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Why buy a Gaming Headset?

which one do YOU perfer?

  • Gaming Headset

    Votes: 67 41.4%
  • Audiophile Headphones

    Votes: 95 58.6%

  • Total voters
    162

shaddam

Member
Quality of "gaming gear" is poor, usually anyway. I just use my Samsung WH-1000XM3 with noise cancelling, never even tried the microphone to be honest since I rarely play online.
You can plug it into the Xbox controller and turn it on, then use all the good features. Or just wireless trough Bluetooth on the Switch.
You mean the sony one?
 

CeeJay

Member
Curious. What are you plugging those audiophile headsets into with Xbox? Your controller or TV?
For me I just plug them into the Xbox controller using the boompro mic when using them for gaming. The Fidelio X2s are low impedance so don't need any extra amplification to drive them and are plenty loud enough on their own. If i'm wanting to listen to music from a decent source then I can use a different higher quality long cable and if i want to plug them into my phone I tend to use a short flat flexible cable. They are my goto headphones for in the house for anything, they are just so versatile having a standard 3.5inch jack socket in them accepting a huge range of after-market cables. They do sound good if driven by a quality source but for me the comfort and versatility are probably more important and are rarely used with what you would call a high quality audiophile source.
 
I think if we choose right, we can have both an Audiophile headphone cum gaming headset. On that note, need you guys opinion here, should I get the Penrose now or wait for a newer version?
 
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kraspkibble

Permabanned.
i have Sony XM5 headphones. when playing games on PC there is too much latency over bluetooth. haven't tried them wired yet and probably won't bother. i'm quite happy with my speakers.

i might hook them up to my Switch at some point because my monitor speakers are shit. i cant use my normal speakers when playing switch. i'd probably just move my Switch to my LG tv if i want better sound though.

I've owned these for 3-4 years now and they are perfect. Hyper X Cloud II

Good enough quality mic, extremely comfortable for long sessions, and sub $100.

71MJ3OaVqBL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


Build quality is decent too, I owned two pairs of Steelseries syberia's and my cats chewed through the cables within weeks of each other, these bad boys are thick and cat teeth proof.
i have these. i think... definitely some kind of hyper X cloud model. mines aren't red but looks similiar. they are fine but the cable is too short and it's awkward wearing them at my PC. wasn't too bad when plugged into my PS4 controller though. they've been lying in a box for the last 5 years. i was using them mostly for listening to music.
 
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SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I have a pair of Sennheiser 558s and still bought a pair of Steel Series Arctic 7s, for the wireless.

Not as good as my Sennheisers, but I’d rather not be tethered to my rig.
 

R6Rider

Gold Member
I'm using the Pulse 3D headset, but also use a separate USB mic for party chat. The headset mic isn't that bad though.

Anything priced beyond that and you normally won't be able to tell the difference in audio because games generally have so much audio at once. It's not like listening to music.

This kind of remind me of people buying $400 XLR mics and a $200 interface that barely sound better (if at all) than a USB mic at a quarter of the price.
 
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If you want something cheap, then you go with gaming headphones. If you want real headphones with good quality build and is willing to spend a little more for that experience, then you buy an audiophile headphone.
 
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manfestival

Member
If have a few headphones and they are mostly audiophile ranging from cheapo buds to almost TOTL. Funny enough, I use my gaming headset more often than any of my other headphones. Do I prefer the sound of my other headphones? Yes. However, I have become so accustomed to the sound presentation(which is definitely worse) on the headset that I just prefer to use it when playing something competitive. Also prefer to use the gaming headset on games where sound isn't as important and I am on discord talking to friends. Though I will say, that sound quality in games has a lower threshold than music. Like some of the sounds in these games are really annoying when listening to them through nice headphones since they can be too revealing and you can easily tell that something is low res next to a high res sound. Better to just use cheaper headphones in that situation since it is less distracting imo.
At the end of the day the audiophile headphone is definitely the superior product. Especially when paired with a microphone.
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Wireless.
What?
Did gaming headsets invent wireless?
Cuz ive never owned gaming headsets but have had wireless?
Gaming headset.
Plug and play.
No need to for amps or dacs (usb)
Wireless with 2,4 no lag dongle
Included microphone
Better price
Do none gaming headsets not have all of that?
Its not like there arent entry level none gaming headsets out there.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
I think people buy them because they're easy plug and play, and that's really it. Majority of the time with a audiophile/audiophile-like headset you need a DAC, etc. For some it isn't required, but for some it makes all the difference in the world.

