Best Gaming Headset/Headphones under €200/$220

Darth Nerd

Estimable
May 25, 2014
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4,510
Hi everyone,
First off, excuse me for my English. It's very bad. (Not my first language)
My old Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset died, so I bought the Corsair Void RGB Wireless.
I didn't care about the lights, but I liked the fact that it has 7.1 surround and is wireless.
I RMA'ed this headset though, because the sound was terrible. (Even worse than my Fatal1ty, which hasn't that great audio either)
Now I am looking for a new (over ear) headset.
I've read that an headset in general isn't that good, and that headphones have better sound quality, and that I should buy a mic separately. I don't play that much with friends, so I don't really need a mic.
To be clear: the most important aspect for me is sound quality.
I would also like Noise-cancelling, because I don't want to hear any "outside" sounds.
Another thing I would like is if the headphone is wireless. Unless this is bad for the sound quality of course.
I will mostly be gaming with this headphone, but I will also sometimes listen to some (mostly classical) music.
I will game a lot with my headphones, so will having surround be useful? I've read that some people call surround sound just a gimmick and that stereo sound is better.
I really don't care about aesthetics. If the headphones are ugly, I don't care.
My budget is €200 ($220).
Here are a few wireless Noise-cancelling headphones I found. What do you think of them, and what are your favorite headphones that are not on this list?
Headphones I found:
SONY MDR-ZX770BN
JAM Transit City
Plantronics Backbeat Pro
PC 363D
PC 333D
Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930
Logitech G933 Artemis Spectrum
KINGSTON HYPERX CLOUD II
Ear Force Z300
ATH-PG1
ATH-ANC7b
I know not all of these are Wireless or Noice-Cancelling, but they seemed good anyway.
I hope you can help me.
Kind regards.
 
Solution
you failed to mention what kind of audio sound signature you are looking for. for example:

are you looking for something with wide soundstage, good positional audio and very little bass? this is the ideal signature for fps gaming advantage although some people may find it a bit lacking due to bass for general listening purposes (however of course some people love it for those features as well).

are you looking for something fairly neutral with enough bass to be felt but not excessive as well as decent treble, mids? neutral cans hold the middle ground and unless you're looking for a specific signature are often good choices.

or, do you want something bassy. while there are certainly some cans which will have good treble at the same...
you failed to mention what kind of audio sound signature you are looking for. for example:

are you looking for something with wide soundstage, good positional audio and very little bass? this is the ideal signature for fps gaming advantage although some people may find it a bit lacking due to bass for general listening purposes (however of course some people love it for those features as well).

are you looking for something fairly neutral with enough bass to be felt but not excessive as well as decent treble, mids? neutral cans hold the middle ground and unless you're looking for a specific signature are often good choices.

or, do you want something bassy. while there are certainly some cans which will have good treble at the same time as bass many focus a bit more on being warm (bassy). bass takes away from gaming advantage since it covers footsteps up however it can sound fun. v-shaped signatures (good treble, bass with reduced mids) are also very fun sounding and can be used for gaming however you give up a bit of advantage as well.

i would not suggest active noise cancellation as this often distorts the audio stream. passive noise cancelling (closed headphones) would work better for this without distortion however generally closed headphones have smaller soundstages and sometimes can become hot to wear for long periods of time since they cant breathe (let air in or out) so you may need to take a short break once in awhile (which is a good thing anyways).

as for surround sound... most headsets are all virtual (software generated). you can do this to any stereo headphones with either razer virtual surround software (Free) or having a soundcard/onboard sound which has support for virtual (better sounding than razer generally). there are true (multi driver per ear) surround headsets however the effect is not seamless and isnt up to the hype it gets.

while there are certainly a few good wireless headphones, most of your good options will be wired since many headphones need decent power to run. there are exceptions but given i know more about good wired solutions i'll be listing mostly wired.

---

as for your list.. while i dont know them all..

pc363d is a wide soundstage and bass light headset. good for fps gaming but perhaps not good if you like good bass. you can compare it with the newer game zero, hd555/hd595 nad pc350se. it will be similar to the sound of other bass light headphones i may list below as well.

g930 gets decent reviews for being a wireless gaming headset and for gaming headsets quality is not terrible although i've heard of some intermittent issues regarding the wireless connection and i do not believe audio quality will be as good as headphones.

hyper x cloud is based on the takstar pro 80 headphones and for the price its not a bad choice at all. the mic isnt super but for the price sound quality and mic quality are certainly on the better side when you compare it to gaming headsets. the model which had an external soundcard did have some issues with the soundcard but i think its now resolved.

as for some recommendations for headphones..

the ad500x/700x/900x are good open headphones with a wide soundstage, good positional audio and bass light signature. the a500x/700x/900x (a not ad) are the closed version.

the hd518/558/598 are good neutral open headphones. not sound isolating but a good middle ground if thats not required.

out of time for now.. hope i gave you a good starting point.
 
