Headphones for $80?

[Karan Chandra]

Hey guys, so my old Phillips POS broke and now I'm looking for new headphones.
I'm on a budget..so yeah..

I'm looking for these optional features, if available: braided cord, inline controls, surround sound (quite a lot ik :lol, a microphone and good noise cancellation/isolation if possible. However i DONT want a USB headphone/set, but a 3.5mm one instead and it must be wired.

Anyways, i narrowed it down to the following models

Sony MDR V-55
Audio-Technicia ATHWX55XBK
Razer Electra
Razer Kraken(Normal)
Skullcandy Hesh 2.0
SteelSeries 4H
SteelSeries Siberia V2
Corsair 1400
Haven't looked into Sennheiser(hope i spelled it right) or Logitech yet though

I do a lot of gaming, but i dont care much about the ingame sound, i basically want a headphone/set which has good overall sound quality and comfort. Kinda like 70% Music/Movies (Clarity) and 30% Gaming (Bass and sh*t)

So what do you guys think about the above models? Any model or brand you'd suggest? Any other recommendations? Anything would be helpful!

Thanks for your time guys, peace!

 

[ewok93]

In the price range, the Steelseries Siberia v2, or the new v3 are probably your best option. They're incredibly comfortable and have good sound quality. Avoid Razer and Skullcandy, they have really poor sound and build quality for the price, you pay mostly for the brand name. The Audio Technica have good sound quality, but they're not the most comfortable and they aren't great for gaming. The Sony headphones are alright, but also not as optimized for gaming as the Steelseries. The Corsair is another good option, they're comfortable, they're hard to break, but for the price I would still go for the Steelseries.

You won't find surround through an analog headset, as that is handled by either your sound card or the USB adapter. Why do you want to avoid USB, by the way?

 

[Karan Chandra]

In the price range, the Steelseries Siberia v2, or the new v3 are probably your best option. They're incredibly comfortable and have good sound quality. Avoid Razer and Skullcandy, they have really poor sound and build quality for the price, you pay mostly for the brand name. The Audio Technica have good sound quality, but they're not the most comfortable and they aren't great for gaming. The Sony headphones are alright, but also not as optimized for gaming as the Steelseries. The Corsair is another good option, they're comfortable, they're hard to break, but for the price I would still go for the Steelseries.

You won't find surround through an analog headset, as that is handled by either your sound card or the USB adapter. Why do you want to avoid USB, by the way?

Its because I want them to work with smartphones too

 

[BlueFireZ]

If smart phone, go with the Steelseries Siberia v2 or v3, those are your best options.

Hope this helps!

 

[ewok93]

Yeah, the Siberia has a detachable USB sound card so that you can use it with your computer with surround, or with your phone without.

 

[bob hays]

^^^ why would a usb provide surround and not a direct analog?
EDIT: I mean a usb soundcard not a usb headset

Also the 5HV3 comes with all those (braided, inline, retractable mic) and it has a connector at the end which you can switch from 2x3.5mm to 1x3.5mm so the mic even works with your phone and you don't need an extra adapter.

 

[ewok93]

The surround is virtual, created by software, so the USB sound card just processes the sound. Analog just sends an audio signal. The 5HV3 is nice, but is a lower tier headset. It doesn't have the same sound quality, build quality, or comfort.

 

[bob hays]

motherboards also have sound processors, and virtual surround as you said is made by software so a surround program (razer has one) would make your normal analog output surround. In fact it might be better because you can adjust it.

 

[ewok93]

Yes, they do, but they are much lower quality and not designed for surround. The USB sound card has software specifically for the headset it comes with, and will sound much better than something like Razer surround.

 

[bob hays]

It is designed for surround, that's the whole purpose of it, and yes it's designed for that headset, but it's not designed for everyone's ears, which is why if you can adjust the settings then it will be better for you. And motherboard soundcards can fit many more components than a usb one and in general are better than built-in usb soundcards

 

[ewok93]

An average motherboard will generally have fairly poor sound quality, not as good as the USB card. Most surround programs don't allow for adjustments, either. Razer Surround isn't really adjustable, there aren't many clear changes. Surround honestly does not matter much for most people, and usually has worse quality than stereo. Its main use is for gaming, being able to locate people based on sound. A USB sound card on something like the Steelseries Siberia V2/3 will be better than the one on your motherboard, though, and if it isn't you can still use it as an analog headset. Doesn't make much sense to include a USB sound card worse than the motherboard's when you could just sell it as an analog headset or still have the sound processed by the computer.

 

[bob hays]

Most motherboard sound processors are similar in quality to $20-50 dedicated sound cards, and a simple usb soundcard on the end of a headphone will not be that great. Also the adjustments are VERY CLEAR. They even have a test simulation to help you calibrate the audio to your own preferences and even comes with an equalizer and adjustable bass boost.

Also, btw the reason they have usb is so it can be powered for led's and other controls such as RGB headphones where you can adjust colors or maybe store audio profiles, and it works on systems that don't have audio processing built-in, but computers do. So no it won't be better than your motherboard one, and they have virtual surround because it's actually using stereo speakers to create a surround experience, and it does make a difference between just normal stereo.

But virtual surround with a stereo headset is much better than an actual surround headset because the experience is similar but two high quality drivers are much better overall than multiple drivers.

 

[ewok93]

I'm not going to bother trying to convince you of anything, this has already gone way off topic and all I intend to do is help find the right headphones for this guy. The Siberia V2 is probably the best for you because of the detachable sound card, nice drivers, comfort, and build quality. If you choose, you can use it as an analog headset with surround software, or you can just use it like normal. Both work. One works better.

 

[bob hays]

Yes the siberia series are a good pair of budget headphones so you should seriously consider them, but take a look at the 5hv3's also. They actually have a msrp of 80 so they are in the same range, amazon just sells them for a great value.

Another thing to consider is that the siberia's are open and on-ear (but very soft cushions). Open means that sound leaks more than closed, but it also makes it have a larger sound stage (sounds more open rather than coming from your ears). Also outside noise is easier to hear, whether this is good or bad depends on your needs.

The 5h's are closed so less leakage but smaller sound stage and isolates noise so you cant hear as much outside noise (again your preference). It's also over the ear so its more comfortable if you have glasses (and personally I like it better, but your opinion might be different).

Other features: Siberia's are very light. The 5h's can be taken apart for easier travel and both have steelseries retractable microphones.

there are also other options like the hyper x cloud that you should consider.

 

[ewok93]

The Siberia V2s are over ear and closed, actually. On(not over)-ear open headphones with 50mm drivers might as well be speakers.
Edit: Did a bit more research to make sure I was correct, and it is the Steelseries Siberia V1 only that are open. I would only get the V2 or V3.

 

[bob hays]

You are right, I was mistaken by their design about the closed/open, but my friend has a pair of them (which unfortunately broke) and when I borrowed them and compared to my over ear headset, they felt on-ear. The earcups are very small in comparison to other headsets I have seen but they may be designed for over ear.

 

[ewok93]

Huh, I didn't have the same experience, my ears had a ton of room. They are intended to be over ear at least.

 

[bob hays]

I guess it was just a difference in experience, and my bad for being mistaken

 

[ewok93]

That's fine. We all make mistakes.