Gaming Headset opinions needed

hydro94530 · Apr 9, 2020

I didn't see any recent threads I could piggyback off of so wanted to see what people thought. I've been using various versions of the Astro A50's for so long that I'm tired of the same old thing and looking for something new and different.

Been doing some research and it seems that the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is the top rated dopest headset for gaming right now. And then I also saw the Razer Nari Ultimate which caught my eye seemed pretty interesting with it's haptic feedback.

Is the consensus still that the SteelSeries is the way to go? Has anyone here used the Nari's and are those as potentially cool as they seem? Are there better headsets than either of these? Definitely looking for premium headsets so not too worried about price. But thanks in advance :-)

Spazerbeam · Apr 9, 2020

I'm personally a big fan of the Corsair Virtuoso. Sleek and super comfortable. Good input and Output audio as well.

VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS SE High-Fidelity Gaming Headset — Gunmetal

The CORSAIR VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless SE delivers a high-fidelity audio experience, all-day comfort from its premium memory foam earpads, and hyper-fast connectivity with SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS technology.

www.corsair.com

darkside · Apr 9, 2020

Is this for console or PC?

I own the Arctic Pro Wireless and its a great headset thats lasted for years but I would not recommend buying one right now because it uses optical audio and I'd guess theres like a 50/50 shot whether or not its in the PS5 given the fact they cut it out on the slim but decided to keep it on the Pro.

adelante · Apr 9, 2020

Bought the Nari wireless couple weeks back in a haste as I needed a headset for gaming and telecommunication at home. Love the comfort of the earcups and headband. Tho the sound was a little bassy for my tastes, its positional audio was decent otherwise. Mic monitoring was alright too. Sold it off after couple weeks later as I found something online that I serves my purpose even more (having the Nari made me realise I could use one that can be connected to an Xbox wirelessly too) so I'm now looking to get a LucidSound 50X

hydro94530 · Apr 9, 2020

Thanks folks :-)

Spazerbeam said:
I'm personally a big fan of the Corsair Virtuoso. Sleek and super comfortable. Good input and Output audio as well.

VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS SE High-Fidelity Gaming Headset — Gunmetal

The CORSAIR VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless SE delivers a high-fidelity audio experience, all-day comfort from its premium memory foam earpads, and hyper-fast connectivity with SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS technology.

www.corsair.com

Never looked at Corsair so I'll definitely check that out. Those look nice from a quick glance so I'll have to read through that.

darkside said:
Is this for console or PC?

I own the Arctic Pro Wireless and its a great headset thats lasted for years but I would not recommend buying one right now because it uses optical audio and I'd guess theres like a 50/50 shot whether or not its in the PS5 given the fact they cut it out on the slim but decided to keep it on the Pro.

Also this is mainly for PC so I do have optical I can use, but didn't realize SteelSeries used that. Are they worth the $325 if it's strictly for PC use?

adelante · Apr 9, 2020

Spazerbeam said:
I'm personally a big fan of the Corsair Virtuoso. Sleek and super comfortable. Good input and Output audio as well.

VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS SE High-Fidelity Gaming Headset — Gunmetal

The CORSAIR VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless SE delivers a high-fidelity audio experience, all-day comfort from its premium memory foam earpads, and hyper-fast connectivity with SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS technology.

www.corsair.com

Almost went for these cos I've been hearing how's great and natural sounding the mic is.

hydro94530 · Apr 9, 2020

adelante said:
Bought the Nari wireless couple weeks back in a haste as I needed a headset for gaming and telecommunication at home. Love the comfort of the earcups and headband. Tho the sound was a little bassy for my tastes, its positional audio was decent otherwise. Mic monitoring was alright too. Sold it off after couple weeks later as I found something online that I serves my purpose even more (having the Nari made me realise I could use one that can be connected to an Xbox wirelessly too) so I'm now looking to get a LucidSound 50X

Just curious, were these the Nari Ultimate with the Haptic? That's what I'm most curious about as I love rumble/haptics is pretty much everything lol. Enough that I could sacrifice some sound quality if it really is as good as some reviews have said.

rsfour · Apr 9, 2020

Have you considered getting better headphones, and using a separate microphone on a boom arm or something?

adelante · Apr 9, 2020

hydro94530 said:
Just curious, were these the Nari Ultimate with the Haptic? That's what I'm most curious about as I love rumble/haptics is pretty much everything lol. Enough that I could sacrifice some sound quality if it really is as good as some reviews have said.

