*TPU's Gaming Headphone/Headset Thread*

[Mussels]

For someone who uses HD555 and Z-5500, your "crapware tolerance" is certainly very high.

try walking down the street wtih Z55's on your head, and you'll see how useful they are

 

[computertechy]

id like to demo that. ive always wondered what a hi end sound system truly sounds like

the sony separates i have cost about £850 back in the day, the amp in 70watt x2 and it kick's the shit outa my s750's and they are 700watt.

you really have to mate, once u hear what high end stuff sound like you will be blown away.

 

[n-ster]

Well, I just got my KSC75s yesterday and WOW! Keep in mind I am new to good sound, but the KSC75 just eats those ipod earbuds for breakfast! Super light weight, pretty comfortable, but most importantly, it sounds GREAT! Great Treble AND Bass!

Oh and for the people who complain the clips come off easily, I find they don't

I am so excited to get my CAL!s now! but won't see them for another week or 2


Oh and for the person who suggested to visit head-fi to OP, Kursah has been a member for a long time now xD

 

[Fourstaff]

Creative Fatal1ty HS800

Pros
Detachable mike
Sounds balanced, no emphasis on bass, but no lack of it either
Comes with a little controller to control volume (useful if using it with MP3 players, no need to reach to pocket) and a on/off switch to temporarily turn off the mike


Cons
Clamps head like a vice
Gets uncomfortable after long hours of use if not used to it
Pricey for its quality

Review:
I got this headset about a year ago second hand from my friend for £10 (usually costs about £30). After using it for a mere 15 minutes, I started to feel that the headset is trying to squeeze my brains out. what I did was to clamp it on a box for a few days to stretch it. After stretching, it felt more comfortable, but only after a few weeks of using I finally got use to wearing them . The mike over Skype sounds crisp and clear, but it does not cancel noise. Everything from your voice to your fart goes through. It comes with a pouch to store the headset.

 

[Broom2455]

Someone asked earlier if anyone is using any aps for sound. I listen to a lot of music so hence my headphones have to be good, and a fair amount of gaming . I use JVC RP- F350 headphones, playing music via winamp.

As for an ap for sound check out izotope ozone from izotope dot com. You can download a free trial, the options are awesome .

When you have paid for the full version, you can assign specific settings to each individual track. The difference from having it on an off is INCREDIBLE!

I have been using Ozone for 6 years! Does that say enough?

Plus the fact I got a special deal when I got it. I paid $29.95

There is a version for winamp and a version for Windows Media Player.

Believe me it's definitely worth trying out.

Put simply in two words "it rocks" or :

As for soundcard I am using the one in my specs that came with my Motherboard

 

[computertechy]

Someone asked earlier if anyone is using any aps for sound. I listen to a lot of music so hence my headphones have to be good, and a fair amount of gaming . I use JVC RP- F350 headphones, playing music via winamp.

As for an ap for sound check out izotope ozone from izotope dot com. You can download a free trial, the options are awesome .

When you have paid for the full version, you can assign specific settings to each individual track. The difference from having it on an off is INCREDIBLE!

I have been using Ozone for 6 years! Does that say enough?

Plus the fact I got a special deal when I got it. I paid $29.95

There is a version for winamp and a version for Windows Media Player.

Believe me it's definitely worth trying out.

Put simply in two words "it rocks" or :

As for soundcard I am using the one in my specs that came with my Motherboard

i second this, DFX is pretty darn good as well.

 

[Fourstaff]

Grado SR80

The good
Easy to drive, I used 2/100 on the speaker control
Crisp and clear
Extremely comfortable

The bad
Open cans
Fat cable runs to both sides, not to one and then to the other from inside the band

Review
I had high hopes from this and they didn't dissapoint. Everything sounds just like how you want them to sound, provided that your music is of sufficient quality. It makes low bitrate music sound like crap. Being open cans, the sound leaks out, so not so suitable in public when you are watching certain "videos". These are also very comfortable to wear, they are not tight yet they manage to stay on without problems. The cable, although fat, is actually much more flexible than you would think. Would gladly recommend this to people who are looking for quality headphones and have some money to spare.

 

[n-ster]

Grado SR80

The good
Easy to drive, I used 2/100 on the speaker control
Crisp and clear
Extremely comfortable

The bad
Open cans
Fat cable runs to both sides, not to one and then to the other from inside the band

Review
I had high hopes from this and they didn't dissapoint. Everything sounds just like how you want them to sound, provided that your music is of sufficient quality. It makes low bitrate music sound like crap. Being open cans, the sound leaks out, so not so suitable in public when you are watching certain "videos". These are also very comfortable to wear, they are not tight yet they manage to stay on without problems. The cable, although fat, is actually much more flexible than you would think. Would gladly recommend this to people who are looking for quality headphones and have some money to spare.

