Best Non-Gaming Pair of Headphones for Gaming under $125?

[RiGGz]

I know, the title may sound confusing but let me elaborate, I'm looking around for a new pair of headphones that I can pair with the ModMic 5 to make for a good "gaming" headset that I can use on my PC and for PS4. My current ones (HyperX Cloud Alpha) seem to have a weird issue, where whenever I adjust my headphone volume with the inline controls, it seems to unbalance the sound between the left and right ear cups and I have no idea how to fix it. Having said that, this gives me a clear sign that they may not last too much longer and I should probably look into a new pair. I've been eyeing the Sennheiser GSP 300 as they fit pretty nice under my budget, but I'm not too sure how they compare to "audiophile" grade headphones. Sound wise, I'd like to have good bass, clarity, and I want to be able to pinpoint gunshots and footsteps accurately. If someone could find me this while pairing the ModMic 5 with it for under $125 or a little more if I have to, I think I'll be very satisfied.

[Revelene]

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

Why do you want the V-MODA Boom mic in particular?

While it is a decent mic, it is in an odd placement. It is overkill for gaming needs, but not good enough for broadcast.

Bringing your budget to $125 helps cover the costs of wanting that particular mic, but you are limiting yourself as you have to find headphones with a detachable cable AND enough clearance to fit the Boom Pro plug.

I would like to have the V-Moda mic so that I can also chat on console whenever I play on there. If I ever wanted to broadcast I already have a good mic which is the AT2020. And I would rather get the ModMic 5 but compared to V-Moda it's a bit more expensive for the same mic sound quality. So like I said earlier, if you would happen to have any suggestions for closed back headphones that fit the description i'm looking for, I'll be able to make my decision a lot easier. Otherwise I'll just go with the GSP 300.

You can use pretty much any mic on console. A clip on mic has the same kind of connection as the V-MODA mic, so it will work the same. When you have seperate audio and mic 3.5mm 3-pole aux cables, they can be combined with a simple 3.5mm 4-pole adapter to be able to be used with console.

If you go with a cheap clip on mic (~$10, and better than most gaming headsets' mics), you can go for some great headphones.

There are a million and one different headphones for all kinds of purposes. I know you want to use them for gaming, but what else do you want to use them for? I see that you want closed back, any particular reason?

Just with what I know so far, I can suggest a few.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro - Step up from the GSP 300.
Sony MDR-7506 - Great entry level studio headphones.
Audio Technica M50x - While this is not within your budget, I mention this as it goes on sale a lot for $99. Keep an eye out.

Honestly, I'd recommend forgetting about compatibility with the console, use the good AT2020 mic you already have, and use your full budget for headphones. You'd end up with way better sounding headphones.

[Talby]

Check out the LyxPro HAS-15[www.amazon.com] was eyeing it out since it uses a standard 1/8” jack (perfect for the boompro) just might work out....

[RiGGz]

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

I know you want to use them for gaming, but what else do you want to use them for? I see that you want closed back, any particular reason?

Honestly, I'd recommend forgetting about compatibility with the console, use the good AT2020 mic you already have, and use your full budget for headphones. You'd end up with way better sounding headphones.

I mainly want closed back so that I can have good bass and no sound leakage so no one I'm chatting with can hear an echo from my end, and also so no one in my house can hear my game or whatever I'm doing, especially at late hours in day when my family is asleep. And I do need console compatibility because I have friends from school who play on console and that's the only way I can play with them, and having that compatibility would be nice.

[Revelene]

Talby님이 먼저 게시:

Check out the LyxPro HAS-15[www.amazon.com] was eyeing it out since it uses a standard 1/8” jack (perfect for the boompro) just might work out....

The problem you run into with the Boom Pro is that with many headphones with detachable cables, they have different mounting depths and locking mechanisms. This can cause incompatibility.

I do not know if the Boom Pro works with the headphones you linked, and I don't see any information online about compatibility. However, I do see that the plug on the HAS-15 does have a locking mechanism and does look to be recessed a bit, which may cause issues.

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

I know you want to use them for gaming, but what else do you want to use them for? I see that you want closed back, any particular reason?

Honestly, I'd recommend forgetting about compatibility with the console, use the good AT2020 mic you already have, and use your full budget for headphones. You'd end up with way better sounding headphones.

