OCN's Most Recommended Audio Products

$30 Price Range:

Creative XtremeGamer/Music

$100 Price Range:

Creative Z Soundcard

Creative has now, 4th quarter 2012, released the new Z series sound cards. Unlike previous Recon series cards, the new Z-series is an enjoyable experience. At $100, you can purchase the Creative Z. This card now replaces the old Titanium card. See this post for first impressions on the card.

$130 Price Range:

Creative Titanium HD

It's perhaps the best if not one of the best gaming cards on the market at this point. It does well in terms of music, but since you're a hardcore gamer, this is the card you ultimately want.

*WARNING!*
The Titanium HD has begun to have a reputation of being unrecognized by computers. This renders the card useless and effectively dead. Time is usually a year after initial usage. Auzentech cards used to have a problem of dying after a year as well and were mostly completely pulled from the recommendation list. If the TiHD continues to fail across the board the TiHD will be pulled from this list.

The Very Very Best Money Can Buy (No Budget)

beyerdynamic Headzone Base Station H 1

$1155 at time of writing. Highly fantastic 'head-tracking' technology that tracks you head so when you turn your head, the directional cue stays where it is, like in real life. This is how it works in layman's terms!

$30 Price Range:

Creative XtremeMusic or the Asus Xonar DG.

The Xonar DG has a built in amplifier that's okay for some low impedance headphones (under 150 ohm) and will give them a little nicer sound. Perhaps the hugest thing going for this sound card is it's $30 price tag brand new though. It also has Dolby Headphone which makes it a worthy card at this price point.
The Xtreme Music does music all right and is capable for gaming.
If you have to make a choice between the two, go Asus for more music/movie sound quality and Creative for more gaming oriented usage.

~$82 Price Range:

Asus Xonar DX

I'd recommend this card for both gaming and music in which it will totally rock out for music and perform well in certain games.

*BEWARE*
Do not expect exceptional BC2 (Battlefield: Bad Company 2) sound from the Xonar DX. If you at all play BC2 on a regular basis, you should avoid this card as it won't give you the positional cues you're looking for. If you're playing virtually ANY OTHER GAME besides BC2 you'll love this card. It's excellent for Call of Duty. It's excellent for RPGs and Racers. In fact, it'll do RPGs and racers better than the Creative cards.
If you absolutely must play BC2, again, you're looking at the Creative Titanium unless you can somehow score a Auzentech Forte in this price range.

$130 Price Range:

Creative Titanium HD

Does gaming very well and it's formidable in music as well.
You can also find REFURBISHED Essence ST/STXs in this price range and I highly recommend those as well for the price.

*WARNING!*
The Titanium HD has begun to have a reputation of being unrecognized by computers. This renders the card useless and effectively dead. Time is usually a year after initial usage. Auzentech cards used to have a problem of dying after a year as well and were mostly completely pulled from the recommendation list. If the TiHD continues to fail across the board the TiHD will be pulled from this list.

$200 Price Range:

Asus Essence ST/X

If you like watching movies and like to game, then the ST/STX would be a better option over the Creative based offerings because of the Dolby DSPs.

What's the difference between Asus ST and STX?

Ultimately the ST has a better clock circuit which results in lower jitter, but otherwise they're virtually the same card in every aspect except the ST is a PCI card while the STX is a PCI-E card. Also, the ST has the ability to add an H6 daughter board onto it to give you 5.1 capability. This is a $50 add on.

$30 Price Range:

Asus Xonar DG at $30 or the slightly more expensive Asus Xonar DS.

The Xonar DS has swappable opamps to change it's tonal sound and more features than the DG. The DS also uses the CM8788 chip (found in the Xonar DX) compared to the DG's 8786.

Choice is ultimately up to you to decide. The DS is typically 20 dollars more expensive.

~$82 Price Range:

Asus Xonar DX

It's 5.1 capable and has an excellent DAC for the price. This is the PCI-E version and requires a molex power connector from your PSU.
The PCI version is the Xonar D1. It does not require a molex power connector for your PSU.

