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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Any gaming audiophiles here? I have some questions

Not an audiophile, but I also don't skimp out on audio.

Running an old set of AudioTechnica headphones, Razer earbuds... And some chunky Edifier bookshelfs for the PC.

For the console peasant side of the gaming equation... I have a Yamaha 5.1 receiver powering Crystal Dynamics 5.1 speaker system... And the Switch I got some Zelda Astro headphones... Which are okay.



--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--

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If you are an audiophile you will want to stay well clear of gaming headsets. They sound awful.

If its ONLY for gaming then just go for whichever fits your head the best. All the typical brands produce a very similar sound for gaming.



Atmos for headphones requires a one time, $15 license purchase, and works with any headphones. So, all headphones, including all gaming headsets that cover both ears, will work with Atmos. Atmos has, by far, the most content that is optimized for the system. So, that's what I'd be going with.

As for a headset, I'd just audition a few and return all but your favorite. Sound perception is a very personal thing, as is headset comfort. So, auditioning is the accepted best-practice when choosing audio products. You'll get much better value if you stay away from the gaming brands, unless you find them at huge discounts (40% off or better, otherwise they're not competitive).

Last edited by VAMatt - on 27 March 2021

I'm gonna need a picture of your ear first



I am Iron Man

When I think of audiophiles what comes to mind is wood walls, floor and ceiling, acoustic panels, subwoofers, high end speakers and lossless sound formats. I don't use headphones in VR because headphones simply aren't comparable to well calibrated surround sound filling a room.

However sometimes I have no choice and use my open back Sennheiser headphones. Stereo since all those spatial nonsense only messes up the sound imo. They're not bad at simulating bass, but of course you still can't feel it. Anyway $60 budget won't cut it.

Eurogamer did just praise the new XBox headset
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-xbox-wireless-headset-review

The Xbox Wireless Headset is here, Microsoft's first official audio accessory for the Series X and Series S, and it's fantastic. The £90/$100 headset packs in an astonishing amount of features and quality for its relatively affordable price tag, and it may be one of the only first-party headsets for any system that I'd actually recommend.

It's a bit over you price range, but seems like a great deal and good investment. The cool thing is that you can mix two wireless audio sources, listen to your own music while playing games.



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foodfather said:

If you are an audiophile you will want to stay well clear of gaming headsets. They sound awful.

If its ONLY for gaming then just go for whichever fits your head the best. All the typical brands produce a very similar sound for gaming.

This.  Gaming headsets are terrible if you're looking for anything hi-fi.  Personally I swap between an ATH-900x and Master & Dynamic MH40 with a modmic.  Beautiful soundstages for various applications, gaming or music.  All these folks spending $300+ for gaming grade headsets are nuts.  

If you must get a gaming headset, I know the hyperx clouds are reskinned Takstar pro 80s.. might look in there.  

One last thing.. don't fall for that atmos, soundscape, virtual surround marketing crap.  Look for soundstage (open backs will always be better).



Man.. I hate it when your girl has to leave my place to come back to you..

HyperX Alpha are pretty great and I have other headphones that are $150-350 price range (Phillips X2's and Blon B20's). For the price they stack up pretty well and go well with music, games and movies alike. Built like tanks and have a built in and removable mic and all works on a single 3.5mm jack with integrated volume rocker/mute switch. Its also closed back with good sound isolation.. which works wonders if you have noisy neighborhood/household.

Plugs directly into the controller (XSX or PS5). No fuss and sounds great. 3D audio works with PS5 through controller, not sure about XSX one. Another alternative is the Coolermaster mh752.

Dolby Atmos license is a one off fee. No sub. I bought mine for PC from the MS store, and it should work on a fix amount of devices.

Last edited by hinch - on 27 March 2021

shikamaru317 said:

So, my current headset is pretty jank. It's several years old now and it was a cheap piece of Thai garbage to start with, called the Nubwo N2; the sound quality was never all that good, the earcuffs weren't deep enough and cause pain on the hard cartilage of my ears on long gaming sessions, and now the leatherette on the ear cuffs is peeling off. It's time for me to buy a new headset, and since we're now in console gen 9 and spatial audio is going to be a big thing this generation, I want to get a good spatial audio headset that is affordable for me. So, I have some questions:

  1. Which spatial audio tech do you think is best; Dolby Atmos, Windows Sonic, or DTS Headphone:X? What are the differences between each of them, if any?
  2. I heard that Dolby Atmos requires a subscription, is that a one time thing, yearly, monthly? Do you think it is worth the cost of the subscription?
  3. What headset would you recommend for my price range (less than $60)? Some options I've been looking at include the Astro A10, HyperX CloudX Stinger, Razer BlackShark V2, Razer Kraken, Corsair HS35, and the SteelSeries Arctis 1.

Out of your selection and price range of up to $60 I would suggest the Razer Kraken. The HyperX should be better, but also much more pricey, at least here. For a gaming headset, the sound and microphone of the Kraken are not half bad, especially not in it's price range. But like others said, if you want something with really good sound, gaming headsets are not the way to go.



$60 dollars is a very low budget for headphones (let alone "audiophile"). The last set of decent quality headphones I bought were about $200 (and that was a cheap option).

Chances anything at that price will be badly made and fall apart very quickly. As a friend once told me: "I'm not rich enough to be able to afford cheap stuff".