[OCNHC] Guide to Gaming Headphones\Headsets.

ATTENTION: if you are confused and want a recommendation from the guys in the OCN headphone club for gaming headphones please visit out OCN headphone club! http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...ones-club.html

Hello! So you're decided that you want to spend more money on gaming headphones and ditch ye olde sonys you've picked up from Walmart! Good choice! Lets get started! Here's a section breakdown:

Getting Started - Good things to consider.
Things to Avoid in headphones.
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Gaming Headphones - No Microphone attached. - JUMP to this part of Guide
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Gaming Headphones to Avoid.
Audio Products to Avoid.
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General Links to software/reviews/stores. JUMP to this part of Guide

Getting Started - Good things to consider.
When getting started with which headphones you must weigh in the certain factors before making a decision, these include but are not limited to:

How much are you willing to spend?
This is an obvious decision maker, but it carries much weight in the quality of your future cans. It's always worth it to spend a little more.

How important is comfort to you?
Some headphones sound amazing, but feel like crap on your head. Most headphones that feel amazing, sound good [few exceptions]. You need to think about how long these bad boys are to be sitting on your head, namely on your ears. You can save some dollar if you only plan on having them on your head for 2-3 hours time.

Will these be used more for gaming, or music? What's the percentage?
40% Gaming, 60% music? If you listen to more music, but still want some awesome gaming headphones, let us know to help you better pick out a set of cans. Some headphones do fine in both categories, some more for music and vice versa.

Do you absolutely require the microphone to be attached?
Some of the best gaming headphones, aren't geared towards gamers. In fact, most "gaming" headphones sound like trash and are just gimmicks to get you to pay 70$ for a 30$ set with a microphone. At almost all times, OCN's audiophiles will suggest a separate mic that can be clipped onto your shirt, or sit on your desk. Plus, the mic record quality it usually far greater. But if you need a set of gaming headphones with a microphone attached, all in one cable, those are listed below.

Do you have a proper sound card/DAC?
Sound cards are very important. Like Soloz says, if you have trash audio going to awesome headphones, it's still going to sound like trash. If you have headphones, save your money for a new sound card, check out our forum on it [HERE]. Once you have a good sound card, than it's time to spend some serious dough on headphones. It's a night and day difference, the sound quality and impression a sound card makes, it's a worthy investment for the gamer and audiophile alike!

What kind of music do you listen to?
This one is also important. If you like tons of in your Face Metal, and want to game, we'll recommend you a set of headphones that are geared towards Rock/Mids. If you love hip hop/eletronica and want that bass slam, there are headphones for that too! Most headphones that aren't marketed as "gaming" headphones have signature sounds they bring to the table, as we'll discuss with each set of cans.

Do you prefer open backed, or closed backed headphones?
This is also VERY IMPORTANT. Open backed and closed back both have their pros and cons. The benefit of open backed headphones is the soundstaging. With most headphones you can hear footsteps and which direction they're coming from, but with opened back headphones you can hear to which degree of an angle when the sound is coming from [well, practically]. Down side, Open backed cans are very "impersonal". That means, people will be able to hear the explosions and sounds and music, pretty clearly. Also, this mean sound leaks IN. If you're gaming in the living room and your mom/roommate is vacuuming the house, you're gonna hear it.

As for closed backed headphones, they tend to be dynamic, more boom, and can range from normal isolation to EXTREME isolation. Sound doesn't leak in as much, and leaks out practically null. Theres no real"downside" to owning closed back headphones, just the level of sound staging is usually 3/4ths that AVAILABLE from open backed headphones. Also, closed back headphones tend to get MUCH warmer MUCH faster than open backed, especially after hours of long gaming.

What's the difference between the two types of headphones headphones, visually?



Open back tend to be just that, open backed. When you look at the back of the actual headphone, there will be no solid wall or casing. It will appear as if their is mesh, or grating behind the driver.
Closed back are the exact opposite, they have a full casing or no meshing to the back. A majority of headphones you purchase from local brick and motar stores such as Best Buy, sell closed back headphones. They're over 70% of what's purchased.

