I never understand why we need gaming headphones when normal headphones already do the job well.
It's mostly marketing and a built in mic. Ever since I got a mic on an arm and good headphones though, that's all I want to use.
Because "gaming" headphones often aren't "just" headphones. They are headsets with a built-in boom mic
And a boom-mic is often way better than a crap wire mic or bluetooth headphone non boom mic.
There are still the trash ones, but there are also very good ones.
And a built-in mic is extremely useful on multiple situations : console gaming, tight space gaming (no place for a mic), or when there is only a single port on a device (tho a splitter, or hub could be used for a jack port or usb). There is also the convenience of just having a mic.
The issue now with all these headsets being "gaming", is because of the marketing.
Some headphones brands have put mics on theirs, to make them headsets :
Beyerdynamic with the mx300 : the tight clamp makes it a bit of a no go for me. The mic is as just between ok and great. The voice is full, but there is a lot of noise in there from the reviews I saw.
Audio technica : they have multiple of them. Latest one the ath-m50xsts. It looks like a circum aural headset, but is not. It's a on ear headset with ear isolation like a circum aural. Which is pretty bad for me. Tho the mic is the best I've ever heard on a headset.
They are both wired only.
And other brands not marketing as "gaming" headsets are either extremely expensive with strange mics, or have most of their production budget into audio and they pair the headphone with a trash mic to make it a headset.
In gaming headset brands, there are multiple ones providing software, mic, and wireless features enhancing the experience of the user. For example low latency high bandwidth wireless (proprietary, wifi-like 2.4ghz) connexions only exist in gaming branded headphones/sets. (high bandwidth = higher than bluetooth for the same latency).
I'd take a proper lavalier mic with proper studio headphones over an unwieldy and crappy gaming headset with boom mic any day.
Or better yet, a proper THX reference level capable surround sound system and tactile transducers over any headphones.
Sure with the budget, space, and maybe even enough noise isolation or when you can get open headphones...
But how much would a good enough studio headphone cost? Because from what I understand from studio headphones it's perfectly calibrated headphones?
Now image your someone without the proper budget to get 1k$ headphones, and no space for open sound. what would you buy?
Maybe beyerdynamic? But for me the clamp force is too high.
Akg? They are cheap, but damn it was impossible for me to wear the akg371 as they were too shallow and had no protection for the driver plastic, and the way they were build made sure I had holes for the sound to get out...
Sadly audio is very subjective, on comfort, space, and sound.
Good studio headphones are around 200€ and you can get decent ones for 100...150€. And generally they are closed back, not open headphones.
Or even just dt-990s + modmic. Still better than any gaming headset ever built.
RGB!!
More seriously, "gaming headphones" are almost always actually "gaming headsets", ie they have a mic. Good music headphones without a mic don't fulfil the requirements of quite a lot of gamers, and normal headsets are usually calibrated for voice and not immersiveness in games.
Just apply an EQ with more bass and done. Gaming headphones
So they finally realized "Gaming Headphones" are just headphones, great. 👍
Can we have sound cards again, now please?
We do have sound cards in the form of DACs at least
Not having to deal with a sound card driver anymore has been a highlight of my year. Just get a dac and amp
A DAC is just a USB sound card (unless you're using optical in). But yeah, USB drivers tend to be more reliable since they are generic and usually not written by idiots.
Can we have sound cards again, now please?
I'm happy with my FIIO, works great with my beyerdynamics and no separate driver needed
It wasn't even Sennheiser, it was a company Sennheiser had licensed their name to.
It's really unfortunate that Sennheiser has diluted their brand so much. Between this deal with Epos and their consumer division going to Sonova, it's hard to tell what's actually still made by Sennheiser. I imagine it will become more evident as Sonova starts designing new products and they start to diverge.
Literal decades ago I bought Sennheiser headphones. They were great. They later orders of magnitude longer than anything I had before. They fit well, and were foldable, making them very compact when not used. And they were cheap too.
When they finally broke down I naturally wanted Sennheiser again, but they referred me to their new brand Epos. I bought a headset this time, not just headphones. It was a lot more expensive, and I was terribly disappointed by the ergonomics. It’s also rather big, making it unwieldy when not in use. And they broke already, though I was able to fix it - they broke just out of warranty of course.
Of course this is just one anecdote, but it really does feel like another great brand sold out and became crap.
I'm amazed it took this long, honestly. These are like gaming chairs: overpriced configurations with a combination of features that result in lower quality/durability when put together. I switched to a separate desktop mic years ago (paired with a fantastic set of Sennheiser headphones, coincidentally) and haven't looked back.
I highly recommend a dedicated mic. The low-end options are very affordable and you'll still sound way better on Discord (or Zoom calls!) than you will on a gaming headset mic or a webcam mic.
