The official PS4 Headset/Headphones Guide/Discussion

[Psycho Sonny]

What's a good one for just voice?

voice chat?

wired:

if your budget is less than £100 - get a USB headset or the hyperx cloud

more than £100 then a mixamp and headphones setup

wireless:

budget is under £100 then get an official sony headset

if your budget is over £100 then get a 5.8 wireless mixamp (second hand only) and headphones setup



I have 2 setups:

5.8 mixamp + TB Chat cable + Sennheiser HD558 + Clip on mic

this is used for normal gaming

and

5.8 mixamp + TB Chat cable + AKG Q701 + Schiit Vali + V4.0 Antlion Mod Mic (mutable version)

this is used for competitive gaming

 

[Psycho Sonny]

So my astro a30 has snapped and now looking for a replacement. Been looking the hyperx cloud gaming headset and the Skullcand PLYR 1. Are these any good or recommend other headsets? I have a wireless 5.8 mixamp if that helps.

if you have a 5.8 mixamp then get any decent set of gaming headphones

hd558, dt770, k702 or for simplicity a hyper x or sennheiser gaming headset (expensive though for built in mic)

personally i would be looking at k702's they are "end game in terms of music and gaming

 

[Psycho Sonny]

This my sound like a daft question, but I have a Denon 1610 amp that my ps4 is connected to via Hdmi. Would I still need to purchase a mix amp if I wanted to go down the wired route?? (I'm not overally fussed if the headset has a mic or not)

Also, does anyone have any idea if the Steel Series H wireless headset is any good?

Get yourself HD558 and mod them or K702's and plug straight into amp. AKG X7XX range are end game for gaming

 

[Psycho Sonny]

so your looking for a closed set of cans.

all you need to do is buy a USB DAC/AMP for your laptop like the Asus Xonar U3.

then get yourself DT770's by Beyerdynamic.

or just get yourself the hyperx headset if you want to use voice chat.

no need for a mixamp for laptop use, mixamps are best used with consoles only.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

You could buy a usb mic if your looking just for a mic.

Any usb headset will work or get a hyper x.

The ps4 also comes with one

 

[Psycho Sonny]

@Psycho Sonny

Thanks for all the information you have posted on this thread, its pretty hard to take in it all though

I have been running for years now a pair of Sins 580's which are my pride and joy, and perfect for my PC setup, however my wife has brought me a PS4 for xmas, and having used it with the supplied mono ear piece and Mic just want to throw the ear-piece/mic in the bin, absolute rubbish in sound output and also sound pickup.

As, Ill be using the PS4 casually for gaming in the front room and seated at a good distance from the TV I really want to go wireless, would you be as kind as to advice on a suitable setup for decent sound quality on cans and a decent Mic?

Can justify around £100ish for the full setup.

Really appreciate your time and knowledge..

Regards
Geoff

if you really want wireless then first party sony headsets is what you want to look at for that kind of budget.

you could try and source a 5.8 mixamp but it's not a full wireless solution there are wires from cans to receivers and the controller, etc it's more of a hybrid setup.

the only other thing i could think of would be if you got a USB mic (like a blue yeti) and a pair of wireless headphones, but that would be going way over budget. as would a pair of astro a40's be way over budget.

"Sony PlayStation Wireless Stereo Headset 2.0 (PS4/PS3/PS Vita)" - cost about £80 brand new delivered a quick google should find them, they would be your best bet for decent sounding wireless setup for under £100, they offer virtual surround sound, etc.

sony actually do make some decent headphones in terms of studio use, so i would hope that they put that experience to use when making their headsets.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Thanks for the info Psycho Sonny.
Perhaps I should have been more clear, I dont mind cables, I just cant have cables stretching from the PS4 to where ill be sat, so perhaps there is a way to have headphones and mic wired in into a wireless rx/tx and have a wireless tx/rx by the Playstation? I hope that makes more sense in what im trying to do.

Do I need more budget if such a setup exists?

Thanks for you help.

