The official PS4 Headset/Headphones Guide/Discussion

[Psycho Sonny]

Fidelio X1's are now only £150 on amazon went down to £136 briefly.

These headphones are no joke, absolute BEASTS, RRP was $499 at launch iirc which is £300 so half price ATM.

Some people on here have paid well over £200 for these and are happy, for them it's the best headphone under £300.

It's a well rounded headphone with bass, meaning you can use it for movies/music and gaming. It's not as good as an AD700 for competitive gaming but the AD700 is crap for movies/music.

Best all rounder headphone you can buy at the moment.

I am tempted to buy and just sell 2 of my current headphones to cover the costs. Put a couple of flubit demands in, if they come in cheaper, I'll snap one up.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

no wireless

if you want wireless just buy the official sony ones or whatever you can get for cheap.

no point spending over £100 on a wireless setup which doesn't include audiophile headphones, your just throwing money away.

I just ordered the Fidelio X1's so I'll be selling my HD 595's and HTF 600's.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

it's only available second hand but it's cheaper than a brand new MIXAMP, is wireless and has better sound quality, which is ridiculous since it's wireless, therefore ASTRo are doing something horribly wrong or are doing it on purpose to increase their profit margins.

It's also easy to get here in the UK, Slovenia not so much obviously.

If I had the choice of a brand new MIXAMP at £130 or second hand wireless 5.8 MIXAMP for £60-£80, it's pretty much a done deal, 5.8 every time.

I know you have the V Moda mic Jazz but did you buy any other cable to replace the stock for listening to music/movies? The stock cable is meant to have quality control issues and is worth replacing, doesn't matter if you only use it for gaming and have the boom pro, but worth doing if you don't want to use the boom pro whilst doing other things.

I personally not going to go for the boom pro and just spend the same on a decent cable, I already have a clip on mic, etc so no need for the boom pro although it would be tidier.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

i have been trying on ebay for weeks....would you help me psycho? i have paypal no worries

sent you a message via trust to one which should ship to you. it should go for cheap too since it's priced in dollars, didn't want to put it in this thread in case someone else bidded against you


after you get it, your better off spending the few quid on a lithium ion rechargeable battery for the receiver (the aa battery housing pops out), which is basically like a nokia phone battery.

you then don't need to buy batteries but simply charge it using an old nokia USB charger cable.

i'll link you to the right ones once you get a mixamp, should cost you less than £10 for the battery and cable, but shipping on top could make it expensive unless you source locally. cable is like a £1 item, battery is like £8.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Sorry, I only just got round to reading your reply. Cheers for the suggestions - I'm going to do some digging and see which of those options suits best budget wise. I don't have a mixamp btw - but am looking into that too now Ta.

A MIXAMP should last you a lifetime so it's worth the investment.

I'm no audiophile, I'm not fussed on spending hundreds of pounds on the best headphones for ultimate sound quality or bodging together a setup. IMO, any headphones are better than no headphones.

I've had the Turtle Beach PX3's for quite a while and they do a very good job. Wireless, work on PS3, 360, PS4 and PC, very handy. Battery lasts for 10+hours too. You can buy them for less than £50 new.

The PS4 setup is exactly the same as the 360 setup e.g. cable from controller to headset, so still wireless.

The audio from the controller is horrible, it's limited by a crappy bluetooth codec/version as well as stereo, you would be better off connecting to your TV than the controller for Sound Quality, it is that bad. Good enough for voice comms but not for game sound.

Also you don't need to spend hundreds:

2nd Hand MIXAMP = £60-£80
Koss KSC75 = £10
DX Clip on MIC = £1.56

that's £70 for a setup which can be upgraded over time, etc. It will also blow any £70-150 all in one setup out the water. Don't be fooled by the cheap pricing of the mic/headphones, they are really good quality for the money and unbelievable value.


I did this myself, I went from HTF600 to HD 595's and now I have Fidelio X1's in the post, I upgraded the headphones as I saw fit to do so.


