Questions about the Blue Yeti desktop mic (and questions about a bunch of audio stuff)

deathbycoleslaw

Estimable
Oct 11, 2015
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4,510
This is probably going to turn in to novel so I'm sorry in advance.

Backstory/details about my set up:
I have/had the Logitech g930 wireless headset. I liked it alright during the two years I've had it. I had some minor complaints, but overall a positive experience. It recently decided to die on me (internal battery is shot I think) so I began searching for a replacement and I realized this is just a world of garbage.

Okay so I NEED sidetone (mic monitoring) to feel comfortable with a headset. The g930s have great ADJUSTABLE sidetone. I leave it at max (it's a 0-100 scale and I use mine at 100, this info will be important later) at all times when I'm using them. My two preferences were sidetone and wireless-ness while shopping for a new headset. I tried the Steelseries H, the Astro A50, and read in reviews about the Plyr 1 and the Corsaire H2100s and none of these have sidetone. (technically the a50s and the SS H have sidetone, but it's not adjustable and for comparison, I would guess it's at about a 10 using the Logitech 0-100 scale. So for someone coming from using 100 it's basically non-existent for me). For 300 (I don't know if I can swear on these forums but just assume I'm swearing here) dollars I should get some kind of program to adjust things or at the VERY least a wheel to adjust sidetone on the side. It's ridiculous, but I understand from reviews and forums that I am in the minority as someone who even cares about sidetone. Some people hate it and someone people need it, but most people don't seem to care/notice either way.

That's out of the way now, I know it seems pointless, but I wanted to stress the importance of this feature to me. And give a quick background on what I've been doing for the past 3 weeks.

At some point in the frustration, I decided screw it, I'll go wired. But my thought process is: well if I'm already sacrificing wireless, why would I get a wired gaming headset? If I'm gonna have wires to deal with, why not a headphones/mic combo like every single site suggests?

I've been researching headphones like crazy now and I feel like I'm sold on open back headphones. A friend bought the Audio Technica ath ad700x headphones and he has a Blue Yeti mic because he streams and what-not. The most awesome thing is that the Blue Yeti HAS mic monitoring built right in.

Here are the questions I have:
1. I don't understand ohms/wattage yet. His 700x's sounded fine through his Blue Yeti to me (but I'm a complete novice coming from the world of gaming headsets so I imagine any audiophile grade headphones would blow me away). And best of all you can hear yourself fine through the headset because of the blue yeti's mic monitoring. The question is: is it a good idea to run headphones through that for general use with music, movies, and games? I've read that it's strictly for mic monitoring. If I should plug it in to my sound card (asus xonor something or other, it was like 20 dollars), then is there a way to get the mic monitoring from the yeti still?
2. I am pretty sold on the Audio Technica headphones. Like I said before I don't know anything about the ohms yet, so I'm not sure if the 500x or 700x would be better for me. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing where higher-number-equals-better. I am worried about the comfort of the awkward head wing things, so I was also looking at the Beyerdynamics dt990s because they look unbelievably comfy and are also open.
3. Is there a better option for me (as someone who NEEDS sidetone) as far as mics go? The mod mic seems awesome, but there doesn't seem to be any way to achieve mic monitoring. The Audio Technica something something 2020 usb PLUS microphone boasts mic monitoring just like the yeti, but I think it's not only more expensive, but comes with no external controls which seems inconvenient. Can anyone compare the two?

To wrap things up: My budget is around 300 dollars. What headphones / mic should I buy that will get me sidetone if the ones mentioned above are not a good idea.

EDIT: Thought of another question is there such a thing as a sound card/dac/amp whatever that could achieve sidetone??? Like something I could plug both a mic and headphones into and it knows how to send the mic signal back through to the headphones?
 
Solution
1a) ohms are impedance of the system, so higher ohms mean you need higher voltages for the same current. For two speakers (headphones) with the same efficiency (watts per dB-a), the higher ohm headsets will be more quiet (but usually have better response to small variations in voltage. With that card though, you can handle up to 600ohm just fine
1b) If your sound card supports mixing, you might be able to mix the microphone input directly into your headset output. Read your manual to see if your card supports that.

2) You should also consider the Sony MDR-7506 and Sennheiser HD 558 (one of the most popular out there), both are great for gaming and music alike.

3) You can literally get any mic with a 3.5mm output, plenty of good...
1a) ohms are impedance of the system, so higher ohms mean you need higher voltages for the same current. For two speakers (headphones) with the same efficiency (watts per dB-a), the higher ohm headsets will be more quiet (but usually have better response to small variations in voltage. With that card though, you can handle up to 600ohm just fine
1b) If your sound card supports mixing, you might be able to mix the microphone input directly into your headset output. Read your manual to see if your card supports that.

2) You should also consider the Sony MDR-7506 and Sennheiser HD 558 (one of the most popular out there), both are great for gaming and music alike.

3) You can literally get any mic with a 3.5mm output, plenty of good studio products for not that high a price (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?sts=ma&ci=12161&N=4241071862&Ntt=3.5mm+microphone)
 
Solution

deathbycoleslaw

Estimable
Oct 11, 2015
2
0
4,510


Firstly, thank you for the reply! This is very helpful and it was very fast.
Secondly, I just tried out the mic monitoring with my sound card and it is very very slightly delayed. It's not nearly as horrible as the "listen to this device" setting in windows sound options, but it's noticeable enough to where I don't think this would work for me. The Mic monitoring on the blue yeti that I tried at my friend's house was the same as on my old headset. Just instantaneous. Did you suggest using the mic monitoring feature on the sound card simply because it'll produce better sound than the blue yeti? or is there some potential problem that could happen when using the mic monitor on a mic rather than a good quality sound source?

This leads me to a new question. Would a better sound card or possibly an external higher end DAC offer better sidetone? Also, the Blue Yeti is a usb microphone. How could I monitor that if my headphones are plugged in to a soundcard? Or would I need a 3.5mm microphone if I were monitoring from a sound card?

Thirdly, I have actually looked in to those headphones you listed, and they seem good, but I've mostly been looking for open headphones. I am almost entirely sold on these ad500x's.

I apologize for being so ignorant about all of this. I'm slowly but surely learning.
 
The mic monitor is the best, but you won't get your game audio (or just have it at lower quality). You'll have to just see what sounds better for you.

You can probably do a mix in software, but it'll be even more lagged than directly in card.

As for open headphones, the HD 558s should be open. the 500x isn't bad though.


And didn't sound ignorant at all, you seem to have a good grasp of what you want to do, and that's the most important part. After that it's just learning by experience. You should also check av forums, you'll find far better responses than mine.