Good gaming headset - $300 budget range

I had in mind what I wanted to snag for this particular buy, seeing as how my dad is an audiophile and all that I opted to consult him on what brands to go for. I tend to listen to music a lot on the side when not gaming, so I try to find a happy balance between such. He pointed me toward Sennheiser and I found the PC 363D headset. It's right at the budget I have, willing to go a little more for shipping, and wondered if anyone else knew of a better or equal headset? OR, better yet, if anyone has this headset and could gimme a little feedback?

Muchly appreciated!

 

First off, I'd recommend you look at headsets made by companies that specialize in creating audio gear (Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica, etc). Avoid companies that specialize in making computer gaming peripherals (Logitech, Steelseries, Razer, etc). You should buy your audio gear from a company that makes audio gear. Do not buy audio gear from a company that makes mice and keyboards. The only reason to buy audio gear from a company that makes gaming peripherals is if your budget is <$100.



I own the Sennheiser G4ME Zero headset (which is basically the updated version of the PC363D headset). Overall, it is a fantastic headset. Great sound quality, nice clarity / imaging (which is important to distinguish virtual surround sound directional cues). The microphone is excellent quality. Overall, it's a bit expensive for what you get for $200. But if you just wanted to buy something simple, that is fantastic quality, you can't go wrong with a Sennheiser headset. Nobody can "fault" you for buying one of those.




Your other option here is to buy a set of entry-level audiophile headphones, and buy a separate add-on microphone for it. The popular choice for bang-for-your-buck is the Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones for about $140. To that, you can add an Antlion ModMic or a Zalman ZM-1 clip-on mic. The important thing to remember is that you don't need a studio-quality microphone for in-game voice chat. You only need a microphone with "good enough" audio quality.





There are three other points I'd like to mention are:

1) A budget of $300 is pretty high for your needs. If you are looking for a gaming headset, your out-of-pocket cost will realistically max out at around $200. You'll only exceed $300 if you are also looking for a pair of high-end headphones that will also do double-duty for listening to music. And even then, your sweet-spot will be around $200. Above that, you're hitting diminishing returns.

2) Beware of people that recommend headphones using "audiophile" evaluation criteria. An audiophile is looking for headphones that provide the best reproduction of 2.0 stereo sound recordings. And you're going to hear them throw around terms like: neutral sound; sound signature; up-front or laid-back sound; soundstage; imaging; balanced highs / mids / lows. For a gaming headset, you want a headset that sounds "fun", which often means looking at intentionally UN-balanced sound signatures. The audio needs of a gamer are going to be different than the audio needs of an audiophile.

3) For gaming, you're going to want virtual surround sound for directional sound. Your best bet here is to skip any headset that offers built-in virtual surround sound, and buy a pair of headphones / headset that offers solid 2.0 stereo sound quality. Then, go and download Razer Surround off of Razer's website to handle your surround sound needs. It performs surround sound virtualization on any set of 2.0 stereo headphones, and will rival any built-in virtual surround sound algorithm out there.

 

Agree entirely with Kent 1146 on all points, his advice is golden here. Sennheiser or Audio-Technica would be outstanding choices for a headset for gaming. And both are superb quality on sonics, on build, and would be good do it all headphones. And would also make your music sound great too.

 

Another audio guy here, been through this conversation many times.

Definitely stick with some good high end headphones. You will spend less, and get more quality out of them.
If you need a headset (when I hear headset I think "has microphone") there are 3rd party addons to add a mic that work really well.
Antlion ModMic is one, another product is out their very similar I forget the name, and my first was the Zalman clip on mic.
Ultimatly being that I am not "on the go" I use a dedicated desktop microphone setup not a boom/clip on these days.

P.S. you have 2 ears so you can only hear 2 sources at one time so more than 2 speakers is pointless, just adds weight and for each additional speaker at a given price the quality is reduced by the same factor, ex 2 speaker headphones for $100 = 2x $50 speakers 6 speaker headphones for $100 = 6x $17 speakers.
All that matters is how you hear the sound, and that can all be done through digital processing, so do that processing on some nice clean cut high end audiophile cans.

