Gaming Headphones // Headset - Advice Needed

[RandomReload]

Gaming Headphones - Advice Needed

Hey,

Hoping someone might be able to offer me some advice, previously I lived in a small studio apartment and had been using a single headset / setup across all my devices (Philips Fidelio X2HR’s + Syba Sonic DAC + V-Moda Boom Mic).

I’ve recently relocated to a town house and now my PC is in the attic space and the PS5 / XSX / Switch on the ground floor living area. With only 1 set of headphones it’s a pain to keep swapping (or remembering them) when I want to use another device. Ideally I’d like a second pair of headphones (or headset) to use either for the PC or Games consoles but I’m a little unsure what would be the best option.

With a budget of £100 what would people recommend? Do I just get another set of X2HR’s and call it a day or are there better headphone / headset options out there for gaming (mainly competitive FPS type games)? Additionally, should I get a different DAC or microphone or are the ones I’ve got solid for my needs?

Basically, what would you do if you were in my situation?
R

[kalniel]

Wear a pair of bluetooth headphones 24/7 and they'll pair with the right device when you're in range

More seriously, £100 isn't much budget for DAC, microphone and headphones so I presume that's not really on the cards. Headphones are very subjective - I've tried Sony, Sennheiser and Beyer Dynamic at a price point a bit higher than your budget and found the Beyer Dynamic had the best sound with Sennheiser having the best mic (and were nearly as good on sound).

Given your mic requirement then these are probably the closest to your budget that I'd consider at £117:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Sennheise...ogames&sr=1-36

But I've not tried more gamer oriented brands like Corsair or Steel Series both of whom have pretty good reputation.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Firstly you need to decide whether you want an open backed or a closed back headset.The latter will leak much less sound,but at the expense of a "less airy" sound.

The Sennheiser Game One is basically a rebadge of the older PC360SE headset. The closed backed version is the Game Zero,and I used the older model it was based on,ie,the PC350SE. The sounding of the PC350SE was interesting - it prioritised the midrange over the highs and lows. This meant is was excellent for speech during gaming,as the background sounds wouldn't overpower voices. It was also built like a tank - even an inquisitive friend's Parrot tried and then failed in taking it apart with its beak!

However,after 5 years of service I recently retired them for a pair of Sennheiser GSP370 wireless headphones which were on offer for under £100. These do sound better,and more balanced than the PC350SE for me.

In comparison to a proper pair of headphones,I use a pair of Hifiman HE4XX. These are definitely better than both headsets,as the massive planar driver can produce much deeper lows,and there is better instrument and vocal separation.

[JGStonedRaider]

How about the best headphones you can buy for under £100?

Samson SR850's have long been held up as some of best headphones you can get for a tight budget. They are also highly moddable for comfort so imo it's always audio quality > brand.