$100 Price Range:

Find a refurbished Asus Essence ST/STX

$180 Price Range:

New Asus Essence ST/X

Once again, when buying the ST/X make sure you have headphones that can USE the headphone amp. Otherwise go for the Creative Titanium HD.

$250+ Price Range:

Auzentech Home Theater HD

This card will give you TRUE-HD quality sound. It's a bit pricey IMO, but someone will find a need for it.

You'll follow the Music Lover's guideline until you hit $100 mark. From there on out you'll ignore internal sound cards and move onto External USB DACs.

The color blue indicates an external DAC, which is basically an 'external soundcard'.

That said, quick overview:

$30 Price Range:

Asus Xonar DG

$50 Price Range:

Asus Xonar DS

$70 - $100 Price Range:

Xonar DX or Fiio E10

$100 - $130 Price Range:

Creative Titanium HD / Used or refurbished Asus Xonar ST/STX

*WARNING!*
The Titanium HD has begun to have a reputation of being unrecognized by computers. This renders the card useless and effectively dead. Time is usually a year after initial usage. Auzentech cards used to have a problem of dying after a year as well and were mostly completely pulled from the recommendation list. If the TiHD continues to fail across the board the TiHD will be pulled from this list.

Schiit Modi[/blue]
The Schiit modi at $99 is an excellent and I'd probably say the best DAC close to it's price range. It comes in a beautiful housing, sounds phenomenal, made and designed in America with mostly American parts. It's the goto DAC IMO. Downfall is it's output connections.
Schiit Modi (Click to show)
$150 Price Range

NwAvGuy Objective DAC (ODAC)

This design is designed by professional electrical engineer, audio hobbyist and blogger, NwAvGuy. Depending on builder, options vary on the case design and output connections, however the main DAC design remains the same.

A list of sellers / builders can be found here and more information on the ODAC, including objective measurements can be found here.

Note: This is only a DAC. Therefore you must connect it to a stereo / headphone amplifier for it to work.

$180 Price Range

Asus Xonar ST / STX or HRT Streamer II

Note:
The HRT Streamer II only has a 2 RCA connection as output and no other output connections. Therefore you must connect it to a stereo / headphone amplifier for it to work.

$200 Price Range

Leckerton UHA-4

If you intend to buy the UHA-4, I recommend just buying it with the default output opamp. The colors you choose for the case and panel is of course personal preference.

$250 Price Range

Audioquest Dragonfly

Fantastic value portable USB DAC the size of a USB drive, that also comes with a decent headphone amp. Great for portability and to replace that often really bad laptop onboard sound. Just don't buy their overpriced audio cables! Remember, Audioquest Dragonfly is good, Audioquest audio cables is bad!

$285 Price Range

NwAvGuy Objective DAC (ODAC) + NwAvGuy O2 Headphone Amplifier combo

Includes NwAvGuy designed 'Objective 2' (O2) headphone amplifier combined with the ODAC within the same enclosure. Not factoring portable size and output connection considerations, this is by far the best value external DAC and amp combo on the market. See the ODAC and O2 entries in this list for list of sellers and links to detail surrounding this.

$350 Price Range

Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic

Note:
The Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic only has analog RCA and XLR outputs so for headphone input, you will need a separate headphone amplifier.

The Very Very Best Money Can Buy (No Budget)

Benchmark DAC 1 Series

A very good DAC / Amp combo indeed, recommended by both objective and subjective reviewers.
There are different DAC1's based on different features. See here.

$40 Price Range:

Sennheiser PC 151

This headset is only for super super budget cheapo do not really care about SQ that much people that want an all in one headset for under 40 dollars. The detail isn't as good as more expensive headphones and you'll probably get a better gaming experience out of cheap headphones like the RX700s.