 

I suggest ordering a pair of "audiophile" headphones or buying from a place you can return them if you decide. I have almost 15 headphones now most are "gaming headsets" ranging from razer Tiamat 7.1 to steel series, logitech to AKG and Senn's now. If you are wanting a competitive edge playing games you absolutely will not beat the AKG712 pros, AKG 701 or Audio Technica ad700x headphones. You will need a decent sound card to drive them but... Wow... A whole new world in battlefield 3/4 opened up for me and get accused of cheating all the time now.

 

I was in this situation about a year ago, I went from using a logitech g35 to using sony mdr v6/ sennheiser 280s along with the zalman clip on mic. One of the clips broke so it just sits on my desk but the headphones are alot more comfier plus portable since I can take them with me without having to worry about having a boom on it. I would say invest in a good pair of headphones and get the cheap mic, it works great.

 

So... just as I was told elsewhere, I'm told here.

Buy audio equipment from brands that specialize in audio stuff. Got it.


Gonna go for Sennheiser and I think I'll stick to some actual audio headphones rather than a headset specifically. I've got this little USB soundcard, the Asus U3, and it's pretty good compared to what I've had before (Xonar DX and the Soundblaster equivalent about three years before) so a 3.5mm jack is kinda required in that sense. :3

But enough jab, off to search! ^-^

 

AKG 712pro's... Best decision I've made...

 

Been looking at the AKGs a lot more now than Sennheiser.

 

I don't think this was covered, if it was sorry. I am a audio industry veteran you could say. An audiophile and not by choice! After you hear good gear you can't settle for less. For reference here is what I own for my headphones and 2ch setup. Headphones are sennheiser hd800 for critical listening, shure e535 inear for cycling, ultrasone for travel. At home I use a benchmark dac2 as my dac for whatever source I choose. The rest is all McIntosh tube and Sonus Faber. Now most of this is way overkill for a gaming headset.
A big choice you need to make is closed or open air headphones. Closed keeps the sound to yourself whereas open air let's everyone around you hear what is going on as well. Sennheiser and AKG make amazing open air sets. The AKG 701/2 is amazing for the money and is also a studio standard. Closed back is a tougher call. Ultrasone, Sony, and I dare say...Beats by Dre studio are all great closed back. The reason for the Beats inclusion is that it has a built in headphone amp. So no matter what your source they will sound constant. And in the end it all comes down to personal preference. A great audiophile headphone will make a great gaming headphone. The reverse is not true.

 

Sorry for the hijack, but @Pricedlx do you know how the K701 and K702 compare against the Senn HD 598 (what I currently have)?

 

If I remember correctly the AKG has a lower ohm rating so it's easier to use on most devices. As for sound quality the nasty thing of personal preference comes in. But say you are connecting to a iPhone or samsung s5. The AKG will sound a world of difference better. If you have a good sound card with a headphone amplifier built in it will come down to personal preference. If you upped to the HD650 in the sennheiser range I'd take them over the AKG personally. But for the money both the Sennheiser you have and AKG are great cans.

Side note the only difference between the 701 and 702 is a detachable cable. Audio wise they are identical.

 

Actually the HD 598 is lower impedance than the K701/702 (50 ohms vs. 62 ohms). I plug it into my Y500 (Realtek ALC269), P650SG (Realtek ALC892), and desktop (ASUS Xonar Essence STX). I have a closed-back Polk Buckle (24 ohms) for using with mobile devices on the go.

Anyway, I guess you're right. I should probably save up for an HD 650/700 or something similarly higher-end. That HD 800 you have is crazy. So jelly right now.

 

There is no way I could justify the price of the HD800 if I had to pay retail. Check out Grado, Hifiman, and ultrasone. They all have different sound but all are great. In the end it's all what your ears like.

 

Gaming Headsets Suck - Make Your Own For $50 or Less:


They have followup recommendations at higher price points ($150, $200-$1K) but the budget tier is still a good place to start.