Things to Avoid
There are always bad things to avoid when making a purchase, this is the section where we discuss those bad things to avoid. Generally, they are gimmicks, or just wasting money. Other things aren't a waste of money, just not good for gaming with headphones.

USB Headphones

USB Headphones are generally any type of headphones that use a USB connection rather than the standard 3.5mm jack connection. The upside that most people like to these gaming headphones is that it offers a simple, easy USB connection that is typically avalible in the front of their computer or via USB hub. The down sides? Well for starters, you're using the USB's simple onboard drivers to create the sound, not a good analog sound. Plus, the USB has tons of electronic interference when traveling through a hub with other USB signals. USB connections also cause issues by hogging up system resources to power the USB drivers. Overall, the sound quality is just poor. Use the USB connection if you must [computer spacing issues] but avoid this poor sound quality choice if possible.

"5.1" or Multiple speaker Headphones

Basically, the 5.1 is a gimmick. Take it from the audiophiles here, who have done side by side tests, that a good 50$ set of headphones will beat out a "5.1" set of headphones any day of the weak. Just because there are 5 drivers, does not mean positional audio will be better. Typically, you're get 150% better sound quality and sound staging audio from standard stereo headsets than 5.1 headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djbigbear Using 5.1 headphones will surely give you exact surround, better surround than stereo headphones, even the best ones, but surround "5.1" headphones have one major weakness, they have to compromise most of the sound quality to get multiple drivers just to make that surround sound. On the other hand using stereo headphones won't give you better positioning than surround headphones, even with effects like dolby headphones or CMSS3D, but to compensate that, some of them have really amazing sound staging(imaging) that almost projects the same surround effects just like surround headphones and since they only have to make 2 drivers on each headphones, of course all the sound quality of each drivers will be far superior than surround headphones.

Things generally labled "GAMER"/"FPS"/"KILLER"

This should be a "no brainer". Simply avoid products as such, do your research, and we'll be able to help you out. Sometimes items such as Sound Blaster OEM X-Fi cards for 60$ will perform as well as the X-Fi PLATINUM FATALITY THUNDER F@CK card. Typically, anything geared towards gamers is being hyped up and is a gimmick. Read here, do research and over 90% of the time, performance and quality headphones will be from brands you've never heard of!

Front Audio Ports
This one is a biggie, say not to front audio panels [I/O bays] or front audio jacks. Why? The reason being is that because you have many eletronic components working at the same time in your computer, running an unshield cable through it all will degrade the audio quality. The cables alone as extremely cheap/low quality, and will degrade the audio quality substantially. Due to the Front Audio Bays cables being unshielded, they're open to interference as well as the front audio jacks. Your best bet is to run audio DIRECTLY from the sound card/sound jack in the back of your pc. Cable doesn't fit that long? Buy an extension cable. Switch between speakers and headphones? We'll discuss that at a later point and time.

Inner Ear Modules
IEM's are excellent headphones, and have they're place, mobility. But what they provide for isolation and analytical listening, they lack in soundstaging, heavily. If you're gonna spend some coin on some cans, be sure to pick up a full set of cans, no earbuds/IEMS.

Overall you want clarity in a pair of gaming headphones, soundstaging, and not one frequency that drowns out the rest of the frequencies, but some have btter signature sounds than others [warmer, more foward, analytical, dry, fun, crisp, etc]. The Next part of our guide will help you make your decision.
Edited by phospholipid - 6/1/09 at 10:17am

Gaming Headphones - No Microphone attached.


Almost all audiophiles here or at head-fi.org will tell you, you sacrifice a lot of sound quality when you get a set of cans with the microphone built it, and versatility. We will almost always recommend headphones, with a Zalman Clip on mic, clipped to your shirt, or a random desktop microphone of your choosing, whatever you'd prefer. You always get better Sound quality from just a stereo headset, so here's a list of headphones that will do you proud.



1$-50$

Koss KSC75 - 15-20$ **EXCELLENT VALUE

-Comfort [3]
-Size: Small, Portable
-Build Quality: Decent [4]
-Ease to drive: No amp needed [1]
-Noise Isolating? Not Really [3]
-Signature Sound: Rock
-Open backed.