$80 Price Range:

AKG GHS 1

The AKG GHS 1 has excellent build quality and has much better sound quality than the Sennheiser PC 151. You're at the 80 dollar mark though, so you should consider if you really do want those AD700s instead. If you still want the headset for convenience, I will give you the green light to go for them. Unlike other AKGs, these bad boys have quite a punch in bass. You'll definitely hear that. The downside to this headphone, IMO, is that they're supra-aural. They rest on your ears rather than around them. This may be uncomfortable to some. Also, enormous head people should stay away. They're not very comfortable for massive heads. The mic is decent. Some complain that it picks up too much background noise, others say it's super quiet.

*WARNING*
Some people have complained that the AKG GHS 1 boom mic is too sensitive or not noise cancelling resulting in it picking up every noise in your environment. If you always talk i.e. you don't use 'Push to Talk', this is something to consider otherwise if you just use 'Push to talk', this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

beyerdynamic MMX2 at the 90 dollar mark and it's something to consider. The MMX2 is a beyerdynamic DT231 with mic and added USB input.

$220 Price Range:

Sennheiser PC360

An excellent headset, open back with a great sound stage and imaging. This is the go-to gaming headset if you can afford it.

$350 Price Range:

beyerdynamic MMX300

These are basically Beyerdynamic DT770 32 ohm with an attached microphone. Sadly, the lowest I've ever seen these go is like 270 dollars. While the DT770s are great for gaming, once again, the price is astounding. They're basically charging you 100 dollars for a low quality mic and I mean low quality. One of the largest complaints about the MMX300 is the mic quality. That said, it's an amazing gaming headset otherwise.

Koss KSC75 (Clip-on / portable) ($15 - $20)

Mid-centric. This has been a staple of the 'bang-for-buck' section for years and can still compete. If you don't mind them being clip-ons for portable use, this is very hard to beat in the price range. Often these are on special for ~$10. They;'re bargain enough at $15-20, so at ~$10 on sale is a very good deal.

Monoprice 8323 / Monoprice 'Premium Hi-Fi DJ Style Over-the-Ear Pro Headphone' (Full-size) ($23.20)

Slightly mid centric, while treble recessed. Can be uncomfortable for some.

Vsonic GR99 (In-ear) ($28)

Very good sound for the money. Slightly bass oriented but a very good well balanced sound. The best earphone / 'earbud' for under $30. Easily competes with some other earphones twice the price

$35 Price Range:

Superlux HD681

$43 Price Range:

Samson RH600

Great for gaming and highly recommended by Superlux/Samson fans. These should be considered over the bassier SR850s in terms of gaming.

$60 Price Range:

Superlux 668B

Great headphones all around and are highly recommended. Check out Head-fi reviews for more information.

$100 Price Range:

Audio Technica AD700

The most recommended headphones here on OCN for gaming. They have one of the largest sound stages ever. They reasonably priced. They're extremely comfortable. They're really large though and the cups are reddish pink so that might shy some away from them. These are by no means meant to be listened to in public though. They're completely open and hearing things in the outside world is very easy with them on. They leak a lot of sound. These are brighter headphones as opposed to the HD555s more neutral sound. These have higher mids and highs which is excellent for female voices, classical music and hearing footsteps. Like the HD555s they're extremely bass light. The bass almost has no presence.

$150 Price Range:

Ultrasone Pro 550

I added these just recently to the ultimate gamer section, not because they're amazing gaming headphones, but mostly because they're very respectable and do fill in for a price gap that's missing in the market. These have a nice sound stage, but what really sells most people on these is the awesome bass they have.

From here on out, the following headphones will need amplification. If you do not plan on getting a headphone amp of some fashion, I do not recommend you proceed further. The Audio Technica AD700 will be more than enough for directional gaming (e.g. First Person Shooters).

$200 Price Range:

beyerdynamic DT990 Premium

Has a very large soundstage, great imaging and have lot of bass. However it has many "problems" such as sibilance issues and harshness in the highs as well as recessed mids. The beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm version sounds the best but is more expensive than the Premium version.

