Best headphones for gaming

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frag85 said:
from my experiences, even when dealing with hi-fi quality sound, you don't need headphones with their own amp.
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well the ath-a900s i use works fine without an amp
but eveyrthing still works better with an amp, better low end bass, imaging...
heck even low impedence etys sound better with amps, and their canal phones

For gaming there definately be more bass
important hah
 
Gouda said:
What about Bose headphones??? I noticed no one mentioned their headphones. Why not? Bose makes great stuff.
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No, Bose does not make great stuff. They make mediocre stuff, advertise it to hell, and sell it for far more than its worth. Bose "Triport" headphones sound worse than $15 Sony streetstyles to me. They also break easy, the Circuit City store closest to me has them at the music sampler station, and every single pair was broken. There were at least 20 pairs. Bose audio is for the uninformed person who is accustomed to low end Radioshack stuff. ;) I recommend the HD580s with a good amp. Oh, and a EMU 1212M.
 
Well eeexcccuse me for being cheap and shopping at Radioshack :), All I got is some Koss headphones. I am also in the market for searching for new headphones...not only for hardcore gaming but as well as alot of music listening. I like clarity in the base and high treble. I don't know of anywhere around here in Oakland that has headphones you can listen too. We have a Circuit CIty but I've never been in there. Guess I need to go check it out.
 
AKG K-501 ...... cant beat the price ca. $150. very accurate sound, so when in a sneaky, sniper situation you will hear the enemy, Used them for Q3 for a long time and this makes a world of difference in 1v1.. just get a seperate Mic from labtech since you will prolly be using the Headphones for music aswell . Again .......AKG K-501 get them at www.headphone.com
 
Mister X said:
jamezzz122:
Open or closed cans?
Open cans leak sound and allow you to hear noises around you... like the phone when it rings. They also perform better then comparably priced closed cans.
Closed cans isolate you from outside noises and do not leak as much sound.
A price range is always nice as well. :)
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Max 100 would be nice...And I didn't want a headset because I would want to play with speakers and a mic if others were around...
 
Ztalin said:
AKG K-501 ...... cant beat the price ca. $150. very accurate sound, so when in a sneaky, sniper situation you will hear the enemy, Used them for Q3 for a long time and this makes a world of difference in 1v1.. just get a seperate Mic from labtech since you will prolly be using the Headphones for music aswell . Again .......AKG K-501 get them at www.headphone.com
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I will 2nd that vote but you really have to have headphone amp to enjoy these cans. Directly off the soundcard and they sound weak and lifeless.
 
dariob said:
I am not schooled on the subject, but you know that you can get 5.1 surround headphones, right? It should work out well for gaming.
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Don't ever utter those words again!!! The pain!! My ears bleed just thinking of it.

screamingzalmans.jpg
 
im telling ya... sennheiser PC-150's for gaming. PERIOD.

Don't believe me? ... use a set once.

I went through about 12 headset/mic combos before I found these. ... all I have to say is holy shit.
 
My headphones rock for gaming, but they are a bit over your price limit :p

Sony CD3000's on a custom JMT PPA Amp hooked up to a Chaintech AV-710 :D
 
Talonz said:
What a review. Maybe some more info might help the original poster. ;)
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Where to begin...

Solid construction... comfortable earpeices... nice low end bass that booms in your head... crisp highs... and the thing that sets them apart from others is the MIC BOOM. What use are "gaming headphones" with no goddamn mic?

The mic on the sennheisers is unidirectional and sits a good distance from your mouth. That way you can eat/drink while wearing the set. That is important for me, since I am an extreme munchie while I game. :) The distance from mouth does not translate to poor mic sound either...

Overall.. it is a DAMN good set. I picked mine up on ebay... NEW for 35$. I challenge ANYONE to find a better gaming setup for the money.
 
What do you guys think of the Zalman 5.1's? Are they good? Do they blow? Are they OK? Any thoughts on them are appreciated. Thanks for the help.
 