Geoff

only one mixamp is wireless and it's old and hard to get, it's also the best in terms of SQ atm

you need a 5.8 mixamp, plus headphones and a mic

the 5.8 mixamp will cost you £60+ at auction, a mic can be had for as cheap as £1 or as much as £40, it depends on you how much you want to spend (I would go for a £1 mic to begin with the "DX clip on"). headphones again for a decent set your talking £100 minimum and £200 maximum, akg X7XX series are your best bet or dt770's or hd558's.

so your talking minimum £150, max £300

I have a pair of AKG K702's which I'd like to use with my PS4. What else would I need to get it hooked up? I keep reading about the Mixamp but the only version I can find for sale is a 2015 model. Would this still work? And what about a mic? Where does it all connect? And will it make me a better player in CoD??

they all connect to the mixamp

mic + cans to mixamp

mixamp to console

it will make you hear footsteps better, but won't make you a better player, that takes practice.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Slight hijack ....but bought bf4 recently and even tho I select stereo mode , placing sounds in-game seems rubbish . Using senn hd700

select headphones

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Sonny, i see you have a Vali so wondered how it works with your mixamp - i have the 2013 one i think and it does a great job but i do get hiss at higher volumes so around 3/4 on the dial - not that i tend to have it this loud!

Would a headphone amp allow the mix amp to run at lower volume for the same level of sound currently and therefore negate the famous hiss at loud volumes?

I currently have Philips X2 headphones but had the same 'issue' with my Sennheiser 515's

I am tempted to pickup a mixamp 5.8 but not sure i want the extra wire having already had that with my old TB XP400 and the battery issues - do you have the battery pack?

I bought the Vali so the mixamp could power my hungry Q701's. X2's aren't power hungry so there should be no reason to double amp. Apparently the best mixamp for hiss/noise is the wireless 5.8 one. Which is crazy because in 99/100 situations wired is a lot better than wireless. All of them have a slight hiss/noise. See MLE's review of all 3 versions of mixamp.

my wireless receiver uses a rechargeable mobile phone battery much like any modern smartphone it plugs into the transmitter to charge and a full charge would last several days non stop I imagine.

as for wires i have a wire for my cans and mic into the receiver then one from the receiver to the DS4. I usually use HD558's but when I feel like going the extra mile I pull out the Vali and the Q701's.

It then means I have to use the Vali in between the wireless receiver and my cans and it can get quite messy then as it's an additional wire and an additional power socket but it's worth it.

the transmitter has an optical cable into the back of console and a power socket wire into the wall, other than that it has a charging cable for the receiver unit.

AKG Q701's were built for competitive gaming, it's a match made in heaven. That setup doesn't really suit bedroom or living room gaming though it's more for a games room / office setup. This is why I only use the Q701's and the Vali when I feel like going the extra mile currently. Sometime this year though I will move my gaming stuff into it's own room. Then I will use the Q701's a lot more.

In your shoes I would stay with the current setup unless you want to go wireless then get the 5.8 mixamp. I wouldn't bother with the Vali there is no need for it with X2's.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Any thoughts on the HyperX II's which are out next week? I was going to purchase some TB's but may wait if they get good reviews.

the original is probably the best headset you can buy apart from sennheisers which cost 3-5 times as much.

they are the best bang for buck headset you can buy.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

After reading through your posts I'm concerned about needing an amp with the clouds. I'm not a complete audiophile, would I get away without an amp?

The Clouds appeal to me as I sit about 10ft away from the console so the bundled in extension leads would be perfect.

What are your thoughts for the 100th time Sonny?

You don't need an amp to boost the sound they work off usb.

You will need a mixamp if you want to use virtual surround sound though. Sony were meant to be releasing surround sound through USB but I don't know what has happened on that front or whether it was just gossip.

As an all in one wired solution goes the hyper x cloud is the best value for money solution. It produces very good sound at a reasonable price. If you haven't used quality products before it should blow you away.

It's meant to be very close to a DT770 iirc. Ryan has done a review on the original in sound city part of forums.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

After much reading on this site and headfi.org, my original plan was for a gaming headset such as the HyperX Cloud II, but it took a different direction (doesn't it always!)

I have just managed to bag a used 2013 Mixamp pro for £46 delivered on an auction site.

Also ordered a set of Superlux 668b's for £28 new, along with a little dx mic from China....

Total spend, £75.50 ish

How will this little setup compare to the original plan of Cloud II's?

For PS4 games, casual pc games, movies, some music, teamspeak etc.

