Gaming headphones or headsets

[Mace ya face]

I have been looking into buying a pair of headphones/a headset for sometime. Though some say the Steelseries Elite Prisms are the best, or HyperX or Corsair or ASUS, others say that all those are terrible and only buy ATH-M50s as they are the best ever made. Either way I need help from people in the know, not just fan boys.

(TLDR) What is best? HyperX Cloud, ASUS STRIX Pro, SteelSeries Elite Prism, Corsair, Logitech or ATH-M50s?

 

[hang-the-9]

It's pretty much impossible to say which ones are best since people like different sound profiles, which is why you see different reviews.
Head to a store and try some out.

 

[RazerZ]

What hang-the-9 said.

As an owner of the ATH m50s I can tell you upfront that initially I liked them. This was because I haven't owned any "high end" headphones before and was the first time I had the chance to listen to a pair for a good amount of time, not just a store demo. The m50s have solid build quality and would last you for years to come. After having them for a few months I realized I was forcing myself to put them on just because I had spent money on them and wanted to enjoy them. I realized for the most part I couldn't. I preferred listening to music on my $30 Panasonic RP HTF 600s. The pleather pads become hot and sweaty very quickly and harden over time. At first I thought they had piercing highs since I wasn't used to a headphone like this. I realized this was not the case, the m50 just has a very powerful and forward sound. At low volumes it was hard to listen to my music and at moderate levels the sound was just too overbearing. I hated it. Not to mention there is almost no soundstage with these cans. This makes them a poor choice for gaming as well since there are better options out there for the same price. However I did like the low end and it could definitely deliver when called for. These headphones would be excellent if you were using them for mixing/producing music since imaging is very good and they are detailed as well. But for general listening or gaming I can't recommend them.

Out of all the m50 reviews out there, this is the only one that I can agree with 100%:

[video="https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPd5BpEfNz0"][/video]

They became popular due to the anti beats syndrome and soon became hyped beyond belief.

I would stay away from gaming headsets. Chances are they will be mediocre in sound or build quality, overpriced, or both. A good pair of stereo headphones with a mic attached to them would be a much better choice compared to buying a gaming headset. Go with a pair of headphones that suits your music preferences. For gaming a wide and airy soundstage would help you pick up positional queues and give you a greater feel of immersion.