Quality Headset - Budget $175

[RighteousGamer]

I am looking for a headset with specific qualities, this is a list of thing it needs, and optional things that I'd prefer. If anyone could also recommend multiple seeing as then I'd be able to take the best one after looking at the reviews.

Requirements:

• 
  7.1 Audio Surround Sound
  Over-ear design
  Muffled so others can't hear
  Comfortable enough I don't wanna massage my ears
  $175 or under (willing to go $5-10 over need-be)

Optional:

• 
  Noise Cancelling the 'outside' world.
  No Microphone on the headset.
  Carry-case
  Main-design was intended for PC use (I find headsets that were made for PC, and not added on as extension to be the best)

Thanks you ahead of time!

 

[RazerZ]

" No Microphone on the mic" ???

You don't want a mic?

 

[RighteousGamer]

" No Microphone on the mic" ???

You don't want a mic?

I've got a Blue Yeti, and yeah, stupid faceplam moment their, meant to say no mic on the headset.

 

[RazerZ]

I would look into a good pair of closed headphones, since open headphones have major sound leakage and everyone around you will be able to hear what you're listening to.

Maybe a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros? Supposedly has a wide sound stage for a closed back design. Not the best for competitive fps games since it's a bassy headphone.

I had a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50s which were closed back and were comfortable after you "break them in". They're also fairly cheap. They work for gaming, but music is their strong point (imo).

 

[RighteousGamer]

I would look into a good pair of closed headphones, since open headphones have major sound leakage and everyone around you will be able to hear what you're listening to.

Maybe a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros? Supposedly has a wide sound stage for a closed back design. Not the best for competitive fps games since it's a bassy headphone.

I had a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50s which were closed back and were comfortable after you "break them in". They're also fairly cheap. They work for gaming, but music is their strong point (imo).

I'll look into the Audio Technica, but if you have any FPS oriented headsets that would be preferable. I play competitive Counter Strike and a bit of competitive CoD and Battlefield so I always need a good set of headset. I do listen to music frequently so if you have any suggestions that balances the two out that'd be highly helpful .

 

[RazerZ]

I would look into a good pair of closed headphones, since open headphones have major sound leakage and everyone around you will be able to hear what you're listening to.

Maybe a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros? Supposedly has a wide sound stage for a closed back design. Not the best for competitive fps games since it's a bassy headphone.

I had a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50s which were closed back and were comfortable after you "break them in". They're also fairly cheap. They work for gaming, but music is their strong point (imo).

I'll look into the Audio Technica, but if you have any FPS oriented headsets that would be preferable. I play competitive Counter Strike and a bit of competitive CoD and Battlefield so I always need a good set of headset. I do listen to music frequently so if you have any suggestions that balances the two out that'd be highly helpful .

Ideally what you want is an open back pair of headphones since those are the types which have the best sound stage. However they will leak sound like crazy and don't have the best sound isolation.

 

[RazerZ]

I found these headphones after a bit of searching, the ATH-A900X

http/www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-A900X-Audiophile-Closed-Back-Headphones/dp/B006V386UG%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAJ7VMODKUTIUWFY2Q%26tag%3Dheadfiorg-pro-mct-lo-t-d-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB006V386UG

Looks like a good compromise b/t gaming and music. Also closed back.

 

[RighteousGamer]

I would look into a good pair of closed headphones, since open headphones have major sound leakage and everyone around you will be able to hear what you're listening to.

Maybe a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros? Supposedly has a wide sound stage for a closed back design. Not the best for competitive fps games since it's a bassy headphone.

I had a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50s which were closed back and were comfortable after you "break them in". They're also fairly cheap. They work for gaming, but music is their strong point (imo).

I'll look into the Audio Technica, but if you have any FPS oriented headsets that would be preferable. I play competitive Counter Strike and a bit of competitive CoD and Battlefield so I always need a good set of headset. I do listen to music frequently so if you have any suggestions that balances the two out that'd be highly helpful .

Ideally what you want is an open back pair of headphones since those are the types which have the best sound stage. However they will leak sound like crazy and don't have the best sound isolation.