$265 Price Range:

AKG Q701

Largest soundstage, in area, than any of the above headphones. The headband ensures secure fit but sacrifices comfort doing so. If comfort is an issue for you, the beyerdynamic DT990 or DT880 would be better suited. Sub-bass light.

beyerdynamic DT880

Much more balanced sounding than the beyerdynamic DT990 and AKG Q701. Has a smaller soundstage in area than the DT990 and Q701, but the imaging is still very very good. A very good compromise of a headphone if you want a balanced sounding headphone, but still want the imaging.

As there are different versions of the the beyerdynamic DT series, the differences between as as below:

Subjective comparison

Objective comparison (Compares the DT880s but applies to the different ohm versions within each beyerdynamic DT series).

Summed up: The more ohms, the better the sound in terms of the beyerdynamic DT series. However the increased ohm versions are more expensive.

$1500 Price Range:

Sennheiser HD800

Much larger and more rounded soundstage than the AKG Q701. This really is the very ultimate in headphones if you want it purely for directional gaming.

$33 Price Range:

JVC RX700

They're pretty good bass-wise, the sound stage isn't amazing, but will do for 33 dollars. The build quality for these headphones is amazing. They are very sturdy, they are solid. They don't feel cheap. The mids are weak, the highs are harsh. Modification helps the mids a bit and can dramatically increase bass. Again, 33 dollars, we'll forgive any headphone this cheap.
You can even modify them to sound even better. Here is a thread that shows you how to go about modifying them.

$50 Price Range:

Samson SR850

Very comparable to the Audio Technica M50, but without the harshness many complain about the M50 as well as having a much larger sound stage than the M50 (which have virtually no soundstage).

$90 Price Range:

Creative Aurvana Live!

Arguably better for gaming than the SR850 but slightly lower in sound quality. Comfort is very good with the Creative Aurvana Live!

$120 Price Range:

Audio Technica A700

The slightly bassier/closed version of the AD700s, they offer slightly more bass than the AD700s while still retaining most of the soundstage the AD700s had to offer.

$150 Price Range:

Ultrasone Pro 550

A great choice for those looking for bassy headphones that are good for gaming. The S-Logic technology on the Pro series seems to really help out. The true selling point for these headphones; however, is the fact that they deliver awesome bass.

$200 Price Range:

beyerdynamic DT990 Premium

Has a very large soundstage, great imaging and have lot of bass. However it has many "problems" such as sibilance issues and harshness in the highs as well as recessed mids. The beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm version sounds the best but is more expensive than the Premium version. Needs amplification

Ultrasone Pro 650

An upgrade in sound over the Pro 550 while maintaining the soundstage properties of it. More neutral sound but still bass oriented. Recommended with a headphone amplifier but can be run without one.

$240 Price Range

Ultrasone Pro 750

Slightly less neutral sounding than the Pro 650, but better sound fidelity wise than the PRO 650.

For a good comparison of the Pro 550, Pro 650, and Pro 750 against each other, see here

$300-400 Price Range

Denon D600

Easy to run, good imaging and soundstage for the price, bass oriented and doesn't need an amp.

$40 Price Range:

Samson SR850

Very comparable to the AT-M50s. They don't suffer from the harshness in treble many complain about on the M50s. They also don't quite offer the same amount of bass, but for the price, they're undeniably good.

Sony XB500

XB stands for Xtra Bass. These are very bassy headphones. Comfortable as well. the SR850 is better sounding overall, but if you want pure bass over everything else for around $40, these are the ones to get.

$70 Price Range:

Sony XB700

These have increased clarity over the XB500s, but are still very bassy in their own right. XB500 lovers will be disappointed to find that the XB700 has less bass than the 500, but there's also increased clarity for vocals and other instruments. Not all bassy music is about boom boom.

$125 Price Range

Shure SRH750DJ

Do note that the headphone may be uncomfortable for some.