There is a relative prominence of treble and bass over midrange with these little guys, bass thumps, treble is forward Tends to have "more exciting, placement of the upper and lower registers." They are your run of the mill clip on headphones you can pick up at your local Wal-mart/Best Buy/Circuit City. Cables are rubbery, and cable tangles. Comfort is called into questions, as the the headphones are clipped onto ears, so if you don't like weight on your ears, these won't be good for more than an hour on counter strike. Also, carries a lifetime warranty.

Bottom line: Cheap, Easy to carry around. Clips can create issues, and be uncomfortable for long use. In a tight spot but need a pair of gaming headphones that will fair better than your dinky plantronics for 20$, these are it. [** and 1/2]


Sennheiser HD202 - 25$

-Comfort [5]
-Size: Average, Portable
-Build Quality: Average, Resilient [6]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed [2]
-Noise Isolating? Can't hear the wife [5]
-Signature Sound: Drums/Hip Hop
-Closed back

Ah, the HD202's. Now they're not bad headphones, they're better than most walmart headphones for the price. They tend to be bloated with far to much bass, to the point where it's muddy, not the tight clean bass that is needed The HD202 is extremely warm, dark and bass heavy, with a recessed midrange and very subdued top end. If you like BOOMS and sudden explosions, not moving feet, these are the headphones for you [Looks at UT players]. These are good gaming headphones for RTS, extremely fast FPS, or MMORPG's. They get the job done. Comfort is average, but the headphones feel cramped at times. If you can find the HD201's though, pick them up.

Bottom line: Heavy on the bass, muddy, solid, gaming headphones. [**]

Sennheiser HD201 - 25$ [202's Non-bassy brother]


-Comfort [5]
-Size: Average, Portable
-Build Quality: Average, Resilient [6]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed [2]
-Noise Isolating? Can't hear the wife [5]
-Signature Sound: All around sound
-Closed back

The HD201's tend to picked amongst true audiophiles more often, but are overlooked due to their availability. The HD201 to most ears much better balanced than the 202's, which means a much leaner but clearer bass, clearer midrange and a good top end without becoming overpowering or sibilant (given decent source material of course). These are considered to the best bang for your buck under 75$ , some might even argue under 100$. It's the cleaner, tighter brother to the HD202's, very good for any game you throw at it.

Bottom Line: Clean, balanced, extremely good bang for your buck. [***]

Koss Porta Pro - 35$


-Comfort [4]
-Size: Average, Foldable, Portable
-Build Quality: Average, feels dinky, Resilient [5]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed [2]
-Noise Isolating? Kinda hear the wife [4]
-Signature Sound: All around sound
-Opened back

The Porta Props emphasize bass and they both roll off highs. They're good for all around gaming as well. There's not many reviews on the porta pros, but are told to be a decent performer. Good news about them though, you can modify/upgrade the pads to HD414 pads for cheap, for better comfort and so forth. Just, most people over look them as they are ugly as all get out. People love these cans over at head-fi and they are excellent for people with glasses, as they fit well.

Bottom line: Warm, fun, no sound leaking, but no isolation. Might as well call them birth control they're so ugly.


Sennheiser HD212 - 50$


-Comfort [5]
-Size: Average, Portable
-Build Quality: Average, Resilient [6]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed [2]
-Noise Isolating? I have a wife? [6]
-Signature Sound: Electronica, Hip hop, heavy bass.
-Closed back.

These cans have bass, in LARGE amounts. For some people who aren't use to bass, or have it EQ'd to be tame, these cans are not for you. The bass is forward, dark. I like to "feel" my music, I want it in my ears, without being in my face, and I can feel the picks of the guitar in acoustics, and you can feel the bass just punch and flood your ears. Only on the heaviest electronica do the cans stumble, as they're not as tight as their older brothers the HD280s.As for the mids,they're present, but that's about it. The sit and let the bass take off. The highs are rolled over. People who don't like bass, would say it drowns out the mids. The soundstaging is excellent as out of any Senn's, letting instrumentals perform, although not letting them flourish. Comfortable, light,they can take a beating. The earpads sit on the ears, and do get warm after an hour or two of play,

Bottom line: Warm, dark, deep bass, a technolovers dream. Excellent for only 50$ or less.

