Need a Gaming Headset - Then look here first

Psycho Sonny

Psycho Sonny

Psycho Sonny

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Joined
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*********** WORK IN PROGRESS *************

A lot of the info has been taken from this thread

http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad...e-4-17-2014-akg-k612-and-k712-pro-added-edits


TOP CHOICES (for quick reference)

Guide:

Green = Amp not needed
Orange = Benefits from an Amp
Red = Amp is essential

Competitive (Main Use - FPS Gaming):

<£50

£50-£100

AD700 - second hand only
HD 595 - second hand only

£100-£150

AD700x - newer version of AD700
PC360 - built in mic
HD598
K612 Pro

£150-£200

K701
Q701

>£200

SRH1840
SR-407
ESP-950



Fun (Main Use: Movies/Music):


<£50

HTF600

£50-£100


£100-£150


£150-£200

Fidelio X1 - Compatible with V Moda Boom Pro

>£200

MDR MA900




D7000
LCD-2
DT990
Mad Dog v.3.2
HE-400
Alpha Dog
K702 65th Anniversary Edition
K712 Pro



All-rounders (for both uses):

<£50

Koss Porta Pro
Koss KSC75
HD201
Creative Aurvana Live

£50-£100

Creative Aurvana Live 2

£100-£150

DT770
AKG K612 PRO

£150-£200

Fidelio X1 - Compatible with V Moda Boom Pro

>£200





D7000
LCD-2
Alpha Dog
HE-400
K702 65th Anniversary Edition
K712 Pro
MrSpeakers Mad Dog v.3.2
DT990
ESP-950



Microphones

DX Clip on Mic - £1.50 delivered (2 week lead time)
Speedlink Spes Clip-On Microphone - £8

Both the above mics are very very good no need to buy anything more expensive unless you fancy an all in one like the v moda boom pro or are a streamer, then you can look into more expensive options of your own accord the above are more than enough for the average gamer.



Why are Gaming Headsets often said to be inferior to regular headphones?

In general, headphones (especially "audiophile" or "hi-fi" headphones) tend to have better sound quality than your typical gaming headsets. This is due to a number of reasons, such as: a design more focused on maximizing sound quality instead of maximizing stylish "gaming" looks, an Open Vs. Closed design (most gaming headsets are closed), and simply having more experience at designing headphones than gaming headset companies.




What about multi-driver "true surround sound" headphones? Aren't they better?

No. Multi-driver headphones make use of tiny drivers with inferior performance to larger stereo (dual driver) headphones. A better route is a good pair of stereo headphones with a good virtual surround DSP.



Do I need an amp?

That depends on your headphone. All headphones will benefit from an amp, but some benefit more. Those are usually higher ohm OR lower sensitivity headphones.



Will headphone X be a huge improvemet for competitve gaming over the AD700?

Probably not. HD800s or SR009 are probably the very best headphones, but nothing is going to be that much of an improvement for competitive gaming over the AD700s.
Your NOT going to keep getting competitive improvements as you go up in price. The main improvements your going to get are a more immersive sound (fuller weighter sound, better bass). Sometimes a more immersive sound counteracts a competitive focused sound though. Part of the reason the AD700 works so well for soundwhoring is because it sounds bright and bass light (counteracts immersion though).
So if your looking for the very best headphone for competitve gaming, just get an AD700. Or get an HD800. Everything in between the two will offer improvements to immersion, but not really improvements for simple competitive sound whoring. If your willing to trade a little competitive ability for a more immersive and enjoyable sound (and a more audiophile headphone that will be better with music), then you should look at more immersive headphones.




What traits make for a good competitive gaming headphone?

A non-bassy heavy signature, emphasis on mids and highs to bring out details like footsteps, and a large and accurate sounding soundstage...


What traits make for a good immersive gaming headphone?

Dat Bass...


Should I get a mixamp if I'm gaming on PC?

No, probably not. Devices like the Mixamp are mainly recommended for consoles. For PC's a better solution is an internal soundcard.
 
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I've been really busy today.

I'll sort this out properly tomorrow and edit the OP so it is a lot more detailed, etc, add in all the correct links but it should do for the next 24 hours or so.

Would be happy to add any info that other people can suggest that would be useful.

I'll sort headphones into correct budget ranges too, etc.

I'll mainly be copying stuff from head fi.

Thanks mods.
 