Koss KSC75 - £10

Creative Aurvana Live, HD 595(2nd hand), AD700 (2nd hand) - £50 to £75

Beyerdynamic DT770 - £120

Fidelio X1, HD 598 - £150 to £175

AKG Q701 - £200

I don't think you need to go any higher than that and those listed are the best ones for those budgets, in fact the AD700 is arguably the best out of all of them (for gaming only) and is in the 2nd tier, it is crap for music/movies though.

So the best setup in the world can be achieved for as little as £140

The most convenient setup (Fidelio X1 and V Moda Boom Pro) which can also be used for music/movies costs £250

The bang for your buck setup though as I stated above has to be Koss KSC75, Clip On and a MIXAMP (2nd hand) for £70-£80

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I honestly couldn't say. I think we're comparing Corsa's and Fiesta's.

Whilst they do the job, they are low down in the market for quality and experience. i.e. if we were real petrol enthusiasts we'd be debating over which top range BMW vs Jag to buy next, rather than an A to B job. I think the PX4 will do the job fine for you, I have a pair and I enjoy playing BF4 with them. Having used a better quality headset though, there is a difference in sound, but not so much that it would detract too much from your gaming experience.

That analogy makes sense in my head, I hope it does yours

The monoprice was still a "gimmicky" gaming headset, not a proper audio enthusiast headphone.

If you really want to hear real quality then DT770, Fidelio X1's, HD 598, K550 or K551 is a good starting point for mid range stuff.

Proper Audiophile stuff starts at around £200-£300 (just for the headphones) and that is for the bottom of the range audiophile stuff, it goes up to £1000 for the really good stuff, there are more expensive options than that but tbh the differences are minimal at best once you hit say £800 (just for headphones).

I'm currently driving like a BMW 3 series (HD 595's), 5 series on the way (Fidelio X1) and sold my mini cooper (HTF 600). I would love a M6 (HD800) but it's way out of my price range.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

sonny: i already told you in email, that i live in country where nobody wants to ship from ebay....

i just want gaming experience hehe....

the controller cannot give you decent sound for in game sounds.

whatever you choose it has to be utilising either the HDMI or optical out on on the console, both of those are high quality digital signals. You then require a competent DAC (digital to analogue converter) which the mixamp is, it's a DAC/AMP built specifically for gaming.

If you aren't bothered about microphone then you can simply buy a normal dac/amp, but tbh they aren't any cheaper than a mixamp. something like the fiio e17 costs £100 on it's own and that is for a cheap decent portable dac/amp. There's guys on here that own a £400 dac/amp for instance.

You won't get real quality, certainly not wireless anyway for cheap.

Also the wireless 5.8 MIXAMP is hard to find in the UK therefore if you did ever see someone on ebay willing to ship to you then you should have just paid the premium to do so. They are getting harder and harder to find because they are sought after.

If I had the spare cash, I would have bought 10 of them off ebay, sat on them for 6 months then sold them all on with £50 tacked onto the price and people would pay it, simply because it's the only real option atm for decent wireless sound quality.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

You mean like the image quality from HDMI cables?, did you know you can buy a 1.5m HDMI cable for £170+ or you can buy a 1.5m HDMI cable for £1.50 (you save), guess what? .. they do the same thing and produce the same image. I suspect a lot of hokum.

LMAO

are comparing a output device to a cable?

If you were comparing 3.5mm interconnect cables to a HDMI cable than I would laugh too.

You do know HDMI is digital? and that audio sent to headphones is analogue?

SQ depends on many things being in balance with each other:

The Quality of the source media (FLAC, Blu Ray, etc)

The Quality of the DAC (Digital to analogue convertor)

The Quality of the Headphones

less important is the interconnects but they are still important (wires) because after all it is a analogue signal. Usually it's best to spend maybe £3-£15 on an interconnect for a £150 pair of headphones.

Some people spend like £150 on a £800 pair of headphones.

Wires in analogue systems do make a difference, but it's not HUGE.

That is why I myself have only bought <£15 wires for my £300 RRP headphones.

All my HDMI cables cost less than £10, I usually spend around £3-£5 for a HDMI cable because the really cheap ones fail after they get bent or after a few months of use. The kabeldirekt stuff off amazon lasts years and costs a few quid more.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Either I'm confused what you guys are saying, or you're confused about what some of the sets comprise.

