The official PS4 Headset/Headphones Guide/Discussion

[Psycho Sonny]

Out of those two the astro is better but they don't compare to proper headphones.

You cannot really use them with other devices though. You can only do that with proper headphones.

For that budget I would get a second hand 5.8 MIXAMP which is the wireless one, HD 595's which I'm currently selling in the members market. Plus a clip on mic.

The 595's are mid fi headphones and can be used for music and movies.

Gaming headsets however have terrible sound quality in comparison and therefore aren't suitable to be used for music or movies.

Also immersive gaming is terrible with gaming headsets.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

MIXAMP go for £50-£70 on eBay.

HD595 on members market for £70.

Clip on mic £1.50 from DX.

You wanna buy cheaper then get creative aurvana live brand new from ocuk for £50 which come with a free clip on mic.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Trust me the difference in performance and sound quality in a decent pair of headphones is worlds ahead of headsets.

The biggest problem is that you really need a MIXAMP for consoles and they aren't cheap.

The good points are the headphones can be used with anything else no problems. Smart phones, laptops, tablets, avr, PC, etc, etc.

MIXAMP work across both consoles too so it's good for people with more than one console.

Mad lust envy on head fi gives a break down of headphones for gaming use, it's worth reading the first post in his thread.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I think sony use bluetooth for their headsets and the bluetooth profile on the consoles doesn't support apt-x, which means the quality of the audio is simply terrible.

The only time I would ever use bluetooth is if it was apt-x or better (should get better in the future).

optical out / hdmi are the only decent outputs.

If people want to do a gaming headset on the cheap and want wireless then I have 2 belkin iphone mic's with a 3.5mm jack, I would be willing to sell them on the MM for £5 each if someones interested in them (belkin sell them for £20-£25 RRP) and then all you need is some Koss KSC75's (£12) or Portapro's (£30) or HTF600's (£30) and that setup would be as good as the sony bluetooth headsets IMO but cost you £17-£35 and they plug straight into the jack on the controller, so they would be wired to the controller which is in itself wireless.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I don't think its bluetooth. They need USB dongles, whereas if they were BT they would just use the built in BT on PS3/PS4/Vita.


rp2000

The BT controller is very limited in the PS4.

For example on the PS3 you could plug in a BT headset and up to 7 controllers.

The PS4 can only take 4 controllers and no BT headsets apart from official sony ones.

So that could be the reason why you need the dongle. I haven't bothered looking into the sony headset tbh because for the money there are better options SQ wise.

The best setups all involve a mixamp if you want to use a mic, otherwise a simple DAC/AMP will suffice they aren't wireless though and never will be.

I'm willing to bet a wireless mixamp + porta pros + dx clip on mic (total cost around £80-£90) would blow the sony headsets apart.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Have you read through the dedicated thread in sound city?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18571647

It's worth a look just to see how good those headphones are. I also own a pair of them. It's a bit of a long read but has a lot of info about them and how good they are for the money.

They are also on inner fidelity's wall of fame. Which means he rates them as the best open cans in the world at their price point.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-full-size-open

I use mine for immersive gaming, music and movies. There RRP is £299 ($499 in America) I believe in the UK (available for much cheaper though, in fact roughly half that price).

I used to use HD595's for competitive gaming but selling them (on the members market) as I have upgraded to a newer version of them.

The fidelio X1's are the best "all round" home headphone you can buy at any price point IMO simply because they are easier to drive than all the more expensive options apart from the HE400.

They should open up with use, you should see their sound improve over time, I believe they peak after 100 hours of use (burn in period). So things should sound even better once you get more hours on them.

I pretty much now have all my "end game" cans, that's me done, no need to buy another headphone again, just need to look after these and they should last me a lifetime.

I'm sure you agree the build quality, sound, comfort and feeling you get from the X1's is better than any gaming headset you have ever used in the past. The fact you can also use them for anything (not just gaming) is a huge plus point and that way you can enjoy them even more.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Just got a brand new pair of HD558's going to run them stock for a while before doing the HD 598 mod

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Why not just get a wireless mixamp and some DT770's if you want bass? or fidelio x1's?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I am considering treating myself to some Sennheiser PC363's to go with my Mixamp. My A40's function perfectly and no real need, but just want to buy some for my birthday.



No way would I spend that money on Turtle Beach headsets.

Although Hallelujah they have ditched the god awful leather they seem to put on all their headsets. Edit: Nope, seems that's only on the lower priced model, the most expensive one still has it.

