Needing a little help finding a decent set of headphones (NON usb)

Th3-Hunter333

Estimable
Dec 15, 2014
28
0
4,590
Title says it, Im needing a bit of help finding a decent set of headphones for pc gaming with a few requirements. No budget at all just because i cant seem to find anything at all.

I have to have a mic (Built) on them somewhere (i dislike clip on mics/desktop mics)

It needs to run through strictly 3.5mm headphone jacks (non usb) if possible
(two 3.5mm headphone jacks, one for mic and one for playback?)

I want to be able to use my onboard sound card (sound blaster creative suite software as well) with my new motherboard in my new custom built desktop (MSI x99 gaming 9 ack)

My current usb headset has ok audio and a decent mic, but my onboard audio (through 3.5mm jack) is downright phenomenal.

Any help is greatly appreciated
 
Solution
your choice of course but i will say a few things in addition to what i said above.

1)hi-fi headphones are typically head-over-heels better than "Gaming Headsets" in terms of sound quality. often gaming headsets are more marketing and while many are okay in game they often perform rather abysmally for music, movies and other tasks.

2)the surround sound on most headsets is virtual. only very few support actual surround (which isnt even the same as speaker surround). on good headphones many players do not even need virtual as the positioning is already enough. it is more of a personal choice as to whether you want surround or not.

3)high-end headsets which sound comparable to hi-fi (pc363d, mmx300, athad1, etcetera) are often much...
this this an okay solution?

4uponsenns_1024x1024.png


you could use the modmic which converts any good pair of headphones into a headset without it being clip on (yet removable)
 
your choice of course but i will say a few things in addition to what i said above.

1)hi-fi headphones are typically head-over-heels better than "Gaming Headsets" in terms of sound quality. often gaming headsets are more marketing and while many are okay in game they often perform rather abysmally for music, movies and other tasks.

2)the surround sound on most headsets is virtual. only very few support actual surround (which isnt even the same as speaker surround). on good headphones many players do not even need virtual as the positioning is already enough. it is more of a personal choice as to whether you want surround or not.

3)high-end headsets which sound comparable to hi-fi (pc363d, mmx300, athad1, etcetera) are often much overpriced for the performance they give and a similar solution can be had using tranditional headphones and an add on mic for $50-100 less.

4)generally the larger drivers used in stereo headphones offer a better sound than the smaller drivers used in true-surround headsets of the same price range (cheaper drivers and more of them =/= better sound than higher end drivers and less of them)

a good starter set of cans which do not require an amp (but can gain a bit extra bass from one) are the sennheiser hd598. wide soundstage, good sound, some but not alot of bass. from there you can either go more soundstage and almost no bass (very in demand with pro fps gamers) the audiotechncia ad700x or ad900x. or, conversely you can go the dt770/dt880/dt990 route but all of those would need an amplifier. there are of course other cans i did not list (i cannot know them all, lots of recommendations over on headfi if you want a listing of cans)

again, its a personal choice to whether you like gaming headsets or hifi headphones + modmic. i just threw some info out there about advantages of headphones over most headsets (it depends on model vs model of course but we are just talking generalities here..)


notes:

if you want "virtual" surround on any 3.5mm headphones OR headset you need either your onboard soundcard or a slot soundcard to support virtual surround (unless you use the buggy razer software for it)

any headset which is 3.5mm and only 2 cables (LR + Mic) will be stereo only and not surround. only the multi-cable (or typically, USB) models with multiple drivers are what is typically considered true surround for headphones (see my note about this earlier)
 
Solution