Yeah reviews I've read/watched seem to indicate people being surprised with the haptics working better than expected, to the point they would be a tad disappointed with the lack of such feature when switching to other headsets. I got the one without haptics so can't attest to those claims myself.

Video Games Are Dumb · Apr 9, 2020

Just my two cents but HyperX Cloud makes the only comfortable headsets

HyperX Cloud Core - Gaming Headset + 7.1

The Cloud Core is the essential gaming headset for those who are looking to team up and beat the competition. Available with DTS Headphone:X spatial audio.

www.hyperxgaming.com

KiKaL · Apr 9, 2020

I just got the Arctis Pro Wireless last week. They had them on sale for $219 which made it a much easier price to choose. I was looking at the Arctis 7 since they seem to have great reviews but I was looking for something wireless that also used 2.4ghz and Bluetooth. I also wanted no mic / one that could be hidden removed. I wanted the 2.4ghz for latency while gaming and the Bluetooth so I could use it with my phone while traveling. The traveling reason is also why I wanted no mic or one that can be hidden. I also have a Blue Snowball Mic which is why no mic was okay.

So far I have been really happy with them. I feel like I am hearing sounds in games I didn't know existed. Before I was using a pair of wired SMS Headphones.

oakenhild · Apr 9, 2020

I like to recommend the Sennheiser 58x Jubilee for $150, and a separate $30 mic and $10 boom arm (or the antlion modmic). Most gaming headsets won't come close to the quality of the 58x Jubilee for the same price. If you need wireless, gaming headsets are probably the way to go due to latency.

Also consider open ear vs closed ear headsets. I find the closed ear headsets tiring to wear and very isolating from the world.

Crocodilelogic · Apr 9, 2020

Get a good set of open headphones and a antlion mod mic . You already have a mix amp so you are all set.

Antlion

The ModMic is an attachable/detachable boom microphone that you can attach to any pair of headphones.

antlionaudio.com

Jamesac68 · Apr 9, 2020

hydro94530 said:
Been doing some research and it seems that the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is the top rated dopest headset for gaming right now. And then I also saw the Razer Nari Ultimate which caught my eye seemed pretty interesting with it's haptic feedback.

I don't know if it's the dopest, because that kind of high praise requires more strenuous testing than I can give, but I've got an Arctis Pro and am nothing but happy with it. If you end up with one it will be a good solution.

Iucidium · Apr 9, 2020

Once my furlough is over and reality kicks back in I need to get a new headset as my Lucidsound's headband snapped and I've had to bodge them. Got a big head.

Spazerbeam · Apr 9, 2020

hydro94530 said:
Never looked at Corsair so I'll definitely check that out. Those look nice from a quick glance so I'll have to read through that.

adelante said:
Almost went for these cos I've been hearing how's great and natural sounding the mic is.

Another Plus is that they're made almost completely made out of metal. Makes them super solid and doesn't feel like they're going to snap any time soon.

Ravelle · Apr 9, 2020

The Hyper X headsets are really good and are fairly priced too. I went from a regular wired Cloud X to a Cloud Flights and am very happy with them, fantastic sound quality, don't hurt my ears after a while and wireless.

Storminormin · Apr 9, 2020

Crocodilelogic said:
Get a good set of open headphones and a antlion mod mic . You already have a mix amp so you are all set.

Antlion

The ModMic is an attachable/detachable boom microphone that you can attach to any pair of headphones.

antlionaudio.com

100% do this if you're on PC.
I've been using sennheiser HD 598s and a modmic for ~4 years now and it's the best option I've come across.

A Grizzly Bear · Apr 9, 2020

Grabbed the Sennheiser PC37X headset after going through a bunch of other headsets. Love them and haven't had any issues. The drivers are similar to the HD598 and 600, so you get an all in one headset with good audio without having to go the antlion route.

hydro94530 · Apr 9, 2020

Thanks everyone, I got a few good options here to choose from. I forgot to mention this but I don't do MP or voice chat so mics and anything related aren't needed for me. But yeah good options here so time to research some more and purchase!

mikehaggar · Apr 9, 2020

I recently got a pair of the SteelSeries Arctis 7's and have been really impressed with them.

P40L0 · Apr 9, 2020

If you have an Xbox, I highly recommend buying a good Stereo headset with direct "Xbox Wireless" connection (instead of Bluetooth or optical bases).