$150 Price Range

Ultrasone PRO550

$180 Price Range:

beyerdynamic DT770

Really bassy if you modify them and the 80 ohm Pro version is even more so bassy. Great quality all around, definitely look into buying these over other solutions around this price range.

$200 Price Range:

Sennheiser HD25-1 II

Great pair of portable DJ headphones. They have amazing isolation, great bass without the typical flaws of other bassy headphones (recessed mids). Just make sure to not buy the SP version.

V-Moda M-80 (black) / V-80 (red)

Worth considering if you want a greater wider soundstage and / or better looks than the HD 25-II.

$240 Price Range:

Ultrasone Pro 750

At this point a lot of headphones at this price range will require a headphone amplifier, which are highlighted in blue.

Greater than $250

Denon D2000

They're amazing headphones and are often found on sale under $300.

Beyerdynamic DT990

Very bassy headphones that most people consider "fun."
The beyerdynamic DT990 blow your head with lots of bass. It takes a really good amp to control the bass on the DT990 though, otherwise it can sound 'boomy' (which is not good). They're Semi-Open, so they will leak, but they do have a great sound stage. Sadly, they suffer from recessed mids and harshness in highs.

Excellent Rock/Metal headphones are from Grado Labs. These simply take the cake in terms of excellent rock so most of these will be from Grado.

Grado is a brand that I recommend you try out before you buy. It's not really something you can buy blindly. You'll either hate the sound or love it. Also, with the default earpads, they may be uncomfortable for some users. Also Grados, since they of open-back design, do not isolate from outside noise very well so we don't recommend them for outside use because of this. Grados are typically bass light as well.

$36 Price Range:

Superlux HD681

Although not many $30 headphones are very ideal for rock, the Superluxes have a good balanced sound which is what you want in rock. It is slightly treble oriented, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing for rock with cymbals.

$60 Price Range:

Grado SR60i

Entry level Grados, but have tons of modifications to help make them better. They have no sound stage, so don't consider them for gaming. They're amazing for rock/metal and actually do have some bass. You can modify them to have even more.

$75 Price Range:

Fostex T50RP

Brought up again because of their excellent mids and highs. These are great for rock. Their detail and clarity might scare some away from metal due to typically poorly recorded metal in recent years, but other than that a great addition for only $75. There are mods you can make for these headphones as well.

$80 Price Range:

Grado SR80i

Again, tons of modifications can be done to make them sound better.

$100 Price Range:

Alessandro MS1i

They're headphones made by Grado under the 'Alessandro' brand name. They shine for Rock and Metal. You can modify these as well.

$200 Price Range:

Grado SR225i

These are different from the previous Grados which all had a distinct sound to them. These are more balanced sounding and many people prefer them to the more expensive 325is. Mods galore and a huge following, it's not hard to see why these are so great. Often stated as the best value Grado.

$300 Price Range:

Alessandro MS2i

Another prized gem for Rock and Metal.

If you want to spend more, check out head-fi for a more in detail analysis and recommendation or ask here on OCN.

$75 Price Range:

Fostex T50RP

These headphones have excellent mids, great highs, are bass light-to-moderate before modification, but are great headphones. Check out reviews on head-fi for more information and check out the modifications list on hHead-fi if you go and buy them. Just a warning, these headphones typically require amplification if you really want to use their to their full potential. They can run on a portable device such as an iPod, but an amp is strongly recommended.

We here at OCN generally do not recommend 'computer or 'multimedia' speakers because you get much better sound quality via active or passive speakers. However they tend to be smaller and cheaper, so if you have tight space issues, they could be worth considering.

$50 Price Range:

Creative T3130 (2.1)

$100 Price Range:

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

A solid pair of computer speakers with a very powerful subwoofer. Many people buy these and in fact, if you look on craigslist, you'll often find them for sale for significantly cheaper. Just make sure they work.