There's plenty of ease of use with headphones though, I got a pair of sennheiser gaming headphones and flipping up to mute is convenient.
yeah tbh I don't think the comparison to gaming chairs is 100% there. Everyone can benefit from a better office chair, but most people can't perceive the audio difference between a gaming headset vs dedicated audiophile headphones + dedicated mic. While it may be true that it sounds better, it's just not worth the extra hassle for most people. I have a wireless Arctis headset and the ease of use is unreal.
I disagree, unless it's the modmic, there are enough people who either don't have the space nor want to spend the money to properly place the mic (ie as near their face as possible). I'd rather they use some mediocre headset mic then place something that'd be otherwise decent like a Samson Go on a tiny tripod on the table next to their gaming keyboard, 20-30 cm away from their mouth.
My snowball would like a word. If you could hear it. Over it picking up everything else in the room.
There's a case for low latency wireless headphones, and it's pretty gaming specific. But yeah, they don't need the branding or any of that.
Reading reviews of the pictured model, apparently they sounded like crap?
I mean, they're beautiful, and the magnet attached mic is inspired, but if they sound like garbage what's the point?
Me with my HD598s with a modmic and Bluetooth DAC zip tied to the headband:
Didn't Sennheiser get sold already
I'm still waiting for a microphone that's coming out of a three to four pin mini-xlr adapter: Plug one side into the headphone, the other takes the cable (now with three instead of two leads (plus shielding/ground)), voila, a headset.
Also Sennheiser's build quality at the lower end it atrocious. Sennheisers priced in the same ballpark as e.g. AKG K240s might be a bit more neutral but you probably don't have the ears to notice and a) no replaceable cable b) you can't step on them and they'll be fine (K240s are what recording studios whip out when a punk band comes in with three crates of beer) and c) they fit like ass and the plastic creaks like a motherfucker.
(Also to be fair to make a K240 nice you'll have to invest what ~20 bucks into velour pads, and another 20 into a proper cable (the included one is shoddy and will break at the earliest opportunity. 15 for the connectors ("neutrik/rean or bust"), the rest for the actual cable, make it as long as you want impedance doesn't care. Plus maybe two connectors more to have a predetermined breaking point. Soldering iron not included. Also wash your fucking ear pads)
Used to live by Sennheiser headphones
Then I discovered ANC headphones. Then my phone lost its headphone jack.
Until Sennheiser have an ANC BT headphone option to rival Bose or Sony, they have lost that market segment.
I'd rather they bring out some nice open back bluetooth headphones. Much better imaging, which is great both for music and shooters, and more comfortable for a lot of us. I just want the convenience of wireless, I don't need ANC.
Maybe Audeze will do it with a Maxwell stable mate.
I had a similar issue recently with not being able to plug my phone in to my car headphone jack so I bought a headphone jack to USB c cable. Works pretty well
Kind of sad. I got some EPOS mic+phones for pretty cheap, albeit not as good value as just micless Sennies, and I think the space saving is actually really good. I barely have room for my mic, and it gets worse when I'm somewhere with very little desk space to work with. It seems very difficult to get something that combines all the needs of: flat frequency response and an adequate quality mic, very little by way of space requirements, and a not-outrageous price. I just fold the mic up and put it where I have space for my headset, ezpz.
I'm open to suggestions for replacements, of course.
A lot of haters in this thread but the PC38X (and family of confusing names) has been me, my wife, and my friends go-to head sets for the last five or more years.
Decent price, quality, weight. Light enough to wear for hours without going sore, but sturdy enough not to snap.
The quick mute boom mic is awesome and my original G4ME ONE (Lol naming) came with a cheesy USB sound card with sidetone which is a great feature that I still try to get on dac/Amos today.
I will be pouring one out for my homie tonight.
PC38X is a reasonable headset, but I'm guessing Epos wanted higher margins but couldn't get them to stay in the business. As much cachet as the Sennheiser brand might have had, the gaming headset space is pretty competitive and there are plenty of decent headsets for not a lot of money.
Oh, I actually like my gsp 500 too :( it's lasted me for years, has a nice long cable, and gives decent audio quality after I got a pci-e audio card to boost levels. I've always preferred a combo headset over separate headphones and mics because it's less to juggle, but so many out there are cheap garbage. Guess I'll have to find a new solution whenever these die on me
Then again, headphones without active electronics should last 10-30 years.
I got the model that's on the picture there, open model. They're not bad, pretty decent soundstage and the microphone is decent (and detachable). Doesn't really matter to me that they stopped making these, I wouldn't have bought the same model again anyway.
I tried one after using the game one for years (open also) and they sounded absolutely horrible to me, very tinny. I tried them side by side and just stuck to my trusty game one instead....
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