Audio quality will be higher, latency will be very low, you won't have any wire to your pad so you'll always be 100% wireless and battery will generally last over 15 hours of prolonged usage.

I currently use latest Razer Thresher Standard for Xbox + Dolby Atmos for Headphones unlocked directly from Xbox One X, and they're great.

They are at around 150$ on Amazon, so even fairly cheap considering how premium they are and what they offer.

Gevurztraminer · Apr 9, 2020

hydro94530 said:
Thanks everyone, I got a few good options here to choose from. I forgot to mention this but I don't do MP or voice chat so mics and anything related aren't needed for me. But yeah good options here so time to research some more and purchase!

That changes a lot then. You're looking for good headphones instead of a headset. Get a Sennheiser or an audio technica then

purg3 · Apr 9, 2020

Crocodilelogic said:
Get a good set of open headphones and a antlion mod mic . You already have a mix amp so you are all set.

Antlion

The ModMic is an attachable/detachable boom microphone that you can attach to any pair of headphones.

antlionaudio.com

This, using it conjunction with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's (closed back). Easily the most comfortable headphones I've ever wore, and the sound quality is excellent. Works well with xbox chat adapter thing too. I used a similar setup with the Phillips Fidelio X1's but the open back sometimes lead to feedback/echo in party chat.

Deleted member 7082 · Apr 9, 2020

https://youtu.be/CLPa1ejmKXE

I just got this setup and love it. Sucks that the mic picks up background noise but I can always install my modmic on it.

Crocodilelogic · Apr 9, 2020

Storminormin said:
100% do this if you're on PC.
I've been using sennheiser HD 598s and a modmic for ~4 years now and it's the best option I've come across.

I use the mod mic on console as well you just need the little splitter that plugs into the controller.

hydro94530 · Apr 9, 2020

Gevurztraminer said:
That changes a lot then. You're looking for good headphones instead of a headset. Get a Sennheiser or an audio technica then

I was looking at Sennheiser actually. What would you say is best from them, strictly regarding sound and preferably simulated surround sound of some type.

Gevurztraminer · Apr 9, 2020

hydro94530 said:
I was looking at Sennheiser actually. What would you say is best from them, strictly regarding sound and preferably simulated surround sound of some type.

Hd600 is a go to recommendation. I've used a pair before for a bit and they are nice. I'm not too up to date in surround sound tech so I got nothing there

ThatNerdGUI · Apr 9, 2020

The Nari Ultimate is an amazing headset. It's much better than my old A50s.

hydro94530 · Apr 9, 2020

Gevurztraminer said:
Hd600 is a go to recommendation. I've used a pair before for a bit and they are nice. I'm not too up to date in surround sound tech so I got nothing there

Okay cool I'll check that out. Thanks again! :-)

elenarie · Apr 9, 2020

Sennheiser Game Zero.

They are amazing.

Patriiick · Apr 15, 2020

Just got a Sennheiser GSP600 delivered and they're probably the most disappointing headphones i've ever bought, especially for the 160 quid I paid. Really treble heavy, so little bass compared to every other headset i've ever had and also really, really quiet. They were so tight on my head too and i'm sure after a few weeks they would have loosened up but that would have been a miserable few weeks.

I didn't think headphones at this price point could be this bad. I miss my Astro A40s.

Nestunt · Apr 16, 2020

oakenhild said:
f you need wireless, gaming headsets are probably the way to go due to latency.

But, if I'm looking for a wired solution, there's no advantage in going for a "gaming" version right?

I basically never use the microphone and with the new PS5 controller that won't be necessary.

On a side note, in terms of quality of sound, is it better to use headphones connected via 3.5 jack or wireless?

Thank you.

oakenhild · Apr 16, 2020

Nestunt said:
But, if I'm looking for a wired solution, there's no advantage in going for a "gaming" version right?

I basically never use the microphone and with the new PS5 controller that won't be necessary.

On a side note, in terms of quality of sound, is it better to use headphones connected via 3.5 jack or wireless?

Thank you.

Yea, wired is much better off going with a regular headset, not a gaming one if you don't need the mic.

I'm not sure if you'd be able to tell the difference between wired and wireless (others can speak better to that), but the one way you could probably tell is that for the same price, you'll get better quality wired headphones. For example, the $150 Sennheiser 58X Jubilee are likely going to sound a lot better than the $150 Arctis 7 wireless gaming headphones if that's something you care about.

