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New Headset

cubies1982
By cubies1982
in Audio
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Hey Guys,

 

I'm looking for a decent headset for around £100 ideally for listening to music while gaming. Usually I use Astro A40s which are nice headsets but something breaks after a year and they either don't have spares in stock or they are overpriced.

 

Any good recommendations? I'm using this for PC gaming, maybe PS4 gaming if it allows for it too.

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Just now, cubies1982 said:

Oh sorry wired please, i hate having to recharge headsets

Corsair Void has lots of decent headsets

Im mostly on discord now and you can find me on my profile

 

My Build: Xeon 2630L V, RX 560 2gb, 8gb ddr4 1866, EVGA 450BV 

My Laptop #1: i3-5020U, 8gb of DDR3, Intel HD 5500

 

 

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1 minute ago, Tacanacy said:

Philips SHP9500 + V-MODA BoomPro

Superlux HD681 EVO + Antlion ModMic 4

Superlux HD668B + Antlion ModMic 4

 

SHP9500 has a big soundstage, good imaging, separation and detail retrieval and very good clarity and tonality. It has a flat/balanced sound signature and clean bass. It's open-back, over-ear, lightweight and has a durable build and a detachable cable. The earpads are detachable, but you need to mod them to replace them, which has been made easy by people making tutorials you can watch. The clamping force is very loose, so I don't recommend the headphone for children or if you frequently move your head down. The earpads are very shallow, so replacing them with 25mm or thicker pads will make the clamping tighter and give your ears more room. Some pads you can use are Brainwavz HM5 and Shure HPAEC1840. I recommend using velour instead of leather or pleather to retain the same sound.

 

Earpads: 

https://www.brainwavzaudio.com/collections/accessories/earpads

https://norge.thomann.de/shure_hpaec1840_ear_pads.htm

 

HD668B has a very big soundstage, very good imaging, separation and detail retrieval, good clarity, and decent tonality. It's a bright headphone, and some people say it has boosted bass, but to me, it has a flat bass frequency response. It's semi-open-back, over-ear, very lightweight and has a sturdy build and a detachable cable. I recommend replacing the earpads with velour pads from HiFiMAN or Cosmos.

 

Earpads:

http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/accessories/velour-earpads.html

https://www.amazon.com/HIFIMAN-Velour-Earpads-Headphone-replacement-HE400/dp/B00VV2JYXK/ref=sr_1_3?m=A1GH37DDIGH3L6&s=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1437027779&sr=1-3

https://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Velvet-Replacement-Cushion-Headphones/dp/B00KLPRQMO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1501218063&sr=1-1&keywords=Cosmos+earpads


HD681 EVO has a very big soundstage, good detail retrieval, very good clarity and tonality, but has poor imaging and separation. It has a warm sound signature with deep and clean bass. It's semi-open-back, over-ear, lightweight and has a durable build and a detachable cable. I recommend taking out the loose felt inside the cups and replacing the earpads because they are very shallow and the driver sticks out quite a bit. Some good compatible earpads are the ones from HiFiMAN and Cosmos, but if you have big ears, then I recommend the round velour earpads from Brainwavz. The earpads can cost up to $25, but the sound quality is worth at least $100. Thomann.de sells Superlux headphones cheaper than Amazon.

 

Earpad:

https://www.brainwavzaudio.com/products/headphone-memory-foam-earpads-round-velour

 

I use these for gaming and have listened to music only a little bit with them.
 
Open-back / semi-open-back headphones have cups with perforations/grills that allow outside sound to freely pass in and sound from the drivers to freely pass out. How loud you hear outside sound and how loud people around you hear the sound emanating from the headphones depend on your volume, of course. The benefit to open-back is generally a big soundstage.

 

Soundstage is perceived space and environment of sound. It can be compared to virtual surround sound; both attempt to produce the same spacious, three-dimensional effect. VSS can sound more ambient and immersive, which will depend on the processor (CMSS-3D, Dolby, SBX, etc.), but it degrades the sound quality and diminishes detailing due to compression from digital processing. You might also experience less accurate imaging and separation with headphones that have good imaging and separation properties. Note that a deep soundstage is equally important as a wide soundstage.

 

Imaging determines how accurately sounds/objects are positioned across the soundstage. Imaging is inherent to the audio content, so if the game is recorded or mixed poorly, a headphone with good imaging won’t improve the positional audio.

Separation is separating individual sounds from a range of sounds. Good separation properties make it easier to filter out or discern overlapping sounds from other sounds and track them.
 
Sound signature is a frequency response / sound profile. For example, a V-shaped sound signature emphasizes the bass and treble while recessing the mid-range. A flat/balanced sound signature doesn't over- or under-emphasize these frequencies and attempts to reproduce the original recording accurately as possible. A bright headphone emphasizes the treble and can subdue the bass. A warm sound signature emphasizes the bass or subdues the treble.

 

The Antlion ModMic use a clasp system to attach to headphones and it's easy to attach and remove. It's compatible with all headphones and is sold with and without a mute switch. The V-MODA BoomPro mic is compatible with headphones that have a female 3.5mm jack without any proprietary nonsense, like Philips SHP9500. BoomPro has a mute switch and a volume control. You should listen to recordings on YouTube to judge for yourself if they sound good. I think they are for voice chat.

which ones do you own and have used for a year or more?

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24 minutes ago, cubies1982 said:

which one is your favorite? the one you wear the most often?

None of them are my favorites. I use higher-end headphones for games and music. I own twelve headphones and I often swap them when gaming. SHP9500 has the best clarity and tonality and is the best all-rounder of the three. HD681 EVO excels at rap and hip hop. HD668B excels at rock and metal. I see HyperX Cloud II mentioned and I do not recommend it because it has a small soundstage, bad imaging, it sounds harsh and muddy, and the bass can sound distorted in explosions and other big and loud sounds in games.

I use Schiit Magni 2 Uber and Modi 2 Uber as my amp and DAC.

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