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omg headphones coddamn

I'd recommend the Hyperx Cloud II to anyone who is looking to get into headphones for gaming, or is looking for a gaming headset. If you just want a simple "I want to buy one thing and I want it to be amazing", those are it. Pointless to look into anything else for a beginner, or unless you are wanting to spend around $200 or more. They are the "set it and forget it" option of the headphone/ gaming headset world.

If you are feeling froggy OP, you can try out a pair of Philips shp9500 for an open back "set it and forget it" option.
 
I had my first "OMG HEADPHONES" moment when I played Uncharted 2 with a set of good headphones thru a surround sound mixer for the first time. Shit let me post up on any ledge with my back facing it. Dude thinks he's being sneaky? Oh, what's that sound? "kick" THAT'S YOU FALLING OFF A CLIFF SON
 
NJShadow said:
AD900x's! :)

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High five!
I have the older version, the AD900. You can hear everything.
 
Hate to highjack this thread but my old headset just crapped out on me. What is a good headset for Xbox One, preferably under $50?
 
Dualshock 4 + HD598s all day


Headphone jacks on controllers is the best feature this gen. Shame Switch Pro doesnt have one.
 
Anyone on low budget just grab a Hyper X Cloud and forget about it. it's better than 99% of gaming audio products and is approaching audiophile level.

For anyone that seeks anything past that then RIP your wallet headphones are an expensive hobby. The best gaming ones I've owned are the AKG K712 as the soundstage is incredible.

Nowerdays I'm running a Sennheiser HD600 off of a Little Dot MK2 tube amp.

sennheiser-hd-600-headphone-review-4.jpg
 
ResoRai said:
Well earbuds, but I haven't played with any for awhile, but I did when I was playing Siege last night and the first thing I heard was "GOOOOOOAAAAAL" from the TV in the other room. I've never heard that before! There's a lot of ambient sounds iv'e never noticed.

I've been at such a disadvantage this whole time! I mean, obviously headsets help in MP games, but I either forgot how much or everything in Siege is just ridiculously loud.

I can hear everything now man! Footsteps, music, stuff breaking across the house, myself... (every little action your character does is so loooud, like damn it's like he's always doing to much).

Heard some guy running up on me and I shotgun blasted his dick off as he ran around the corner!

If you're not wearing headphones in mp games you probably should.
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Headphones are straight up essential for Siege. Literally every action produces a noise, even moving your aim from left to right while standing still. All of it is audible.

How have you played without headphones for so long?!
 
ResoRai said:
Well earbuds, but I haven't played with any for awhile, but I did when I was playing Siege last night and the first thing I heard was "GOOOOOOAAAAAL" from the TV in the other room. I've never heard that before! There's a lot of ambient sounds iv'e never noticed.

I've been at such a disadvantage this whole time! I mean, obviously headsets help in MP games, but I either forgot how much or everything in Siege is just ridiculously loud.

I can hear everything now man! Footsteps, music, stuff breaking across the house, myself... (every little action your character does is so loooud, like damn it's like he's always doing to much).

Heard some guy running up on me and I shotgun blasted his dick off as he ran around the corner!

If you're not wearing headphones in mp games you probably should.
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There's something you need to know about Siege before you become too reliant on audio cues: the sound in Siege works more like it would in real life.

Just because you hear a shotgun blast mostly to your left doesn't mean it's to your left.

It means that the noise of the shotgun may have, say, reverberated through a doorway, down a hall, and once more through the doorway that's to your left. The person who shot that gun could be three feet in front of you, separated by a concrete wall.
 
I love playing games with headphones on! It makes me sad I can't do the same with Switch games, but for PC and PS4, it's the only way I play now.
 
Yeah it can make such a huge difference.

Playing PUBG with my Cloud IIs has been amazing. I got out of using headphones for the longest time and PUBG brought me back. I had forgotten how much it improves the experience.

Has anybody used the Corsair Void or Steelseries Arctis 5/7s? The HyperX Cloud IIs put pressure on my head after awhile.

I just want one set to use on everything (PS4pro, PC, Vita though I usually use my Airpods with my vita)
 
Headphones are definitely a must have for competitive shooters. When I play Overwatch with my friends that use speakers I'm always accurately calling out enemy positions before they're aware solely based on sound.

I've got Audio-Technica AD700X headphones and they're excellent.
 
I remember the first time I plugged in my Sennheisers when playing Bad Company 2, that's when I knew what true love felt like.
 
Definitely agree -- good sound, be it via headphones or speaker, adds so much. More immersive and provides a competitive advantage to boot.