I had some music production headphones with a DAC that I loved, but then started having issues with the DAC after a few years. So I went back to some gaming headsets to hold me over, now I'm using DT770 Pros, haha.

One big thing I noticed was that the gaming headsets almost do not last. I had a Corsair headset, and one of the cups went out. Got a Razer headset, and again, one of the cups went out. The one brand I still have on hand that still works is Hyper X, so I'd probably recommend them over all other gaming headset brands for quality alone.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
What?
Did gaming headsets invent wireless?
Cuz ive never owned gaming headsets but have had wireless?

Do none gaming headsets not have all of that?
Its not like there arent entry level none gaming headsets out there.
well yes. Most gaming headsets have these features.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Everybody needs a headset!! - salesman who have GAF accounts.

I’m a big fan of modern day controllers with mics built in, wearing overhead gear is terrible and needs to be addressed. Put away the ancient technology and figure out how to get smaller like apple did with AirPods, gaming hasn’t been able to do this and pc gamers aren’t helping.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Exactly. I don't want a wire hanging on me while I'm playing so I go with wireless gaming headsets. I use Razer Blackshark V2 Pro on PS5 and PC and HyperX CloudX on XSX. Sound great.

Admittedly, they're quite expensive, but they're also the best wireless headphones out there as far as i know.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Also.... Wireless gaming headsets? Really? Wireless audio has SHITTONS of latency compared to wired. You can't seriously tell me you'd play a fuckin video game with wireless headPHONES, let alone wireless headsets. That excuse is frankly kind of stupid.
 

Calverz

Member
What?
Did gaming headsets invent wireless?
Cuz ive never owned gaming headsets but have had wireless?

Do none gaming headsets not have all of that?
Its not like there arent entry level none gaming headsets out there.
Xbox doesn’t have Bluetooth.
PS5 doesn’t allow Bluetooth headsets to connect.

As a person who owns all systems and pc, generally gaming headsets offer me flexibility and wireless.
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Xbox doesn’t have Bluetooth.
PS5 doesn’t allow Bluetooth headsets to connect.

As a person who owns all systems and pc, generally gaming headsets offer me flexibility and wireless.
And which gaming headset offers wireless connectivity to all your systems that doesnt have a price/performance analog in the none gaming sector?
 
I'm quite happy with my Razer Blackshark v2.0 headsets ($80) and the Dolby Atmos software ($15) on my Xbox Series X. It beats spending $500 to $1,000 on dedicated speakers/soundbars and having everyone else in the house complaining about noise, especially since most of my gaming happens after 9PM.

blacksharkv2.0.jpg
 

jaysius

Banned
Get Audiophile headphones, gaming ones are overpriced and abuse dumb gamers into thinking the headphones are made for them or whatever dumb shit those people believe.

Good headphones will sound good with gaming and with 3D Audio and Dolby Atmost/DTS Headphones on PS5/Series S|X you'll get a great simulated surround out of any pair of headphones.

Good headphones will let you enjoy music better.

If you need a mic get good headphones with a replaceable cable and then get that zalman or whatever mic.

Get WIRED headphones or Hybrid ones, WIRED HEADPHONES are compatible with anything with a headphone jack, wireless ones even these days you're playing a russian roulette, especially with audio fidelity. Wireless headphones aren't entirely future proof, if 2-3 years from now something drops "legacy" support you've got expensive paperweights.

Philips X2HR are amazing, very uncomfortable if you have glasses, but stretching them makes them nicer, or those other Phillips SH whatever people rant about, are another great choice. Sennhieser are great too especially for comfort but their sound stage is typically called "blobby" as in there sounds like there are 3 distinct sound stages in your head that don't blend superwell, it's only noticeable if you're really into audio though.
 
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STARSBarry

Gold Member
Quality of "gaming gear" is poor, usually anyway. I just use my Sony WH-1000XM3 with noise cancelling, never even tried the microphone to be honest since I rarely play online.
You can plug it into the Xbox controller and turn it on, then use all the good features. Or just wireless trough Bluetooth on the Switch.
As someone with an XM4 who uses it for my mobile I can tell you the mic quality is shit, which is expected given the fact there internal microphones. But yeah solid headset looking forward to the XM5's
 
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Sentenza

Member
From the fact that all-time audiophile staples like Sony MDR 7506, Audio-Technica M50 and AKG K240 are cheaper than any of the fisher-price trash cans they sell as pReMiUm 7.1 gAmInG hEaDsEtS.
No, they fucking aren't.
P.S. And it's not even a fair comparison since they do NOT offer any so called "parity of features".
 