MrPrez said:
What do you guys think of the Zalman 5.1's? Are they good? Do they blow? Are they OK? Any thoughts on them are appreciated. Thanks for the help.
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They blow. [H]ard. I heard a pair, and for music/movies they sounded absolutely terrible, although they were "ok" with games. Not good, but not terrible. For around the same price you can get the Sennheiser HD497s which are a thousand times better. Of course, IMO.
 
MrPrez said:
What do you guys think of the Zalman 5.1's? Are they good? Do they blow? Are they OK? Any thoughts on them are appreciated. Thanks for the help.
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Good God man, are you blind? They are absolutely the worst headphones I have ever heard for anything. They are not good for music or gaming! Hell I have a pair gathering dust. If you want to know true horror, Paypal the shipping charges and I will send them to you. But know this, I won't be held responsible for the monkey paw curse they will bestow upon you.

screamingzalmans.jpg
 
Paypal the shipping charges and I will send them to you. But know this, I won't be held responsible for the monkey paw curse they will bestow upon you.
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ROFLMAO

All kidding aside that is a very generous offer and I for one thank you for the gesture. :)
 
Well, i have a pair of Zalmans. I like em. I can hear everything and they sound fine for music and games for me. Of course my Kilpsch speakers sound a lot better, I mean, they're Klipsch. Im looking for the best possible headphone solution for CS: Source and HL2. My main concern is the Source engine's support for 5.1 surround sound. So will stereo headphones give me that field of sound that the Zalmans or surround sound speakers would? Again, all thoughts/comments are appreciated.
 
orkan said:
Where to begin...

Solid construction... comfortable earpeices... nice low end bass that booms in your head... crisp highs... and the thing that sets them apart from others is the MIC BOOM. What use are "gaming headphones" with no goddamn mic?

The mic on the sennheisers is unidirectional and sits a good distance from your mouth. That way you can eat/drink while wearing the set. That is important for me, since I am an extreme munchie while I game. :) The distance from mouth does not translate to poor mic sound either...

Overall.. it is a DAMN good set. I picked mine up on ebay... NEW for 35$. I challenge ANYONE to find a better gaming setup for the money.
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I am considering this after your review. A couple questions though...

Is it possible to use the pic with speakers at times when I don't wanna use the headphones? Is it USB or does it use the mic port?
 
It uses a separate mic port.

One plug for stereo signal to the phones... another plug for mono signal from the mic.
 
MrPrez said:
Well, i have a pair of Zalmans. I like em. I can hear everything and they sound fine for music and games for me. Of course my Kilpsch speakers sound a lot better, I mean, they're Klipsch. Im looking for the best possible headphone solution for CS: Source and HL2. My main concern is the Source engine's support for 5.1 surround sound. So will stereo headphones give me that field of sound that the Zalmans or surround sound speakers would? Again, all thoughts/comments are appreciated.
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Psstt. A good pair of headphones with an amp would sound better than your Kilpschs.

All kidding aside that is a very generous offer and I for one thank you for the gesture.
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You know the funny thing is? I have been making this offer for half a year now in several forums but finally the search is over! I am free!
 
Thanks for the tip on the amp+headphones. Ill look into it. But my question still has not been answered. Will a pair of good stereo headphones give me the same surround sound atmosphere that i get with my Zalmans or speakers? I'd really like to know. Thanks for the help.
 
Will a pair of good stereo headphones give me the same surround sound atmosphere that i get with my Zalmans or speakers?
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Depends who you ask.
If you read any of the old 5.1 headphone threads you are gonna get a good idea of what I am talking about. ;)

Whenever you get conflicting opinions what do you do? :p


Max 100 would be nice...And I didn't want a headset because I would want to play with speakers and a mic if others were around...
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Our old friends the HD497s come to mind. As do the Grado SR80's and a few others.
I would third the recommendation for the AKG K501s except (like was already stated) you will need an amp for them.
 
