Gaming headsets

[Madmick]

I have Razer Kraken Chroma, bought on amazon for $80

At that price I'm guessing those are the v2's. Are those comfortable? That was the main gripe with v1. The first version was also a lower-class headphone with the 40mm drivers (why it was a sub-$50 headset instead of $80).

Bit of headfi humor:

 

[nhbbear]

I have Razer Kraken Chroma, bought on amazon for $80

And your thoughts?

I have never tried any of the razers. I have almost pulled the trigger on the tiamats or the threshers, but I was just not sure. This was after i became soured on gaming headsets, though.

 

[nhbbear]

Bit of headfi humor:

That’s how I feel sometimes, especially when discussing the headphones(I can’t bring myself to call them “cans” as I feel that would complete that transformation into that dog) with the guys I work with. The guys at work changed my screen saver from a funny cop picture to a guy buried in headphones, those fucking pricks.

What are your thoughts on razers? The marketing just seems so in your face, at least at bestbuy, with lots of neon green flashing lights. I felt like what I was looking at were so overpriced and they were trying so damn hard that it gave me pause.

 

[Madmick]

What are your thoughts on razers? The marketing just seems so in your face, at least at bestbuy, with lots of neon green flashing lights. I felt like what I was looking at were so overpriced and they were trying so damn hard that it gave me pause.

I'm not a huge fan of Razer, generally, as a company, not that I've tried their headsets. They really failed a friend with their customer service for the NAGA mouse. The mice I've owned suck and break. I also hate their keyboards. They're slippery. They're the type of company who dresses up a membrane keyboard aesthetically, then charges the market mechanical keyboard prices. They consistently put out products that simply weren't ready and aren't well-designed (ex. the Razer tablet). They're just marketing hard to the the RGB-lover niche in the gamer community with all the flashing lights.

I don't know about the v2, but the v1 had 40mm drivers, so it's not a headset I would ever personally wear (I also simply don't do closed-back headphones...yuck). I thought this reviewer did a great job of handling a roundup straightforwardly, and basically the Razer finished near the bottom in almost every category. But I can tell you that nearly every review I visited pertaining to the v1 saw complaints about the tightness of the headset, and how uncomfortable it became after an extended period. That's simply unacceptable for gaming.

Spoiler: Awe of Tech review summary

Ranked best to worst in each:

Build Quality

1. Corsair Vengeance Void Pro
2. Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger
3. Logitech G231
4. Razer Kraken Pro v1
5. Steelseries Siberia v200

Comfort

1. Corsair Vengeance Void Pro
2. Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger
3. Logitech G231
4. Razer Kraken Pro v1
5. Steelseries Siberia v200

Sound Isolation

1. Razer Kraken Pro v1
2. 4-way tie (no significant difference)

Headstage / Soundstage

1. Corsair Vengeance Void Pro
2. Logitech G231
3. Steelseries Siberia v200
   
4. Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger
5. Razer Kraken Pro v1

Frequency Response: Highs

1. Corsair Vengeance Void Pro
2. Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger
3. Steelseries Siberia v200
4. Logitech G231
5. Razer Kraken Pro v1

Frequency Response: Mids

1. Corsair Vengeance Void Pro
2. Steelseries Siberia v200
3. Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger
4. Logitech G231
5. Razer Kraken Pro v1

Frequency Response: Lows/Bass

1. Corsair Vengeance Void Pro
2. Logitech G231
   
3. Steelseries Siberia v200
4. Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger
5. Razer Kraken Pro v1

Beware the possibility that this is a veiled Corsair advertisement i.e. "sponsored content"

 

[nhbbear]

I'm not a huge fan of Razer, generally, as a company, not that I've tried their headsets. They really failed a friend with their customer service for the NAGA mouse. The mice I've owned suck and break. I also hate their keyboards. They're slippery. They're the type of company who dresses up a membrane keyboard aesthetically, then charges the market mechanical keyboard prices. They consistently put out products that simply weren't ready and aren't well-designed (ex. the Razer tablet). They're just marketing hard to the the RGB-lover niche in the gamer community with all the flashing lights.

I don't know about the v2, but the v1 had 40mm drivers, so it's not a headset I would ever personally wear (I also simply don't do closed-back headphones...yuck). I thought this reviewer did a great job of handling a roundup straightforwardly, and basically the Razer finished near the bottom in almost every category. But I can tell you that nearly every review I visited pertaining to the v1 saw complaints about the tightness of the headset, and how uncomfortable it became after an extended period. That's simply unacceptable for gaming.

The razers were consistent. Consistently dead last.

Like I said, I got a bad feeling about the flash of that brand, like they were compensating for something, like poor quality. I only considered the higher end of their line because I had tried everything else, and there were some decent reviews, specifically tom’s guide. But that was when i was dismayed and went with the turtle beach again, which were likely the better choice, but I returned those a few weeks later. I liked the blue tooth compatibility with those, and they honestly weren’t that bad, but after my audio voyage, it is criminal to charge $250 for those.