Cheers!

Well the mixamp will provide a very good quality source for your 668b's and although they are very good headphones I don't think they are as good as the Cloud 2's. So you have a better source but slightly inferior headphones.

I would honestly though just use your setup and judge for yourself. If you find they are good enough then great. Ideally you want something like a HD555, HD595, HD558 or HD598 for gaming.

I have owned HD595's and I currently own HD558's and I found the 595's to be better but that is probably due to me not modding my 558's (which I shall do one day).

IMO one of the best and releatively cheap gaming headphones you can buy are the HD595, HD555 (which can be modded into a 595 very easily) and the HD558. The HD598 is just too expensive but looks cool compared to the HD558 which can be modded into a 598 using the same mod as the 555.

I have Q701's and I still rate the 595 up there with them in terms of gaming, not as wide a soundstage but the clarity and detail was outstanding on them.

You can pick up a second hand pair of 555's for around £40-£50, about £10 more for 595's. Brand new HD558's can be had for as cheap as £80 @ auction.

I'd put a modded 555/558 and the HD595 as the best bang for buck gaming headphone you can buy. It's quite a big jump from any headphone which is <£50 to the sennheisser 5x5/5x8 range.

I would rate the 595's a 9/10 for gaming
Modded 558's would be a 9.5/10.
AKG X7XX range would be the 10/10.

e.g. I don't believe you need anything more expensive than K702's for gaming. There is a guy on here in sound city who is using like £2000 worth of headphones for gaming. I doubt most people could really tell the difference compared to £150 pair of K702's or £200 Q701's, the difference between headphones in the £150-£300 range to the more expensive stuff isn't that big.

Another popular choice if you like bass are the DT770 which is closed or the Fidelio X1/X2 range.

I have owned Fidelio X1's and I currently own DT770's of the 2 Fidelio's imo are better but if you don't want to annoy people arround you and want a good closed can then the DT770 is very very good.

I also have HD600's but I would never use them for gaming, simply because they don't suit it. However they are my favourite headphones for music, the mids are so smooth no other headphone really comes close for vocals either.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

B*gger!!....I have read the Clouds were good in terms of a headset, but thought a set of headphones such as the 668b, albeit cheap, would still be better going by the reviews.

I did see a supposedly brand new set of 558's on gumtree for £85, but its about a 40 minute drive away.

I'll see how these go to begin with!

as a headset the clouds are very very good for the money.

since you have a mixamp though your much better off going with a set of headphones. 668b's are very very good £30 headphones but at the end of the day still £30 headphones.

The koss portapros are what you want if you only have a budget of £30 for gaming. 668b correct me if i'm wrong are more bass heavy.

What type of gaming is it that you do? Immersive as in single player story mode. Or competitive as in online FPS against other people.

Different headphones suit differenty types of gaming. It's the reason why I have HD558's and Q701's for competitive and DT770's and I'll pick up a set of X2's as well for immersion.

668B's will suit single player games well, competitive not so much.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

No, the 668b have been described as bright as opposed to bassy, so strong treble, I believe your Panasonics are more bassy?

I did consider the Koss, but they were on ear not over ear and I assumed they would get uncomfortable?

I don't have a budget of £30, I just love products which punch above their weight!

As for the games I play, on consoles its mainly single player, with some driveclub online, gta5 online maybe.

PC its Assetto Corsa, some casual TF2, casual CS and single player games.

Then of course some music and movies

Just read some reviews and yeah bright with maybe recessed mids, albeit relatively neutral.

You have to take a lot of those reviews with a pinch of salt. People overhype some cheap products saying they punch well above their weight which is fine, but they won't be anywhere near as good as a truly decent mid priced headphone which some of them claim it is.

I've owned HTF600's another epic £30 budget headphone, very good heaphones for £30. But at £50 the CAL is better. @ £100 you then have DT770's and HD558's. @ £150 you have the K702.

The right headphones for you would most likely be either the CAL @ £50 or the DT770 @ £100 ish.

Unless your really into competitive online fps then you should consider HD558's. I wouldn't bother with the K702's overkill for your needs. If you can try and test some CAL's (creative aurvana live) or the DT770's, or maybe even the clouds, they are supposed to be similar to the DT770 albeit available with a mic built in for cheaper.

