Best $150 Headset?

[Panda255]

Looking for the best gaming head set around $150 will look at $200 if you have a good pair in mind and is worth it..Thanks

[TShirt_Ninja]

I'm a big fan of my Sennheiser Game Ones; they're basically HD 558s with a (very good) mic attached. Very light, good sound, easy to drive, and they're about $170 if you find a deal (Fry's has them at that price right now).

[Dackzy]

There is no such thing as best...

You kinda have to say what type of sound you want, a warm lush sound? Bright sound? "neutral"? and so on

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Dackzy said:

There is no such thing as best...

You kinda have to say what type of sound you want, a warm lush sound? Bright sound? "neutral"? and so on

Heh.  I gotta agree with Dackzy here.  I don't bring up "the best headphone" at parties (we start mansplaining to each other & beating our chests about it).

I'm sorry for the glib comment, Panda255.  Have you checked out the following threads?

Head-fi dot org's gaming headset reviews.  They're elite over at the site, but the material appears VIGOROUSLY peer-reviewed (they seem to torch BS'ers).

This site aggregates reviews from the interwebs & brings in guest writers.  The wirecutter also reviews other items, and seems to get it right more often than not.

 

I've gathered that many gaming headsets are meh-sound-quality. The advice mansplained to me was to buy a headphone that suits my needs.... AND THEN, BUY THE MICROPHONE AS AN ADD ON.

 

My 2 cents.  Good luck, eh.

 

[IAR117]

Beyer DT880 with MiniMic from Massdrop. Otherwise HD558s with the Minimic, either are good

[Guest]

BTW, did Panda255 ever decide on his 150 dollar cans?  Here in Canukistan, that'll buy a meh headset (in the states, I'm assuming that it'd buy a nice Sony MDR-7506 headset).

[Tacanacy]

Headphones:

• AKG K702 (open-back)
• AKG K701 (open-back)
• AKG K612 Pro (open-back)
• AKG K550 (closed-back)
• Audio-Technica ATH-AD900x (open-back)
• Audio-Technica ATH-AD700x (open-back)
• Audio-Technica ATH-AD500x (open-back)
• Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 (closed-back)
• Beyerdynamic DT990 (open-back)
• Beyerdynamic DT880 (semi-open-back)
• Beyerdynamic DT770 (closed-back)
• Sennheiser HD598 (open-back)
• Sennheiser HD558 (open-back)

Mics:

• Antlion ModMic 5
• Antlion ModMic 4
• Massdrop Minimic
• Neewer 3.5mm Clip on Mini Lapel Microphone
• Sony ECMCS3
• V-Moda BoomPro
• Zalman ZM-Mic1

 

Open-back and semi-open-back mean that the earcups have perforations/openings that allow sound to freely pass in and out. The benefits of this are generally a larger soundstage and better imaging. If your ears tend to heat up, it may help mitigate this as it allows more airflow and heat to dissipate. Soundstage is distance to sound and imaging is direction of sound.

Closed-back means the earcups have solid shells that attenuate sound from passing through to various extent.