I mainly want closed back so that I can have good bass and no sound leakage so no one I'm chatting with can hear an echo from my end, and also so no one in my house can hear my game or whatever I'm doing, especially at late hours in day when my family is asleep. And I do need console compatibility because I have friends from school who play on console and that's the only way I can play with then, and have that compatibility is nice to have.

Well, any kind of mic can be used on a console. Just need to adapt down to 3.5mm shared 4-pole with the headphones. If USB, it should work natively.

What model AT2020 do you have? XLR or USB?

Worst case scenerio, if on Xbox, start a party up on your PC and use the mic on PC, but the headphones on the Xbox.

[RiGGz]

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

Well, any kind of mic can be used on a console. Just need to adapt down to 3.5mm shared 4-pole with the headphones. If USB, it should work natively.

What model AT2020 do you have? XLR or USB?

Worst case scenerio, if on Xbox, start a party up on your PC and use the mic on PC, but the headphones on the Xbox.

I'm using the XLR version of the AT2020, and I'm on PS4, and since I'm using Windows, I don't think they have a feature like that. Although they do have a Remote Play program which enables me to use my mic and headphones directly from my pc, however my picks up all my background noise when I do this.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

I know you want to use them for gaming, but what else do you want to use them for? I see that you want closed back, any particular reason?

Honestly, I'd recommend forgetting about compatibility with the console, use the good AT2020 mic you already have, and use your full budget for headphones. You'd end up with way better sounding headphones.

I mainly want closed back so that I can have good bass and no sound leakage so no one I'm chatting with can hear an echo from my end, and also so no one in my house can hear my game or whatever I'm doing, especially at late hours in day when my family is asleep. And I do need console compatibility because I have friends from school who play on console and that's the only way I can play with them, and having that compatibility would be nice.

I play online w/ Speakers in the room; if you set it all up right, that wont be an issue; and Noise + Echo cancellation methods CAN work to help block such feedback.

[RiGGz]

Bad_Motha님이 먼저 게시:

I play online w/ Speakers in the room; if you set it all up right, that wont be an issue; and Noise + Echo cancellation methods CAN work to help block such feedback.

Yeah I think Discord does a good job of echo cancellation. Still raises the question; what pair of headphones should I get to fit my description?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Never rely on what options or tricks an app can do; do it from the Sound Card or DAC directly.

[RiGGz]

Bad_Motha님이 먼저 게시:

Never rely on what options or tricks an app can do; do it from the Sound Card or DAC directly.

Well no I was just saying that I did a test before while in discord, like I played a video on my PC and put my headphones up to the mic while having them off, and no audio played through discord. But yeah I currently have my headphones hooked up to the FiiO E10k DAC.

[Revelene]

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

Well, any kind of mic can be used on a console. Just need to adapt down to 3.5mm shared 4-pole with the headphones. If USB, it should work natively.

What model AT2020 do you have? XLR or USB?

Worst case scenerio, if on Xbox, start a party up on your PC and use the mic on PC, but the headphones on the Xbox.

I'm using the XLR version of the AT2020, and I'm on PS4, and since I'm using Windows, I don't think they have a feature like that. Although they do have a Remote Play program which enables me to use my mic and headphones directly from my pc, however my picks up all my background noise when I do this.

Sounds like you need to adjust volume and gain settings.

What interface are you using with the AT2020?

[RiGGz]

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

I'm using the XLR version of the AT2020, and I'm on PS4, and since I'm using Windows, I don't think they have a feature like that. Although they do have a Remote Play program which enables me to use my mic and headphones directly from my pc, however my picks up all my background noise when I do this.

Sounds like you need to adjust volume and gain settings.

What interface are you using with the AT2020?

I'm just using an InnoGear Phantom Power Supply to power the mic.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

Sounds like you need to adjust volume and gain settings.

What interface are you using with the AT2020?

I'm just using an InnoGear Phantom Power Supply to power the mic.

Could be that your Gain is set too high and maybe the Mic and/or Speakers are sitting in bad spots; or even the Speakers are turned up too high.

[RiGGz]

Bad_Motha님이 먼저 게시:

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

I'm just using an InnoGear Phantom Power Supply to power the mic.

