Headset for gaming laptop

michty_me · 30 Oct 2019 at 11:00

Morning all,

I'm currently looking at buying a new headset for use in gaming and listening to music. A mic would be beneficial too but not a must and I assume for a decent headset/headphones, I would require a DAC?

On my Desktop at home I have a Roccat Kave 5.1 set which are ok but they are old and could probably be doing with something better.

As for requirements, The following would be nice:

- Fairly portable but sturdy for baggage weight.
- They will be used for gaming when off shift at work on a laptop and to use when I am on my desktop at home also.
- I think a budget for a headset and DAC I would consider around the £150-£200 but unsure if it would be more of a low end unit for that amount. I may consider upping it.
- If it matters, I would mainly be playing FPS games, Music wise, A wide variety really.

Steveocee · 30 Oct 2019 at 13:47

I went from a Kave 5.1 to a Fiio E10K and pair of CALs (Creative Aurvana Live). Was honestly the best thing I've ever done!
Initially went with a really cheap clip on mic but you have multiple options for microphones, antilion modmic as an example.

michty_me · 30 Oct 2019 at 15:13

Steveocee said:
I went from a Kave 5.1 to a Fiio E10K and pair of CALs (Creative Aurvana Live). Was honestly the best thing I've ever done!
Initially went with a really cheap clip on mic but you have multiple options for microphones, antilion modmic as an example.

Excellent, At least you'll know what the Kave is like. I'll have to look at reviews of the items you've mentioned but the first one I read for the CAL's does look good.

Steveocee · 30 Oct 2019 at 15:20

I'm think it was @Cookeh who recommended the combo to me. Best piece of advice I've received on this forum.

michty_me · 30 Oct 2019 at 16:12

I've been trying to read @EsaT posts as he seems to have good information on this subject too.

PapaLazaru · 30 Oct 2019 at 16:55

The key thing here is portability. You need to transport everything, use them at work and home, and also want decent audio for gaming and music.

Either get some easy to drive headphones with a detachable mic and just plug them straight into your PC's, or get an all in one solution that will be better for gaming, but a little less good for music, like the Sennheiser GSP 550.

You get get little gaming DAC's like the Cyrus gaming soundkey, but it cuts so far I to your budget, you will be better off getting better headphones or headset.

Cookeh · 30 Oct 2019 at 17:07

Steveocee said:
I'm think it was @Cookeh who recommended the combo to me. Best piece of advice I've received on this forum.

High praise, thanks. Things have moved on a a lot since, and whilst they are still a very strong combo (I still use two E10Ks actually!), there are other options for £150-200. I'm a bit swamped at the minute but I will revisit this thread soon and give a more useful reply. In the interim I'm sure others will chime in with excellent info - like PapaLazaru for example who is incredibly knowledgeable.

michty_me · 30 Oct 2019 at 19:34

PapaLazaru said:
The key thing here is portability. You need to transport everything, use them at work and home, and also want decent audio for gaming and music.

Either get some easy to drive headphones with a detachable mic and just plug them straight into your PC's, or get an all in one solution that will be better for gaming, but a little less good for music, like the Sennheiser GSP 550.

You get get little gaming DAC's like the Cyrus gaming soundkey, but it cuts so far I to your budget, you will be better off getting better headphones or headset.

Hi Papalazaru. Thanks for your input. And well noted!!
I don't mind spending a little more plus I don't have to stick to really small headphones as I do take two bags away with me.
I'll have a look into the Sennheiser GSP550 as suggested. Have you used the yourself?

Cookeh said:
High praise, thanks. Things have moved on a a lot since, and whilst they are still a very strong combo (I still use two E10Ks actually!), there are other options for £150-200. I'm a bit swamped at the minute but I will revisit this thread soon and give a more useful reply. In the interim I'm sure others will chime in with excellent info - like PapaLazaru for example who is incredibly knowledgeable.

Not a problem Cookeh, I'm not in a major rush to buy so I'll await your input also. Thanks.

PapaLazaru · 30 Oct 2019 at 19:37

michty_me said:
Hi Papalazaru. Thanks for your input. And well noted!!
I don't mind spending a little more plus I don't have to stick to really small headphones as I do take two bags away with me.
I'll have a look into the Sennheiser GSP550 as suggested. Have you used the yourself?