ROFL!!!! Wonder if you are speaking from experience You want your HD "videos" to sound better right?

The Grado SR60(i)/80(i) are one of the best not too high budget headphones when it comes to sound quality.... and you get the GRADO sound signature

 

[Fourstaff]

ROFL!!!! Wonder if you are speaking from experience You want your HD "videos" to sound better right?

The Grado SR60(i)/80(i) are one of the best not too high budget headphones when it comes to sound quality.... and you get the GRADO sound signature

Unfortunately (or thankfullly, depends on how you see it) I don't own the Grado. My friend complained that the sound leaks, so he cant play whatever he likes in public. They are pretty well built too, my friend abuses his hardware (killing 2 mobile phones and a laptop in less than 2 years) yet the Grado is still running strong.

 

[AhokZYashA]

Sennheiser HD202
Pros :
Cheap
comfortable

Cons :
lack of bass
sound kinda muddy

Review :
HD202 is the cheapest of all Sennheisers headphones, so the sound quality is just okay, is good for a laptop headset..

Sennheiser CX300
Pros :
Very comfortable
Bass
Treble
Small and lightweight

Cons :
cable is soo thin

 

[shevanel]

I have a pair of the Turtle Beach HPX 5.1s and I am really impressed with them. When I listen to music it sounds as if the instruments are all spaced and all sound great, plenty of bass and they are really comfortable.

My only con with them is the lack of mic mute and volume on the 3.5 cord.. the 5.1 cable has individual volume controls.

For $75-85 bucks they are really a great deal. Plus theyre compatible with the Astro A40 mixamp.

 

[Mussels]

Sennheiser HD202
Pros :
Cheap
comfortable

Cons :
lack of bass
sound kinda muddy

Review :
HD202 is the cheapest of all Sennheisers headphones, so the sound quality is just okay, is good for a laptop headset..

Sennheiser CX300
Pros :
Very comfortable
Bass
Treble
Small and lightweight

Cons :
cable is soo thin

really? i had 202's many many years ago and thought they had way too MUCH bass.

oh and i have the CX300 II precisions (and got laughed at a few posts back) and find them to be quite comfortable and decent sounding for the price ($30 au, not the $100 retail)

 

[AhokZYashA]

first use yes too much bass.

after a few years +- 3 years.
bass is like less and the sound is like muddy.

and i have the CX300 old one.
bought that for like 65US$
:shadedshun:

 

[Ra97oR]

Audio Technica ATH-AD1000PRM

Pro:
Very natural soundstage
Faster than light (Well on-par to SA5000, and faster than TF10)
Deadly midrange (Do not listen to Neko Mimi Mode on it may kill with cuteness)
Limited Edition

Con:
Sounds crap unamp'd
Sounds crap on X-Fi Xtreme Music
Price
Limited Edition

Overall:
Great phones for vocal and very nice to listen to female voice with it. Electronic and anime music seems to suit it very well so does jazz and rock. Not much bass even amp'd properly, do not get it if you are a basshead. Need a very power amp to drive it properly, and it does need amping to sound any good. Soundstage is great and precise, better than K701 for gaming, IMO.

 

[Frederik S]

Audio Technica ATH-AD1000PRM

Pro:
Very natural soundstage
Faster than light (Well on-par to SA5000, and faster than TF10)
Deadly midrange (Do not listen to Neko Mimi Mode on it may kill with cuteness)
Limited Edition
----.

The RPM edition is interesting the coil and diaphragm has been lighten by using better materials for both. Also the cable design is way better than the standard arrangement. The RPM features dual sided entry, a larger gauge higher quality OFC cable, and better termination.

I could not find anything about but someone made a note regarding added dampening of some sort within the ear cups.

 

[Ra97oR]

It is actually semi confirmed it uses an AD2000 driver, but have a different coating.

There is no damping as such, both sides are totally "open".

 

[Fourstaff]

BUMP!

I gave up trying to find the high end earphones for me to try before I buy, so I settled for a cheap set of Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220 (go ahead and laugh, Mussels). Ultimate ears is owned by Logitech for those who don't know, and usually their goods are aimed at professional musicians. MetroFi is their budget line

The Good
Cheap (I bought them for £16 from Play)
Quite a good fit
Sound clarity is very good, much better than expected

The Bad
Does not isolate as good as I want (that will be asking too much)
Cables are thin and flimsy looking
When walking, the wind noise is quite pronounced
Cable jack is not at right angle, so prone to bending

I will recommend this to anyone who wants a cheap pair of earphones, they do their job at a cheap price.

