Gaming headphones advice

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Asingo

Member
Sep 3, 2017
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I am slowly preparing to Amazon black friday where I will buy lot of stuff including some headset
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. I don`t know anything about gaming headphones, it a new area for me. Could you make a list of top 3 quality and top 3 best buy? I don`t know how much I will spend on them, probably depends on how much money will be left for them because they are not my top priority. Here is the list (I found these headphones in my local stores so I presume there are also available on Amazon):



Corsair VOID Gaming USB

Corsair VOID Gaming Stereo

Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Rage Wireless V2

Creative Sound BlasterX H5 Tournament Edition

Creative Sound Blaster XH3

Creative Sound BlasterX H7 Tournament Edition

Sennheiser GSP 300

Cooler Master MasterPulse Pro 7.1 Headset with Bass FX

Razer Kraken Pro V2

SteelSeries Siberia 200

SteelSeries Arctis 5

SteelSeries Arctis 3

Acer Predator Gaming Headset by SteelSeries

SteelSeries Siberia 350

Plantronics RIG 500HD

Razer Kraken

Plantronics RIG 515HD LAVA

Superlux HD668B

hyperx cloud stinger

hyperx cloud II

hyperx cloud

HyperX Cloud Revolver (S)
 
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fastman

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Decide if you want open or closed ear enclosures, wireless or wired and go from there. Something like this is a very personal decision as you will have it on YOUR head for hours. Try on what interests you and go from there.
Personally I like SteelSeries.
 
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Asingo

Member
Sep 3, 2017
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Open/ closed - no prejudice
Wired/wireless - I prefer wired but wireless is good too.
 
DigDog

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
13,509
2,128
126
ok, well, get ready.

disclaimer: i'm right and you are wrong.

You have a pretty good list there. For example, you haven't got any Beats or Fatal1ty or other crap like that. I know personally at least 1 high-skill player using steelseries siberia, another on plantronics, another on SS 200, and there's several publicized who use the hyperx 2. Cypher i think uses the kraken.

The list in itself is useless. This is true not because of some nerd factor or or because people don't know good quality tech, but because of some very real physics and physiology-related aspects of sound and hearing. Throw in also business and electrical stuff.
There is no way to know what any of those sets will sound like, and no way to know what they will sound like to you. There really is no way for humans to describe accurately to another human aspects of sense perception unless they both have some extensive library of samples to base themselves in; so, "bassier than the X, but roomier than the Y, with a bit of shrill like the Z, but not quite like the Q".

This is why we cannot recommend one out of that bunch. Also, the thing here is that you are looking for a gaming headset, and not a hi-end audio reproduction. You can spend well north of $3000 on a single set of headphones and still be in that range where people will say "oh, but that $5000 headset is SO MUCH BETTER".

All the ones you listed are good. They all have slightly different sound profiles.

As fastman said, open or closed is a big difference. Closed cup make it easier to hear detail, and they tend to be much boomier (which you might not want, if you want headphones that make you better at your game), and while they are more comfortable when you put them on, they do tend to "cook your ears" faster than open headsets.
This is another thing where, unless you have real world experience, you just need to bite the bullet, buy one, and then live with it.

wireless for headphones is one of the few cases where it can actually help, however, you do have to live with recharging your set, which can be annoying.

finally, i can give you one additional piece of advice. You can do two things, both of which have their upside and downside. Buy a set, use it for a while, and then buy another. And so on. You will learn by experience which headsets work for you.
Option 2, is do not buy any of those. Buy a professional quality headset, such as sennheiser, AKG, Audio-Technica (which is what i have), Beyerdynamic, etc, and stick a microphone on them.

for example, see: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/studio-headphones-0 (Sound On Sound)
or https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/508831-best-mixing-headphones.html (Gearslutz)

Everything i typed above still applies. You'll quickly find out that, because of business reasons, and electrical design, there are a number of headphones in the audio world which are considered the go-to headphones, such as the Sennheiser HD600. You can get a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M35 for $70 and they are fantastic.

Then you go to https://antlionaudio.com/ and you get a microphone from them. they even have a bundle .. https://antlionaudio.com/products/m50x-modmic-5-ultimate-bundle
 
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Asingo

Member
Sep 3, 2017
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Thanks for long answer ;)

I can`t find these you mention Audio-Technica ATH-M35 on Amazon in Europe. I can only find models: M20x, M30x, M40x, M50x, MSR7BK, MSR7GM - the last two are outside my budget but maybe they will be cheaper on Black friday.
 
Y

Yakk

Golden Member
May 28, 2016
1,574
275
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For gaming I really like the Hyperx Cloud headset, very comfortable and durable. Closed back with deep base. Need a 600 ohm capable motherboard/amp to get the most out of them though.
 
DigDog

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
13,509
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here are the M30x https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Tech...60159&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+technica+ath+m30x

another thing you need to consider when reading reviews, is that since most headphones are $100+, few people have tried more than a couple - not near enough to have a understanding of the headphone market panorama. they will tell you "i can recommend this" but what they mean is "i have them and they don't suck".

