Looking for new Headset/headphone+mic

Hey guys... Long time no see... haven't been around for a while :P

My Siberia V2 Headset recently stopped working and looking for an inexpensive way to replace it. I'm not much of an audiophile, but I do like having a headset that's capable of output some smexy audio.

Any suggestions for a headset or headphone/mic combo that's around 100-150$?

How are the Sennheiser Gaming Headsets?

If I was to get this one: Sennheiser HD 202 II which microphone should I get? Or should I just stick to a Headset? Or should I just go with a Siberia V3?

Much appreciated!

Go for the Sennheiser Gaming ones... they bring the quality of Senn headphones and come with good quality mics.

Of course at the end of the day, you get what you pay for... but for $150 you will get a good quality one.

@FelipeInside: Hmm, Alright. I'll check them out! Thanks man!

You'll gain the best quality/price with headphones + mic

I can recommend on Audio Technica : http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/audio-technica-headphones-atha500x also get a 5$ mic - will do the same quality work as standart headsets.

+1 Sennheiser G4me Ones

I like them a lot. Only down side is that heavy bass will distort a little if it's really loud.

Sennheiser's gaming headsets are way overpriced. They're all based off sennheiser headphones that you can buy way cheaper and use a separate mic with. Obviously it won't be as elegant but you can save a lot of money.

Personally I would recommend some nice comfy open back headphones like AKG K612 pro, Sennheiser HD558 or 598, Audio Technica AD700 etc and buying either a desk mic or something like the modmic/v moda boom pro.

The 202s are trash, as are pretty much all sennheiser headphones below the 500 series or HD25 etc. 400 series aren't bad but are overpriced.

Thanks for the reply guys, I'll check out the Headphones you mentioned and see if I can find one I like

As far as full sized on ear headphones go I can personally recommend these these HM5 Studio Monitor Headphones. There alot of cheaper clones that use same driver and headphone housing but just different branding on the headphone but not sure about shipping to canada. I have one of those and can vouch for the quality very good sounding headphone just needs some EQ to get the sound to there best. The pair I got was Jay Car Audio Brand had a big roll off in the highs starting at 7000HZ and above with a massive dip in the response right at 7000hz that even a 18db boost doesn't entirely fix luckily the rest isn't so bad and the lows needed a big boost in the bass to get them to the level where I was happy but I'll be damned if it wasn't the best sounded headphone I've heard once I got them there so clean sounding very little distortion in the driver!

Not the biggest sound stage I've heard but has solid imaging and its got decent comfort you'll notice them pressing on your head but not enough to be a huge deal but after a few hours the pressure does start to get irritating and need to take a break highly recommend stretching them out on a bokshelf speaker or a ball or something to improve the comfort. But this pair does come with angled ear pads which may very well be what they need to improve the comfort alot the pair I got only had the regular flat ear pads so don't know but look like they would. I would recommend going for this over something like the AD700 that's a pair I still have and got me interested in higher quality sound but I'm not going to lie and make it out to be something more then it is has some major faults namely the huge bass rolloff that can't be corrected fully with EQ although it helps. I don't know about the other headphones suggested as I have not heard personally heard them.

But I know I don't like open air headphones when it comes to pc gaming due to the poor sound isolation as when I'm gaming my fans spin faster to cool off my gpu and cpu and that extra noise is distracting and mask the sound quality from all the noise least a close headphones or iem offer some sound isolation so you hear more of the sound from your headphones as apposed to fan noise from your computer. Besides a good noise canceling pair of headphones for passive isolation Iem are the best as some of them are capable of isolating a shit load of like 30-40DB of noise at higher frequencies that's 8-16 times noise reduction! and even with less isolating pair you can use a cheap pair of shooting ear muffs for massive sound isolation on any pair really useful for when I have my room fans turned up on high during the summer to keep cool.

As for Help with EQing them or any other pair of headphones refer to my long ass post in this thread I can boost my EQ settings I made for my pair of HM5 Clones on my Audigy 2ZS with KX audio Drivers which may help you out if you do decide to get them and EQ them. Also since the HM5 would eat up nearly all your $150 budget If you wanted to get something cheaper for gaming while it is not a full sized headphones I can vouch for the sound quality is the Audio Technica CKM500. Also while it may be a IEM it has a surprisingly large sound stage for one its sounds closer to a full size closed headphone then the usual narrow soundstage you get from iem very nice sound stage and superb imaging quality its has incredible precision and in well recorded music really gives you a solid sense of where instruments and vocals are coming from. This also makes it excellent for competitive gaming its the best out of any IEM or headphone I've used for Online FPS now obviously haven't used them all but have decent experience with a wide array of headphones and iem and I don't think you will be disappointed with these for gaming or music especially not for the price its a steal how much sound quality you get for what audio technica has these priced at!

