What is a good gaming headset? Purchased: Corsair V2000, Review Inside!

[Saffron]

I currently have a Plantronics GameCom(377?, $60 new), but I broke them on accident. I love this headset but I would like to try something different. I'll say right now that I do not want Logitech. Every headset and 2.1 speakers I've had from them have been a complete disappointment.

I've been doing some looking around at the egg' and I am curious about some brands. Does anyone have any experience with: steelseries, Tt and Syba? I also want to stay away from surround sound headsets. One, I don't have a sound card to utilize it properly and two, the surround doesn't seem to work very well on headsets to begin with. So, in the end it would be a waste of money in my opinion.

My budget is $100 but I can swing some more if it's worth it. Thanks in advance for any help!

Edit: I purchased the Corsair Vengeance V2000 Wireless Gaming headset.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 noise cancelling, and they're great. But they're about 3x your budget.

 

[nsafreak]

I have a pair of SteelSeries Siberia v2 headphones and I like them a lot for gaming. They have a solid directional mic that's retractable and have pretty good sound quality coming from a pair of 50mm drivers. They're also pretty comfortable and I can wear them for extended gaming sessions without any problem at all.

 

[Saffron]

In case anyone doesn't know, Tt is Thermaltake. I should have noticed it while looking at them. Derp.

 

[BrightCandle]

Ignore all the gamer peripherals manufacturers. What you really want is a proper set of headphones. You can modify any decent pair of headphones into a headset with a modmic so just take that as the base cost and get a decent set of headphones with the rest.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Stay away from astro, they've got huge problems right now and people are getting upset with them. I made the mistake recently of buying the a50 and the mixamp never worked right so I took it back. However I found their forum which is full of upset and unsupported customers which seems to be the norm. Rumor has it that skullcandy is going to take over their support system since they've acquired them but that remains to be seen.

 

[Dstoop]

I'd normally agree to stay away from gaming branded BS as it's 99% gimmicky junk, but my headset is the one exception. I bought a Razer Carcharias on the recommendation of someone I used to play MMOs with when my last one died, and it's been absolutely fantastic. Very solid build quality, clear mic, and it's lasted far longer than any other headset i've ever owned.

Think I got it on sale for around $80. Not sure what they go for now, but they're probably around there.

 

[Saffron]

Thanks for all your suggestions and feedback!

I was originally looking at a pair of SYBA Oblanc U.F.O. and a couple pairs of Steelseries, but I wanted to go around to my local stores and see what I could try first.

I have a friend who owns the Razer Chimaera 5.1 and I really didn't like them. Sound quality is well below what MSRP states ($200!) and they were unbelievably uncomfortable on my head. Give me a break, a $200 headset with sound quality barely matching my $60 Plantronics (With some EQ adjusting I just couldn't get what I felt was quality sound). So I wanted to stay away from Razer feeling it was too much of a gamble. Don't get me wrong, I like Razer as I own a Naga and a Hex and both are excellent mice as well as a Lycosa keyboard. As I stated before I have had nothing but problems with Logitech so they were out of the question.

I am not one to fall into the gaming branded overpriced BS(Republic of Gamers, Fatal1ty, etc. as you are mainly just paying for the name), but I ended up buying a pair of Corsair Vengeance V2000. I understand that the headset is advertised as 7.1 and has lackluster surround capabilities to say the least. I was able to give them a try in my local computer store and I really liked how comfortable they felt on my head. The microfiber memory foam padding is amazing! I was also amazed at the vibrant and vivid mids/highs, though at higher volumes(>75%) the highs tend to drown everything out but I don't have my headphones cranked anywhere near that high when I use them. I was also surprised at the deep bass this headset produced. I noticed that right out of the box they sound horrible, but with the added drivers from Corsair and a little EQ tweaking they are marvelous!

They normally retail for $140 give or take(more than my budget), but I found them new for under $100 with tax and shipping. So there it is, the Corsair V2000 are on there way and will be here in a few days. I'm EXCITED!

 

[Remobz]

Thanks for all your suggestions and feedback!

I was originally looking at a pair of SYBA Oblanc U.F.O. and a couple pairs of Steelseries, but I wanted to go around to my local stores and see what I could try first.