Don't get confused by the numbering system. M30 doesn't mean they are worse than M35 and M40 etc. It means they have been constructed with less expensive means. Even with cheaper means, you can still build excellent products. For example, most speaker systems are built with materials, that if used in a headphone set, would be considered garbage. Super-expensive headsets use rare-earth materials that have very slight technical-design advantages over other cheaper materials, but all this does is really create a different sound profile. You CAN buy perfect headphones, just google "studio reference headphones". Most don't cost more than $300. What they do, is reproduce a 20-20k Hz signal perfectly, 100%.

The really high end headphones, those that cost thousands of dollars, aren't meant to do that. They are meant to create warmth, to excite particular frequencies. It's basically changing the spectrum in some parts to make the sound more appealing than what "normal" sound is. (like putting extra bass in a song, because "bass is cool")
You don't need that to play well. Incidentally, too much bass makes it harder to hear smaller detail, such as footsteps.


seems like the M35 have been discontinued. the M30x are their replacement.
 
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fastamdman

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,335
70
91
I've been a long fan of Steelseries products. I purchased the Arctis 5's not to long ago and I absolutely love them. The microphone is very clear and I have never had a single complaint about them on skype, discord or twitch. Positional audio for them is amazing as well, I am an avid gamer and play a lot of competitive first person shooters. Being able to hear exactly where someone is in games like this is extremely important and the Arctis 5's do a great job at that. I haven't tried a lot of different head phones, but I am very happy with my decision to purchase these.
 
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renegade800x

Junior Member
Jun 30, 2015
13
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IMO get a serious headset, not one of these cheapo full of leds mediocre sounding gaming headphones. All of them are the same $10 headset with some leds strapped on and $100+ price tag. If they're USB it's even worse because then it means they've slapped a DAC in there and you have no way of knowing what that is, if it's any good or if other DAC would have been better. When buying headphones money should be spent on sound technology alone, spare me the lighting and other "gaming" features that will only make me look like a weirdo wearing the headset.
I bet you the cheapest Fiio K1, an external DAC which is by no means a gaming sound card paired with any decent headphone able to reproduce sound faithfully will give a much better sense of the soundscape in a game than everything on your list.
A Fiio K1 DAC which is a $40 USB dongle that works with phones too beats 90% of the onboard sound cards and you can get a decent headphone that will serve you well for both music and games.
Get the iBasso IT01 IEMs which is what I'm listening to, it's a $99 IEM (paid 120EUR for it in Europe) which sounds better than IE80 which is 3 times more expensive. It's not just me saying this, my mates couldn't believe their ears either. So far everybody who tried the IT01 quickly fell in love and placed orders already. Cheap too.
Basically you're looking at 160EUR for a sound card that's better than the onboard and a pair of headphones that will restore your love for music and improve your gameplay too.
 
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fastamdman

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,335
70
91
I will keep this short and to the point, as most of my posts are to long lol. I was in the same boat as you were and I went with the steelseries arctis 5's. I couldn't be happier. They were exactly what I wanted. Extremely crisp and clear. I can hear foot steps extremely well in games like CS:GO where sound is one of the biggest skill factors in any game. I listen to A LOT of music as well and I was able to notice things that my older steelseries siberia v2's weren't able to pick up. Mainly in the high's, but it was nice to say the least. They don't offer a lot of bass, but I don't need A LOT of bass. I have a 5.1 surround sound system with a nice sub for bass. The microphone is extremely clear and can be VERY loud if needed. I am on discord, skype, facebook etc and I have never had a single complaint with my microphone. I constantly get asked if I am using my wifes blue yeti even. Last but not least, the most important thing is RGB. It's actually funny but it's kinda nice when you are wearing them with a game that works with them. Hell, I had them up on my desk when I was alt tabbed in d3 and they started flashing red. It let me know that I was at low health because monsters were killing me while I was on the forums lol. It's kinda neat, but fairly pointless while you are wearing them. It does show other people whats going on though. Needless to say, my hardcore character survived because of my headphones. I will forever be thankful to them because of this. Ugh...I said I was gonna keep it short...oh well.
 
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LincolnBailey49

Junior Member
Oct 6, 2017
5
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Sennheiser makes great products. Definitely worth checking those out. I'm not too familiar with some of the other models you listed there. I recommend Sennheiser.
 
MrSquished

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
21,360
19,823
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I game on a nice set of headphones that run through my Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC and Burson Amp. If I want a mic I slap on an Antlion mic and get the best of both worlds. Audiophile level quality that works for gaming.

The two headsets I game on are the Beyer T90's and the JVC HA-SZ2000. The Beyers are open and airy and the JVC's are closed and bassy. And when I want to watch something or listen to music I have amazing quality of sound.

Buying gaming specific headphones will usually, but not always, cost you sound quality in general. Have the best of both worlds.
 
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