Ah, in that case would you say the Audio Technica one is decent for FPS games? Also, are they 7.1? I geniunely dislike open-air, since I'd prefer that other can't here the audio. I'm willing to give up the music quality for a more crisp sound in FPS games.

 

[RazerZ]

For your budget I'd go with the ATH-A900X. No headphones can produce 7.1 surround sound. Any headphone claiming they can, even if they have separate drivers to mimic the speakers, can not produce true surround sound. It's a gimmick meant to lure in buyers.

There is software which can mimic surround sound however.

A real 7.1 surround sound system has eight separate large speakers spaced a few feet a part from the listener.

If you think about it, there's no way any headphone with tiny drivers spaced inches apart from your ear can simulate the same experience.

 

[RighteousGamer]

For your budget I'd go with the ATH-A900X. No headphones can produce 7.1 surround sound. Any headphone claiming they can, even if they have separate drivers to mimic the speakers, can not produce true surround sound. It's a gimmick meant to lure in buyers.

There is software which can mimic surround sound however.

A real 7.1 surround sound system has eight separate large speakers spaced a few feet a part from the listener.

If you think about it, there's no way any headphone with tiny drivers spaced inches apart from your ear can simulate the same experience.

I know how the 7.1 works, but alot of headsets don't support 7.1 surround sound. Only certain ones that have the supported drivers have it, that's why I ask. (if my English is slowly becoming less coherent, sorry, really tired xD)

 

[RazerZ]

The supported drivers are a marketing tactic. All that's saying is that the headphones have software that comes with it, or that you need to download it from their site, to simulate the 7.1 surround sound.

You can just download any surround sound program such as Razer Surround and have the same experience.

If you have Dolby Audio I believe they have a surround sound program as well.

 

[RighteousGamer]

So final question, between Audio-Technica-ATH-A900X-Audiophile-Closed-Back-Headphones and Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor, which one would be better in your opinion? From the large price difference (which always isn't the best indication) the Audiophile set seems to be notiably better, in customer reviews it seem to be that ATH-M50xs were better by about half of a star of a star (4.2 vs 4.7) but the fact being they have more ratings is hard to tell. So overall, what would your recommendation be between the two?

 

[RazerZ]

ATH A900x. Don't take in reviews from amazon into account, for the most part their made by first time users.

I only mentioned the M50s because I had them, but there are better options out there. Before the M50s I used a pair of semi open headphones and although they were less clear than the m50s, the difference in soundstage was definitely noticeable.

Since you play games where positional queues are important, I'd go with a pair headphones with a wide soundstage, ex: the ATH 900x.

If you want a site with more accurate reviews, try headfi:

http/www.head-fi.org/products/audio-technica-ath-a900x-art-monitor-headphones-japan-import

 

[RighteousGamer]

Thank you so much for your time , I shall be purchasing a900's!

 

[RazerZ]

No problem!

The A900x should be a solid pair of headphones for gaming and music.

 

[RighteousGamer]

One last question, now that they have arrived, how do enable a 7.1 surround sound? Such as what program/driver do I download to enable a 7.1 experience? I generally only use ones that come with 7.1 so I don't know

As well as they don't come with any switch to change just headset volume, so the only way I can change their volume is by hooking it up to to my Blue Yeti which has a headphone 3.5 mm port. But by doing this I hear all background noise such as me typing very loudly. Any suggestions for this? Mostly disabling this reverb. (Worst comes to worst I buy a mixamp or something to change the headsets volume)

 

[RazerZ]

You should have a surround sound option as an option in your motherboard's audio chipset.

For me it's Control Panel> Hardware and Sound>[insert audio software name, for me it's Realtek HD Audio Manager]. Open up the program and look for " Virtual Surround" some where along the tabs. I'm not sure exactly where it is for you since I don't have the same realtek alc898 chipset.

Plug in the headphones to a stereo jack in your pc (should be green) and your mic into another jack (should be red).This way they should show up as two separate devices on Windows and you should be able to adjust the headphone volume from your keyboard/windows and the mic volume from your microphone knob.