Looking for a gaming heaadset

[ibroshan]

Hi Folks, I am looking for a good gaming headset. I have an Audio Technica M50X and I was looking for a more immersive experience with positional audio and surround sound. So, I invested in a HyperX Cloud 2 as it had great reviews. I am not happy with these as the surround sound seems muddied and it does not have good positional audio. The M50X have great audio capabilities than Cloud 2 despite the lack of any 7.1 features.
So, I am looking for a good headset solution again for around $400-$500 AUD which should roughly translate to $350 USD. My PC config is:
CPU: i7 7700k
MOBO: Asus strix 270e
GPU: EVGA 1080ti SC2

The headset I am planning to buy is for gaming purposes only, so I don't mind if it has a proprietary connection. I have shortlisted a few and we don't have stores in Australia where you can hear most of them. So, your experience and any help is much appreciated.
1. Sennheiser HD 650: I am starting to consider them now considering how gaming headsets are appearing to be of low overall quality. At $450 AUD, this is the most expensive option in my budget. I may later pair with something like Sennheiser GSX 1000 for 7.1 audio.
2. Asus Rog Centurion 7.1: At $350 AUD, this is not cheap but rather bulky too. But, with a true 7.1 audio and included feature rich controller, I am considering this. My only fear is that it perform a punch in audio quality too apart from surround sound.
3. Astro A50 Gen 3: At $400 AUD, this sounds to be one of the safest bets on gaming headsets.
4. Logitech G933: I have heard of build quality issues with these, but if the audio is worth it, I am willing to take my chances.
5. Sennheiser G4me One: This open ended headset is also widely recommended, but I have a gut feeling that apart from the gaming bells and whistles, these will have lower audio quality too.

There are some other good ones like Steelseries and Turtle Beach ones. I am not going to use this headset for music or other purposes, but I would not like to make a big compromise on overall quality. As I mentioned earlier, Cloud 2 was a big tradeoff for me on in-game audio quality when compared to M50x. What do you think folks? Should I get one of the good quality open ended sennheisers and save for a gaming dac like gsx 1000 later?

 

[SoggyTissue]

i use turtle beach myself, but i would like to ask you: do you have a dedicated sound card? or you use the mobo? youre looking at some pretty impressive headsets just wondering if you felt the same way about sound controllers.

 

[ibroshan]

i use turtle beach myself, but i would like to ask you: do you have a dedicated sound card? or you use the mobo? youre looking at some pretty impressive headsets just wondering if you felt the same way about sound controllers.

 

[ibroshan]

I am using my motherboard. If I buy a Hd 650, I will seriously consider buying an amp/dac solution. But, for the rest of the bunch, I have not heard much about the need of a dedicated sound controller. Also, I dont want to invest my money again and crave for something later. I will invest in a good controller now, if that would mean my cloud 2 will gain from it. I am using an Asus Z270e strix Mobo. Do you think there is much to gain with a dedicated controller? Thanks.

 

[SoggyTissue]

there will be no gain in performance, but sound replication will be slightly better ... most noticable if youre going all out on a good headset.

its like i have said in the past... if you eat baked beans ... can you tell the difference between the value beans and heinz? those with better taste buds can, and that holds true for sound. if you have better acute hearing, then a controller will make a difference. a boom will still sound like a boom, but will you hear the sprayed chunks of rocks hitting the floor? the better the sharpness of sound, the less it gets drowned out by other louder sounds.

 

[ibroshan]

Niccely put man In my quest to build a good audio setup, I am considering Sennheiser gsx 1000 in near future. This is the coolest looking, feature rich controller which should safeguard against frequent upgrades and should provide good gaming audio on open ended sennheiser cans. I am really tired of upgrading and want them to last for a few good years.

On the other hand, usb based headsets like rog centurion eliminates the need for such controller and takes the processing in its own hand. But, listening to a metric ton of gaming audio reviews, I am somewhat siding to the idea of owning a good pair of open ended headphones like Sennheiser 598/599/650 and pair it with a GSX 1000 like external controller.

My experience says if I bite the bullet now, I will have lesser regrets later.

 

[SoggyTissue]

yea im actually using a soundblaster with my turtle beach headset, i do regret spending so little when i can already hear the difference between this set up and the bog standard mobo.

i too will be upgrading to a better sound board, most likely xmas.

 

[ibroshan]

I totally get you man. I finally pulled the plug on Sennheiser gsx 1000 and ordered them today. I was initially thinking of Mayflower O2 dacs, but they would have cost twice that of gsx 1000 and I thought they would be overkill for my gaming audio setup. As gsx 1000 is an external dAC, I am hoping for atleast a little gain in audio clarity and overall quality. I am not hoping it to be any better than a $100-150 AUD audio controller, but I was sold on the capacitive touchscreen, feature-rich interface and awesome aesthetics. I am hoping it to be somewhat better than any integrated dac with top notch gaming headsets.

I am planning to get a good quality open-ended headphones. I have also decided to scale down from my initial choice of Sennheiser HD 650s as they will cost two times and some more than HD 558, which seem like some decent choice for my setup. I am undecided between Audio Technica AD500x/700x and Sennheiser HD 558. AD500x/700x are attributed for best positional audio but I am leaning towards HD 558 as I expect better audio from them overall.

This is one of the most confusing buying decisions I have ever made. I hope I don't regret my decisions Good luck with your hunt too, mate!!

 

[SoggyTissue]

ty, i agree. imo there is no difference between 'movie' audio and 'gaming' audio ... if im playing a combat fps, yes i could get by with a few grenade 'BOOM's
but i love sound, having the shrapnel, debris et all coming through my head gives me a very deep immersion. makes the games 'better'. i want to play just to hear it all. and die whislt not concentrating on the game itself.

im glad ive come across another player who also enjoys their sound. hope you get the immersion you desire