Personally, I've been using my headphones less and my surround setup more. Mostly fueled by my tendency to listen at volumes i think will cause damage long term. It's a shame because what tends to happen is i put the headphones on and think, thats pretty loud or just right, only to slowly increase the volume. With speakers i can at least calibrate to the 75db with an SPL meter. Wish i could do the same with headphones.
 
Akronis said:
Yooo how are the PM-3s? I've wanted to buy them for a while because of how neutral they are, but I'm afraid I'll hate them.
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Very neutral, very technical, very clean. Like, if that's what you want, they are what you want. Bass reaches deep but doesn't BOOM or rumble. Great presentation in mids. People find them competent to the point of that being a negative.

They do something special with female vocals, imo.

They are definitely worth at least hearing, just for the experience.

I saw you said you have the X00, I just ordered the EMU-Teak a few days ago. Won't get it till like September though, fuck.
 
Good sound quality is very important to my gaming experience. It adds to immersion or getting into the tone of the game far more than the visuals do imo.

I don't do a lot of multiplayer gaming, but I do have this for when I do, which I use alongside my open ear general use headphones. You just replace the normal aux cable with this and you now have a LOT more freedom on what sort of headphones you can use while gaming.

V-MODA BoomPro

61n1XLs9POL._SL1500_.jpg
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Akronis said:
Yea that's why I was worried. I'm using Fostex TH-X00s right now, so I have no need to upgrade, but having a plethora of different sound signatures is always cool.
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Dude PM-3s are not an upgrade from TH-X00s, unless portability is your main criteria. I have PM-3s and 'travel headset' is all they are good for. Fostex, on the other hand, are godlike.

But the best gaming headset in my mind are AKG 712s. Amazing soundstage, directionality, location.
 
Well I know this is probably said on every thread like this but there is such a thing as 7.1 speakers . Alot of people in here making headphones sound like the pinnacle experience.

Headphones are alright I'll just say.
 
I have AKG K240 MKII's

Though I typically use them for music instead of gaming, they're a steal for the price (I bought them for $114 three years ago, they're $80 USD now). They're probably the best headphones I've had thus far. Even better with a DAC/Amp.
 
Positioning with the Astro mixamp
Is pretty good. Last COD I played was Ghosts and there was that one perk where it made footsteps from the other team louder. It was basically cheating.
 
joecanada said:
Well I know this is probably said on every thread like this but there is such a thing as 7.1 speakers . Alot of people in here making headphones sound like the pinnacle experience.

Headphones are alright I'll just say.
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You know, I'm not so sure. I mean, I have a 7.0 Genelec setup with 8351 x 3 + 8340 x 4 (no sub, because 8351s slam so low). They sound amazing, but putting on a quality headset like AKG 712s is its own thing - much less interruption than speakers in a real space, much more direct experience, everything is just clearer. You can experience 90% of a £10K 7.1 setup with £500 headphones, I think.
 
Hyperx Cloud II, don't have to buy anything extra.

Philips SHP9500 + V-Moda Mic
Takstar Pro 80/BeyerDynamic DT770
 
Chittagong said:
Dude PM-3s are not an upgrade from TH-X00s, unless portability is your main criteria. I have PM-3s and 'travel headset' is all they are good for. Fostex, on the other hand, are godlike.

But the best gaming headset in my mind are AKG 712s. Amazing soundstage, directionality, location.
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You always skate the line of kinda seeming like you begrudgingly use your PM-3.

Why not replace it?
 
Chittagong said:
You know, I'm not so sure. I mean, I have a 7.0 Genelec setup with 8351 x 3 + 8340 x 4 (no sub, because 8351s slam so low). They sound amazing, but putting on a quality headset like AKG 712s is its own thing - much less interruption than speakers in a real space, much more direct experience, everything is just clearer. You can experience 90% of a £10K 7.1 setup with £500 headphones, I think.
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Well everything is relative. but yeah if you just want to hear footsteps and shit headphones are fine. On my old 5.1 setup I couldnt be snuck up on period . I don't know what less interuption means if you have a theatre area/ setup the speakers do their job and it's top notch. Headphones physically can't do what a correct speaker setup can they are only emulation.
 
xevis said:
Why? If they're anything like the AD700s they leak like a sieve. Have you considered something like the Beyerdynamics DT770 (50 ohm) or DT250? They're both supposed to be pretty great.
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Unless your in a position where isolation is paramount, open headphones will ALWAYS be better than closed, especially so for gaming.
 
chunk3rvd said:
Sat here playing Bloodborne but don't have the balls to put my headphones on. The ambient noise is way too fucked up :/
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I listen to Spotify while playing Bloodborne. It's really chilled out.

