic due to desk space, or a mic they attach to their headphones because of the look/having a mic in their face, or a mic they attach to their clothing. In Lav mics specifically, not that its a huge pain, but you do have to attach it every time you sit down and detach it every time you stand up.

 

So why ModMic over the ECMCS3 specifically? Well, lets be clear, at the entry level we're talking about a difference of $15 between our entry level mic and theirs. Whether or not that is a lot of money depends on who you ask. Beyond the form factor, which is mostly personal preference, our ModMic 4 differs in a variety of ways

 

1) It is Uni-directional, meaning it won't pick up as much background noise. Like, a LOT less background noise!

 

2) It comes with a hard shell carrying case. Maybe that is a big deal if you plan on going to LAN events or using it on the road. Maybe it isn't a big deal.

 

3) You get the warm fuzzies and improved customer service of working with a small company that actually gives a crap about things like helping the community! 

 

Now if you move to the ModMic 5 you're looking at 2x the price, $70.

 

With that you're getting both Omni and Uni mode and modular cables, as well as a detachable mute switch and cable wraps rather in addition to cable clips. Plus improved materials for an even more durable product.

 

The Omni mode is 30khz - 17.5khz and because of its positioning, tends to sound more natural than most lav mics in a similar price range.

 

Is that worth the $35 or so? That depends on how much $35 is worth to you!  You can certainly get by with a lav mic or even your webcam mic if those 35 or 70 dollars is the difference between you eating this week or not! Those are the key differences though, and hopefully helps.

 

Note: I've never actually used the ECMCS3, however, I trust Podcastage when it comes to reviews of mics, so feel free to google him and pretty much any mic and do some comparisons between his review of the ModMic 4 and 5 and anything else. ECMCS3 performed very well, btw for its price and use case!

 

Edit: The ModMic is really light too btw. It doesnt add very much weight to anything. I believe its like 3oz?