Just to clarify, the PX4 comes bundled with a transmitter that plugs into the PS4 with an optical sound cable (included). The only sound being carried by the control pad is the chat (until PS4 release a bluetooth update to enable bluetooth mic connection to the console). This means you get the emulated 7.1 dolby digital surround, but over wireless throught the headsets own wireless transmitter down the optical digital output from the PS4 - not via the sound of the wireless DS4 pad.

I'm sure you probably knew this, but just wanted kmetek to know.

The source is good, the headphones most likely aren't.

But for the price you paid you probably weren't expecting them to be sennheiser HD 598's or anything since it's an all in one solution.

If your happy with them then that is great.

If you every get the chance listen to something like DT770's try it and you will see the clarity, detail and soundstage is miles ahead and a completely different game.

A cheap gaming headset which uses the controller for all audio will be like VHS. Your setup is more like DVD. I am on Blu Ray however with the Mixamp and HD 595's / Fidelio X1.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I meant the voice comms is the same as the 360. The cable from controller > headset is only for voice, not actual in game audio. Thats either phono or in my case, optical through the Turtle Beach DSS.

Do you actually reckon that the Koss KSC75 will have much better sound quality than the PX3's that I have? (Thats an honest question by the way, not a dig) since I already have a mix amp with the DSS, I could always give them a try. They do look pretty cheap quality wise.

Look at the mad lust envy guide for a review on them.

I'm on my phone ATM so I can't do some proper digging into them but check out the huge thread on head fi.

Specialist equipment is a lot better.

Take a look at sound city part of these forums too.

Personally I would sell everything you have apart from the MIXAMP. Order a DX mic for £1.56 then see what cash you have for some headphones.

Koss, cal, hd595 or ad700 are all under £100.

The ad700 is as good as it gets for gaming but it's crap for music or movies.

You can pick them up second hand for £50-£70.

The koss ksc75 and porta pro are really good as well for those starting out. Probably better than all gaming headsets costing up to £100

 

[Psycho Sonny]

KSC75

It belongs here. Most of you already know what a bang for the buck these are, and I'm more than happy to say that they are pretty good gaming headphones. Directionality is accurate, detail is fantastic for their price, and treble is sparkly and energetic. The bass is also no slouch, assuming you are in a decently quiet atmosphere. The KSC75 is very picky about what is around you, so the quieter the place you're in is, the better they perform. If you want to game on a budget, these should be not be taken lightly. I use them when I wanna relax and lay back, since I don't ever have to worry about them sliding off or out of position. They stay in place no matter what. I love them so much. You couldn't get me to give mine up unless it's for another pair. You get a lot of performance for the price, and everyone should pick some up.

edit (6/2/2012): Just want to add that the way to present sound is considerably different from full-sized headphones. They are like a bridge between IEM and Full-sized cans, in which they don't have a FULL sound that envelopes you the way full-size cans do, but they project farther out than IEMs.

Fun: 7/10 (Good)

Competitive: 7/10 (Good)

Comfort: 9.5/10 (Amazing)


I think they are actually better than the porta pro's or they use the exact same drivers just in a different setup.

Either way get these for what is it £12? Then if you feel the need to upgrade you can get CAL's brand new for £50 or second hand AD700 or HD 595.

After that there is DT770.

After them it's HD 598 or Fidelio X1.

After them it's Q701.

All depends on how far up the ladder you want to climb

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Every single piece of my setup is easily replaceable

Headphones break - get a new pair although build quality on proper headphones means they usually last decades especially Sony MDR-7506's some people have had theirs for over 20 years and all you do is replace the pads for cheap.

Mic breaks - buy a new one, at £1.56 a pop they don't break the bank either

MIXAMP - shouldn't break as it never moves and should last 5+ years tbh if it does it can be replaced with a newer version or another second hand one.

Most gaming headsets tend to fall apart especially if they are cheap as they are very cheaply made. You will see people posting on here what new headset to buy as theirs just fell apart, that never happens with a quality pair of headphones.

second hand MIXAMP + KSC75 + DX Mic = <£80 so a bit more than your sonys but it's a surround sound setup which is easily upgradeable and should offer you far better sound quality.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Yeah i get that, already have a decent pair on my PC of HD 555's which i have had for 5-6 years and never skipped a beat.