After I get my sennheiser gsp600s, I will never buy gaming headsets again. They are so fucking overpriced, it is ridiculous, and let’s face it, you pay that for the convenience that has the mic built in. And stepping into the audiophile world is intimidating because you are going from gaming headsets where there are a few solid companies to having so many choices. And I made a lot of mistakes along the way and wasted a lot of money on headsets I just don’t use very often. But I am happy with where I am at right now. I love my phillips, and i have beyerdynamics 990 and sennheiser 598 for movies(though i lent my 598s to my first sergeant and he does not want to return them, the bastard.

 

[Madmick]

The razers were consistent. Consistently dead last.

Like I said, I got a bad feeling about the flash of that brand, like they were compensating for something, like poor quality. I only considered the higher end of their line because I had tried everything else, and there were some decent reviews, specifically tom’s guide. But that was when i was dismayed and went with the turtle beach again, which were likely the better choice, but I returned those a few weeks later. I liked the blue tooth compatibility with those, and they honestly weren’t that bad, but after my audio voyage, it is criminal to charge $250 for those.

After I get my sennheiser gsp600s, I will never buy gaming headsets again. They are so fucking overpriced, it is ridiculous, and let’s face it, you pay that for the convenience that has the mic built in. And stepping into the audiophile world is intimidating because you are going from gaming headsets where there are a few solid companies to having so many choices. And I made a lot of mistakes along the way and wasted a lot of money on headsets I just don’t use very often. But I am happy with where I am at right now. I love my phillips, and i have beyerdynamics 990 and sennheiser 598 for movies(though i lent my 598s to my first sergeant and he does not want to return them, the bastard.

And now you know...

 

[CastielJh]

And your thoughts?

I have never tried any of the razers. I have almost pulled the trigger on the tiamats or the threshers, but I was just not sure. This was after i became soured on gaming headsets, though.

These are by far the best budget gaming headphones that you can get today's market.
Being a gamer I have to say that sound is good but the one thing I find annoying is the little volume wheel it has on the cord.
Sound is very impressive, I can compare the sound the same as other brands like turtle beaches XO seven pro.
What makes the sound quality even better for me is that I have the super human hearing adapter and its stupendous!

 

[Madmick]

These are by far the best budget gaming headphones that you can get today's market.
Being a gamer I have to say that sound is good but the one thing I find annoying is the little volume wheel it has on the cord.
Sound is very impressive, I can compare the sound the same as other brands like turtle beaches XO seven pro.
What makes the sound quality even better for me is that I have the super human hearing adapter and its stupendous!

Kingston's line is widely regarded to own this, and I can't say the v2's average 3.9 score on Amazon is buckling my confidence in the consensus. Even if one disagrees there's no "by far" about it, but your ringing endorsement is welcome, and noted.

 

[nhbbear]

Kingston's line is widely regarded to own this, and I can't say the v2's average 3.9 score on Amazon is buckling my confidence in the consensus. Even if one disagrees there's no "by far" about it, but your ringing endorsement is welcome, and noted.

View attachment 349341

I would say that their quality has dipped a bit, and what is really going to hurt them is that the last two releases, the revolver and the flight, are not compatible with Xbox. The revolver’s surround sound does not work with Xbox, I was generally not impressed at all with these and the flights’ mic Only works while it is wireless, and it will not work wireless with Xbox, so you can only use them wired, and then you can’t use the mic. A complete and utter fail on their part. I understand that the Xbox is difficult to work with, but other companies and Kingston in the past, have been able to work with Xbox.

 

[Madmick]

I would say that their quality has dipped a bit, and what is really going to hurt them is that the last two releases, the revolver and the flight, are not compatible with Xbox. The revolver’s surround sound does not work with Xbox, I was generally not impressed at all with these and the flights’ mic Only works while it is wireless, and it will not work wireless with Xbox, so you can only use them wired, and then you can’t use the mic. A complete and utter fail on their part. I understand that the Xbox is difficult to work with, but other companies and Kingston in the past, have been able to work with Xbox.

I never like it when a company fragments a beautiful mainline product like that. Apple is Apple for a reason, after all, and it's been losing sight of that, too. They're trying to cater to every niche (two versions each of: Stereo vs. 7.1 inline & USB vs. 3.5mm $@50-$100-$150 price points, now they're adding non-detachable mics).

Still, the HyperX Cloud and HyperX Cloud II are still out there, and both are under $100.

 

[nhbbear]

What would you recommend for a pc gamer for under. $50? Not too familiar with either that low of a price range or for pc. Off the top of my head, I told him hyperx stinger or Logitech g230/430, but I have no experience with pc gaming.

Also maybe SteelSeries arctis 3s are definitely on the table.

 

[Madmick]

What would you recommend for a pc gamer for under. $50? Not too familiar with either that low of a price range or for pc. Off the top of my head, I told him hyperx stinger or Logitech g230/430, but I have no experience with pc gaming.