IC3 said:
It'll be great, if you told us a bit more about the sound and for people less confident what they want. You could also write what genre these headphones are best for, with a small description of the sound. Another thing is the source, not everyone has sound cards/amps/dacs/hybrids or whatever, so a small notice if it needs an amp or not would also be very helpful.

I'll edit this post or write a new one, if I've more ideas..

EDIT:

You could also mention, what type of source (brighter, darker, warmer etc) is best for the specific model of headphones.
Click to expand...

This is just supposed to be a quick go to guide where if someone wants a pair of headphones for gaming they can come here and see the right one for their use and budget and then just go and buy them. No need for more detailed info than that, if they want more detailed info then they can simply click on the link to MLE's guide and read it there.

Competitive Section = Bass Missing and more suited to competitive FPS gaming for hearing footsteps

Fun Section = Decent Bass and more suited for single player gaming or immersive gaming than competitive gaming

All Rounders = Good for both uses

I'll add that to the above, as well as price ranges and then if they require amping.

Will be 3 types of headphones and I will colour code them to suggest the amping side of things.

Green = no amp required
Orange/Yellow = benefits from an amp
Red = amp is essential
 
any help is greatly appreciated, this is going to take a while to format, etc.

I will try and do it a bit at a time, rather than all in one as to not bore myself to death.

Ideally I only want to have say 3 headphones in each price bracket within a category at maximum.

Having too much choice can be a bad thing, this is just meant to be a quick guide for reference for newbs.

Therefore I will probably be lacking options in the <£50 range and £50-£100 range but have too many in the other price ranges and need to cut them down to the top 3.

Ryanr1987 said:
This is a good idea. It's a good start though and get's people asking in one place. I agree with most of the list although I think some could fit in other categories.

You should add the Shure 1540 to the list too it's the best closed headphone I've heard including the DT770 and D7000 for gaming.
Click to expand...

what do you think should be in what category?

I'll add DT770 and Shure 1540

what price category do they fall into and do they require an amp or benefit from one?

Cookeh said:
aaand the HM5.s Excellent entry level mid-fi headphones for music or gaming.
Click to expand...

do they require amp? or benefit from one?

where do you think the CAL fits in? all rounders?
 
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It's a £300 headphone, I imagine a lot of £300 headphones are decent tbh.

The average gamer spends like £20-£100 on a headset, so I'm more aiming towards educating them rather than audiophiles who know what they are doing.

I'll add the W1000X into the list but I think the focus should be on the cheaper end to suit most peoples budgets.

Someone in the console section said that expensive headphones are like HDMI cables and a complete fallacy with no difference between them and cheap ones, your just throwing money away for nothing.

Education is the key here and I don't think a £300+ headphone will sell well with these types of people but anything up to £200 will do.

Remember a lot of them have only ever used turtlebeach, logitech, etc, they aren't looking for the "rolls royce" but a good cheap daily runner which outperforms they crap the have used in the past.
 
danceMB said:
I am actually looking for a mic at the moment, so its good to see just how cheap they are. Was thinking of getting an all-in-one, but as I have the HD 600's, all I need is the mic

All you need is to spend £7 on one? If they are that cheap, im going to order one very soon. Whats the best mic I can go for?
Click to expand...

the best mic costs about £30-£40

antlion mod mic

otherwise get a spes clip on mic from ocuk or dx clip on mic from china
 
danceMB said:
Thats the only push I needed. So many good reviews about the Specs clip on mic as well, and for only £6.95, cant really go wrong.
Click to expand...

They aren't "that" good but very good for the price, basically there is 2 options

option a - cheap very good mic (dx or spes)
option b - antlion mod mic

anything in between isn't worth considering

personally i use the DX and it cost me something like £1.58
 
HTF600's are very comfortable, they are good but I would place the KSC75 as the better headphones for gaming and the HTF better for music.

if your looking at gaming then a second hand set of HD595 or AD700 is the best you can get and they aren't that much more.

you would be going from a 6-7/10 to a 9.5/10 for the extra £30 you need to spend to get a second hand pair of 595's.
 
If you want bass then there are plenty of bass head signature headphones or ones with emphasised bass.

I don't know much about basshead phones the only one I have which is bass heavy is the Fidelio X1.

Have a look at bass head threads on head fi.