$120 Price Range:

M-Audio AV40 (2.0)

Swans M10 (2.1)

These are the most recommended speakers at this price point. They sound really great for the money, but keep in mind they're still very much entry level. The Swan M10 subwoofer many complain is just not powerful enough and for many they opt to save up and move to a better set.

From this price point on, you're better off buying the speakers and the subwoofer separately.

KRK Rokit 5

Should be readily available used for 150 dollars for a pair (75 per). These are good little speakers for the price and many people enjoy the sound they deliver.. While they were good, I prefered other solutions to these.

$180 Price Range:

Swan D1080MkII08

While they lack a subwoofer, for speakers alone, these are a solid pair of speakers, especially if just used as computer speakers to fill a small room.

Alesis M1 Active 520

These are also very popular and sort of bassy speakers. Many people are very fond of these speakers.

$200 Price Range:

M-Audio BX5a

For this price they're really good speakers. They don't offer the bass that Audioengine speakers do, but with a subwoofer added that won't matter much. These and a $100 dollar subwoofer (such as a Dayton subwoofer) would be a better buy than the Audioengines, but the Audioengines still serve their purpose for those that aren't looking to buy a subwoofer for whatever reason.

For those that just want 2 speakers and no subwoofer for whatever reason and want some bass in their active speakers,

Audioengine A2

While they're not the highest fidelity speakers you can buy, they serve well for those wanting no hassle speakers that can be plugged in with some bass. To be honest though, the speakers have quite a bit of mid-bass that sometimes infringes upon music. Many people love their Audioengine speakers though. Has a built in tweeter to provide some bass without a subwoofer. Adding a subwoofer is always beneficial though, but if you were to, I would suggest buying other speakers.

Paradigm Titan speakers can often be found for around 200 dollars as well. These are very warm sounding speakers that are quite good, but have become harder to find.

$250 Price Range:

Behringer B3031A

$280 Price Range:

Swan M50W or the Swan M200MKII.

The M200MKII will sound better, but won't have a subwoofer. The M50W will have a subwoofer and of course you see the trade off. Up to your preference which you will choose. You can always add a subwoofer later with the M200MKIIs.

$300 Price Range:

For a little over 300, the KRK Rokit 8 began to show up used for about 320 dollars. They're the 8" speakers rather than the 5" speaker the Rokit 5's are.

KRK RP5 Rokit G2

Highly recommended at this price.

Mackie MR5MK2

Very good speakers.

After this price range, you should do personal research on speakers, have a receiver/DAC and create a separate thread to be catered to personally.

Another brand to highly consider if your region of the world has them is the brand Microlab and their Solo series. They have a cult following in Eastern Europe and 'Down Under' in Australia and New Zealand due to their bang for buck, particularly against bad value 'computer speaker' brands that dominate the computer part e-tailer market in these regions.

General brands and speaker series' to highly consider

BIC America Venturi series
Polk Monitor series

$40 Price Range:

Dayton B652

$80 Price Range:

Pioneer SP BS21

$150 Price Range:

Infinity Primus P153

A good pair of monitors that can be found for 75 dollars per speaker. Infinity Primus is a sub-company of Harmon Kardon and these speakers sound fabulous. I own a pair definitely recommend them.

If you live in the UK, you might be able to find a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 for under 150 used. Sadly, if you live in America these speakers are significantly more expensive.

$170 Price Range:

Infinity Primus P163

A step up from the P153. They can be found for 85 dollars per speaker.

NHT SuperZero 2.0

They have virtually no bass without a subwoofer though so a subwoofer is highly recommended if you go with these.

$90 - $130 Price Range:

Dayton SUB-800 ($90), Dayton SUB-1000 ($110), Dayton SUB-1200 ($130)

$190 Price Range:

BIC America F12

$250 Price Range:

Polk Audio PSW505

Breaking past the 500 dollar limit subwoofers really start to put out good sound rather than just rumble.

These subwoofers are priced higher on here because these are the Amazon prices, but can often be found for cheaper on ebay. Subwoofers you should look into are:

$600 Price Point:
Sunfire SDS-12
The Sunfire SDS-12 has both active and passive features that combine to give out excellent sounding bass.