Also maybe SteelSeries arctis 3s are definitely on the table.

I'd say that you got them right off the top of your head:

• HyperX Cloud Stinger
• Logitech G230 (Stereo) or Logitech G430 (7.1 virtual onboard)

The Stinger is one of the only models with 50mm drivers. Sometimes the wired Corsair Void Pro drops to $50 as it was when I was considering it for a friend a month or so ago, but it's $60 atm. Notice that the wireless version is a better seller (currently #3 on Amazon's bestselling PC headset chart), but runs $80 for the "Carbon" color, and $97 for the "White". Corsair headsets are also Discord certified which is a definite plus for any headset if you happen to use Discord for communication. This isn't an issue on the PC, but it's definitely a bonus on the lesser operating systems Android/iOS where no amount of technical wizardry can solve the problem of absent drivers.

Corsair just has incredible brand power which is why-- similar to Apple-- their products tend to hold value, or even inflate. Similar to the Logitech headsets above they also make a $50 stereo headset, but it isn't a design clone of the more expensive 7.1 Void brother. For example, it sports a detachable mic while the Void does not:

• CORSAIR HS50

If he goes below the Logitech headsets he's looking at the Chinese knock-off brands. The one with the most staying power & presence is Sades (A60, SA-902, Spirit Wolf). Amazon bestselling chart is below. Please note that if you're on a phone you may have to "Request desktop site" in order to view it. I hate it. These charts are the single most useful thing about Amazon, and yet the links to them don't even exist in their app or on the mobile versions of the Amazon website:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/pc/402053011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_pc_1_5_last

Personally, I'd steer him toward the Stinger or the Void Pro. Obviously I had settled on the latter myself in this budget range as my top choice.

 

[Gregolian]

Got some Astros. Love them.

 

[nhbbear]

As always, thanks.

At the moment, I am going to list the options as
1. Stinger
2. Logitech g230
3. Steel series arctis 3

He is a complete newbie, so I figured this was probably the best entry level for him. The voids are our of his price range, and the stingers are actually maybe a bit above what he wants to pay.

 

[Madmick]

Sounds good although I'm not sure where you're seeing a sub-$50 price on the Arctis 3's. I saw them listed at $70 on both Amazon and Best Buy.

They have the best treble frequency response, the most sensitive mic, a bluetooth wireless mode, and enjoy cross-compatibility with the Xbox One and PS4, but they also only boast 40mm drivers, so they're sort of an entire class below in terms of soundstage (you just don't see 40mm headsets for over $100).

 

[nhbbear]

Sounds good although I'm not sure where you're seeing a sub-$50 price on the Arctis 3's. I saw them listed at $70 on both Amazon and Best Buy.

They have the best treble frequency response, the most sensitive mic, a bluetooth wireless mode, and enjoy cross-compatibility with the Xbox One and PS4, but they also only boast 40mm drivers, so they're sort of an entire class below in terms of soundstage (you just don't see 40mm headsets for over $100).

On amazon, I am seeing offers for the arctis at $43. It is still option # 3. I think they are the most refined option on that list, but like you said, smallest drivers. They are going to be quieter(seems to be an arctis trait), a little less boisterous, and the smaller soundstage, but I am not sure he needs anything more.

All are quality options for his limited price limit, and honestly, those are probably top five options up until $150. Under $150, I would put sennheiser gsp300s , hyper x cloud 2/stingers, arctis 5, plantronics rig 800 are right at the limit, and i really like mine.

And of course, we have the build your own options, which would dominate that list, with the Philips + vmoda boom mic at the top.

 

[Madmick]

Oh, gotcha. I wasn't looking at the Marketplace for used/refurbs. I always eyeball New prices only so whatever analysis I offer is apples-to-apples, and reliably available. That's why I only mentioned the Void Pro as an honorable mention (since it exceeded the $50 allowance).

 

[jefferz]

I have no clue what they're like but I haven't seen them talked about. Massdrop x Sennheiser PC37X Gaming Headset for $119

 

[nhbbear]

Oh, gotcha. I wasn't looking at the Marketplace for used/refurbs. I always eyeball New prices only so whatever analysis I offer is apples-to-apples, and reliably available. That's why I only mentioned the Void Pro as an honorable mention (since it exceeded the $50 allowance).

So I give him the list, as well as some homework videos to watch. Now, his biggest concern is being able to hear his environment around him. A bit paranoid, maybe. I told him he will have to up his budget to get some open headphones. I am going to let him borrow my superlux 668b to see if he likes those.

 

[Madmick]

So I give him the list, as well as some homework videos to watch. Now, his biggest concern is being able to hear his environment around him. A bit paranoid, maybe. I told him he will have to up his budget to get some open headphones. I am going to let him borrow my superlux 668b to see if he likes those.

ROFL, doesn't want the wifey/kids to sneak up in the middle of "me" time.