Also good headphones does not equal good gaming cans. It depends on the type of gaming. For competitive fps you want zero bass, wide soundstage with exceptional mids. For immersive gaming then yeah you can use any decent headphones with bass
 
no idea how good those are, i've never tried them, all you can do is read reviews on head fi or look at the mad lust envy thread, berydynamic as a brand though are brilliant, better than sennheiser in the bang for buck department, so take that as you will.

my AKG Q701's should be arriving any day and most people if not all have missed customs at roughly £95 each, it would take headphones costing £300+ to beat them for gaming and even then only marginally, they are one of the best gaming cans you can buy full stop, and mrk seems to like them more than his X1 for music in certain areas too.

I know you missed out and that's not what you wanted to hear, but maybe some kind fellow who doesn't like theirs who bought them will sell them on to a fellow member for cheap.... and no I won't be selling mine lol.

You need a headphone with a very very wide soundstage and clear mids for it to be great for gaming. So those 2 should be the main things you look for in headphones.

I have no idea how wide the soundstage or how good the mids are on the custom one pro, I think someone else on here owns one though in white, i'm sure I read that a few months back.
 
did you buy from massdrop? as they are only £117 here in the UK where they a lot cheaper on the drop?

for that money I think the Beyerdynamic DT770 is meant to be amazing for gaming Ryan on here loves them and they are meant to be really comfortable and have decent bass too.

head-fi is your best source for reviews on gaming headphones. search for custom one pro in the MLE thread and read the posts about them in that thread.

the reason why so many people bought the Q701 is because in reality it's a £200-£300 headphone here in the UK (prices have dropped now across the board). At £95 it was a no brainer.

I think AKG will be launching a new range soon which is why they are now offloading them cheap or maybe the Q701 is going EOL.
 
We already had this discussion not too long ago. Search for DT 770 on the forums.

Someone bought the 250ohm version then didn't like the cable so then replaced them with the 80 ohm version.

What are you looking for? The Q701 is the new king on these forums but it requires a powerful amp
 
Yeah 80ohm is easier to drive. The difference in sound isn't a lot either from what I have been told. So you can use them with a phone/tablet/laptop too if need be with the 250 ohm you can't.

Sent you a trust message
 
The only amp/DAC you will get for £50 is a sound card with headphone amp built in.

The cheapest one I can recommend personally is the AUNE T1. As for headphones AKG Q701 with bass port mod is probably the best to buy for that kind of budget.
 
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It's USB DAC only. It's a valve DAC for that lovely tuneable tube sound.

Check out the official AUNE T1 thread, also created by myself.

I'm going to pair it with a schiit vali some time next month only because my mixamp cannot drive q701's and needs to be double amped so I will connect the vali to both the mixamp and aune when switching between console (mixamp) anf pc (aune t1).

The built in amp is very good and for most people will be fine for any headphones it's just that my mixamp is weak so I need the vali so I may as well use it with the aune t1 as well
 
TwsT said:
Sonny can we work on updating this a bit.

Teh clouds should be on it since it's a sticky

Also perhaps include a bit about DAC/Soundcard options maybe?

I have no problem updating it if you don't have time btw I just figured it would be nice to ask rather than just jumping in and editing your stuff.
Click to expand...

You are better off doing it. I don't have much spare time and fell away from the scene. It was getting too expensive and I realised once you hit a certain bracket, the higher end stuff only does things marginally better.

That's why I haven't reviewed the DAC/AMP's you sent me, apart from build quality (which was immense) and features, I could only tell marginal differences between a £150 setup and a £300+ one in the sound department, it was cleaner but I think I prefer a coloured sound a tube DAC gives. It just feels a lot more natural to my ears and more pleasant. Whereas solid state feels too clinical and clean.

I think the <£200 is worth buying the higher end stuff your just paying extra for little gain. I had a hard time seeing how I could justify buying a Asus Xonar Essence if I had the cash, apart from it was built and packaged very well and had plenty of features.
 
delpy8 said:
Back on again can someone rcommend the best palce to get the Aune T1 Mk2 would the rainforest be a safe bet
Click to expand...

that's where I got mine from but I went through flubit for a bit of a discount.

Have a read through the Aune T1 thread on here, has a lot of useful info.

I have tested gear worth up to 5 times the price and the AUNE T1 is nothing to be laughed at. I have a schiit vali too but that will mainly be used with the mixamp and not the Aune T1.

I have the mk2 and rids has the mk1, the only difference is it supports more frequencies and/or bit rates and has a USB timing synchronisation to help keep everything on the right track iirc.

the differences aren't huge but obviously the mk2 is slightly better but it isn't a noticeable difference in terms of sound i bet they both sound the exact same, just has a couple of additional features.
 
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