$650 Price Point:
Velodyne EQ Max 12
Another great subwoofer that really changes the feel of music and movies.

The DPS series is older and no longer sold to the general public, but also very high quality as far as subwoofers go.

Outlaw LFM-EX
The Outlaw I'm sure is pretty much an HSU created subwoofer so both of them are quite similar if not identical.

$660 Price Point
HSU VTF-3 MK4
As far as I'm aware this can only be purchased from their website, but wow are these subwoofers really good. They can sometimes be found on Craigslist or ebay, but if you want it brand new, check out HSU's website.

$880 Price Point:
HSU VTF-15

This is a 15" subwoofer from HSU. It goes on sale all the time, but is really a $1200 subwoofer. It sounds great and is a worth recommendation.

~$1000 Price Point
Rythmik F15
Another great subwoofer that goes really well with speakers. They match many speakers with a "black oak" style or piano black finish. For 50 dollars more you get a silver coil if you're into that sort of thing. Otherwise it's aluminum.

$1400 Price Point
SVS PB12-Plus
The SVS PB-12-Plus is a real treat although quite expensive. It REALLY hits those low frequencies hard. This is a very impressive subwoofer. Check out the PB-13 ULTRA for $2000.

$25 Price Range:

Lepai TA2020

This amplifier can power many passive speakers. They won't make them get really loud like for a party or anything, but for casual listening it'll do the job. Just make sure your speakers sensitivity matches. I think they're good for speakers up to 90db sensitivity. The THD on this is .4% though, but still sounds nice to many, especially for the price.

$40 Price Range:

Dayton DTA-1

$100 Price Range:

Dayton DTA-100a

Any more than this and you should consider getting a receiver or looking more into amplifiers on your own. Check Craigslist for Yamaha, Denon, Harman Kardon and maybe an Onkyo receiver. I would rate those receivers in that order ftmp.

Here's another thread on speakers to look at by soloz2.

If you're going to get a receiver to power your speakers, I recommend spending over 300 and getting these. Due to the enormous variations and constantly changing prices, I'm not going to list them by their price range. Instead, take all of them to be very good receivers and choose them based upon your needs and ability to purchase them.

Onkyo TX-NR609
Can usually be found for $400 or under. Great SQ. Great features, Great plug-ins.

Pioneer VSX-1021K
Typically $500. Great SQ, Great Features, Great Plug-ins.

Denon AVR-1912/1913
Excellent SQ. Excellent Features, Good Plug-ins.

There are many many other and better receivers out there, but these are excellent receivers well priced and feature rich with great SQ. From above these the prices raise, but the features and SQ don't scale well with the price. There are certain receivers below these that could be considered if the prices were right. For instance, there's not actually much difference SQ wise between the Denon AVR-1712 and the 1912. Features are mostly what make them stand apart.

~$10 Price Point
Zalman Clip-on Mic

If you're looking for a cheap solution to a microphone that clips onto a headphone like a headset's mic would, the Zalman-clip on mic is both cheap and useful. While it doesn't have the best mic quality and it's omni-directional and picks up a ton of background noise, it's worth a look into and the least recommendable mic at less than 8 dollars.

$~20 Price Point
The Logitech USB mic has really good audio quality for a 20 dollar mic. No, it's not attachable like the Zalman Clip-on Mic is, but it can drown out a lot of the background noise the Zalman mic picks up making team speaking better for everyone. All that click clicking of the keyboard doesn't get picked up by your mic. While you can set the volume really loud for use across the room, setting the volume low and using it at ~2-3 feet makes for great quality recording/Team Chatting. These go as low as 13 dollars on ebay.

$20-$40 Price Point
Look into Olympus mics at this price point as they offer decent quality and work well to remove a lot of background noise. The problem is that it lacks extension so that you can't have the mic on you or relatively near you depending on where your tower is, but it does a pretty good job of picking up your voice. Especially recommendable with laptops.