I have a friend who owns the Razer Chimaera 5.1 and I really didn't like them. Sound quality is well below what MSRP states ($200!) and they were unbelievably uncomfortable on my head. Give me a break, a $200 headset with sound quality barely matching my $60 Plantronics (With some EQ adjusting I just couldn't get what I felt was quality sound). So I wanted to stay away from Razer feeling it was too much of a gamble. Don't get me wrong, I like Razer as I own a Naga and a Hex and both are excellent mice as well as a Lycosa keyboard. As I stated before I have had nothing but problems with Logitech so they were out of the question.

I am not one to fall into the gaming branded overpriced BS(Republic of Gamers, Fatal1ty, etc. as you are mainly just paying for the name), but I ended up buying a pair of Corsair Vengeance V2000. I understand that the headset is advertised as 7.1 and has lackluster surround capabilities to say the least. I was able to give them a try in my local computer store and I really liked how comfortable they felt on my head. The microfiber memory foam padding is amazing! I was also amazed at the vibrant and vivid mids/highs, though at higher volumes(>75%) the highs tend to drown everything out but I don't have my headphones cranked anywhere near that high when I use them. I was also surprised at the deep bass this headset produced. I noticed that right out of the box they sound horrible, but with the added drivers from Corsair and a little EQ tweaking they are marvelous!

They normally retail for $140 give or take(more than my budget), but I found them new for under $100 with tax and shipping. So there it is, the Corsair V2000 are on there way and will be here in a few days. I'm EXCITED!

I personally think that the Sennheiser pc 360 are an awesome headset for the price. I paid about $80.00 more than you but I think it is worth it. With a decent sound card you can't go wrong for an overall headset.

 

[Saffron]

If and when I even need to get a new headset I will try steelseries out. The few I looked at looked pretty good and got good reviews. I also liked the design, so in the future I will give them a try.

 

[dragantoe]

I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 noise cancelling, and they're great. But they're about 3x your budget.

as an experienced audiophile, nope. nope, nope nope nope nope.

 

[BrightCandle]

I personally think that the Sennheiser pc 360 are an awesome headset for the price. I paid about $80.00 more than you but I think it is worth it. With a decent sound card you can't go wrong for an overall headset.

I have them and I am not impressed. My Sennheiser HD 280's are actually much better gaming headphones than the PC360 (which supposedly has the drivers from the HD 555).

I have just moved up to a HD 598 and modmic and I love this combination, its the sort of quality I expected from the PC 360 but never got.

 

[Zargon]

I have read TONS of great things about the 23 buck monoprice set

I keep meaning to order a pair

 

[mango123]

Ignore all the gamer peripherals manufacturers. What you really want is a proper set of headphones. You can modify any decent pair of headphones into a headset with a modmic so just take that as the base cost and get a decent set of headphones with the rest.

This... I almost fell into the same trap earlier last week and settled on a pair of Senn HD439 headphones which i got for 80 bucks @ best buy. (See my thread in hot deals section) And I used a microphone on my desk.

I can not begin to describe HOW MUCH BETTER these entry level audiophile headphones are than even 200-300 dollar gaming headseats!!!

For anyone that is debating the headseat deal and looking for microphones attached, please go somewhere and try some quality headphones on and listen to some music and you will probably never want a crappy gaming headseat again. ^_^

 

[Remobz]

I have them and I am not impressed. My Sennheiser HD 280's are actually much better gaming headphones than the PC360 (which supposedly has the drivers from the HD 555).

I have just moved up to a HD 598 and modmic and I love this combination, its the sort of quality I expected from the PC 360 but never got.

Looks like Sennheiser is coming out with some new gaming headsets for 2013.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/ces-...o-new-sennheiser-headphones-unveiled-ces.html

I am not saying it is the best headset on the market but it suits my needs for now. I was originally gonna buy a razer tiamat 7.1 gaming headset.

 

[dma0991]

Get an Audio Technica AD700 with this mic attachment. I have a pair and I find it to be suitable for FPS based games. This pair doesn't have much bass as it emphasizes on clarity, great for FPS games. The only thing that might hold it back is the absence of a good sound card/DAC.

The PC360 is nice(I've tried it) but as with some Sennheiser headphones that I've tried, its impedance rating is higher and you will need a good sound card/amp to really make it shine. What I like about the PC360 is the mic with its auto mute function by swiveling it upward.

