Advice needed - gaming headsets

[Hawkeye 131]

Hey guys,

Earlier this year I had finally saved up enough money to build my own PC and have been having a blast on it. I'm kind of new to the whole PC scene and I'm slowly building up my gaming library on Steam thanks to the summer sale, (Deus Ex: HR, Mass Effect 1 & 2, Borderlands, L4D2, Black Mesa, The Witcher 2: EE, Bioshock, etc...)

Anyway I recently sold my copy of the ME3 N7 CE and I have about $90 (Canadian), in my PayPal account. I figured I'd see what kind of gaming headsets I could find. I'd like something of good quality, sound and comfort but I don't need the latest greatest and if it's possible something that I can also use on my Xbox for when Halo 4 comes out.

Anyway headsets aren't my area of expertise and I'd appreciate any thoughts/suggestions?


-Hawk


PC specs (in case you care)

CPU - i5 2500K @ 3.3 GHz
RAM - 8GB G.Skill Sniper
OS - Win 7 64b
HD - 1TB Western Digital
MB - Asus P8Z77-V
GC - Radeon HD 6950 (2GB)
PSU - Cooler Master SP 750W
Case - Corsair Carbide 500R

 

[LetalisK]

This is what I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Force-Gaming-Headset-Amplified-Stereo-Pc/dp/B005DQG0BO

They're technically meant for the Xbox, but they work on a computer just fine. Love the hell out of 'em. Very comfy.

 

[TrevHead]

Get a PC gaming headset with the double mic / speaker plug and run it through an special adaptor to fit to your 360 pad

IE this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headset-Earphone-Converter-Adapter-Xbox/dp/B0069WJ56I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349486111&sr=8-1

I'm not a big audiophile so I won't recommend a set to you, but I will say that I have the closed ear version of this and it's very comfy (even if the material is a cat fur magnet)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plantronics-Open-Ear-concealed-noise-cancelling-microphone/dp/B001E45XT4/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1349486265&sr=1-4

You might save a few pennys buying an older discontinued product range like the above rather than the latest model.

If you get a wired one make sure its got a good cable with no play where the cable connects to the headset, it's a major failure point with many wired products. My headset has slight play so I had to resort to using insulation tape. Thankfully the tape and cable are both black so it doesn't look that bad lol

 

[DugMachine]

What Letalisk said. I've got Turtlebeach X12s and they're pretty awesome. Have had them for about a year and they haven't shat out on me, good enough sound quality and the mic is clear and crisp on the receiving end (or so I've been told.) Fairly inexpensive so I think you'll get a good deal with X12s.

Buuut these are the only PC gaming headphones I've ever used so I'm sure there are better out there.

edit: And they're comfy as hell

 

[recruit00]

Well, Turtle Beaches are pretty good if you are looking for a reasonable price. If you want to go all out, Sennheiser is the way to go.

 

[Corven]

I've got a set of Razer Carcharias [http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-carcharias] headphones and they've been great. I think I paid about 80 USD for them.

 

[Savo]

Couple thoughts here.

1. You want something that will last. If you've owned many pairs of headphones, you already know that all headphones eventually break. Ideally you want something that will last a year if not more. Wireless headphones effectively dodge the wire breaking problems, but they have their own set of issues, including being significantly more expensive.

2. I would recommend you the Sony Pulse headset based on the excellent things I've heard about it, but the fact that you need it for Xbox gets rid of that idea. As such, I would recommend these for your price range.

http://www.amazon.com/Sharkoon-X-Tatic-SP-Gaming-Headset-Linux/dp/B0042PUW2A

You may not know Sharkoon as a company, but these are some good cans. I can't speak for mic quality, as I haven't used them for online gaming, but they have good sound quality and reasonable comfort. Also, I understand that their construction value is pretty good. I've owned them for over 6 months now, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed they'll last.

I would not recommend Turtle Beaches, as both pairs of headphones I have owned by them have been of questionable quality, and they've been getting trashed in a lot of Amazon reviews lately if you keep up with that kind of thing.

3. Whatever headset you decide on, make sure to do one thing: READ THE AMAZON REVIEWS. If you notice a consistent problem throughout the reviews, such as a part snapping, the cans giving out after an unusually short amount of time, steer clear. You can save yourself a lot of heartbreak by doing that.

 

[TrevHead]

^ Again yes reliability is a massive issue with headphones because they get moved and knocked around alot