I have a few different setups. High end dac and headphones for music at home, some AKG bluetooth headphones for out and about and the older version of the GSP 550's for gaming, the PC373D's.

michty_me · 30 Oct 2019 at 20:02

PapaLazaru said:
I have a few different setups. High end dac and headphones for music at home, some AKG bluetooth headphones for out and about and the older version of the GSP 550's for gaming, the PC373D's.

That's good to hear then!!
I'll certainly look into them as I would say they will be used maybe 70-80% for gaming when I'm away. When I'm home that may be a different story though and possible more music. I'll need to see what I mostly do when I'm home.

michty_me · 31 Oct 2019 at 08:12

I've noticed the GSP500 is on sale direct from Sennheiser for £135 delivered.

PapaLazaru · 31 Oct 2019 at 14:22

michty_me said:
I've noticed the GSP500 is on sale direct from Sennheiser for £135 delivered.

Just plug them straight in and see what they sound like, you can always save up for a gaming DAC afterwards. Sound blaster X3 looks interesting at £109.

EsaT · 31 Oct 2019 at 14:33

michty_me said:
I've noticed the GSP500 is on sale direct from Sennheiser for £135 delivered.

Such non-detachable mic is just risk when headphones are carried constantly.
Some retractable or separate mic would be safer for avoiding risk of mic snagging into something when putting them into/taking out from bag.

michty_me · 31 Oct 2019 at 15:00

EsaT said:
Such non-detachable mic is just risk when headphones are carried constantly.
Some retractable or separate mic would be safer for avoiding risk of mic snagging into something when putting them into/taking out from bag.

That is a good point! Maybe headphones and separate mic would be a better idea.

michty_me · 31 Oct 2019 at 19:02

Feeling flush today so I'm gonna go with £150-£200 for headphones/headset then whatever on top for a DAC if needed.

michty_me · 15 Nov 2019 at 13:41

Any further recommendations for headphones in the £200 range? I'm hoping to pick up a black friday deal.

michty_me · 16 Nov 2019 at 16:07

Any thoughts on AKG702 or Philips Fidelio X2?

PapaLazaru · 16 Nov 2019 at 23:33

X2's are less fussy and a better all rounder in my opinion.

michty_me · 17 Nov 2019 at 10:41

PapaLazaru said:
X2's are less fussy and a better all rounder in my opinion.

Thanks, I'll see if I can find a shop that may sell these models and give them a test.

Marsman · 17 Nov 2019 at 11:43

It's a shame that it is harder to try out headphones before buying. You'd likely have to find a specialist audio store to find a range of choices. There isn't really a Richer Sounds type store for headphones, where there are plenty of stores around the country you can pop into and listen to speakers, etc. I'd expect the usual high street suspects to stock mainly popular brands. John Lewis, is likely the nearest to that.

Had a look on John Lewis, and they do have a range of headphones, but as suspected, they are the mostly popular brands. No AKG, Beyerdynamic or Philips to be seen. To give them some credit though, they do have Audio Technica headphones, which I didn't expect.

To answer the question from the other thread: X2/HR is still a good buy for £140, I'd say. It's when they were £200+, they weren't.

I agree with Papalazaru, that the X2/HR is probably a better all round choice. They are easier to drive and will work great with a wider range of devices, such as tablets, etc. K702 is more demanding and will more than likely need a headphone amp to hit higher volumes.

K702 is hard to beat as a FPS gaming headphone. K702 is a reference headphone, so is more neutral than the X2/HR, which is aimed more at all round music use X2HR is what some people could call 'more fun'. In other words, more bass.

There's also music preference to take into consideration, not just gaming. If the K702 is the go to choice for FPS gaming, then for music, someone may want a headphone that is more fun and has a bit more bass. The K702 is not really that headphone; but there are people who use them for music as well as gaming. Really comes to personal preference.

If you want to use a microphone with the headphones, then the X2/HR offers the neatest solution, because they take a standard 3.5mm cable. That means you can use a boom microphone which incorporates the headphone and microphone cable into one cable. V-Moda Boompro is a good example. Using something like the Antlion Modmic (another good popular boom mic), then you'd have two cables; headphone and microphone. Having two cables does annoy some people, so the V-Moda is a great solution.

While you can use the V-Moda with the K702, you'd need an adaptor, as AKG uses a mini XLR connection. A mini XLR to 3.5mm adaptor adds bulk and does add distance between headphone and microphone. Not the neatest solution.

Unless you play games competitively, then the X2/HR will make a better all round choice in my opinion; unless you'd prefer a more neutral sound headphone for music as well.