New Headset: Steelseries Siberia Raw VS Tritton Kunai Universal

Hi Guys

I'm relatively new to buying headsets. I have owned a turtle beach PLa and they have been pretty decent for me so far. However its breaking apart now so I need a new one.

Was wondering which ones below is better out of the two in terms of sound quality?

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/SteelSeries-Siberia-Raw-Gaming-Headset/22847243?sv=1

OR

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Tritton-Kunai-Universal-Gaming-Headset-White/21554931

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Out of these 2, SteelSeries. But it's like asking which bottle of snake oil tastes better. For the love of god, don't ever buy another gaming headset. Get a good headphone and a mic. There isn't a single valid reason for buying a gaming headset.

 

In that case, what headphone/mic would you recommend? As I mentioned before, I'm relatively new to this and have a budget of $100NZD. Just want best value for money really.

 

Then definitely don't get gaming headsets. Here's the thing about them: 95% of your money goes to marketing and packaging, only 5% goes to the actual sound quality. If you at all care about sound quality (which IMO is #1 thing you should be looking for in a headphone), gaming headsets are the exact opposite of what you want because you'll get a much better sounding headphone at the same price. But I digress.

Where are you buying from? I see that $100 NZD is about $72 USD, which isn't a lot to work with, but if you can buy from Amazon, I have a few recommendations within your budget that'll crap all over any gaming headset.

 

I can buy from Amazon. I am buying from New Zealand though so the goods will take a while to get here but I can through a relative.

Also, I can increase my budget. I just don't want to spend too much on it but if by extending my budget by a little will get me a much better headset with mic, I'm okay with it. As long as the prices are reasonable (probably under $100USD is preferred).

 

Just to be clear on headset vs. headphone. Headset has an integrated mic, headphone does not. Terminology is important.

You're not gonna get a good sounding headset. I'll get that out of the way first so you know what to expect. However, you can get a good sounding headphone and a separate microphone, which can attach to the headphone by different means depending on your budget (I'm assuming you don't want a desktop or monitor/stand mounted mic).

Well actually, lemme backtrack a little. You can get a good sounding headset. However, definitely not from a gaming peripherals company like a Logitech, Razer, or SteelSeries. Just no. You can get a nice sounding gaming headset from a company that specializes in audio like Audio-Technica or the German/Austrian trio (Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, and AKG). But guess what? They overcharge you for the privilege of having a mic permanently attached to your headphone, which you can't afford with your limited budget. That's right. The actual headphone portion is one of their mid-fi models slapped to a cheap but decent mic. Then they sell the headset to you for double the price of the sum of its parts.

Anyway...here are some suggested headphones and microphones, listed in order of increasing price:

Headphones:
Superlux HD 681
Superlux HD 668B
Samson SR850
Sennheiser HD 518
Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X

Spoiler: Frequency response graph

Microphones:
Zalman Zm-Mic1
AntLion ModMic ( w/mute switch)

Spoiler: Recommendations

If you have $72 USD to spend:
SR850 + replacement velour earpads + Zalman mic

If you have $100 USD to spend:

1. AD500X + Zalman mic
2. HD 668B + velour earpads + ModMic

 

^ This.

Sennheiser HD518 is a fantastic choice for your money / budget, and the Zalman ZM-1 mic is a fantastic mic for the price you pay.

We get the "what headset should I buy?" question a lot on NBR forums. And I always have one bit of advice which always makes sense to people:
Buy your audio gear from companies that specialize in making audio gear (e.g. Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, etc). Do not buy audio gear from companies that specialize in making computer mice, keyboards, and mousepads.

 

So after looking at the recommendations, I decided to go for the HD518 Sennheiser's as it is available here in NZ and the Antlion Modmic because the mod mic has a mute function which is important whenever I'm full screen in a game.

Thanks a lot for the recommendations I will post back here once they have arrived about how it works out!

Cheers

 

HD 518 is a fine choice. It's essentially the same headphone used in the G4ME ONE/PC 363D headsets which are like $200-300. For gaming I recommended AD500X because it has a wider soundstage than HD 518 due to being more open, at the cost of more leakage and less bass. But really, you can't go wrong either way, or even with the cheaper headphones I listed, although those need to be modded to achieve the same level of comfort as the Sennheiser and Audio-Technica.

Just a note on HD 518's stock cable. It's a long 10ft detachable affair which terminates in a 1/4" plug. If you want to connect it to your PC or portable device, you have to use the included 1/4" to 1/8" adapter. This makes the plug oversized and it sticks out of your computer like a stubby pencil, creating a bumping/breaking hazard. And it won't even fit on your phone if you're using a protective case that surrounds the outside of the headphone port. Which is why I got a shorter 4ft replacement cable that terminates in 1/8" for my HD 598. You can order the same thing directly from Sennheiser if you call them, I think it's like $20 or something.

AD500X stock cable is 10ft non-detachable with the more sensible 1/8" termination.