Only when you listen to them for yourself can you really pass judgement on them.

I've owned HE400's which are £400 headphones and I didn't like them for example. I preferred £150 X1's. Therefore with all the money I have spent and what I know the best gaming headphones in the bang for buck are all in the £150-£200 range IMO. Fidelio X1's and K702's being the best for immersive and competitive with the Sennheiser 5xx range being close behind the K702 and the DT770 being a notch or two below the X1.

Their is a HUGE jump in quality between £30 to £100-£200. After that though the jumps are very small.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Would you mind me asking what makes a set of headphones better for competitive gaming?

Why would they differ from a set of headphones that were good for normal games? Are you sacrificing audio quality for something?

soundstage - how wide the stage is in front of you

for example a really wide soundstage makes it easier to pick out where the sound is coming from think of it as surround sound. being able to pick out where a sound is coming from makes listening to gunfire/footsteps more useful

recessed bass - bass isn't heavy

if your trying to listen out for footsteps the last thing you want it booming grenades going off all around you, so you want a headphone which is bass light, so you can hear stuff better


the opposite applies to immersive gaming, you want to feel that grenade hit you, so you want excessive bass or decent bass at least


this is something a lot of people don't understand, you cannot just use any brilliant music headphone for gaming.

I own HD600's which is currently my favourite music headphone, however I have never used it for gaming because it doesn't suit gaming. listen to music on it and your in heaven.

The best all rounder I have heard personally are X1, Q701 (which can be bass modded) and DT770's and in that order. Albeit the Q701 is a better headphone it's hard to drive which is why I have placed the X1 above it.

It needs a very powerful amp, a mixamp alone isn't enough it needs to be double amped. I use a Schiit Vali with mine.

This is why I own so many headphones, they all have their own unique uses.

I own 2 small portable pairs HD25-1 II, Momentum on ears. An all rounder DT770. 2 Gaming headphones HD558's (easily driven) and Q701's (hard to drive). Reference Quality headphones HD600's.

I'm also planning on rebuying a set of fidelio X range because it's a brilliant "fun" headphone.

That will be 7 headphones in my collection and it will end there. I also have about 10 pairs of IEMS.


If your looking for the best all rounder get a fidelio x1 or a fidelio x2. It can do pretty much anything very well. Booming bass, open wide soundstage, great for music and all types of gaming but not a purist competitive gaming headphone it does well.

You can pick up a second hand fidelio x1 for like £100

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Very much appreciate your explanation!!

We will have to see how I get on with the Superlux's, no doubt they will impress me considering I have never had a set of anything before, no doubt next on the list will be a sound card upgrade!

They are very good budget headphones but my HTF600's quickly made me want to see how far the rabbit hole goes.

I've been there and done that and IMO if anyone is after cheap and amazing gaming headphones. Nothing comes close in the bang for buck as a second hand pair of HD555's (which can be modded into 595's) or 595's themselves.

Your talking about £50 which is £20 more than what you spent and you would have had one of the best competitive headphones available. The jump in quality would be the jump in going from a ford focus to say a bmw M5, it's that big a jump for the extra £20 it's leagues ahead.

Ideally though it's best to try out headphones before buying them. I have a friend at work who said he was interested in buying a set of headphones for music, so I've been letting him borrow a pair of mine every week and then asking him what he liked/disliked about them so I can better gauge what is the best one for him.

I've pretty much nailed it that he would love a set of fidelio x1's but he really lived the sound of my HD600's but he needs a closed headphone. So he may end up buying DT770, X1 and HD600's when he was looking for 1 music headphone. There is no such thing as 1 perfect headphone for every situation, they can vary drastically and so does their price and quality.

I sold my HD595 to buy my HD558 and I wish I didn't albeit newer it's not as good until you mod it but I spent like £40 in the upgrade process and the sound difference is so little it wasn't worth it, makes zero difference in games. Sold my X1's to buy HE400's and I wish i didn't because albeit more expensive and made using a better technology I didn't like the size of them or the signature, it was too fatiguing (bright) for my ears.