Didn't want to have a load of different things and just have it all in one so went with the easier and less messy option.

Personally I would have sold the HD 555's got some Fidelio X1's and a V Moda Boom Pro and a mixamp.

That way you have one wire (no mess), much better headphones to boot as well as the best possible gaming experience as well as one of the best mid-fi cans available.

Have you modded the 555's at all? People say the mod turns them into 595's but that isn't true at all it improves their sound but 595's will always be better it does make them closer to 595's though once modded.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Looking to go with one of these fancy set ups. What mixamp would I have to use? I see Astro ones cost £100 new but theres also 'Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro' for around £45.

I have both an xbox one and ps4 and my tv has a optical in so I could just plug the mix amp into the tv instead of the consoles right?

I don't think you get how these work.

Console > Optical Cable > MIXAMP

MIXAMP is the best option forget the Creative one it's cheap crap you would be better off just buying a cheap gaming headset than going down that route tbh.


So if you have both consoles then you will need either a optical switch or have to unplug optical cables every time you switch from one console to the other.

I suggest buying a switch

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HQ-Optical-...qid=1400588244&sr=8-1&keywords=toslink+switch

that is a cheap switch, I have a similar one and it does a good enough job tbh.

Kabeldirekt is who I use for all my cabling they basically offer high quality cables at very cheap prices

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=kabeldirekt toslink

note HDMI cables have no difference in quality and I think it's the same for toslink but I buy kabeldirekt because it only costs a couple of quid more and I know they will last forever. in comparison to cheapy £1 cables which die after being bent or after a few months of use, it's worth paying the £2-3 extra to get something you know will last forever than have the hassle of one failing on you.

don't however buy HDMI or toslink cables for more than what kabeldirekt sell them for, your just throwing money away the sound/picture quality is the exact same as a £1 cable your just paying extra for durability.


so you will need 3 toslink cables one for each console going into the switch and then one from the switch to the MIXAMP, the length of these depends on your setup.


do you want a wired or wireless mixamp?


pretty much all the info you seek is already in this thread therefore i suggest you read through it all.

i may update the OP as it has some rubbish info in it regarding that belkin mic.


what is your budget? it's much easier if you tell me that and if you want wired or wireless tbh. do you mind having 2 cables or would prefer one (you need to stump up a lot more cash for one over 2).

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Ok, sounds like this is going to be a lot of wires to hide and clean. I have here 3 XO hdmi cables and 2 XO optical, like you I don't believe in spending £100's on cables I buy nice durable cables and that's it.

I would say my budget would be £300 max. What would my options be both wireless and wired? Thanks

that's a very very good budget

wireless mixamp is only available second hand for around £70 on ebay, it's very hard to find or rare so if you see one on ebay or a members market buy it ASAP.

wired mixamp is £130 brand new or probably around £70 second hand (not looked into them).

so that leaves let's say £170-£230 for headphones and a mic

at that price point you can get pretty much anything mid fi for brand new

Q701 > HD598 > Fidelio X1 > DT 770 (for competitive gaming)

now the Q701 is hard to drive you may need to buy an additional amp (fiio e6 or e11 or something like that) to boost them if you use voice chat at the same time but it is the best out the lot for competitive gaming and is also good for music, it's the most expensive though at around £200. It looks fantastic and comes in 3 colours a bright lime green, white or black. So it suits all types of players. It is hard to drive so beware about that if you want to use it with anything it requires a lot of power (a decent amp). So it's not a very easy setup so i personally would avoid this unless you want the best.

HD598 is easy to drive looks amazing but not great for music/movies or immersive gaming it's very good for competitive gaming though (FPS). It's not bad for music/movies just nowhere near as good as the other options in this price range.