50$-100$

AKG K 81 DJ - 60-70$ [no longer produced but still sold, now known as K 581 DJ's]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberspyder K81DJ review: First impressions Heavy, tough build quality, very very nice. The 3D-Axis folding system works like a charm, although not as nicely as the system Ultrasone uses on their DJ1-Pros. Generally, a pair of durable cans all-around that can take abuse, although it's main weak point is the plastic swivel. Past that, there's a concern of the headband. AKG should rename these as K-Headclamp-DJs. Literally clamps your head like there's no tomorrow. Before wearing them, take the time to stretch it out between some books or speakers and use a hairdryer to soften up the plastic/metal while on the books/speakers. This will effectively 'lock-in' the desired/fixed shape. Aside from the headband issue, the cans are fairly comfortable. Pads are made from supple pleather with some medium density foam behind it. Other than the headclamp, there aren't really glaring comfort problems, except some form of padding could be installed on the headband as it is a bit uncomfortable to have the headband sink into your head. Sound Right off the bat, it's quite obvious that these are very bassy cans. It's not 'bad' bass per se, just that it's very overwhelming and can dorwn out the other frequencies. This can be remedied somewhat by removing the thick foam circle protecting the driver cover from damage. It tames the bass down quite a bit and allows the mids and highs to shine through. Soundstage is also fairly wide, although not as wide as it can be. Highs suffer a bit, but I suspect it'll improve as I continue to burn them in (currently at 45 hours or so). Imaging is also pretty decent, living up to AKG standards, so it's a decent can to play CS with (the bass gives CS quite a noticeable oomph). It's also a closed can, thus no sound leaks out---perfect for late night gaming session. Cost and misc. info These can be picked up quite cheaply on the secondary market (around $40) like Head-Fi, and are a fantastic bargain. Just so people don't get confused, these are NOT the K181DJs---those are different and cost more. However, this IS the same as the K518Dj...just has silver accents, whereas on the K518 the accents are blacked out. Review written by Brendan http://www.headphone.com/products/he...kg-k-81-dj.php

Sennheiser HD555 -100$ **** Highly Recomended, most OCNer's have these


-Comfort - Tight on my head, but soft [7]
-Size: Larger, Sitting.
-Build Quality: Solid, Resilient [9]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed, benefits from amp though [4]
-Noise Isolating? Still hear the wife. [2]
-Signature Sound: rock, classical, blues.
-Opened back.

These headphones are the staple for gaming headphones. Often recommended and widely used by OCNer's, HD555's are very well balanced headphones, although the mid ranges have more life to them then the bass or highs, great overall headphones. Fell free to pick these up as an entry level headphone for gaming/music/movies. Beware of the noise bleeding though, not good for late night gaming in small spaces, as others in the room may hear you (dorm, apt.). This is because they are opened backed, so they bleed in a lot, bleed out a lot. As stated, these cans at first can be tight on the ears, but nothing a couple of hours on a tripod to stretch them won't fix. Soft on the ears once broken in. Easy to drive from iPod/Sound Card.

Bottom line: well balanced, crisp, great performance and build quality. [Review by Hellscream]

Denon AH-D1001 - 100-130$*phospholipids favs

-Comfort - Lightweight, soft [7]
-Size: Little larger than average cans
-Build Quality: Light Weight [6]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed, benefits from amp though [4]
-Noise Isolating? Average. [5]
-Signature Sound: Warm, Deep.
-Closed backed

The sound quality is very impressive at this price point. The frequency response is U-shaped. This means that there is very strong bass (particularly mid-bass) and well-articulated but not a very bright treble but the soundstage is small .You can still hear if someone is addressing you from about 20 feet away. Leakage, on the other hand, is more pronounced. I think someone 5 feet away could hear some sound leaking out, but someone 10 feet away might not hear anything unless the volume was turned up excessively loud.It seems like the AH-D1001 was specifically tuned to be used with these low-fi devices with no additional amplification -- partly because these devices tend to roll off the treble slightly and lack the juice to produce powerful bass. So paired with the U-shaped frequency response of the AH-D1001, the result is a very balanced sound. The pads are soft, and rest nicely, and the cans themselves are rather lightweight

Bottom Line elivers good SQ with a bassy tone and clarity all in an extremely comfortable package.