 

[sandorski]

I have had 2 pairs of Corsair HS1(USB Headset) and both sounded great, but they had problems with the cable breaking where they connected to the earpiece. They sounded great, were very comfortable, very sturdy, I just loved them. The Positional Audio was just amazing to me, a few times I literally removed them thinking I had turned on my speakers by mistake and my apartment was ringing with gunshots well past midnight. After the 2nd pair broke I decided to go cordless and bought a pair of Logitech G930's.

At first the G930's sounded okish, but all too often they would distort leaving me disappointed. The Bass didn't compare with the HS1, positional Audio also seemed to be very lacking in comparison to the HS1 as well. The distortion has gone away or more accurately, for some reason, the distortion can be worked around by adjusting volume levels from various sources, such as lowering a Software volume on a Player app and raising the Volume level on the HP itself(Master Volume). That makes no sense to me, but it works so I don't quibble about it.

The G930's are also quite flimsy, I have dropped them on a hard floor a couple times and they have survived, so they are not too bad, they just feel kinda cheap in comparison to the HS1. Their strength is certainly in being cordless, with good battery life, range, and convenience. My biggest disappointment with the purchase of the G930's was that I bought them 2 weeks before Corsair released their Cordless Headset which, I suspect, had similar Audio quality as the HS1 as they use the same 50mm sized Driver(not sure if it is the same Driver though, just assuming).


This probably a whole lot of typing for no purpose given some of the criteria given by the OP. Perhaps someone else might benefit from it though.

 

[Hubb1e]

I've had a large # of headsets. I don't have a golden ear but I do appreciate good sound. My #1 advice is to avoid the 5.1 headsets. I haven't found one that is any good. Maybe one is out there that does, but the surround feeling they give isn't any good anyways so why bother with them? A good pair of stereo cans can give you just as good directional queues and sounds better.

I've used real headphones such as Sennheiser 558's and cheap Sony cans and expensive gaming headsets and 5.1 headsets and I've really enjoyed my Razer Carcharias. While they don't sound as good as my 558's, they are pretty close for just $80 and the build quality, comfort, and convenience of having a built in mic is very nice. Razor offers a lot of cans and some of their other models might be very nice as well, but I do like my Carcharias. For gaming pure audio fidelity isn't a top priority anyways. Comfort and build quality are more important and these sound very good and I can leave them on all day. They also sound pretty good from basic motherboard audio but a good soundcard with a decent amp on it will make them really open up.

 

[Remobz]

I've had a large # of headsets. I don't have a golden ear but I do appreciate good sound. My #1 advice is to avoid the 5.1 headsets. I haven't found one that is any good. Maybe one is out there that does, but the surround feeling they give isn't any good anyways so why bother with them? A good pair of stereo cans can give you just as good directional queues and sounds better.

I've used real headphones such as Sennheiser 558's and cheap Sony cans and expensive gaming headsets and 5.1 headsets and I've really enjoyed my Razer Carcharias. While they don't sound as good as my 558's, they are pretty close for just $80 and the build quality, comfort, and convenience of having a built in mic is very nice. Razor offers a lot of cans and some of their other models might be very nice as well, but I do like my Carcharias. For gaming pure audio fidelity isn't a top priority anyways. Comfort and build quality are more important and these sound very good and I can leave them on all day. They also sound pretty good from basic motherboard audio but a good soundcard with a decent amp on it will make them really open up.

What are examples of a decent amp to refer to?

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

Hmm. I have a pair of carcharias too, and I like them quite a bit. Very comfy on the head, and the sound seems fine to me. I too might be interested in the benefits a dedicated sound card could bring to them...

What kinda sound card are we talking about here?

 

[Saffron]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

 

[Remobz]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

No problem.

When you have some time can you please give some feedback on pros and cons about your new purchase. Just in case others need a cheap gaming headphones recommendation.

 

[Saffron]

I've had my Corsair V2000 for a few days so far and they are an excellent headset. As I stated earlier I was able to give this headset a good try before purchasing them. When I tried them out they had great sound quality, well beyond what I have had in the past. The microfiber and memory foam is the most comfortable I've ever came across.

This is what I think about them now using pros and cons.