PC363 are overpriced, you could get a HD598 and a mod mic for cheaper if you like sennheiser. If you want a built in mic then boom pro and fidelio x1's.

your obssesed sonny with saying that

A40's are crap in comparison especially in the bass department. Also overpriced IMO for what you get.

Proper headphones kill gaming headsets for quality apart from the overpriced sennheiser stuff.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I'll have my V-Moda Boom Pro on my birthday, not in a rush for it as I rarely play online, just getting it for those very rare occasions.

very expensive for a mic but the fact it means one less cable makes it worth it IMO.

it's a very good mic though much better than the £1.58 I currently use.

I may pick one up in future but I mainly use Fidelio X1's for music/movies and single player gaming.

online competitive fps i use HD 558's now (sold my 595's) and i will mod them in a few months time to HD 598's (remove some foam from inside them).

 

[Psycho Sonny]

AKG Q701 are £96 delivered for today only - check sound city part of forums for more info. I just ordered them and the version I ordered is £300 here in the UK (£204 saving).

HD600 are £215 (got them for £201 through flubit) down from £300 and will go back up withing a few months, lowest price in 4 years iirc.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

So I returned my A40's due to the wires not being long enough for my living room set up.

Considering getting the A50's unless there are any better wireless options out there?

Wireless mixamp is better. Then pair it with Sennheiser HD558's (which you can mod into 598's).

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Thanks for all that =P

A: Volume is all the way up.
B: Headset plugged into sound control unit which is plugged into PS4 via USB.

you need to go into settings and turn USB output to all audio not just chat audio and see if that helps.

or you may indeed just have a incompatible headset if it was designed for an older console.

does it have any other inputs apart from USB? was it designed to work the with 360? if so does it take a 3.5mm jack? if it does then you need a tb ps4 chat cable which is mentioned somewhere in this thread and can be had off ebay direct from TB's ebay store for like £5ish

 

[Psycho Sonny]

What's the best headset for online gaming and some single player stuff too? Don't listen to much music and I don't watch films. The cans will be for my pc and ps4. I will not be buying for a few months yet and I want to get the best I can so around £180.00 I am also looking at the astro mix amp but can't find any anywhere. So hoping to see the 2014 version. I want wired as well as I will be at my desk, so no need for wireless.

For £180 Fidelio X1's or DT770's spend a little more and you can get Q701's. The problem with Q701's is that they require a lot of power you will need to double amp them so require a mixamp and a seperate headphone amp on top.

Hi guys,

I currently have a bunch of headsets/headphones and nothing works how I want it too.

I'm using a 27" LED monitor that only has 3.5mm headphone jack. I've recently moved into the front room so while the missus is watching the TV I need to be able to get both game and chat sound through a headset/headphones while being able to chat with people in my part.

I already have Turtlebeach X11s
Sony MDR ZX600 headphones
The in-ear mic that comes with the PS4
Blue Yeti mic for PC

I've tried the ZX600s with the blue yeti mic but the blue yeti picks up the TV way too easily. I like the sound of chat/audio through the headphones but the mic with all the TV noise is too much.

The in ear that comes with the PS4 is a little annoying as the game sound is terrible.

What's the easiest way to get chat/audio through headphones with a mic? I guess unless I want to go mixamp it's going to be something like P12s or PX4? I'd like to use my Sony headphones if I can but not sure how without using the Blue Yeti.

Cheers

*edit* - so it seems using headphones through the controller is the same as USB through the PS4 itself. You can set all audio to come through a USB headset. I have a PS4 one though. Can anyone confirm that I can still do this with a non-PS4/Sony USB headset? If so recommendations?

Any standard USB headset will work. The sound quality from the controller is awful as is from USB I imagine.

So if your going to be using the controller or USB I wouldn't be spending a lot of money just buy any cheap headset.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Sound is very subjective and just because you own an onkyo setup doesn't mean you know what mid fi or hi-fi is. For all we know it could be a £200 5.1 onkyo setup or a £2000 setup. I'm guessing it's the first if you think the Corsair vengeance sounds amazing.

If you were to game using some bass modded AKG Q701's using a decent amp, I imagine you would be shocked and the Q701 is considered high end mid-fi. Just imagine what a top end hi-fi set of headphones would sound like.

But when you make the jump from top end mid-fi to hi-fi your paying hundreds of pounds for small improvements.

I think the Q701 will be the last headphone I buy.

Collection as it stands: HD600 (for special occasions), HD558 (current gaming can), HD25-1 II (portable can), Fidelio X1 (my fun can for dat BASS) and Q701 (in the post will be my new gaming can).