Sennheiser HD280 -100$

100$-150$

Audio Technia ATH-A700 -120$


-Comfort - Average weight, paddles rest on head and Pads are ultra comfy [8]
-Size: Very Larger, not portable.
-Build Quality: Solid, Resilient, feels flimsy though [7]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed, benefits from amp though [5]
-Noise Isolating? Average. [6]
-Signature Sound: All around/Gaming
-Closed back.

These can's are excellent introduction cans to the Audiophile world. While they don't have a defined signature sound, they have great sound quality, and perform well in all avenues [rock/hip-hop/instrumentals]. The bass is on the low side in terms of quanity, but its punchy with good extension but nicely controlled. Midrange is well-rendered, coherent, smooth, and reasonably transparent. These cans make excellent gaming cans as they rest on the head for hours and and are discomforting, thanks to the padded paddles that push the cans away from the head.Soundstage is wide, and reasonably deep, so you can hear people creeping up in you in CS and other games where footsteps are important.

Bottom line: Clean, comfortable, big, and all around excellent choice. Better choice if you don't want the open back of the HD555's.


Audio Technia ATH-AD700 - 110$

-Comfort - [8]
-Size: Very Large / You look goofy in public
-Build Quality: Average, Resilient [6-8 debated]
-Ease to Drive: No amp needed, Benefits from being Driven [5]
-Noise Isolating? Still hear wife. [3]
-Signature Sound: Classical, House, Techno.
-Open back.

These cans are the most comfortable things you can place on your head, the wing design, and velvet ear liners, make these cans feel like they're not even there. For around $100 they're a great entry level headphone, great for gaming and music or movies. Well balanced although they have a more distinct bass compared to the HD555s, great for house, trance, techno, euro, and that sort of thing, although I fell in love with them when I heard Pachelbel's Cannon on them, so I find them great for the Classics as well.

Bottom line: Balanced, good performance, sooooooo comfy....... [Review by Hellscream]


BeyerDynamic DT770 Pro 80 -150$ [ebay usually, new in stores is 200$]


-Comfort - Firm, but soft pads[7]
-Size: Large / You look goofy in public
-Build Quality: Excellent, Resilient, Like a Tank [9]
-Ease to Drive: Can run off a Sound Card, Benefits from being Driven [6]
-Noise Isolating? Blocks out most sound [7]
-Signature Sound: Bass, Bass, hip-hop, things that go BOOM.
-Closed back.

The DT770 Pro 80's are typically what is suggested to bass heads. These cans pack tons of deep, deep bass that rolls over the mids and highs. The mids and highs are present by not as clean as other cans. The bass sounds excellent for Sub 200$ cans, and there's plenty of it. When gaming, you hear and feel the explosions in your spine. The soundstage is good, but not that of a pair of HD555's. These can's are excellent for movies and gun shots, hip hop, electronica music, but classical music/acoustic will flounder. Also, these cans are built extremely solidly, like tanks. The velour pads are comfy, but are firm at first. Recommend for the messy guy who drops his stuff all the time.

Bottom Line: Tough, Bassy, and loud. Excellent for movie watching aand canon shots.

150$-200
Sennheiser HD580 - 150-200$ *[Extreme value, but rare/hard to find]
Sennheiser HD595 -180$


Ultrasone Proline 550 -180$


-Comfort - Firm, isolating pads, adjustable fit
-Size: Medium-Large
-Build Quality: very good, Simplistic, dont store them outside the box[8]
-Ease to Drive: Can run off a Sound Card, Benefits from being Driven initially ( for detailed positioning, higher end card highly recommended, x-fi+ ) [8]
-Noise Isolating? what did you say? [8]
-Signature Sound: tight bass from a decent soundcard, brings out bass in bass shy tracks ( brighter jazz, brings out rock-bass and the like, but not too far ahead of the rest of the spectrum )
-Closed back.