Fidelio X1 is the ultimate all rounder it's good at everything, it's also compatible with the v moda boom pro mic meaning less wires (a big plus point for some) it has amazing bass for an open can and is brilliant at everything, gaming, movies or music are all a delight, it's very easy to drive, doesn't require an AMP so it can be used with a PC or phone/tablet directly, although I wouldn't recommend using onboard sound on a PC with it, but the Asus Xonar DG which I got brand new for £15 is more than enough for it. This is the one I highly recommend it's a delightful can, beautifully made it should last you 10 years easy if looked after before you need to replace the earpads and the rest should last a lifetime. It has a removeable cable so no chance of wire being pulled by accident and breaking your headphones.

The DT770 is the cheapest but it's the best for music/movies and immersive gaming (strong bass) it's great at gaming but the bass makes it hard to distinguish things like footsteps because it is powerful bass, which lets it down competitively slightly but it is the best can for everything else. I would recommend this if your a huge basshead and your an occasional competitive gamer, if your serious about your K/D ratio this isn't the can for you.


there are other options which are cheaper and just as good for competitive gaming the AD700 is like £50-£70 second hand and is one of the best competitive gaming cans available, it has zero bass which is why it's so good but awful for music/movies. it's only available second hand and rare. this is the best option if your serious about k/d ratio and don't care about using the cans for anything else but FPS.

HD595 is also a great alternative to the AD700 it's the older version of the HD 598 but without a removeable cable. It's also around £75 second hand so a lot cheaper than the HD 598.


So it depends on what your usage is as to what headphone is best for you and whether you want to use it for other things or just as a headset.

Fidelio X1's can be used for anything and with anything that's why it's the generic recommendation for everyone.

But if you want a more personalised recommendation then I need to know what you intend to use the headphones for, any music, movies? portable (outside the house)? competitive gaming or immersive gaming?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

tax is hit or miss usually especially if it's a small box and under £100.

it's normally big boxes and those with a value over £100 they like to hit, it's a numbers game and the smaller numbers is just more of a headache and theres more of them to deal with.

your country may be different though.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Wow thank you!! Super helpful post and gives me a lot to think about.

I would like to get the Q701 but having to get an extra amp is a bitter of a bother for me, I checked out the Fidelio X1 and they are definitely my favourite and reviews are all superb.

My main use would probably be for immersive gaming, but would also be nice to hear footsteps in COD. Music is not a priority but would also be used for Netflix or movie watching when the girlfriend is sleeping.

if you watch movies and netflix through your consoles then you could just use the mixamp for the headphones that you choose.

if you use a laptop it would require a dac (laptops as well as onboard audio tend to have really crap DAC's built in) as well as a amp if your thinking of Q701's. if you use a phone/tablet and it's made by a decent company like Samsung then it should have a decent DAC built in tbh so all you would need is a amp to power them, it's just a really messy situation tbh needing other devices, etc.

the thing with amp/dac's is there isn't much difference between the cheap ones and any of the more expensive ones under say £200, that's why a xonar DG for £15-£20 is recommended to anyone using a PC with headphones if they want something better then they really need to stump up top money for a noticeable difference £200+.

tbh I think Fidelio X1 is the one for you (doesn't need an amp with anything) if you want to use it with your pc get a xonar DG for £20. use with consoles then get a mixamp (5.8 mixamp is wireless and only available second hand, all other mixamps are wired and newer).

now that we have the sources sorted and headphones (fidelio X1) all you need now is a mic.

there are 3 options:

V Moda Boom Pro

http://v-moda.com/boompro-microphone/

it's not cheap but it's crystal clear, replaces the stock wire on the fidelio x1's to give you a brilliant simple solution which means one less wire to worry about.

DX Clip on mic

http://www.dx.com/p/mini-clip-on-microphone-7080#.U3vyifldV8E

£1.48 currently (I paid £1.56), this mic is pretty much the one to get if you don't want a v moda boom pro, don't be fooled by it's cheap price it's better than the next option, the only downside is that it's coming direct from china so it will take about 1-2 weeks for delivery. I actually use this mic and it's brilliant and costs less than a soft drink in a restaurant, cannot grumble with that.