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Without a mixamp is there anyway to go headphones/mic route with a clip on cheap mic that will still sound good to others?

Or is the mixamp used to make use of the optical connection?

My mic cost £1.50 delivered and I haven't had any complaints, sure it's not crystal clear but it doesn't need to be. So long ans people can understand me I don't care if it's crystal clear tbh.

The only real way to use headphones and a mic is a mixamp.

There are other options but they are rubbish or don't use the equipment to it's full potential.

You could always run a toslink DAC/AMP and then use the supplied headset too. So you have the earpiece in and then headphones over the earpiece but I imagine the earpiece would effect sounds in whatever ear you had it in as it would be blocking the ear canal restricting the headphones.

Basically you want a mixamp plus some decent headphones and a cheap mic for a decent setup

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Have seen a few posts saying that gaming headset wise the only real option for decent sound is the Sennheiser range at top end.

What would be the models to look out for?

Thanks

they are very overpriced for what you get.

put it this way a second hand mixamp + half decent pair of gaming headphones + mic would cost roughly the same as a sennheiser gaming headset.

the only difference being there would be zero easy upgrade path whereas with the mixamp you can sell the headphones and buy another, etc.

this is what I did I originally had HTF600 sold them for HD595 then sold them for HD558 now I have the Q701 arriving any day now and my HD558 is brand new and only been used twice, I may keep it because it's easier to drive or I may sell it for 2/3rds of the price it costs brand new in order to fund a decent headphone amp I can use to double amp from the mixamp or be fed by my AUNE T1 USB DAC/AMP as the internal AMP isn't the greatest.

plus with headphones you can use them for other things (music and movies), on public transport (if you buy closed cans like CAL or DT770, etc) but a gaming headset can only really be used for skype and gaming, you would look stupid wearing one on the train for example.

either way any sennheiser gaming headset priced at £100+ should be decent.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

AKG Q701's were on sale a while back for £95-£120 depending on if you get hit with customs or not (I posted the deal in sound city), normally sell in the UK for £220-£300 with a RRP of £399.

These are basically in the top 5-10 gaming headphones on the planet and those that are better cost considerably more for very little improvement. Basically these are "end game" in terms of sound especially in competitive fps.

Unfortunately the mixamp isn't powerful enough to drive them sufficiently whilst using voice chat so I will need to buy a Schiit Vali and double amp them.

My new rig will be:

Wireless 5.8 Mixamp (RRP £120, I paid £75 but I had to buy a battery, few additional wires etc pushing it up to £100) + Q701 (RRP £399, I paid £120) + Schiit Vali (£110 ish new) + DX clip on mic (£1.58)

If you were to buy my new rig today brand new online from the UK it would cost you £400-£500

The difference being my rig will last me a lifetime (most gaming headsets last a few years if your lucky).

Ryan a guy on here who has listened too and owned many headphones including ones which cost £30K-£100K reviewed a gaming headset which ocuk will be stocking for £60-£70 the other day and rated it very highly for the money. Read his review in his thread in sound city.

If you are interested in sound quality, please visit the sound city section of the forums and the guys there will recommend you the best headphones for your budget.

I own AKG Q701, Sennheiser HD600, HD558, HD25-1 II, Phillips Fidelio X1 and a few IEM's and owned a few other headphones in the past like the HD 595 and HTF600's.

I sold the HTF600's on the mm for £22.50 delivered in brand new condition fully boxed (had only owned them for like a month from new) and the guy I sold them to was ashamed to admit they sounded better than his £200 Beats by Dre's.

Basically you don't need to spend a lot like myself you just need to spend wisely, make the wrong choice and you can end up with a crap set for £200, make the right choice and you can end up with a superb set for £30. Their are amazing gaming headphones out there for every budget, the only issue with the PS4 is that you really do need a mixamp which costs like £120 and it's wired.

If you want to go wireless then cheap choice would be sony and the expensive choice being A40's but they will never sound as good as a wired setup for the same money.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

How much do the a40's cost? Is it not like £200? For their kind of money you could have gotten the Akg q701 plus a second hand mixamp.

As for them not lasting all wearable parts are replaceable and they are built to a much higher standard.

If you don't believe so just venture into sound city or head fi forums.

Once you try a proper set of headphones like the q701 you can never go back to a "gaming headset" it's like comparing a rolls royce to a focus

 

[Psycho Sonny]

The PlayStation 4 is only compatible with first party Bluetooth headsets.

The controller can output audio but it's terrible quality.

Currently USB is in the middle between hdmi/optical and the controller in terms of quality but I think they have plans to upgrade it.