$~40 Price Point:

AntLion ModMic
The AntLion ModMic is an ingenius mic that attaches to HEADPHONES and in a much better way than the Zalman. While the Zalman latches on by the cable, these attach to the headphone cups making it look VERY MUCH like a headset. The quality for this mic is very good. It's probably better than almost every headset's mic. While it can and does pick up some clicking on the keyboard, it generally does a good job keeping static noise out of the equation. Comes cheaper than 40 dollars and I highly recommend this mic for those that want an attachable microphone.

Samson Go-Mic

At 40 dollars consider the Samson Go-Mic This mic is very capable, but can be awkward to place. It's not designed to clip onto your headphones like the Zalman. It's great for latching onto monitors or laptops that are less than a few feet from you. It's also great if you're doing youtube commentary after the game play and want very clear audio quality. The Samson Go-Mic has multiple features that are useful. It's omni-directional, uni-directional and has a -10db mode which silences a large amount of background noise that even uni-directional mode picks up. This mode is meant for youtube commentary that you record after the game when you can hold the mic to your mouth or close enough.


$~70 Price Point

Blue Snowball

At ~66 dollars you can find the Blue Snowball on Amazon. It's a good mic with a good design, but the audio quality is only "good" IMO. I'm not crazy about this mic, but some people are looking for something different or dare I say, "Stylish" and to many this is the mic that does that. Since it's not too crazy on price for it's performance it is recommendable, but I wouldn't pay much more than 66 for it.

Audiotechnica ATR-2500
A good and cheap alternative to Blue's snowball and probably better is the Audio Technica ATR-2500. Unlike the AT-2020 it's straight USB so you won't need an XLR to USB w/ preamp connector.

Samson CO1U

Better than the snowball for single voice pickup and podcasting is the Samson CO1U. It's USB so you don't have to worry about an XLR to USB with preamp connection.

$~90 Price Point:
AKG D-5 Mic

The AKG D-5 is an excellent quality mic. For voice recording, podcasts/youtube videos etc it's a very good mic for the price. Many prefer the sound of this mic to mics much more expensive. I highly recommend this mic, even to more expensive mics. Sadly, like the Audio Technica AT2020, this is an XLR mic and will need you to invest in a more expensive XLR to USB w/ Preamp connector making the price actually higher than 90. 2nd best mic of the lot though, in my books.

$~100 Price Point:
At about the 100 dollar point there are several mics to consider. They each have good reasons to pick them up ranging from audio quality to durability and design. Choose whichever you think would best suit you. The following are listed in no particular order, so it doesn't go from best to worst or vice versa.

Shure SM58

This is a very rugged, very durable, very good voice mic. The popular brother the SM57 is more geared towards recording instruments like guitar than the SM58 which is very much for recording voices and does so very well. This is really more geared towards Band vocalists than desktop use, but is still very good and with a proper holder can be used quite well for desktop use and youtube video recording/podcasting. This is a very good, very popular mic among young bands that are on a budget.

Alesis USB mic
Very good microphone for podcasting. Very good voice clarity, but I'm not too much of a fan of the mic. I'd recommend this one for podcasters more than anything else, but it's also extremely hard to fine now.

Blue Yeti

Amazon often has the Blue Yeti for sale for less than 100 dollars for that price the Blue Yeti is a pretty good choice. While again, I think other mics around this price point are better, I think that the design is pretty good, the stand is great and the fandom for Blue products is pretty high among the gaming community. It's recommendable around 100, but no higher.

Audio Technica AT2020

The Audio Technica AT2020 USB version is a very good mic at ~$115.00 I would take this mic over others near the 100 dollar price range. I love this mic, it's very good. Be careful though, you may accidentally buy the XLR version which is cheaper ($65), but requires you to have an XLR to USB w/ preamp converter/connector like the Blue Icicle(lowly recommended) or Shure X2U (Highly recommended)