These cans are used widely in the recording industry for single source monitoring, they lack the detail required to mix tracks of audio together. They benefit gaming by the use of passive resonators built into the mounting plate for the drive, as wella s an offset driver, bass comes mainly from behind the ear making it sound a bit more omnidirectional, and the mids-highs seem detached as the driver isnt firing off micro waves into your eardrums. The S-Logic does have the ability to detach the sound from your head, but it does depend on how fast and strong the drive of your source is.

Bottom Line: Excellent for positional audio ( games, binaural listening, including 'binaural codecs' used in some games ) and just plain stereo positioning. not as accurate on distancing as the cans higher end bretheren, but if you want to be in the game, these will help considering the right source. [review by Xinoxide]





Audio Technia ATH-A900 200$
AKG 501 - 150-250$

200$+
Denon D2000 -210-300$
AKG 601/701's -250$
BeyerDynamic DT 880 -270$
Sennheiser HD600 -300$
Denon D5000 -400$
Edited by phospholipid - 12/23/08 at 9:56am

For Headphones/Audio Products to avoid.

Where to buy these headphones and products:


So you're thinking, where's the best place to buy these headphones phospho? glad you asked. There are many places to buy headphones, some more reliable than others. Buying headphones used isn't as far fetched as you'd think. I've bought many headphones used from communities, with no issues what so ever. Always use a site like pricegrabber.com to see your best options, but here are the main ones:

Used:
Head-Fi - Large community based solely Headphone equipment, has an excellent For Sale forum with excellent patroons. Many OCNHC members belong to this forum and sell things there.

eBay - eBay's a little tricky, but usually buy them from powersellers, or form people with plenty good ratings. deals can be found abound here.

New:
Newegg.com - Newegg has some of the best, if not the best reputation for an online retailer. They don't have a wide selection, but their prices are usually the lowest, and ship fastest.

Amazon.com - Amazon is also a great place to buy headphones from, because they have e-tailers that sell gear through them, your purchases are protected. Also a good place to gauge the average price of headphones.

Audiocubes.com - Rather pricey, but audiocubes is able to get hard to find and fashion oriented headphones with excellent customer service and shipping. You pay 10-20$ more per headset, but if you can't find it on amazon/newegg, audiocubes more than likely has it.

HeadRoom - Carries are wide variety of headphones, has a lot of hard to finds and plenty of headphones to quench your audio thirst. Little pricey as well, but excellent selection, great service.

What other purchases should I consider?

Glad you asked! There are two essential things to have as a gamer who uses his headset to chat with other gamers, here's a list of things that we in the OCNHC feel that users should look into.

Zalman Microphone Zm-Mic1- 15$


What is this for?
It's the best clip on microphone for the money, analog, for gaming. It does exactly what you'd think. You plug it into your mic in, and run the cable up your headphones cable, and clip it closed, close to your face.



Plantronics Audio Switcher 10-12$


What is this for?
It's basically a switch from audio from your speakers, to your headset. If you've got a pair of a speakers that you're constantly having switch to your headphones from, and you dont want to have to unplug your speakers everytime, this little baby does that for you. Just plug your speakers/headphones/mic into this bad boy, and hit the button, and sound will be outputted only to your headphones / vice versa!

Random Links!

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/ - If you ever have ANY audio questions, search Head-Fi or post there.
http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...ones-club.html - If you want to ask community members audio questions, do so here!
http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards...udio-fans.html - More essential reading for audio Fans
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index....gory:Technical - If you want to understand more about Bitrates and players, read up there.
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/ - a great audio converter, for free!
http://www.mediajukebox.com/ one of the best streamlined players to replace your iTunes, highly customizeable
Edited by phospholipid - 12/23/08 at 9:53am