Speedlink Spes Clip-On Microphone

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Speedlink-I...F8&qid=1400632170&sr=8-1&keywords=clip+on+mic

this is what you buy if you need a mic straight away and cannot afford the boom pro, it's slightly worse than the dx mic as well as more expensive but you should get it within 2 days of ordering.



also to note some people prefer to replace the stock cable of the fidelio x1 when using it for movies/music as the stock ones have a high resistance for some reason, some people like the stock others don't so it's worth buying another and comparing the two just to see if you can notice a difference, it's minimal but it should be there.

the best one to go for is one of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirekt...=1400632392&sr=8-2&keywords=kabeldirekt+3.5mm

it comes in various sizes from 0.5m to 5m

no point in buying a more expensive cable as to get an even more noticeable difference your talking about dropping £35+ on a cable just to get a very small performance increase. kabledirekt cables for less than £5 are the best option for price to performance.

so to sum that all up you need to buy a mixamp (for consoles), toslink splitter (to plug both consoles into and then into mixamp), 3 toslink cables (kabledirekt), fidelio x1's, whatever mic you want and a replacement cable for your X1 for a slight performance increase, also possibly a xonar dg to replace your onboard sound on your pc if you wish to use with your pc.

also the best amp to get for the money is the topping nx1 it's about £22 on ebay and better than fiio e11 which is £54 on amazon.


i have sent you a flubit invite in your trust (that will get you a discount on anything you buy from amazon).

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Sorted will be buying all the stuff next weekend. Going with the Fidelio X1, Astro Mixamp and that V Moda Boom Pro.

Going a little over budget by my calculations but it will be worth it, won't be upgrading this setup for a good 5 years.

Also thanks for the flubit invite and massive help.

you just bought yourself a very very good mid-fi setup to get a noticeable major amount of difference would mean buying headphones costing £300-£800, you would also then need to buy an DAC and AMP to complement them.

basically to upgrade from this setup your talking the best part of £1000 to get a hi-fi setup.

so chances are you won't ever upgrade from this setup unless your looking at spending that kind of money but there are other mid-fi choices out there which will give you a slightly different flavour of mid-fi.

fidelio x1's are my "end game" cans, I won't be buying anything better or anything else at all for that matter unless some sort of firesale happens and i get Q701's for under £125 or HD600's or HD650's for less than £175.

best thing about the fidelio's is you can leave the v moda plugged into your mixamp, get either the stock cable or a kabledirekt cable and plug them into your pc, phone, tablet, etc and use the fidelio x1 with another device very easily and quickly.

they are easy to drive so no need for an expensive amp

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I imagine they aren't that loud because they are wireless and sony don't really do wireless headphones. Do they not have a volume control?

Sony do have some good headphones for studio use (mdr-7506 and mdr-v6) but none really for gaming use.

The companion app is basically just an equaliser or effects app. If your a purist you will want to leave it alone, if you prefer a certain sound signature then you may want to dabble with it. People have been duped into thinking it's some sort of magical app which makes everything amazing and "pro hax", etc, but it's basically just an equaliser or effects playing with the sounds. Try it out and see if you prefer it.

You would have been far better off with a mixamp, proper headphones and a separate mic, for sound quality, loudness (which you can tailor to suit yourself by adjusting the volume), etc, etc.

Sony don't make decent gaming headphones (competitive) so I don't see how they could make a decent wireless gaming headset (competitive), it may be good for immersive gaming but I doubt it (since their best headphones are rather flat).

Something as cheap as portapros (£30) or HTF 600's (sold a pair of these in the mm for £22.50 recently) would be a step up from these. HD595's (which i'm selling in the members market currently) would blow them away.

If you aren't happy with them then I would recommend getting a proper setup. Wireless however is the issue with the only way of doing it properly needs an old mixamp which is very rare to get and second hand only. Wired is far easier since newer mixamps are all wired.

If you don't want to use a mic at all it's even easier. All you need is a DAC/AMP which can be had for as little as £50 or as much as £400 depending on how far you want to go.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Optical is digital, if it works it works.

Much like HDMI.

It may not be brilliant build quality but who cares if it works. If your going to spend more money then I would want one with either buttons or a remote to switch between toslink cables.

The cheap one I have uses a switch with a button, it's fine but you can tell it's a cheap product in terms of build quality.