Best solutions under 100$ (headsets)

[hardware2]

I have two questions, the first is about the headset and the second about the sound card.

My previous headset was Asus Rog Vulcan Anc but the ear cuff on the left starts to tear apart and probably it won't hold much longer. Too bad Asus has absolutely no service towards that, and I cant replace just the ear cuff. I will never buy Asus peripherals again. Note here that I want my new headphones to be at least at the same level of quality but also to offer reliability in case ear cuffs get destroyed.

Anyway, I am looking for a replacement for less than 100$. However there are so many options I am way too lost. First of all I will inform you that I want it for general use. Music, movies, gaming.

Music: I listen to Classical, Metal, and Soundtracks from movies and games. I want the sound quality to be good.

Gaming: I usually play RPG, Strategy and Moba games. I don't play much FPS, only occasionaly.

Having a mic would be good, but I prefer sound quality over a mic, so if there is a huge difference between a headphone and a headset, I would prefer the headphone.

Some options with some research: Litteraly tons of them with brands like Eskuche, Wesc, Shure, AKG, Denon, Razer, Corsair, Sennheiser, Logitech, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Techina, JVC, Steelseries, Turtle Beach, Audiophony, Microsoft, Marshall etc.

For example: Sennheiser HD 439, AKG K514, Philips SHG8000, Audiophony DJHPH108, Beyerdynamic DTX 910, Audio Technica ATH-M30x, Numark PHX, Marshall Major, SteelSeries Siberia V2, Shure SRH 550DJE, Steelseries 5HV3, Stanton DJPRO-2000, Logitech G430, Logitech G230, Denon DNHP500, Audio Technica ATH-M40x (this is over my budget), Shure SRH440, Audio Technica ATH-PRO5 MKII and MANY others.

My problem is that I want absolutely the best for my money, however when I compare them side by side I get myself into a never ending cycle of not knowing which the the best option after all.



Now for my second question, I have an Asus P6T SE motherboard which has a Realtek ALC1200 onboard sound. Will purchasing an Asus Xonar DG offer me huge improvement for the above headphones? I am tight on budget so if it isn't THAT worth, I won't buy it.

 

[Skylyne]

Since I'm a bit of an audiophile, I would recommend forking over the $130 for a pair of the Sennheiser HD558 headphones. They are out of your ideal price range, but they perform extremely well for their price. These will probably outperform most cans in the $100 price range ($107 pre-shipping through Amazon).

These would be my go-to cans for something with substantial quality, and for a low price. The same drivers are supposedly used in the Sennheiser G4me Zero headset; though, the impedance on the Zero's is 150 ohms, instead of 50 ohms... and I find that odd. Maybe someone can clarify? Any way, these are going to give you entry-level audiophile quality, which is a bonus. Just be sure you burn them in properly before using them, because there is a huge difference for headphones of this calibre. While many won't agree, there is a reason why many of us do it. If you ever watch the comparison videos from SonicSense (they compare various studio and audiophile gear), they burn in their headphones for 100 hours before testing; and I'd recommend the same for you.

I wouldn't recommend anything else, personally. All the experience I've had with sub-$100 headphones has been fairly chequered, and the overall quality of headphones usually suffers somewhere when you don't spend a premium; you'll either lose driver quality, or you'll lose build quality/durability.

Good luck picking out a pair of cans.

 

[hardware2]

Thanks for the answer, I understand that you suggest me to get higher quality headset, however those in particural are about double the price I am willing to spend (they cost around 200$ here). Too bad I can't shop from amazon.com because of the taxes and customs.

 

[TStahler]

Onboard audio has come a long way these days on computers. The Xonar DG still uses processing power from the computer to process audio so it will still impact PC performance. I recommend Sennheiser HD280's as they have easily replaceable parts and are definitely under the $100 recommended price point.

 

[Skylyne]

If you can give me some places you'd be buying from, I could look at what's available and give you better information. The Sennheiser HD280's are still $100 retail, so it really will depend on what places you'll be buying from, and where you live.

The Sennheiser HD439, and the Shure SRH-440's are ones I'd consider, from the list you provided. I do prefer Sennheiser over most others, as they have a sound signature I like, but you might prefer a different signature. If you have a chance to listen to any of these headphones, do it. If not, just search around for reviews on all of them. It will be time consuming, but you'll get a decent pair of cans from it.

 

[TStahler]

The HD280's sell at Guitar Center for $100 and they usually have a coupon online for 15% off one item, so there you go, $85. I have the SHR840's, and the 440's are good, but I do like my Sennheisers better.

 

[Skylyne]

The price you're referring to may not be the same in the OP's country. GC is a retailer, so there might be cheaper places to buy them from. While a 15% discount is decent, it's still worth shopping around on price.

 

[hardware2]

This will give you a good idea of what I can buy. It is in greek so I filtered it between 50 and 80 euros.

 

[Skylyne]

The Denon HP500's are a decent pick if you like the DJ style headphones, but they won't be built for noise isolation. The best cans I see on that website are the Sennheiser HD439's. That is a biased opinion, but they definitely won't strain the budget. Most of the ones you have to pick from aren't entirely over-the-ear headphones (the best way to create noise isolation). When you narrow it down, I'd personally go with the HD439, but I could have overlooked something.