Question Any good Headsets w/mic for big head and ears?

[Raktus]

I use my headset about 10 hours a day for audio editing and recording purposes. So I need something that is comfortable and sounds alright. I've been using a Sennheiser GSP 600 for years now and was loving it. Recently, the ear pads have begun to rapidly fall apart and I thought I could just replace them. I got about three different sets of replacements, all fit tight around the ear and caused things to sound weird, especially my own voice when I tried to talk when wearing them... not a problem I had with the old pads. I figure what might be happening is that the new ones are smaller and tighter and it's causing some sort of effect that the looser old ones didn't have... so maybe I should try a larger headset with larger ear space. Comfort and sound quality would be the chief concern, with micrphone quality second... but still important.
I'd like to avoid running the gambit of buying headsets, trying them out and returning them if I could just find some people with experience and suggestions. 🙂

 

[Jane Markoz]

Yeah, this actually makes sense, it’s not just worn pads vs new ones. The replacement pads are tighter/smaller, which changes the seal and how sound behaves. That’s why everything feels off and your own voice sounds weird. Since you’re using them ~10 hours a day, I’d honestly stop chasing replacement pads and switch to something more comfortable with bigger ear cups.

Best pick: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (80Ω)
Super comfy, big velour pads, great for long sessions and accurate enough for editing. Only downside is no mic.

If your voice sounding “in your head” bugs you a lot:
Sennheiser HD 560S (open-back) is way more natural, but leaks sound.

If you want a headset (with mic):
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is decent all rounder, just not as good for pure audio work.

 

[Raktus]

Yeah, this actually makes sense, it’s not just worn pads vs new ones. The replacement pads are tighter/smaller, which changes the seal and how sound behaves. That’s why everything feels off and your own voice sounds weird. Since you’re using them ~10 hours a day, I’d honestly stop chasing replacement pads and switch to something more comfortable with bigger ear cups.

Best pick: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (80Ω)
Super comfy, big velour pads, great for long sessions and accurate enough for editing. Only downside is no mic.

If your voice sounding “in your head” bugs you a lot:
Sennheiser HD 560S (open-back) is way more natural, but leaks sound.

If you want a headset (with mic):
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is decent all rounder, just not as good for pure audio work.

I tried the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro and didn't like them at all... and I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 560S. The audio sounds a bit off to me, compared to what I'm used to... I also got an inline mic for it, not loving that either. I'm still using my broken headset at the moment. Duct tape holding the headband together and I took a sewing kit to the earpads, so they aren't minutes from falling apart anymore... will say, the 560S are more comfortable.

Oh, in regards to those earpads... I think my original pads were made of a different material than the replacements you get these days. They bleed sound, just enough to make a closed back set sound open backed. To the point that they sound more open backed than actual open backed that I've bought. If I could figure out what they were, I'd just buy more of those... unfortunately no one can figure that out.