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I played a year and half of Warzone with a pair of these bad boys I borrowed from work plugged into the controller and they worked really, really well. Maybe my ears are absolutely fucked or something but games sound great through them, I also use them for my retro gaming connected to a shitty $20 amp and again, everything sounds pretty great.


They absolutely don't block outside sounds, which is a plus and a minus.

If you have to label yourself with something that ends with "-phile" to make your point, then it's really not a great way to start a conversation about anything.
Same but associating the purity of your genetic stock with your gaming habits.
 

Larxia

Member
I can understand that there's more choices for regular headphones than gaming headset, however, using a microphone like you said seems very problematic to me, because it would mean everyone hearing when I type on my keyboard or when I use my controller, compared to a microphone directly on a headset.

Another thing I noticed is that for some reason regular headphones never provide a volume slider directly on the headphones, so everything has to be done directly on the pc, which means that if you're for example recording something, and have to lower the volume at 50%, the footage will be recorded with only 50% audio, while on a gaming headset you can simply let everything to the max on windows and just change the volume on the headphones, it's much more useful and convenient I think.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
Well, I have my gaming on the living room, there's noise from outside, noise from other rooms TVs, and I don't want to make noise for nobody... I actually use my $50 work headphones for gaming but looking to get a very good set as soon as I can. If I had an isolated room for my stuff, I'd sure be using speakers since I like them more, but this situation had made headphones grow on me, specially for FPS/TPS kind of games

This thread is a clever way of asking for headphone recommendations without having to ask.
Gotta admit it, I am here for them too ;)
 

MP!

Member
I'm a no headphones only game audio, no spotify kind of guy
call me boring but I don't like covering my ears to work or play games.
I still wear these for zoom calls/work
s-l640.jpg
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
I'm a no headphones only game audio, no spotify kind of guy
call me boring but I don't like covering my ears to work or play games.
I still wear these for zoom calls/work
s-l640.jpg
I used to have these. It probably depends on the shape of your ears but I honestly hated them myself because it was painful to wear them for more than 30 minutes.
 

amigastar

Member
The only thing worse than people obsessed with graphics are people obsessed with audio.
Nah man, everyone is entitled to spend his money the way he/she wants. I had cheaper Headphones over the years and then i have the Hifiman HE-500 which sound absolutely fantastic.
I agree that DACs are a little bit overhyped but like i said to each their own.
 
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Metalman96

Member
My SteelSeries Arctis 7's are the most comfortable headset I've ever owned. But they were pricey, and when it comes time to replace I probably will look into some audiophile sets.
 

Kenpachii

Member
I've owned these for 3-4 years now and they are perfect. Hyper X Cloud II

Good enough quality mic, extremely comfortable for long sessions, and sub $100.

71MJ3OaVqBL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


Build quality is decent too, I owned two pairs of Steelseries syberia's and my cats chewed through the cables within weeks of each other, these bad boys are thick and cat teeth proof.

same here 4 years now and still rocking it, great.
 

nemiroff

Gold Member
Good question.., I've gone through five or more the last two-three years, HyperX, Steelseries, Xbox, Razer, Logitech.. But a few months ago I bought the Philips Fidelio X3 headphones and a DAC. I thought my Steelseries Arctis was comfortable and had good sound, but the Philips ones is in a different league. I can wear them infinitely and still feel no discomfort, a first for me. Couldn't be happier right now.

XcPC4mI.png


pl9Z0Js.png
 
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Laptop1991

Member
I use Sennheiser Headphones for gaming, music etc for late at night entertainment on my PC or TV, i don't know anything about Gaming headsets to be fair, are they no good for music or films as well, i wouldn't have thought there was that much difference myself.
 

Rbk_3

Member
I've owned these for 3-4 years now and they are perfect. Hyper X Cloud II

Good enough quality mic, extremely comfortable for long sessions, and sub $100.

71MJ3OaVqBL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


Build quality is decent too, I owned two pairs of Steelseries syberia's and my cats chewed through the cables within weeks of each other, these bad boys are thick and cat teeth proof.

Have the Wireless version of these and love them. I previously bought the Hyper X Cloud Orbit which is based off the Audeze Mobius which is supposedly more of an Audiophile headset but I honestly can't tell that much of a difference and definitely wasn't worth double the price and loss of wireless for me. I am a pretty big videophile, but on the audio side of things I am not at all.
 
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