Your superlux are bright, if your ears get tired quick using them then I would sell them and buy something more neutral in the treble department.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

probably because the price of all half decent sennheiser stuff has gotten more and more expensive so has 2nd hand prices.

maybe better off going with 558's then if the older stuff is getting hard to find, they can be modded into 598's very easily. just remove some foam and that's it.

maybe try gumtree, auction tends to get stupid with headphones sometimes and on others nobody bids, prices can vary wildly. if your prepared to wait then stick with auction. look at new prices and set a figure your comfortable paying for second hand gear depending on it's condition.

if your keen on a bargain then it may take some time for one to pop up at the right price. I paid around £80 for brand new HD558's. I got lucky though someone was selling them BIN at that price and I snapped them up straight away.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I've had a read of much of this thread and quite like the idea of either the Sennheiser 558s or Beyerdynamic DT770s (both about £100 just now) and a separate mic, but not really sure what I need to get them running. I sit pretty close to the TV until I move and have space for a TV larger than 32" in the long run so can just plug them in to the headphone out socket. Are they overkill for that?

get yourself hyper x cloud v2's (the £70 version not the £50 version) and plug them into the usb on the front of the console.

the 3.5mm jack on the ds4 is horrible to use for both sound quality and connectivity reasons (it degrades the bluetooth signal).

if you really want to use dt770's or 558's then you need a mixamp so your talking about £200 for the setup compared to £70 for using USB.

if you feel usb is lacking then you can always get a mixamp in future and then plug the hyper x clouds into it.

hyper x clouds are on the same level as dt770's (both are closed).

for competitive fps open headphones are better though at picking out details and direction.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Just wanted to share my setup specifically for PS4. Have a few problems with it but overall it works.

Just to confirm I believe i have the original 2009, or 2011 mixamp (see pictures) and it DOES have functioning USB chath pass-through for voice. No chat cable necessary.

HD650's + ModMic v1 are plugged into the headphone input on the mixamp 2.5mm headphone jack.I've braided the cables to keep the setup hassle free. Though subjective, the mixamp drives the headphones to an acceptable standard.

Issues: The microphone seems to as if it's shorting. I get erratic hum noise in my ear, when i touch the tip of the microphone i get a tiny shock - Perhaps it's not earthed properly. If i fiddle with it a lot it will get worse then go pop, the hum stops all together for a few hours and functions fine. Plugged into my laptop its flawless - no issues at all.

*The next problem is if i all choose all audio to through optical, then the blend functionality is useless and turning it to voice diminishes both the voice and game volume (logically, this makes sense). However, when using chat only through the Mixamp USB device you really have to have it very loud and pretty much all the way over the right on the blend to hear other people - Perhaps this is because the HD650's are tough cans to drive :shrugs:

*Wondering if i should purchased the latest mixamp (2015 model, or the older 2013) model to see if a few of the problems detailed above have been ironed out. But don't want to pull the trigger unless I can be sure the problems have been ironed out.

*I'm worried about the mic distortion problem plaguing the later mixamps. It only seems to be an issue if the microphone and headphones are plugged into the inline headphone jack with a Y-splitter cable.

The following configuration looks great and uses a dss2 but doesn't include the game/voice blend functionality. Anyway, check it out:
http://xim4.com/community/index.php?topic=31920.0

Basically, I'm struggling to find an alternative to the mixamp and have no idea which version won't have any issues. I don't want to use a chat cable.

Here's the setup, excuse the crappy camera:

hd650's require a much powerful amp than a mixamp i believe. they aren't that good for gaming either.

brilliant for music especially vocals and classical stuff.

you should try out hd558's or fidelio x1's.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Are there any wireless ps4 chat headphones available yet?

Feels like a total technological backwards step considering I had been using wireless party headsets on Xbox 360 since around 2007. Why aren't these being made!?

there are plenty but it depends on your budget and how much you value sound quality.

there is an official one which can be picked up for £50-£70

then there are astro a50's which cost around £250

why is there a £200 difference? quality costs and it's really expensive to get a high quality wireless setup.

but even at £250 a £150 wired setup will spank a £250 wireless setup because wired is a lot better.

you can also buy a wireless 5.8 mixamp but it still has some wires involved.



what is your budget and how much do you value convenience over sound quality?

for the sake of a couple of wires. i'd rather have a cheaper higher quality setup.