New Headphones

[T3X4S]

For the last year or so I have had the Corsair Vengeance 2000.  They worked OK, nothing great but I kept them around because they are wireless.  I didnt use the Corsair software simply because I found it a little buggy.

Well, with the joy of a new puppy comes the destruction of anything close to the ground & she chewed up the USB dongle extension cable which holds the USB device vertical.  No big deal, just pop it in any open USB port.

But ever since then I have been getting static, sound cutting out, volume issues.  First thought was, well its wireless, so there ya go.  Then I thought - it seems worse on YouTube, maybe its a flash thing - but I was getting static and popping sound in movies I have on PC.

After looking through Corsair's forums - it seems I wasn't alone - so I "donated" them to the puppy toy chest and went to BB and purchased the newer version - Corsair Vengeance 2100 - ooooo aaaahhhhh



I think they are the same headphones with better software.  They are very comfortable - Im just not impressed with the overall sound.


The reason for this thread is this:  The BB near me has a lot of really high end stuff.  McIntosh, Martin Logan stereo stuff, Viking kitchen appliances, etc.  They had some nice looking headphones in the stereo/theater section.
These were definitely headphones for audiophiles - my question: 



Anyone use those style headphones for light gaming & movies ?  Or are they like Bang&Olufsen speakers ?  (not that great unless you only listen to soft rock or classical).  I am wondering if the $200 - $500 studio headphones would get muddled sound in gaming.

 

 

[Zaic]

Don't waste your money or time, when you rip them apart you'll see that headphones are all the same. I'm not saying that you can get decent headphones for 15$ but I would set say 80$ is a sweet spot for headphones. where everything that is over 100$ is money you pay for marketing. I myself use Philips SHP 2700 it cost me like 20-25$ and no I don't recommend it to anyone, but it doesn't mean its worse than any other pair that cost 10x more.

 

My comment is valid if you buy things for their intended purpose, as heaphones = headphones, and not headphones = fashion thingy, peace of art, or any other excuse.

[Anibal P]

Zaic has no clue what he's talking about 

 

Go to Head-Fi they have serious discussions about headphones and sound quality, you can get a straight answer there, me I went with the Audio Technica ATH M50X, should be delivered today 

[xrobwx71]

I've owned the Tritton AX Pro for about 4 years. The sound is superb, the bass, nice and deep.  I owned logitech, sennheiser, and the Tritton has been the best all around.

 

[JonnyLH]

Zaic has no clue what he's talking about 

 

Go to Head-Fi they have serious discussions about headphones and sound quality, you can get a straight answer there, me I went with the Audio Technica ATH M50X, should be delivered today 

This, I used Head-Fi when picking up a new pair of in-ears. Found an obscure set which are way better bang for your buck than any others and are immense. The site is good.

[p1p3]

There is definitely diminishing returns when spending more and more on headphones, there are also brands to avoid that are just marketing (bose, beats etc). However if you do your research and try to listen to different types of headphones you wont be disappointed.

The first thing to decide is if you want headphones or a headset. If you want a headset you are somewhat limited to either gaming headsets or studio headset. If you don't know what you are doing I would avoid the studio headset, while they are very good they often need a microphone preamplifier to work properly and sometimes require phantom power.

The next important question is if you want an open or closed headphone. My own preference is an open design however because it is open sound leaks both in and out both ruining immersion in a noisy environment and possibly annoying people around you. The upside is that the sound is usually more "airy" (I know i hate audiophile words too), closed phones in my opinion can sometimes sound more closed in. Hard to describe and I recommend you to go and listen to both. On the other hand closed phones usually have more bass if that is your thing and from friends who game more than i do they say they prefer them because it is easier to pinpoint sound location in games.

The last important thing is what type of sound card or amplifier will you be using. If you are connecting the headphones directly to a regular sound card or you want to use them directly with a mobile phone or mp3 player you should get some low impedance headphones (around 30 ohms, definitely below 80 ohms).

 

The absolute last thing is don't be fooled by price, just because a pair of headphone are expensive don't make them good. Use your ears and buy something you like!

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Don't waste your money or time, when you rip them apart you'll see that headphones are all the same. I'm not saying that you can get decent headphones for 15$ but I would set say 80$ is a sweet spot for headphones. where everything that is over 100$ is money you pay for marketing. I myself use Philips SHP 2700 it cost me like 20-25$ and no I don't recommend it to anyone, but it doesn't mean its worse than any other pair that cost 10x more.

 

My comment is valid if you buy things for their intended purpose, as heaphones = headphones, and not headphones = fashion thingy, peace of art, or any other excuse.

 

Sorry - simply not true. I think you're confusing fashion brands such as 'Beats by Dr Dre' with actual higher quality headphones by respected audio manufacturers. 

 

I own Beyerdynamic DT250 80ohm studio headphones which are awesome. They cost about, I think, ?130. They'll blow almost any pair of $80 headphones out of the water, and it's no wonder they're a studio favourite and used by people in music / video production. I've also had the pleasure of trying a pair of Denon AH-D5000 headphones which cost, I think, about $600. They were a trip into audio nirvana that I still can't forget even after a couple of years. You just need to have a decent amplifier to drive them properly or a DAC or similar - you're wasting your money if you plan to drive $500 headphones off a mobile phone, or an onboard soundcard on a PC without some additional hardware :)

[MrBear5587]

Sennheiser HD650's paired with a decent DAC/AMP, such as Objective2 ODAC/Amp - worth every penny.

[GotBored]

Test them in store if you can, Sennheiser are one of the biggest brands in audio and typically do well for movies and therefore gaming. I haven't tried the HD650's myself but am not that big of an audiophile to warrant me spending $500 on a pair of headphones.

[+DonC Subscriber²]

Headphone recommendations are tricky because different people like different qualities about them. Your best bet is to go to a store and try them out.