Could be that your Gain is set too high and maybe the Mic and/or Speakers are sitting in bad spots; or even the Speakers are turned up too high.

I think it might just have to do with Playstation's mic configuration, and since the remote play program takes whatever you're using directly from your pc, it just keeps it at whatever it's currently set to. I think I might just need to lower my mic volume on the PC before I use it.

Yet and still I need to purchase a new pair of headphones as these ones I'm using are bound to die out soon. And I'd like to have one that comes with a mic or one that has a detachable cable so I can attach the V-Moda mic if the headphones being paired with it turn out to be better than the headset I'm after.

And since I need whatever new headphones I end up going with under a certain amount in order to also get the V-Moda, I'm willing to make the sacrifice in a little quality loss.

Also just to revive this topic a little bit as I still have not fully decided on what I'm going to go with yet. One of the main reasons why I want to get a pair of headphones that has a detachable cable and that I can pair with the V-MODA Boom Pro Mic is so that I can swap the cable out whenever I transition between gaming on console and back to gaming on PC.

When I'm gaming on console of course I'm going to need to have a mic to talk into, and at that, I'd like to have a good sounding one as well, thus bringing the V-MODA mic into the discussion because it is affordable and sounds good. However, when I switch back to gaming on the PC, there is no need to have the mic sitting in front of my face anymore as I already have a good one that I can use on PC, that being the AT2020.

So the main problem I'm having is trying to find a nice pair of headphones that have: good bass, good sound clarity, decent soundstaging (if possible, closed-back design may not deliver too much on this, I know), closed-back, and has a detachable cable.

And a few responses to some of the suggestions made here. I looked at the ATH-M40x and quite a few reviews on Amazon state that they don't have a lot of bass and they have a very neutral sound, and I seen people saying that you would need to purchase earpads to make them more comfortable and improve the sound quality, and I really do not want to exceed my budget. I checked the SHP9500 and it seems they don't have a lot of bass due to them being open-back, and I also heard they leak out a lot of sound as they are open-back and I can't have that because I have family members and I don't want to wake them while I'm gaming and they are asleep.

So all in all, this discussion is still open and my issue has still not been resolved. Lastly, I'm going to extend my budget to $150, therefore I can give myself some more options and I'll be able to get atleast a $120 pair and still get the V-MODA mic. At this point I'm only looking for suggestions on headphones that will fit my needs, which once again is: good bass (not punchy, but one that you can feel if you can catch what I mean), good sound clarity, decent soundstaging (if possible), closed-back design, and has a detachable cable. Thanks again, and I appreciate you coming by this thread, really hope I'm able to find a good pair with your help.

TL;DR

I still haven't found a good pair of headphones, only going to be taking headphone suggestions from now on in this discussion, I'm my extending budget to allow for more options, I'm looking for headphones that fit this description: good bass (not punchy, but one that you can feel if you can catch what I mean), good sound clarity, decent soundstaging (if possible), closed-back design, and has a detachable cable.

[Kaihekoa]

M_RiGGz님이 먼저 게시:

Kai님이 먼저 게시:

Phillips SHP9500s are great, but definitely bass lite. You'd have to use them with a DAC/AMP that has a bass boost or some kind of EQ. As far as replacement pads go, I wouldn't worry about any mods like that for any headphone if you're on a budget. Audio enthusiasts tend to be overly picky and dramatic. Just buy them off Amazon and try them out for yourself; if you don't like, return them.

Aw, see? Again I can't really use open-back headphones as they'll leak too much sound, but yes I know this is good for soundstage. And J have see these leak out sound quite loudly. Do you perhaps know of any good closed back alternatives?

Check out the Audio Technica ATH-M40X I mentioned earlier. You don't need to replace earpads. Buy them on Amazon and try it out yourself rather than relying on heresay from random Internet folks. If you want to step up the budget a bit, beyerdynamic DT 770s are also good, bassy closed headphones.

[RiGGz]

Kai님이 먼저 게시:

Buy them on Amazon and try it out yourself rather than relying on heresay from random Internet folks.

Very ironic wouldn't you say? Lol, but yeah I'll do some extensive research on them as they have popped up a lot on this thread. Just 2 questions; How do you they compare to the M50x model, and am I able to use the V-MODA Boom Pro Mic on them?