 

[AhokZYashA]

Audio Technica ATH-AD1000PRM

Pro:
Very natural soundstage
Faster than light (Well on-par to SA5000, and faster than TF10)
Deadly midrange (Do not listen to Neko Mimi Mode on it may kill with cuteness)
Limited Edition

Con:
Sounds crap unamp'd
Sounds crap on X-Fi Xtreme Music
Price
Limited Edition

Overall:
Great phones for vocal and very nice to listen to female voice with it. Electronic and anime music seems to suit it very well so does jazz and rock. Not much bass even amp'd properly, do not get it if you are a basshead. Need a very power amp to drive it properly, and it does need amping to sound any good. Soundstage is great and precise, better than K701 for gaming, IMO.

lol good for K-ON! fans.
how much did you paid for that.??
my CX300 seems okay for the neko mimi mode on a laptop onboard.
but i need more cuteness...

 

[douglatins]

I need to get a headset

Sennheiser PC 360 G4ME

Roccat Kave

Any other recommendations?

Wait OMG the 360 is 2x the price forget it

 

[epicfail]

I need to get a headset

Sennheiser PC 360 G4ME

Roccat Kave

Any other recommendations?

i got the 350 senheisers.
and there sexy.

 

[Kursah]

I've read the PC360 is just like the 350 but open backed instead of closed back. Both are very good, and with some mods (look for it on head-fi.org), the 350 is a helluva headset. I've read mostly decent stuff on the Kaves, at one point I even wanted to try them out...but I still like my headphone + TB HPA2 boom mic setup, works perfectly. If you insist on a headset those senn's are definitely some of the better ones, though you will probably want to ensure you have a decent sound card because many that have used onboard really dislike the sound they produce from a weaker signal...but for some even that's good enough.

But if you want better isolation, get the 350's, if you want the newer goodies with a better sound stage (at the cost of isolation and sound leak), consider the 360's. And I'm sure the Kaves are good, but after hearing real headphones...I can't ever go back to a 5.1 headset...I didn't lose much in positioning or stage and gained a ton in quality even with a pair of $33 JVC harx-700's (compared to the TB HPA2 though).

 

[douglatins]

I've read the PC360 is just like the 350 but open backed instead of closed back. Both are very good, and with some mods (look for it on head-fi.org), the 350 is a helluva headset. I've read mostly decent stuff on the Kaves, at one point I even wanted to try them out...but I still like my headphone + TB HPA2 boom mic setup, works perfectly. If you insist on a headset those senn's are definitely some of the better ones, though you will probably want to ensure you have a decent sound card because many that have used onboard really dislike the sound they produce from a weaker signal...but for some even that's good enough.

But if you want better isolation, get the 350's, if you want the newer goodies with a better sound stage (at the cost of isolation and sound leak), consider the 360's. And I'm sure the Kaves are good, but after hearing real headphones...I can't ever go back to a 5.1 headset...I didn't lose much in positioning or stage and gained a ton in quality even with a pair of $33 JVC harx-700's (compared to the TB HPA2 though).

http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Head...lstpos=&_sc=1&_sop=15&_sticky=1&_stpos=&gbr=1

The 350 are more in my price range.... I already have a stereo headphone... so i wanted to try a new one.

Also about sound card? which one should i get? The forte?

 

[Kursah]

The Forte is a great sound card, but tough to find these days. Auzen has one out that is sort of a replacement. I even enjoyed using my old x-fi xtreme music, it needed more volume due to lack of a headphone amp like the forte, but was much, much better than onboard could ever dream of when driving headphones.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC4Q8wIwAg#

I hear the 350's have a sweet mic, and with the mod apperently makes a huge difference in the bass department mostly with a boost in stage and overall sound. Here's a link:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/406187/modding-the-sennheiser-pc350-headset

I almost got a pair...still might someday just to try it out. Ourfpshero has never led me wrong, great guy to talk to about options. He used to hop over here every once in a while to donate to this thread, haven't seen him this way in a while.

 

[Frederik S]

Kursah you might want to add a link to TPUs review section to the first post: http://techpowerup.com/reviews/?q_reviews=&p=1&pp=all&order=date&category=Headphones

Please note that the oldest ones feature a obsolete rating since the performance of headphones have been improved immensely over the last few years.

Technically I am a user so hopefully the reviews qualify (fingers crossed)

Great thread btw, nice to see people sharing thoughts on headphones in an organized way.

 

[n-ster]

I like your reviews, love to see more of them in the future I recently discovered quality audio, and I must say, it is impressive, even with a small budget.