I also have some Sony MDR-V600's. Would these be better for games than my zalmans as far a locating sounds? Keep in mind, I'm looking for best sound quality and best performance in games, i.e. locating foorsteps, gunfire, reload sounds etc. Any recommendations on an amp? And im looking into the Klipsch Promedia 5.1 ultras. Once again, all your thoughts, comments and flames are appreciated.
 
What do ya guys think of the Sennheiser HD570's and the HD500's? My buddy Brian has the 570's, i havent used them extensively but they seem good. Ive worn some Sennheiser's before and they are very comfortable. Feedback would be awesome
 
MrPrez said:
What do ya guys think of the Sennheiser HD570's and the HD500's? My buddy Brian has the 570's, i havent used them extensively but they seem good. Ive worn some Sennheiser's before and they are very comfortable. Feedback would be awesome
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The HD570s are highly overpriced and sound quite bad compared to the 497s, which retail at half the price of the 570s. I know, I used to own a pair.
I have heard the 500s, and they sound much worse than the 570s, and are quite uncomfortable for extended listening. They are built like earmuffs :p
All IMO.
 
So for games, HD497's or Sony MDR-V600's? And would someone please freaking answer my question on whether some stereo headphones, like the HD497's, will give me that surround sound field/sound locating ability that a 5.1 speaker system or 5.1 headphones would give me. Thanks once again.
 
Man, I forgot how good these Sony's sound. Ha. Havent tested any games yet. Im gonna do that now. Would a dolby decoder, like a creative DDTS-100, act as an amp at all?
 
MrPrez said:
So for games, HD497's or Sony MDR-V600's? And would someone please freaking answer my question on whether some stereo headphones, like the HD497's, will give me that surround sound field/sound locating ability that a 5.1 speaker system or 5.1 headphones would give me. Thanks once again.
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Don't consider the V600, your ears will thank you, it's as shrill as the V700 is bass muddy. The Sony V6 or V7506(pretty much the same phones) sound much better. They're similar in sound to the Beyer DT-770, they don't need an amp and cost a lot less.

Personally, I think the best comp phone is the Audio Technica ath-a900. It works as well out of a soundcard as an amp, it has a huge soundstage so movement stands out, it's closed enough to keep out most distraction, yet lets in just enough to stay aware of what's going on around you and it's sound quality is great. The bass isn't overpowering, but gets deep and the highs are present enough for detail, yet not Grado bright.
IMO it's also the best looking phone out.
 
orkan said:
It uses a separate mic port.

One plug for stereo signal to the phones... another plug for mono signal from the mic.
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Alright thanks. What if I wanted to plug the headhphone part into my speakers? I couldn't get the mic cable to reach huh?

Just to make sure, using the mic with speakers would work right?
 
Ive heard good things about the PC-150s. However, will they give me the sound locating ability that my zalmans or a 5.1 speaker system does? As you know, sound locating is REALLY FREAKIN IMPORTANT in games. You need to know if that reload noise or footstep is coming from behind you, in front of you, left, right etc. So, my question is still unanswered and I dont have the best headphones for gaming. Thanks for the help though. Can someone please answer this question though? Please??? Damnit.
 
Audio Technica A900. Better for than Grado SR225's and/or Sennheiser HD600's. No question about it. Hands down the best ~$200 closed headphone IMO. They are made in Japan and the only importer I know of is audiocubes.com. The A500 cost about $100 and would be tough to beat in that price range.
 
jamezzz122 said:
Alright thanks. What if I wanted to plug the headhphone part into my speakers? I couldn't get the mic cable to reach huh?

Just to make sure, using the mic with speakers would work right?
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I use a stereo extension cable you can find at any ratshack for this purpose.
 
orkan said:
I use a stereo extension cable you can find at any ratshack for this purpose.
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Good shit...Thanks...


Now to find a retailer. Headphones.com doesn't seem to have it. There are like 3 on eBay.
 
w00t, I just bought Luthorcrow's pair of Zalman 5.1s to experiment with. I'll be posting a review in the near future on their surround sound capabilities compared to that of HD497s, HD580s and a pair of Sony Streetstyles. ;)
 
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