Pros:
-Excellent sound quality (just that alone is worth $149 retail if you pay that much, as I got mine for under $100)
-Very comfortable to wear (great for extremely long game excursions)
-Wireless (They claim 10hrs of battery life, I was able to get a little over 9)
-Corsair Control Panel/Drivers are easy to use and provide good sound control
-Microphone quality is amazing
-Good adjustment (can fit a very large head)
-Sturdy design

Cons:
-The 7.1 surround is simulated (no sound from rear, but the surround does work)
-The headset uses 2 USB ports (one for the wireless and one to charge)
- Volume adjustment is too saturated (a slight adjustment means a larger volume increase)
-Plastic (though the design is very sturdy, it is made out of plastic)
-Microfiber gets dirty easy and hard to clean
-Must download the drivers (no disk included)*
-No mute button for the Mic*
-If you want leather ear cuffs you need to order them separate*

Overall this is an excellent headset which I highly recommend, especially if you can get them for ~$100 like I did. I still would have paid the $149 if I had too. I rate this headset an 9/10. Best headset I've ever owned to date!

*Though the microphone auto mutes when you move the boom into the upward position (nice feature), I still wish there was a button or switch to mute it.

*A lot of people may prefer the leather ear cuffs opposed to the microfiber/memory foam that comes stock. You can purchase replacements in leather (~$15), but I think for the $149 MSRP they should be included.

*Even though you don't need the drivers for these to work, you can't get the great sound quality without them and there isn't a disk included requiring you to download them. Some may think this not a con, but I'm just nit picking.

I hope this quick review will help some make a decision whether for the V2000 or against it.

 

[Remobz]

I've had my Corsair V2000 for a few days so far and they are an excellent headset. As I stated earlier I was able to give this headset a good try before purchasing them. When I tried them out they had great sound quality, well beyond what I have had in the past. The microfiber and memory foam is the most comfortable I've ever came across.

This is what I think about them now using pros and cons.

Pros:
-Excellent sound quality (just that alone is worth $149 retail if you pay that much, as I got mine for under $100)
-Very comfortable to wear (great for extremely long game excursions)
-Wireless (They claim 10hrs of battery life, I was able to get a little over 9)
-Corsair Control Panel/Drivers are easy to use and provide good sound control
-Microphone quality is amazing
-Good adjustment (can fit a very large head)
-Sturdy design

Cons:
-The 7.1 surround is simulated (no sound from rear, but the surround does work)
-The headset uses 2 USB ports (one for the wireless and one to charge)
- Volume adjustment is too saturated (a slight adjustment means a larger volume increase)
-Plastic (though the design is very sturdy, it is made out of plastic)
-Microfiber gets dirty easy and hard to clean
-Must download the drivers (no disk included)*
-No mute button for the Mic*
-If you want leather ear cuffs you need to order them separate*

Overall this is an excellent headset which I highly recommend, especially if you can get them for ~$100 like I did. I still would have paid the $149 if I had too. I rate this headset an 9/10. Best headset I've ever owned to date!

*Though the microphone auto mutes when you move the boom into the upward position (nice feature), I still wish there was a button or switch to mute it.

*A lot of people may prefer the leather ear cuffs opposed to the microfiber/memory foam that comes stock. You can purchase replacements in leather (~$15), but I think for the $149 MSRP they should be included.

*Even though you don't need the drivers for these to work, you can't get the great sound quality without them and there isn't a disk included requiring you to download them. Some may think this not a con, but I'm just nit picking.

I hope this quick review will help some make a decision whether for the V2000 or against it.

Thank you.

One of the main things people have complained about Corsair are the sketchy drivers for their products. Their gaming mice and keyboard drivers especially.

Glad you are enjoying your product.

Happy Gaming

 

[Whitestar127]

I have them and I am not impressed. My Sennheiser HD 280's are actually much better gaming headphones than the PC360 (which supposedly has the drivers from the HD 555).

I have just moved up to a HD 598 and modmic and I love this combination, its the sort of quality I expected from the PC 360 but never got.

Hi BrightCandle. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of that modmic. Hadn't heard about them before. Great stuff! I'm ordering as soon as the mute button version is available (from here: http://www.modmic.com/).

They're even using my Sennheiser HD 650 in the demo video and images. :biggrin: