gaming earphones

While on vacation, I found the housing on my right earphone was cracked. What can you recommend for earphones used for gaming, and basic Internet work and some movies? Price should be no more than $50 -$100.

 

For gaming, are you looking for a headset with a microphone, or just plain headphones?

 

no mic, but i love my sennheiser hd280 headphones for games, music and movies.

 

For Open Air in your price range - The Audio Technica AD700
For Closed in your price range - Shure SRH240

For overall cheap good ones - JVC HA-RX700

For ear buds, you can get the Altec Lansing UHP336 which are the same as the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3, just won't cost you $120, instead $36

Good luck.

 

I suppose that I meant earbuds and not phones that cover the ears. I do not need any with a mike.

 

Earbuds or IEMs, and/or do you need significant levels of isolation?

 

Check out the Razer Moray (and the Moray+, which has a mic too).

 

Second the above, all but the Closed i would go with A700 instead of shure 240.

 

What is the difference between Earbuds or IEMs?
Some level of isolation is good, because the fans can get loud under gaming.
The Razer Moray looks all right at a first glance.

 

IEMs are basically earplugs that also play sound, and that's definitely what you want if you want isolation.

 

If you want isolation then go for Sennheiser HD-280 $98, for what i tested the best isolation out of all my closed heaphones, but with some isolation (not as great as senns) get the Audio Technica ATH-A700 $109, those 2 are my primary heaphones for gaming, senns on the road and audiotechncia at home.

Edit

Just read this, so just disregard what i suggested, and have no experience in gaming with earphones, i cant stand them for extended periods of time, so i never bothered with them.

 

Can you recommend an IEM, lackofcheese?

 

Westone UM3X
Ultimate Ears SuperFi 10
Shure SE530
Etymotic Er4i
AT CK-10
Panasonic HJE900

Are a couple you can look at.

 

Also, Monster Turbine, Klipsch Custom Series/Image Series are good. My favorite right now is the Klipsch Custom 3.

 

And all of them are going to far exceed his budget.

I'm using an UM2, and it works well, but even an UM2 far exceeds his budget.

 

Well, if isolation is a big priority the Etymotic ER6i are the ones to get under $100. However, you'll find better options for sound quality, such as the Head-Direct RE0.

Of course, it's all rather subjective, but you might want to look at these roundups for some idea of what a variety of products are like.

 

I would prefer those on the upper list, but money is tight now.
is durability as good for the IEMs as say the Razer Moray?

 

IEMs do have a tendency to wear out somewhat quickly; a lot of the time they tend to wear out at the spot where the cable connects to the speaker because of repeated stress. You can still typically expect most IEMs to last 6 months, and probably significantly more if you take good care of them.

By the way, the Razer Moray are also IEMs, so I'd expect them to last for around 6 months as well.

 

My UM2 is already at it's 3rd year and counting, and it's still good as new. It simply depends on the quality of your IEM, and yes, how well you maintain it.

 

Well, under $100 I wouldn't expect too much with regards to quality. Still, maintenance is probably the biggest factor. Stuffing them in your pocket a lot, which I've done with previous pairs of IEMs, would probably make for most of the difference between 6 months and a couple of years.

 

Oh I didnt see the $100 budge, my advice would be the RE0 from headdirect, and if you can squeeze out 10 more dollars the Panasonic HJE900 are very good. They are going for $110 but retail for $240. They also have removable cables so if one of your wires short out all you have to do is buy replacement cables which cost ~$20.

The HJE900 were one of the first high end headphones i've owned and they are very good.

 

I use Razer Moray (not plus) and am more than happy with those. Here's some pics and mini-review:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/478196-m11x-razer-kabuto-moray-mini-review.html

it's exactly what I need. They are $40 before taxes and shipping. If you decide to get those I still have $10 off + free shipping coupons which should work, so in that case let me know and I'll PM them to you. Any other questions about those, feel free to ask.

 

I will take a chance with the RE0. Amazon had them when I looked last.

 

I took a quick look at those at Amazon.com, there's a review from 1 guy containing:

"The cable itself is relatively heavy, fairly thick and very soft and pliable. It seems durable enough to withstand a fair amount of abuse. One issue I have with the cabling of the RE0s is that they transmit a lot of cable noise. Wearing them straight down while walking or performing any kind of activity that causes the IEMs to rub against your clothing, will result in microphonic noise being transmitted into your ears. It's annoying and distracting to be sure and using the included shirt clip and wearing them over-the-ear is practically required if you plan on walking with these. "

LOL... what's the point of them being earphones then?

 

cable noise is almost unavoidable in iems.

 

Westone's twisted pair cable wires are cable noise free.

 

how does that work? you will always feel some vibration from the cables, as everything is connected, and it sits in your ear canal.

 

I'm not sure how it works, but any vibrations on the cable will not be heard.

 

can you wear it, don't play any music, and tap the cord?

 

No sound, I guess it's also because it's a loop on top of the ear design, such that any vibrations in the cord will be further eliminated by the top of your ear holding the cord.

 

good point, i might start wearing mine over the ears.

 

I still hear it in some situations with my UM1s, but overall, they are very good wires.

 

Hm I see what you mean - well I think I don't notice it because I'm wearing mine under the shirt so the only part of the cable that actually shakes is the lower, and that one doesn't cause any sound.