Headphones + Mic for Gaming

A friend of mine had the headband on his Corsair HS1 break and got a $150 refund. Needless to say he will have to buy a replacement. Seeing as there are a few audiophiles here on NBR I figured I'd drop by to hear your recommendations. If I'm not mistaken he would get the most out of his money by buying a pair of headphones and a seperate mic. The headphones will be used for gaming and voice chat with music (varying genres, he likes a bit of bass) on the side. Comfort has a high priority since they will be used for hours on end. Preferably my friend would like the price of the headphones + mic combo to not stray far away from the refund money he got.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

I would recommend a Steelseries Siberia V2 or even better a Steelseries 7H.

 

I would recommend the Turtle Beach Ear Force Z6A. It's excellent.

Turtle Beach Ear Force Z6A Headset (PC): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

COD MW3 ver cheaper for some reason.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turtle-Beac...M1P4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337814349&sr=8-2

 

Thanks for the response so far guys. Question is, would those headsets really be superior to the HS1? I realize that finding headsets with a slight bass extension is no problem, but I was under the impression that it's better to buy a pair of headphones instead because of the broader selection/competition and less boutique brand pricing.

 

For Gaming at least I think that the two Steelseries Headset's are one of the best available. The 7H is also not bad for music etc.

 

Well, it really depends, i like the idea of an all in one package for gaming if all you're gonna listen to is the game itself + voip. There are some pretty decent headphones that can be had in the $100 range though. I have friends who recently got the Shure SHR440 and they really like them. I got to try them today and i found the bass lacking and comfort to be the worse i ever got on a headphone. The pads are so thin my ears were hitting inside of the headphones (YMMV), but i'd say sound quality is overall pretty decent. Not sure they'd suit your friend seeing that he likes bass though.

If he's going for a headset, the vengeance 1500 is overall decent as well, but he'll likely want to tweak the eq and it can't hold a candle to a pair of good headphones in the same price range. I also noticed a slight hiss when nothing is playing on the vengeance 1500, not audible with actual sound coming out of the headset. The wireless vengeance 2000 is priced at $150 though so if he wants to tether, that could be an option too. Comfort wise the 1500 and 2000 are awesome though, large pads, soft memory foam and velour instead of pleather (YES PLEASE!).

The best would be to get to try different headphones in person, but that isn't always feasible.

 

I think that for that price range the best you can get, both for music and gaming is pretty straight forward... check these out.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC...sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337935697&sr=8-2-spell

Or if you can shed a few more bucks (50$) your best option are the 360's

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC...sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337935697&sr=8-1-spell


both the 350 and 360's senns are oerfect for what u want

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but as you said comfort and maybe the bass would be a problem. He's neither a massive basshead nor a fan of analytical-level of bass.

I'm familiar with those Sennheiser headsets. I think the bass in them might be slightly underwhelming for him though. I also have a feeling it would be possible to get better audio quality at that price tag if one were to venture into the headphone market. The fact that the 350's are better built than the 360's is a bit of a letdown. Nonetheless, thanks for suggesting them.

 

Oh, so he is a basshead

Nevertheless, dont forget that the Senn's 3xx series use the same drivers of the more expensive 5xx series. Sound quality for gaming at that price is as good as it gets. I can also recommend the Astro's but only with the mixamp the normally come with.
EVEN better is a bundle of a mixamp and the Senn's HD360

As for the build quality, with me, they last years... it is not only dependent on the materials and durability but also the user. Don't give them to a gorilla


EDIT: Another alternative can be buying your preferred headphones ( not headset) and then attach one of these http://www.modmic.com/ . They are AWESOME

 

The Audio Technica BPHS1 looks prety good, though a bit on the high end, price-wise.

 

I did know that the PC360 uses the same drivers as the HD555, but I actually thought the latter was a fair bit cheaper. I suppose that makes the PC360's provide quite good value for money, even when compared to headphones. I haven't ruled them out; they do seem like the best option so far. A slightly more bass heavy alternative would still be prefered.

The PC360 is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to build quality, but common sense does dictate that it should be better than an inferior model, thus leaving me a bit dissapointed.

I've seen those recommended before. Unfortunately I couldn't remember the name of them. Thanks. If he should end up going for headphones this is very likely to be the mic accompanying them.

That seems to be a headset with a solid reputation but I doubt he'll want to spend that much. Thanks though.

 

My brother has the PC360's I would recommend them if you have money to spend, but it's a question of need. You can get slightly, slightly worse headphones for a much less expensive price and still have the same "output" if you will.

But as it stands right now, they are freakin' awesome