Biteren · Apr 16, 2020

im rocking astro A10's, i freaking love how comfy they are and the sound great. the top is really flexible so you can bend it to where the headset isnt squeezing your head.

XxLeonV · Apr 16, 2020

P40L0 said:
If you have an Xbox, I highly recommend buying a good Stereo headset with direct "Xbox Wireless" connection (instead of Bluetooth or optical bases).

Audio quality will be higher, latency will be very low, you won't have any wire to your pad so you'll always be 100% wireless and battery will generally last over 15 hours of prolonged usage.

I currently use latest Razer Thresher Standard for Xbox + Dolby Atmos for Headphones unlocked directly from Xbox One X, and they're great.

They are at around 150$ on Amazon, so even fairly cheap considering how premium they are and what they offer.

These were great until they snapped on me. Lasted about a good 2 years too. I thought it was just my big head stretching them but I saw some user reviews on Amazon with the same issue. That plastic where the ear cups connect to the headband just seems to start giving away over time.

The Nari pretty much looks like the same build quality so I'd be concerned about them too. It's also a shame that Razer doesn't sell parts or offer repair for the headset once they are out of warranty.

I went ahead and got the SteelSeries 7s a replacement (even though it doesn't have Xbox Wireless) and I just use them wirelessly on PC. I play there more now anyways. Although I have been thinking if I should've just spend more on the 9 series to get that direction connection Xbox wireless.

Nestunt · Apr 16, 2020

oakenhild said:
Yea, wired is much better off going with a regular headset, not a gaming one if you don't need the mic.

I'm not sure if you'd be able to tell the difference between wired and wireless (others can speak better to that), but the one way you could probably tell is that for the same price, you'll get better quality wired headphones. For example, the $150 Sennheiser 58X Jubilee are likely going to sound a lot better than the $150 Arctis 7 wireless gaming headphones if that's something you care about.

I'm looking to improve on my current setup, particularly with all that talk of PS5's tempest engine.

Honestly, I don't want many wires nor have to worry about battery. So, a simple 3.5 jack to the controller is the ideal scenario.

And I don't mind spending a bit for premium sound quality. Not on the 399 ballpark.

P40L0 · Apr 16, 2020

yungforever87 said:
These were great until they snapped on me. Lasted about a good 2 years too. I thought it was just my big head stretching them but I saw some user reviews on Amazon with the same issue. That plastic where the ear cups connect to the headband just seems to start giving away over time.

The Nari pretty much looks like the same build quality so I'd be concerned about them too. It's also a shame that Razer doesn't sell parts or offer repair for the headset once they are out of warranty.

I went ahead and got the SteelSeries 7s a replacement (even though it doesn't have Xbox Wireless) and I just use them wirelessly on PC. I play there more now anyways. Although I have been thinking if I should've just spend more on the 9 series to get that direction connection Xbox wireless.

I'm also using them for 2 years, but I still haven't any screeching noise or build damage, very happy with them so far (finger crossed).

If I had to choose a new pair of headphones for Xbox right now, I would also pick those Arctis SteelSeries 9x with direct Xbox Wireless tho.
They seems on par with Razer Thresher comfort and features wise, but with even more accurate sound, and with the Xbox Wireless protocol you would be future proof for both Xbox Series X and new Surface laptops/tablet (which will have integrated Xbox Wireless antennas)

Deleted member 9857 · Apr 16, 2020

I have the Arctis Pro & I love it, even been using it as my work from home headset since this all started so I've had it on my head most of the day & my ears feel fine

that was always my biggest problem with headsets in the past was that my ears would start getting incredibly hot or uncomfortable as little as an hour in but I don't have that problem with the Arctis Pro line

XxLeonV · Apr 16, 2020

P40L0 said:
I'm also using them for 2 years, but I still haven't any screeching noise or build damage, very happy with them so far (finger crossed).

If I had to choose a new pair of headphones for Xbox right now, I would also pick those Arctis SteelSeries 9x with direct Xbox Wireless tho.
They seems on par with Razer Thresher comfort and features wise, but with even more accurate sound, and with the Xbox Wireless protocol you would be future proof for both Xbox Series X and new Surface laptops/tablet (which will have integrated Xbox Wireless antennas)

Best of luck. I loved those set of cans until that happened. But yeah, I think I may spring for the 9x to get that direct to Xbox Wireless. I have the adapter for PC so it would work wireless there too.

Gaming Headset opinions needed

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