Solution
1) No such thing as a "best headphone", only something good for your case
2) "outside sounds" as in what? If you mean fan noises, noise cancelling is overkill and useless at the same time. If you mean jackhammers from construction equipment outside, sure.
3) Wireless in that price range will be much worse than wired. Unless you absolutely need wireless, don't bother with it

If you don't care about an internal mic and want good isolation, the Sony MDR-7506 or MDR-7510 might be good options, they are studio quality headphones with fairly good isolation and excellent audio quality.
 

Darth Nerd

Estimable
May 25, 2014
4
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4,510
Thank you for the time you took to write to answers, I appreciate it. :)
I do want some bass, but not so much that it will have any negative impact on my gaming experience, so I think I want headphones in the "middle ground".
I want Noise-Cancelling for my PC fans, and for a nearby highway, so I guess they don't need to be super Noise Cancelling.
If wireless really is that much worse, then I'll just stick with wired connection.
I will take a look at the headphones you suggested.
Another headphones that keep popping up is the AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M50X and Sony 10RBT.
The Sony looks very good.
How are those?
Are there more headphones you could recommend? The more choices , the better. :)
 
when i say "bass light" for cans like the ad500x/a500x they arent completely without bass. mid bass is certainly "punchy" but it doesnt have alot of quantity and it doesnt extend far down to lower tones. if at all possible you really should go out and test some headphones out in person to get an idea for how much bass you want and what will be sufficient. online all we can do is use descriptive terms however that is no alternative to actual testing.

i think you're looking for closed headphones not noise cancelling however realize that closed headphones often have small soundstages so instead of having a whole bunch of depth to sound (sounds will appear to come from varying distances) audio may instead sound like its coming from very close instead. as i said the negative of actual active noise cancelling headphones is distortion which is why they arent ideal (things like bose noise cancelling headphones). closed headphones can also get hot to wear.

the ath-m50x gets much hype however its not the best headphone since sliced bread. i own the m50 (precursor to and almost identical to the m50x in sound) and it has a v-shaped signature with decent low end bass, small earcups and good build quality. soundstage is extremely small even for closed cans and everything will sound like its coming from right outside your ear. while i personally do like the sound of them for music (i think the small soundstage makes them sound very.. in your face and inviting) and while they could be used for gaming a small soundstage is generally nor recommended. the small earcups will not fit larger ears and they do get hot (like many leather/pleather pad closed headphones do) after wearing for awhile. good cans if you know what they can and can not do and can get them for closer to $100 than what they were going for upon release.

the dt770 is similar in nature but all around the much better can in both comfort, soundstage and audio quality. both are considered in the "bassy" classification. you would want a decent soundcard or an amp for the dt's though.
 
Don't bother with the MDR-10RBT or ANY bluetooth headset for that matter, unless you plan on mainly using them on the go. MDR-10 and MDR-1 have reasonable isolation, but they aren't made by sony anymore (all shifted over to MDR-1A, also good but ~300 bucks)

The M50X should be a very good pick if you need isolation, though the MDR-7506 will give it a run for it's money when it comes to gaming (http://kenrockwell.com/audio/audio-technica/ath-m50.htm)
 

Darth Nerd

Estimable
May 25, 2014
4
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4,510
Ssddx says the M50X isn't that good, so I won't risk buying that one. (No offense)
So would my best choise be the MDR-7510? (It's the newer version of the 7506)
What do other people (like ssddx) think about this headset?
I'm gonna read some reviews about it.
Thanks again for your responses.
 
i never said that it is not a "good" headphone. in fact i enjoy mine quite alot.

what i said if you re read my statements is that they are often overrated by everyone as "the best headphone out there" when this is not true. if you can get them for a good price the sound quality is really quite good but its not the only option out there. i also said that since they have a small soundstage they were not ideal for gaming however you could certainly use them for thus if you did not care about soundstage. i also said that the dt770 is similar in nature but better all around.

i dont have much experience with the sony headsets so i couldnt really say about the mdr's

i do agree that i would not bother with any bluetooth or wireless headphones.
 

Darth Nerd

Estimable
May 25, 2014
4
0
4,510
I'm sorry. I re-read your post and I see you found it good, just a bit overrated.
I took a look at the DT770, and it looks quite good.
How does it compare to the DT990? They are both €140 over here.
 
similar.

dt770 - closed. decent soundstage for a closed can but still not as large as some open cans.
dt990 - while not the largest soundstage of open cans, it has a larger soundstage than closed cans and some open cans.

dt770 - noise isolating due to being closed
dt990 - noise leaking due to being open. open cans breathe and may be cooler to wear

dt770/dt990 - comfort is about the same, excellent. build quality is the same.

dt770 - bassier, similar treble but with a bit less drop off on top end. v shape is a bit more prounced due to mids dropout.
dt990 - bassy for open cans but not so much as the 770. similar treble but with a bit more drop off on the top end.
both are classified as v-shaped with bright detailed treble and good bass (in "bassy" classification of headphones which is the middle ground between neutral and bass cannon)

see this chart. [http://alturl.com/aw4em
fixed link. apparently [] break the forum so i needed to shorturl it.

the dt880 also exists and is a bit more flat than the other two with less bass.

both are excellent headphones.