Seriously though, when I don't I play through a surround system and there's a bit near the start with some random laughter. I kept thinking it was somebody outside or upstairs doing it. I had to mute and unmute the sound a few times to convince myself it wasn't. The ambient sound is really weird and well executed.
 
joecanada said:
Well everything is relative. but yeah if you just want to hear footsteps and shit headphones are fine. On my old 5.1 setup I couldnt be snuck up on period . I don't know what less interuption means if you have a theatre area/ setup the speakers do their job and it's top notch. Headphones physically can't do what a correct speaker setup can they are only emulation.
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On a semi-related note you can get an even better surround effect with headphones than speakers if the source has been recorded binaurally. Part of my Masters course last year had a sound recording option which I audited for fun and I got quite into it and bought a set of binaural microphones. The effect can be astonishing when executed right. However, I don't think this sort of 3d audio can be generated in real time, or at least I don't know of any games that do it.
 
ResoRai said:
Well earbuds, but I haven't played with any for awhile, but I did when I was playing Siege last night and the first thing I heard was "GOOOOOOAAAAAL" from the TV in the other room. I've never heard that before! There's a lot of ambient sounds iv'e never noticed.

I've been at such a disadvantage this whole time! I mean, obviously headsets help in MP games, but I either forgot how much or everything in Siege is just ridiculously loud.

I can hear everything now man! Footsteps, music, stuff breaking across the house, myself... (every little action your character does is so loooud, like damn it's like he's always doing to much).

Heard some guy running up on me and I shotgun blasted his dick off as he ran around the corner!

If you're not wearing headphones in mp games you probably should.
Click to expand...

Grats on joining the year 2000 finally! :)
 
mokeyjoe said:
On a semi-related note you can get an even better surround effect with headphones than speakers if the source has been recorded binaurally. Part of my Masters course last year had a sound recording option which I audited for fun and I got quite into it and bought a set of binaural microphones. The effect can be astonishing when executed right. However, I don't think this sort of 3d audio can be generated in real time, or at least I don't know of any games that do it.
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Well now you're just showing off but I understood 50% of what you said! Seriously that's interesting though
 
I use a pair of HD 800 S for my general listening and pc gaming. It's overkill. But they're the most comfortable headphones ever. And they sound amazing. Lol

I bought a mod mic to slap onto a pair of HD 650s for PS4 gaming but haven't gotten around to it. What's a good option for a good pair of cans and mix the Xbox one? With my PS4 I'm running a Schiit stack for power. Not sure I can do that with the Bone.
 
Chittagong said:
Dude PM-3s are not an upgrade from TH-X00s, unless portability is your main criteria. I have PM-3s and 'travel headset' is all they are good for. Fostex, on the other hand, are godlike.

But the best gaming headset in my mind are AKG 712s. Amazing soundstage, directionality, location.
Click to expand...

Yea I'm not really looking for upgrades, just different sound sigs. Don't want to spend a fortune on Audeze stuff either if I want something neutral so the PM-3s would probably be my first choice if I decide to get them. Plus, the build quality for Oppo is usually fantastic.

Shame that HIFIMAN can't step up their game. Build quality still sucks.
 
Anyone got any recommendations for how to connect headphones to a PS4 that's not the DS4 jack? I usually use that with my HD598s but those are starting to get a little spotty and I've heard they're much lower quality.
 
joecanada said:
Well now you're just showing off but I understood 50% of what you said! Seriously that's interesting though
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Basically, the shape of the ears 'colour' the sound so you can tell whether something is ahead of you or behind you. So you can get microphones you wear like earbuds (or ones that fit inside silicon ears) which, when you listen to it back through headphones, give a 3d effect just like if you were there.

Like this: https://youtu.be/Vmz9HVtZc10

(Only works with headphones)
 
RoboPlato said:
Anyone got any recommendations for how to connect headphones to a PS4 that's not the DS4 jack? I usually use that with my HD598s but those are starting to get a little spotty and I've heard they're much lower quality.
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Easiest way is to plug it into the headphone jack of your receiver or TV. Best way is buy an external DAC and amp and connect it to the PS4 via optical.
 
leng jai said:
Easiest way is to plug it into the headphone jack of your receiver or TV. Best way is buy an external DAC and amp and connect it to the PS4 via optical.
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Suggestions/prices on the DAC and amp stuff? I'm really clueless when it comes to audio despite knowing video well. Something cheap but high quality would be preferred.
 
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