These also benefit from EQ though but pretty much every headphone or iem will benefit from some EQ even if its just touching up the bass a bit or taming the high a little bit. If you want I can post my EQ setting I use for these as well personally these sound fantastic once EQ the driver is very high quality just as clean if not more clean sounding then the HM5 can't go wrong with ethier of these. The HM5 has the advantage of a bigger soundstage but not as precise imaging imo and the bass hits and vibrates your whole ear rather then just the inside of it when boosted like I have it at least I have it boosted alot like 18db up at 32HZ! The CKM500 doesn't need anywhere near as big as boost in the bass department I only give it a small boost 6DB Boost at 32HZ with a low shelf filter infact I reduce the mid bass down a small amount 2.5db at 125hz and 2db at 250hz and 1db 500hz. Its problem is more it has a couple of rather large peaks in the upper mids and treble region need to reduce those alot to get a more flat sound.

If you wanted to go stick with a Full Sized Audio Technica Headphone I don't like recommending things I haven't heard personally for extended period of time with my own ears but a people on other audio forums who opinions I trust gave these there approval and enjoyed the sound on them for music and gaming the Audio Technica A900X these are there latest upgrade to the full sized closed AIR series headphone lineup the new open back AD900X also got nice reviews if you where set on getting a full sized open head wouldn't be a bad choice. I'm sure both would benefit from some high quality EQ to get them sounding there best.

logitech G35s.

people on here will bitch about them because they think they think they are audio professionals, but i have used mine for years, and they sound great and have a great mic. they also have a lot of nice features. you can find them around christmas time for 80-100 bucks typically.

I'm not an audio professional, but they sound muddied. Especially when compared to something very affordable like Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 paired with a super-affordable dedicated sound card like an Asus Xonar DG for around $30. For the latter, it will be cheaper than buying a Logitech G35 or the next best thing they call to their lineup. The difference in sound quality is like a healthy thriving world to a post-apocalyptic one. I speak from personal experience, and for every one of my friends and acquaintances that I have convinced to upgrade to headphones (not headsets).

Now, before you reply thinking I'm quoting you to get you to change your mind. No. I am not trying to change your mind. I am simply stating technical truth!

Some of us are audio professionals.

That said, you don't need to be one to know that logitech know nothing about sound. The fact that you can't even find details specifications for any of their speakers shows that quite clearly.

The fact that they call the G35 7.1 is also completely wrong. Unless the headphones have 8 drivers and can somehow put a centre speaker in front of you then it's clearly BS. I have no problem with surround DSP but they really need to stop the false advertising.

I'm really digging the AKG K612 that Kraken mentioned... I like the look of it, that's for sure. Unfortunately, the store doesn't have it... neither does Newegg or NCIX. It's 250$ on Amazon.ca though, kinda over the budget I was going to use... but yea... I'll stretch the budget for it.

Now to find a decent mic.

Thanks again Gents :D

Honestly I think the G35s are decent. I don't use them but they are not bad and they do a decent job of 7.1 simulation imo.

I owned the Sennheiser HD598s you mentioned and sent them back after a week....way too "cold" sounding for me. Not that they didn't sound good but just not for me I guess.

Honestly I think the G4ame Ones from Sennheiser sound just as good with the exception of the base getting muddy if cranked up. But hey that's just my opinion....

Ah, didn't realise you're in Canada, that certainly limits your options. Audio gear seems so expensive over there.

@kraken2109: Yea, it sucks, but eh. I'll check out what they have at the store, if there's anything similar, if not, I'll just order those AKGs from Amazon. At least it's free shipping.

like i said, some people on here think they are audio professionals and are thus snobs. for everyone else out there, the G35s are a really good choice thanks to their excellent features. the 7.1 is indeed pretty dang good. doing the "spin test" next to audio sources in games makes it pretty clear that it is doing a dang good simulation of 7.1 surround sound.

Just for sake of update, I picked up AKG 512... I like them. Not the one you mentioned Kraken... That one I'll keep it in mind for next time.

Thanks again guys.

Enjoy =)