Headset Recommendations

[LukeMurtagh1995]

Hello all,

For a couple of years I have used the HyperX Cloud Alpha as my headset of choice. I really like the comfort and sound they produce. Since then, however, I was curious to see what other, more expensive, headsets would compare. I recently bought a HyperX Cloud Orbit and was... very disappointed. I didn’t like the 7.1 surround sound and even the high-def audio preset on it sounded somehow inferior to my Alpha headset. These factors, plus the weight of the earcups, have convinced me to get a refund.

My question is this: are there any stereo headsets you would recommend as an improvement to my Alphas? My budget can probably stretch to £300 but not much higher than that.

Thanks!

 

[The_Arbiter]

Stereo? Well, a good set of headphones. Openback for soundstage, closed for isolation and typically speaking more impact bass.

Paired with a usb or 3.5mm mic. Either clip on or modded to fit headphone.

You'll want a dac too. External or internal is fine. The Soundblaster Z has a good spec and does surround decoding so will be nice for FPS games too, with a openback HP.

The K702 can be had cheaper, but is a decent headphone.

This mic is also good bang for buck, i use it on a pair of DT990 premiums. Have the K702's too, but prefer the 990s.

The Senn and Beyer headset offerings are alright, but sound quality isn't supposed to be a good representation of the price, but mics are good. The Senns come with a nice soundcard. Not heard either of these myself. And both are closed back.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AKG K702 Reference Studio Headphones= £169.99
• 1 x Creative Sound Blaster Z High Performance Gaming Sound Card - Retail (70SB150000001)= £64.99
• 1 x Sennheiser GSP 600 Closed Cup Gaming Headset and GSX 1000 Amplifier Bundle= £299.99
• 1 x Beyerdynamic MMX 300, 2nd Gen, Gaming Headset for PC, Xbox One and PS4 - Black= £209.99
• 2 x SPEEDLINK Spec Clip-On Metal Microphone (SL-8691-SBK)= £7.99

Total: £760.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)​

​

 

[PapaLazaru]

Massively better stuff out there. If you really need a headset with a built-in mic, then look at stuff from proper headphone manufacturers like Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic. Stuff like the GSP 600 / 500 or the MMX 300.

Alternately, you could also get some decent headphones with an aftermarket mic.

 

[EsaT]

recently bought a HyperX Cloud Orbit and was... very disappointed. I didn’t like the 7.1 surround sound and even the high-def audio preset on it sounded somehow inferior to my Alpha headset.

Kingston how now so awfully many of those headsets that probability is for some of them not being up to par.
That's really how marketing hype brands work:
After making name for yourself you can start riding on old reputation and overcharging, because people buy onto that brand and hype.
Which is supported by all legalized lying called marketing, sponsoring etc.

As for that Dolby Headphone used by Kingston in those bundled USB sound card dongles, I can understand if some prefer disabling it.
I was myself pretty shocked when first time hearing gameplay recordings of it.
While it's not the worst, it has some pretty darn ugly sides and rides on that Dolby brand hype.
It sounds just about tolerable with neutral bass headphone.

My budget can probably stretch to £300 but not much higher than that.

£300 can get good headphones from actual audio makers, good sound card and ModMic assuming you need microphone.

For example Beyerdynamic's closed design DT770 Pro and open design DT990 Pro are available for £100.
Though if you would prefer "competitive" sound with maximal details then neutral bass AKG K702 would shine...
At the expense of neutral bass easily sounding "shy" and eating "fin factor".
Also "automatic" head band adjustment is behind manual adjustment in comfort.


Sound BlasterX AE-5 would be very good sound card capable to driving most headphones.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/crea...aming-sound-card-70sb174000000-sc-104-cl.html

External Sound BlasterX G6 is pretty much its equal except made for mostly headphone use with only stereo line out for speakers.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/crea...-sound-card-pc-ps4-xbox-switch-sc-107-cl.html
With optical input and Dolby Digital decoding it's also fully compatible with consoles.

Creative has also head shape customizable HRTF called Super X-Fi, which would have major possibilities for people with more peculiar head shape.
But so far Creative has butterfingered those possibilities and only Sound Blaster X3 comes with it and doesn't have much controls for that Super X-Fi feature.


ModMic works with pretty much any headphones.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/antlion-audio-modmic-v4-attachable-boom-microphone-sp-041-al.html

 

[lltfdaniel]

Hello all,

For a couple of years I have used the HyperX Cloud Alpha as my headset of choice. I really like the comfort and sound they produce. Since then, however, I was curious to see what other, more expensive, headsets would compare. I recently bought a HyperX Cloud Orbit and was... very disappointed. I didn’t like the 7.1 surround sound and even the high-def audio preset on it sounded somehow inferior to my Alpha headset. These factors, plus the weight of the earcups, have convinced me to get a refund.

My question is this: are there any stereo headsets you would recommend as an improvement to my Alphas? My budget can probably stretch to £300 but not much higher than that.

Thanks!

My vote/recommendation goes to the sound magic hp 151, great sound for the money.

Dan.