New headphones?

tintin82 · 17 Aug 2017 at 13:13

Hi Folks,

Last night the cable of my trusty 10 year old Creative HS-980 MarkII Fatal1ty Gaming headphones caught on my foot and when I moved from my seat I torn the wire clean out of the unit. So ****** with myself, but no point in crying! I took them to a repair store today to be told that due to the position of the break they would be next to impossible to repair.

So, new headset time. I did dig out an old pair of Sennheiser HD 201's, and the quality was surprisingly good, however they lacked bass, and felt quite cheap in position. They also lack an inline volume control, and sounds a lot quieter than my trusty creatives.

So can anyone recommend a good set. Priority is for comfort, used in quite a loud area (Mrs watches TV in the same room), and good bass with an inline volume would be ace. I did look at the Kingston Hyper X, however the audio box looks a bit naff, and the cables look extremely long.

Budget is about £50.

When on the subject I use my phones on the front audio port which doesn't have a amp which is unfortunate as I would like my phones louder. Does anyone have any ideas of how to increase the volume, such as a switch cable running of the rear port than does have the amp. Or would I be best getting an external DAC?

Thanks for the recommendations.

PapaLazaru · 17 Aug 2017 at 13:17

Do you need a mic? If not the Hyper X are your best bet by miles, the original ones, not the MK2 with the USB dongle..

If you don't need a mic get the Creative Aurvana Live! Direct from Creative at the moment for only £39.99 and are truly magnificent for the money.

tintin82 · 18 Aug 2017 at 12:03

Thanks Papal. I went with the HyperX, should have them today.

GTiPUG · 18 Aug 2017 at 12:21

Would recommend eventually splitting into a pair of good cans (Beyer DT770s are what I have, ace) and a separate mic. Best decision I ever made, I can't stand "gaming" headsets since making the move.

Marsman · 18 Aug 2017 at 17:42

To be fair, the HyperX is a good headset. Based on actual headphones, so not the usual plastic garbage like many of the cheaper headsets from peripheral manufacturers.

tintin82 · 18 Aug 2017 at 19:35

PapaLazaru said:
Do you need a mic? If not the Hyper X are your best bet by miles, the original ones, not the MK2 with the USB dongle..

If you don't need a mic get the Creative Aurvana Live! Direct from Creative at the moment for only £39.99 and are truly magnificent for the money.

Wow, only had them an hour or so, but very impressed. Build quality is super! Thanks for the recommendation.

breathe3asy · 22 Aug 2017 at 09:02

PapaLazaru said:
If you don't need a mic get the Creative Aurvana Live! Direct from Creative at the moment for only £39.99 and are truly magnificent for the money.

Really? These are still being recommended?

PapaLazaru · 22 Aug 2017 at 17:32

ceaton88 said:
Really? These are still being recommended?

Still the best under £50.

breathe3asy · 23 Aug 2017 at 20:24

I currently have a set if CALs and was thinking of buying HyperX Clouds as the CALs are surely outdated. Do I bother?

PapaLazaru · 23 Aug 2017 at 21:48

ceaton88 said:
I currently have a set if CALs and was thinking of buying HyperX Clouds as the CALs are surely outdated. Do I bother?

Speaker technology has not really moved on that much in recent years. Consider the Sennheiser HD650, which is an amazing headphone and a personal favourite. Whilst there may have been a few tweaks over the years, the core design came out in 2003!